Sunday, August 21, 2011

Conventional Afterthoughts 2011 - Where Leaders Are Made

Greetings Happy People,

I had the opportunity to be a part of the action in the 2011 Toastmasters International Convention at Bally's Hotel Casino - Las Vegas. Like last year's convention in Palm Desert, California, this one was an awesome experience!!

It only seemed like yesterday when they made the announcement that the convention was coming to my town of Las Vegas. Now that it is history, I take some awesome memories and amazing experience with me.

Over two-thousand people came to this event. From Austrailia to China, Canada to Portugal, Mexico to Bahrain, and South Africa to Saudi Arabia, this convention brought a great variety of Toastmasters from all over the world to learn, share, and grow together. I had the chance to meet familiar friends from a year ago and make new friends in the same process.

I also took in some awesome educationals from dynamic speakers, learned good material from District Officer training sessions, and interviewed candidates running for International Officer positions. I also got the chance to look at the new worldwide brand for the organization!! This includes a brand new logo and a new tagline - "Where Leaders Are Made."

The Opening Ceremony was a spectacular event and the main presenter for that event brought up an interesting message that gave me some food for thought:

Invention, Arrangement, Style, Memory, and Delivery.

Without invention, all one can be is a carbon-copy. This message helped me personally because I am at a crossroad with certain things in my life. This REALLY came in handy.

There were also some semifinal speech contests that took place. Scott Pritchard, a person from my Toastmaster District, actually won one of the nine semifinal contests. This victory allowed him to compete with 8 other contestants in the World Championship of Public Speaking. At the World Championship, he took action and gave a humorous and touching speech that got him third place. I was amazed and very proud of Scott. He did a very fantastic job!!

There were also some awesome dinner events at this Convention. The first one was the Golden Gavel Dinner and the second was the Presidential Dinner Dance!! Both were phoenominal events and I enjoyed them. I enjoyed the Presidential Dinner Dance more because I got a chance to spend it with my beloved fiancee Dana.

We have moments where we deal with difficult people, situations, and moments. If one is looking for a nice place to hang with cool people and learn worthwhile things, Toastmasters is a great getaway!! It does not matter if it is by club or convention, attending a Toastmaster related event is a great and privileged experience. One can become a better leader and communicator if they join this organization. This past convention is a great example!! It is August 2011 and I am already looking forward to next year's convention in Orlando, Florida!!

For those people that would like to know more about this world class organization, please go to the Toastmasters International website (http://www.toastmasters.org). Who knows? You might create and take in the beauty of self confidence and personal growth because THIS is the place where leaders are made!!

That is all I have for now. Take care and thank you for your time and attention.

Sincerely,

Jesse I-I-I

Monday, August 8, 2011

Look Before You Leap!!

Greetings Happy People,


Before you give a speech, please research your audience.


Many years ago, I was asked by my little sister to write her a Halloween story. Knowing that I was a pretty good writer, I agreed to help her out. For a couple hours, I pondered at what to write for my little sister’s story. Then an idea struck my head. With no haste, I wrote a Halloween story that was surely going to give her a good grade in her class. When I finished my masterpiece, I gave it to her. In return, she thanked me for helping her write her Halloween story.

When she came back from school, I asked her how the story went. She gave me a glare that I would never forget. I asked her if she got a good response from the story I helped her write. She looked at me and said that half the kids were crying and the teacher was disturbed after I read YOUR story. She did get a passing grade for it, but the after effects left an unforgettable mark on some of the kids at her class – as well as the teacher. That was the last time she ever asked me to write a story for her.

Something told me that I should not write a wanton graphic Halloween story that involved things that were too extreme for the likes of Jason, Freddy Kruger, or Michael Myers. Especially for second graders!!

This example is to show you the importance of considering your audience when writing a story or giving a speech. When I wrote that story for my little sister, I did not think about her audience. In return, I probably contributed many nightmares for her classmates. This can be a big mistake for anybody.

Before you write or give your speech, please think about who you are giving this to. If you are giving a speech on how awesome the Democratic Party is, please don’t give it at a Republican Convention. If you are giving a presentation on the beauty of cats, please don’t give it in front of an audience of dogs. Live props can only make things worse.

Giving an inappropriate presentation can cause embarrassment, shock, and plenty of negative responses. When a bad word travels, it can destroy one’s credibility!!

To put it briefly, please review information before you present it. Think about the audience you are going to give this to. When you are able to do that, you will be better off than not knowing at all.

A little research can save a lot of embarrassment.

That is all I have for you. Take care and thank you for your time and attention.

Sincerely,

Jesse I-I-I


Friday, August 5, 2011

Never Give Up On Life

Greetings People,

Did you know someone that took their own life? I do.

It doesn't matter if it is a relative, a friend, a co-worker, or an acquaintance, the pain of losing someone is difficult. Knowing that it is by their own hands is worse for many reasons. You have the shock, sadness, anger, confusion, and many unanswered questions.

Little do these people know is that their self-inflicted actions create more pain than it is intended to cause. If these folks can see what pain they caused to their loved ones, they will probably have second ideas before taking the pills, pointing the gun, or putting the noose around their necks.

It is never worth it.

If I could talk to an individual considering wanting to end their life, I would tell them the following message:

"Please think about what you are about to do. Think about the people who you will hurt. I know life is looking bad. We are facing some tough times and things look very difficult, but that is no reason to even consider taking your own life!!

Believe it or not, you are a strong person and can overcome whatever is being thrown at you. We all have problems. I have problems. Does that mean that I would want to end my life because of it? Not a chance!! I know that no matter what happens to me, I will survive because I know that all my problems are only temporary.

Never give up on life!! There is always something good around the corner!! All you have to do is keep living to find out what it is!! If you pull that trigger, you will never know!!

Give life another chance!! You have people that love you. I love you!! There are people that still care about you!! What message are you giving them if you do this?

Please think about this!!"


If people heard messages like this, chances are that they would think before they take their own lives. It shows care, concern, encouragement, and love. Believe it or not, there are people that need it.

If you know someone that is considering taking their own life, please talk to them. Show them that there are some things in life that are still worth living for. There is still time to touch a heart and lend a hand, before it's too late.

That is all I have for now. Take care and thank you for your time and attention.

Sincerely,

Jesse I-I-I

P.S. For more information on this, please go to the following sites below:

National Suicide Prevention Lifeline (CLICK HERE)

SAVE (CLICK HERE)

SPRC (CLICK HERE)

Thursday, August 4, 2011

The Golden Rule STILL Glitters

Greetings Happy People,

Treat people the way you want to be treated.

If you want to be respected, you give respect.

If you want to be loved, you give love.

If you want nice things, you got to be nice in return.

It surprised me how some people still can't grasp that concept.

Today, we have people that want to make names for themselves. The question is what paths are they willing to take to get there.

Will it be one where it involves stepping on other people to get there? Or will it involve respecting the individual and one's self?

It is nice to be important, but way more important to be nice. Whatever you do will reflect back to you.

On any given day, I see people mistreat, abuse, and cheat each other to the point where it makes me sick to my stomach. I also see people lacking care and respect for other individuals. I shake my head at them because of not only what they do, but also what they will get in return. People may think that they can get away by lying, cheating, and stealing from others. But do they really get away from it?

There is a thing called karma folks, and it exists for every person that lives on this planet. Whatever one does will either comeback to reward or haunt them.

On the other side of the coin, I also see people respect and love individuals to the point it makes me feel awesome. There are folks out there that go very far when they treat others with high regard. They not only grow within themselves, but their opportunities grow as well. Folks that follow this method don't have to worry about what is behind their backs or what will catch up with them because they know they are doing the right thing.

How do I know about this? In my 35 (soon to be 36) years of existence, I see this karma process at work. Not with other people, but also in myself too. If I treat people with respect, I will get that same respect. If I don't I get punished someway, somehow. Whether it is big or small, I can never escape anything that is caused by my own actions. If I don't feel it now, I will certainly feel it later.

Folks, it is always good to treat people the way you want to be treated. No matter how important one person is, if the person treats others like garbage - they will get nothing but garbage. However, if the person treats others with respect, they will get that same respect in return.

It's not rocket science. It is just common sense. I just wish that more people follow and live in this manner.

That is all I have for you. Take care and thank you for your time and attention.

Sincerely,

Jesse I-I-I

Tuesday, August 2, 2011

The Greatest Love of All

Greetings Happy People,

"Learning to love yourself is the greatest love of all."

George Benson told us this message.

Whitney Houston also told us this message too.

What does this mean?

To simply put it, in order to love others you first have to love yourself. Not in a self-centered conceited type of way. But in a way that shows care, dignity, self-respect, and admiration for that person you see in the mirror.

It can be a simple thing to grasp, but we make it difficult.

I have seen people that have not fully loved themselves. Instead, they look for love in other places. They look for love in drugs. They look for love in alcohol. They look for love in other people and other material things. No matter where they claim to find this love, it can easily go away and they think that they are left with nothing. This is not true!!

I also see people that sell themselves for less than face value. The type of people that look for love by way of dressing themselves in ways that attracts the wrong people in their lives. This is not true love!! Instead, it can send the wrong message about themselves to other people. Sooner or later, that type of exterior will wear out. One is better to show what they have inside rather than what they got outside.

Inner beauty still matters!!

In order to love ourselves, we must look at ourselves. Where do we stand? How do we see ourselves? Is it something that we love or something that could be improved upon? Only we hold that answer within ourselves. Are people capable of loving themselves to the best ability? I believe so!! Sometimes all it takes is to find the one thing that makes us beautiful. After that, we can find another, and another, and another!!

Learning to love yourself IS the greatest love of all!! All we have to do is never forget that!! And if by chance that special place that you've been dreaming of, leads you to a lonely place - find your strength in love!!

That is all I have for now. Take care and thank you for your time and attention.

Sincerely,

Jesse I-I-I

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