A wise man once said, “There is not enough time to do everything, but there is always enough time to do the important things.” Catching the “redeye” from California to see your 7-year-old daughter perform as a snowflake in the Christmas play, seeing your son start on his high school’s varsity basketball team for the first time, or painting that room your wife has been asking you to paint for three years all fit into the “important things” category.
But be careful! We can fall into the trap of the “important things” being for only others. Doing “important things” for others is an essential part of our lives. However, doing “important things” for ourselves is just as important. There is time in your life for doing “important things” for yourself? You will do more for others by doing “important things” for yourself, whether you are a mother, father, teacher, or fill in the blank.
Whenever we give our time to something there is always a little return on investment (ROI) conversation going on in our minds. Will the action, which I am about to perform, bring me closer to something I want? For instance, attending my son’s first start on his high school basketball team says something to him. It says, “I care about you and I want you to know that I have confidence in you.” It is important for parents to instill confidence in their children, so you take the “redeye” back from California to make the game. Denis Waitley of the Psychology of Winning fame says, “Our kids don’t need loot and things, they need roots and wings.”
Speaking of doing “important things” for yourself, learning to speak well in public may be one of them. Now I have no way of knowing whether you are a Toastmaster, an accomplished public speaker in your own right, or someone that just knows in her or his heart that she or he has something to say from which other people can benefit. But, I think it is fair guess since you are reading this article that you are interested in improving your public speaking no matter what level you are now.
Toastmasters is a wonderful, fun, and inexpensive way to improve your public speaking ability. In a one-hour a week format, you will hear some really great speeches, get to practice your impromptu speaking, and glean valuable information through speech evaluations you can apply to your public speaking immediately. Contact one of the TASC Toastmasters for more information at this link – http://www.tasctoastmasters.org/about/more-about-our-club/ .
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe once said, “Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.”
Whether it is public speaking, starting a new business, or asking for that job you have been wanting for two years, “begin it.” Yours and those you love’s happiness depends on it!