Weekend Getaway: District 38 Toastmasters Spring Conference 2006

Here's a breath of fresh air from all the thought-provoking posts I wrote for the past week. :)

I attended my very first Toastmasters Conference after being a Toastmaster for 1.5 years. And it was absolutely awesome! It was two days of fellowship and fun!


I got really chummy with my entire division especially JJ (from Temple Uni.), Kyle (from Indepence Square, also our Area 30 Governor), Debbie, Grace and Maryellen (all three from Positively Charged). They are such a fun bunch of people to hang out with! I can't imagine I will find so many like-minded friends when I first joined Panorama last year! Check out Aug 4, 2005 entry: I am feeling really high!


And this is THE man!!! I competed against him for the Division C contest. Though he did not win, he is an amazing speaker. Full of charisma and presence! Doug beat us both with his touching speech on 911 and his mum's death. But in the end, both of us coached him for the District contest. And he even gave up his huge room for us! Both JJ and myself were the youngest among the group so we got a lot of special attention (not that we are complaining haha). If only his girlfriend joined us! Oh and we tagged team for the "Whose line is it anyway" improv game. Sweeeeeeeeeeeeeet!!!


That's my bed!!! Check out the large cushions and pillows that you can sink your head in. After soaking in the jacuzzi and trading pointers on public speaking, we headed to the club to drink and dance. And after that, we slept like pigs. Only 4 hrs of sleep but it felt like 8!!! I need to have this kind of bed when I get back home. Mum, can I?? Please la!!!


After an evening of fun and drinking on Fri, Sat was a full day of conference. And it was sooooooooooo worth the money I paid. They invited famous speakers from around the States to share with us how we can accelerate our speaking skills. And thanks to Chloe (my mac), I recorded every session and diligently took notes.


This speaker is also a magician. And he was sharing with us some leadership skills. But check out his assistant who isn't really happy working for him. (at least it appears so in this pic) How ironic. Haha.

I was so absored in the District 38 International Speech Contest that I did not take any pics. In summary, it should be an International Eulogy Contest coz 4 out of 7 speakers talked about death. They talk about how some of their members died. I thought it was an overkill. Too many deaths for one afternoon. Hence the other three speakers who talked about their dogs, environmental agenda or children were a breath of fresh air for all of us. The theme for the conference was "Shoot for the Stars!". But seriously they should consider changing it to "Ticket to Hell" with all the death speeches. We even have a Grim Reaper who comes up on stage if the speaker speaks overtime. Haha.


The conference ended on a high note! We had a pool side dinner with MORE drinks and great music. Very classy. And the food was finger licking good. I had broiled beef, with asparagus and spiced rice. As for drinks, I had a couple of beers and a Cosmopoilitan. Yummy!


And how can I blog without mentioning my IDOL!!!!!!! Mr Jim Key! He is the 2003 champion speaker with his "It is never too late to dream" speech. Mind you, he started out as an IT guy okie. Haha. Anyway, he was the guy who inspired me to speak. I chanced upon a speech seminar led by Terence (who is now my mentor). And in one of the sessions, he showed us Jim's speech. At that moment, I told myself that I want to be like him! And that was how I started my Toastmaster career in late 2004. When I met him yesterday again, I thanked him.

During his workshop, I asked him how intense was his preparation for the finals? And he replied with "You don't want to know!" Haha. Not surprisingly, he put in hundreds of hours into practicing and writing. But at the end of the day, he told us that it was worth it! This is yet another important moment for me. Now, I am even more resolute to be the FIRST Asian, specifically Chinese, to get into the finals and win of coz! Tough but possible. :)

My experience in the conference was a reaffirmation of my dream (at least one of them). I found a game that is worth my time and effort to play. Have you found yours?

DUH! Aren't we like that sometimes?

Sometimes we can come up with the most elaborate solution to solve an extremely simple problem. So DUH!

Lesson from Google & the Wall Street Journal

Came into office this morning and was given an article to read by CH (my boss). It was from the Wall Street Journal titled "Management a La Google".

It talks about why Google is different from the rest.

"Companies haven't been changing as fast as the world around them. What the laggards fail to grasp is that what matters most today is not a company's competitive advantage at a point in time, but its evolutionary advantage over time."

A company's success does not lie on how fast it can grow within a short period of time. It is about how constant it can grow over a long period of time. Take Google for example. Their vision is to organize the world's information i.e to raise the world's IQ. And that vision gives them a lot of space to manuverve and evolve over the years. Unfortunately a lot of companies fail to appreciate that the capacity to evolve is the most important advantage of them all.

Isn't it interesting how you can apply this piece of wise saying into our individual lives as well?

Two questions for you to mull over.

1. Are you equipping yourself with the right skills to compete in the future?
2. Are you giving yourself ample space to manuvere and grow?

Just Let Go

"Just Let Go" was my competition speech that brought me through the club, area and division level speech competitions. And yes, it ended for me last Sat. I was placed second, after Doug Pike whose speech was on 911, titled "Sorrow, Solace, Sunshine". Personally, I think JJ should have won with his "Love Centric Leadership" speech. His use of the mirror was extremely memorable when he was demostrating how most people don't show enough love for themselves. And without love for oneself, how can one show love for others. How apt, don't you think?

If you ask me, I was disappointed for quite a bit. Enough to get me in bed by 4pm that evening. I guess I was just tired. And then today, something hit me. I listened to my speech again. And this time it was ME who reminded ME to JUST LET GO. I was holding on so tightly to the fact that I COULD have won, and that has prevented me from moving forward, from asking myself how I can be better.

I see light now. I see freedom in letting go. And I shall conclude this post by a quote I gave in my speech.

Sometimes you have to let go, to see if it is worth holding to.

Thanks Eric.

Take a walk on the wild side by George Bush

Imagine yourself happy
It is easy if you try
No hell below us
Above us only sky

Imagine all people
living for today
The color girls sing
Take a walk on the wild side
1 - 2 - 3 - 4

Imagine yourself (???)
It isn't hard to do that
Nothing to kill or die for
No religion too

Imagine all the people
living life at peace
The color girls sing
Take a walk on the wild side

Imagine no possesions
I wonder if you can
No greed or hunger
A brotherhood of man

Imagine all the people
sharing all the world
The color girls sing
Take a walk on the wild side

PEACE!

Click title to listen to this song

Sidetrack: How not to be bored

Hahaha... I just realize that my blog ranked 8th in the Yahoo Search when you enter "How not to be bored". That's so cooool!

That's BS!

That's total BS.

We can all FLY as HIGH as the DREAMS we DARE to LIVE (period)
With FULL INTENT, even chickens can fly...

And pigs, and elephants, and cows, and horses... (this line is added by Mei)

Choices

Life is all about choices, isn't it? Each choice takes you to another set of choices. And the cycle goes. Yet we can all take comfort in the knowledge that no matter what choices we made, we will always be on the path that we are suppose to be.

Tonight was one such moment. Had dinner with my boss and mentor, CH Low, together with Kelly and Rex. We wanted to pick his brain on a venture idea we had. We were expecting this to be a conversation about the market, the value proposition etc. Instead, he sent us in disarray with his first question - Why do you want to do this? We stumbled... and tried to answer his question. Change the world? Urm... there is a market need blah blah blah.

More questions came along. How much time can you put into this? How committed are you? What's going to motivate you? Are you in the right position to pursue this potential opportunity. On a sidenote, he testified that what we presented was intriguing and investors would want to put money in. "There is potential," he says. In fact, he told us as a matter of fact, that if we do not pursue it, he will.

But the real lesson boils down to a reality check. Starting out is NOT easy. It is NOT as glamorous as people think. And tonight I got to experience the reality. I may have to commit five years of my time in his venture. Am I willing to do that? Am I willing to take a paycut to pursue this venture that on paper, looks good? What's going to keep me going?

CH made his choice. And he went through five start-ups. Some failed. Some worked pretty well. And from living in a $99/mth rental room, he is now living in a $1 million house. Our conversation ended with a drive aruond the neigbourgood. Those houses were really huge and I wonder if I would ever own one? I guess part of me wants to be able to enjoy these riches. Yet I know there is something even more valuable that money...

Choices. I hate it when I am tempted with golden opportunities like this esp. when I THINK I know what I want to do. Planning to sleep on it. I want to change the world. I want to awaken humanity (however u interpret it). And somehow I don't see how this venture can help me realize that dream of mine, except that I could make it big (after all the sweat and MORE sweat). And this dream of mine is NOT easy either. In fact it is going to be an arduous journey. Am I willing to sacrifice the big bucks to pursue this dream, with nothing but resilence and faith?

Hmm.. come to think of it. I had this conversation almost 9 months ago. On the last night at Kelvin's place. Right after CCI.

Right Back At'cha!

How odd when someone quotes what you have just written to remind you of life's lesson (which you have just learnt). Deafening.

Sometimes it takes another person to be your mirror... how nice. :)

We (too) have the power to turn stone to gold!

Noticed a lot of people around me reading the Alchemist. (grins) And I wonder what each one of them got out of it. I remember very fondly of this quote: "When you want something so badly, the whole world will conspire to get you there." And I was like "Wow!" And it is true. It is all about intention. But recently I was reminded of something else from the book (also inspired by an article written by Steve Mitten). This time is about the art of alchemy. In the book it talks about the power alchemists have in turning stone to gold. And in real life, we have such power too! Allow me to explain.

The alchemists presented an alternative solution to dealing with the everyday challenges. Instead of fretting or stressing over the ordeals we faced, we accept it and then look for ways to turn every ordinary moment into a spectacular one. Just like turning stone to gold. :)

Take my recent "catastrophe" for example. In the middle of the week, I fell sick. Really sick - stomach flu. And I spend a couple of days puking and shitting. Had really bad stomach cramps and a non-stop fever. It totally wrecked my week. I could not focus on my work. Work was piling. School projects deadline are closing up. And as you guess it, I was miserable and cold. And instead of giving power to the flu, I accepted it. I took the medication necessary and refuse to run any stories. "Oh I am so pitiful. Why must it happen to me?" kind of crap. Instead, I looked into ways to make the best of my situation. And I did. I may be physically weak but I was running a marathon in my head. I spent a lot of time reflecting on my growth, my fears, my promises, my loose ends & my priorities. What I got at the end of that "miserable" two days was peace with myself. And alot of action (in my personal project). Somehow after the two day ordeal, I am left with a healthier stomach (thankfully) and a more focused mind. I felt rejuvenated!

Somehow amidst all the rush and chaos, I was able to stop and enjoy the flowers literally in Philadelphia (since it is spring). Gosh.. it really brings me back to perspective. No matter how challenging life can be, never ever lose sight of the big picture. There is so much to be enjoyed! :)

"Life, even in the hardest times, is full of moments to savor. They will not come this way again, not in this way."

-Paula Rinehart

Goodbye Winter(Taken on Apr 1)