Toastmaster advantages

Whenever I tell people that I'm a speaker I usually get one of two reactions. One is a reaction of interest with a comment like "Oh really, what do you speak about?" The other reaction that I get is one of fear and the response I hear is "Ugh, speaking in front of people, I could never do that!" I always come back by telling them that anyone can be a good speaker with help from Toastmasters. Toastmasters International is a communication and leadership organization that is built around public speaking. The purpose is to teach better communication skills to those who want to improve. I joined Toastmasters about 2 years ago because I wanted to practice my speaking skills. Toastmaster International holds some speaking competitions every year that start at the club level and end at the World Championship of Speaking. I did very well in the speaking competitions that I entered and it was a great learning experience. I would say that there are 5 major advantages to becoming a Toastmaster regardless if you are a prolific speaker or if your heart rate quickens at just the thought of speaking in public.

1. ATMOSPHERE- Toastmaster International is about learning. The clubs provide an encouraging environment so that those who are not accustom to speaking can feel at ease. With portions of the meeting like table topics, the meetings are often fun and filled with excitement.

2. CONFIDENCE- Although the organization is built on improving presentation skills, confidence can be built by hosting a meeting, holding a position in a club district or division office, or just being around individuals who want to improve their communication skills and more importantly want you to improve your communication skills as well.

3. PACE- As a member you can choose from a variety of speaking manuals that you want to complete. The manuals have speaking projects in them that you complete at your own pace. I finished my first manual in 6 months but there are some who have been members for years and have not completed their fist manual yet. The good news is there is no time limit or pressure to complete a manual because the objective is to learn at your own pace.

4. MENTORS- If they choose, new members can have a mentor. The mentor is usually a seasoned Toastmaster who will help the newbie with their first projects and answer any questions the new member may have. I think this is a great piece to the Toastmaster experience. And as a mentor, there is nothing greater than seeing someone who was once afraid to speak, stand confidently in front of an audience.

5. LEADERSHIP- It is virtually impossible to become a Toastmaster and not become a better leader. When hosting a meeting you learn how to organize and control an event. As an officer you learn how to make decisions concerning your club or district. As an evaluator you learn how to critic others while encouraging them to be better.

There is so much more to Toastmaster International that in order to understand fully you'll have to attend a meeting. I've meet so many people and learn so much about myself that I think it would be a mistake for people miss out on such a valuable experience.

Visit my site at www.Potential2success.com

Take the Time

I usually use a part of my Sundays to reflect a little on my life. It is a ritual that I've been doing for about 5 years now. I just got back from a park near Downtown and I took the time to meditate and pray and really think about success and life. Now I feel rejuvenated.

Everything in our society these days is aimed at keeping you moving. Everything is promised to be faster, easier, and more convenient so that nothing stops you from moving. But have you ever wondered why you are moving to begin with? Because you have a Speedpass on the expressway and one of those credit cards that you don't have to swipe, you have an extra 45 seconds to spare right? Most likely you don't. What I'd like you to do this week is to set aside 60-90 mins. I suggest that it is out of the house and away from any distractions. Instead of thinking of what you have to do or what you want to get, I'd like you to think about what you already have and what you've already done. Then start thinking about what you want. Now I don't just mean a car, job, or house. You can start off with that if that is better for you but I'd like you to go deeper than that. Think about the kind of parent you want to be remembered as. Think about how you want others to perceive you. Let your mind wonder and journey to the place in your mind where who you are and who you want to be meet.

The most important part of this is to let go. Do not think about why you can't do something or any failures that you've experienced. Doubt, fear, regret,or anything like that cannot be present. Taking the time to refresh your mind is very beneficial. The more you practice it the more effective it will be. Clarity of your mind can be achieved in a world that tries to cloud your thoughts, but you just have to take the time.

You Are Capable

Now that school is over I've got a lot of time on my hands. I want to stay active so that my mind doesn't get lazy. I plan on writing more articles, going to networking meetings, and promoting potential2success.com. Your mind is a sophisticated machine. If you feed it and exercise it it grows. I learned that first hand this summer when I juggled so many things at one time. I think taking 6 classes, working, and building the website all at the same time was one of the best things I ever could have done for myself. The reason is that I forced my to exactly what it is capable of doing.

I mention before that I prepared myself for the semester by organizing my planner so that I would not forget a due date or something I had to do for the site. But for the entire Summer, I did not even look at the planner. Not one time! Our minds are capable of handling what we think it can't. Don't get me wrong, I like planners but I think they come in handy when you are trying to reach long term goals. When we rely on them to handle, store, and basically run our days for us, we are limiting the potential our minds have of doing all of that and more. So now I'm looking at everyday things in my life a little differently. Because the planner was a crutch that made me believe my mind wasn't strong enough to remember every homework, project, and paper due date. As well as the entire 5 Year Preformance Plan that I presented to my department. Along with all of the links I had to fix, advertising programs I had to register for, and writers I had to email.

That makes me wonder what else in my life is a crutch? How else am I limiting my ability? How are you limiting your ability? Is there something in your life that you think you can't do without but is actually limiting your potential? Try doing without caffeine for a while and find other ways to gain energy for your body. Try going without watching TV and find other ways to learn and stay entertained. What you will gain will be much more valuable than what you gave up.

Millionaire Inside. Trust your Instinct

I just finished watching a show on CNBC called The Millionaire Inside. It's a special that they have maybe once a month were they bring in some well known success and financial experts and audience members ask them about how to become successful or rich. It's usually four people and tonight one of my favorite authors Keith Farrazi was one of the four. He is the author of a book called "Never Eat Alone". It's a book about how to network and build relationships in order to be successful. The show was a good boost for me. Many of the things they talked about I already knew but it is good to be reminded about focus and money management every now and then. When I started Potential2success.com, I wasn't completely sure what I was doing or why I was building it. By the time I got the domain and started building the site I had to stop myself and say, "wait, why am I doing this again?" I wasn't sure how I would achieve success by doing what I was doing. But one thing I kept saying to myself is that I want to help people. I figured I will be successful by helping others be successful. Well, tonight on Millionaire Inside, Keith Farrazi mentioned that one way to be successful is to help others be successful. I was taken back because he didn't mention that in his book, but it the reason I started my site and the reason I want to speak. What I learned from this is to trust your instinct. Animals have great instincts that help them strive in their habitats. The better their instincts the more they excel. We as humans have instincts also but we have an enormous amount of doubt that goes with it. God gave both humans and animals instincts to trust and use. I trusted my instinct when I started building the site and then my reasoning was confirmed by someone who is where I want to be. Today I learned to lower doubt and believe in my instinct.

Brain Power

I've been working on the pages of the website that will contain most of my works and it's been interesting. As of right now the content on the site have been articles from experts in different fields. Now it is time for me to add my insight and point of view to the site in order to give it a personal touch. I've got a section I'm working on about confidence. While doing a little research, I started to find out more about how the brain works. The brain is the most complex and advanced creation the world has ever seen and probably will ever see. The way it processes information, retains it, and retrieves it is astounding. But I think we take our minds for granted. They say we only use 10% of our brains. That isn't completely true. We use our entire brain but we do not use our full brain potential. The same way you have muscles but do not use all of your muscles all of the time. For today, think about your mind and what you take in it. The amount of brain potential you use is really up to you. You can maximize it or minimize it. You can feed it or starve it. Using the mind that God gave you can be the answer to many of your problems. Your brain was designed to take in information and learn from it in order to work better. That's why they say reading is better than watching TV because you are exercising your brain so it can think faster, better, and more clearly. I experienced this first hand this summer when I was taking 6 classes, working a 40hr job, and building a website. As you work out your muscles grow, has you learn your mind grows.

www.potential2success.com

True Success

A small plane crashed into a house today in Sanford Fl. 5 people were killed. One of the people that died was a friend of my sister. She did so many positive things in her life it was amazing and she was on fire for God. You might hear me talk about success a lot and some people get the wrong idea of what I'm truly doing. But if my message is not crystal clear let me clarify. When I say success I don't just mean money! Or a good career, nice car, nice house, and on and on. Success is about purpose! What are you hear for? What is your purpose? If you are living right now then there is reason that God put you here. Yes on my website there is a section on business and money but my intention is for you get your life together on route to your purpose. If you need to have money to fulfill your role on the earth then so be it. If you need to strengthen your family before you can help strengthen other families then do it. If your bad habits are preventing you from seeing God's purpose in your life then remove them. That is the real reason I put those sections are on my site.
Listen, you can not die a second before you are suppose to. Your days were numbered before you were even born. It is not about how long you live but what you while you are here. Believe me, those young girls that this lady organized groups for will never forget her and they will pass on their experiences on to their children. What are you doing tomorrow will have a direct effect on the world? People, the goal is to do God's work and leave the world a better place than you found it. If you did then you are successful.
If you are ready to do what you were created to do let me know. Tell me your story
www.potential2success.com http://ralphswords.blogspot.com/
email@potential2success.com

New Challenge

It looks like things are winding down. There is about 4 weeks left of school and the hardest part of building my website is done. One thing that I have learned in the past few years is that success is addictive. Once you accomplish or become proficient at something, you want to challenge yourself to get that same feeling of winning and conquering. That's how most people do great things. They accomplish little things and then keep climbing. Look, if you want to know who the future millionaires and billionaires are here's a simple test. Walk up to anyone who you want to test and say "Do you know that Bill Gates is now worth almost 60 billion dollars?" The response you'll probably get is "60 billion dollars!!!" But once all that is out of the way, ask them "what would you do if you had that much money?" If the response you get is something like, " man, I would just lounge around all day and do nothing" bet everything you have that that person is not going to be a billionaire. Lounging around doing nothing doesn't get you billions so why would it keep you billions if you had it? It's not that I want to be a billionaire but after all the work that I've put in to everything I've done in the last 8 weeks and all the accomplishments that I've racked up, I can't see myself not doing more. I've tested myself to see how focused, discipline, and resilient I could be and I'm happy with the results. So curiosity is making me wonder how much further I can go. Having said that I am preparing to set myself up for a new challenge that is in the works. It will most likely be starting in the next few days or weeks so that when school is over I can begin my new challenge. I will keep you updated what it is and when I begin