Please, Don't Send Me to Africa!

I am a member of Toastmasters International. For those of us who do a lot of public speaking, Toastmasters offers an Accredited Speaker Program. It is an elite designation for those of professional speaking caliber. It is a program that I learned of recently. My fellow Toastmasters have encouraged me to apply for accreditation.

I spoke for the Sunrise Optimist Club in Green Bay, WI today. To apply for phase one of accreditation, I need to send in an audio CD of one of my presentations. This is one I might consider.

I'm curious to know what others think of this particular presentation.The video is about 28 minutes long, but if you have the time and are willing to write a comment, I would love the feedback!

If you happen to be looking for a motivational or inspirational speaker, of course, I'd love to discuss that with you as well!

When Life Gets You Down

What do YOU do when life gets you down? I'm an upbeat person and pretty easy going. I don't let too much get me down. My friends are often tell me they are amazed at how well I deal with things. Somehow, that always catches me off-guard and surprises me that people view me that way.

Life doesn't always deal us a "fair" hand - or at least not one that we really "want" at the time. I will be the first to admit that I definitely did NOT want all of what has been dealt to me over the past three years! Both of my daughters were involved in a near fatal car crash. One of them sustained major head trauma. The stress put on a family after the period of hospitalization is phenomenal. As if that isn't enough, added to our mix is the fact that our girls have become young women. Let's face it - transitioning from teen to young, responsible adult hasn't been the most graceful period of anyone's life!

The last time someone asked me how I manage to stay so upbeat, I decided to take more time to observe my own behavior. I noticed that when I get hurt, I begin to withdraw. I've noticed that over time the hurt feels deeper and comes more quickly when talking about my daughters. I try to choose my words carefully and sometimes use even fewer words than I would in normal circumstances. There really isn't anything extraordinary about my behavior. I think it is much like the way anyone else might react given the same situation - withdrawal, possible depression, etc. However, there have been some lessons learned.

Lesson #1 - I need to take time to spend with God. We may not all have the same relationship. Some of us may want to read the Bible; others may want to pray. And some, may want to run the other way! For me, it is most effective to begin with a time of playing praise and worship music on the piano. I might start with something more somber and work my way into singing and playing something more upbeat. It is then that I find myself longing to spend time with God - talking to Him and wanting to read more Scripture.

Lesson #2 - I must spend time with other people. These are people who will lift me up and encourage me - not people who are going to interject their opinions, but those who are willing to simply listen, pray, and encourage.

Lesson #3 - I must be willing to give. I can't spend too much time wallowing in self-pity or focusing on "the problem". It is wise for me to accept the cards that were dealt, figure out what to do with them, and make the best of the situation. Once I can do that (and sometimes even before I do that), I turn my attention toward someone else. How are THEY doing? Is there someone who needs help? How can I help?

Life's defining adventures aren't always about pursuing dreams and finding success. Sometimes it is learning through life's trials that defines adventure and helps us to find the success we dream of.

Life of a Squiggle

I confess. I am ...a squiggle! I am a person whose brain can sometimes go 400 mph while I attempt to do 20 things at the same time. I'm the person who can jump from A to M without taking all of the steps to there.  I am the personality type who some label as disorganized. Yet, in a squiggly kind of way, I still managed to get a lot done today. 

I've enjoyed learning about various personality types, so I decided to dive in a little deeper tonight. This is the paragraph that sums up squiggles the best: These individuals [squiggles] tend to be exceptionally creative, flamboyant, dramatic, and witty and, are the messiest and least-organised of all the Shapes. They can however, be very motivating people to be around.

Then I noticed a side panel with a listing of various shape parings. I saw that squiggles were in the mix so I thought, "why not take the test"?! To my surprise, my results came back as a circle/triangle combination! No squiggle at all! Hmmm... I'm not so sure about that. 

I've decided that we probably all have some mixed traits. I think it is important for us to work toward understanding various personalities - not only in the workplace, but also to aid in our personal lives. It's fun to learn about the various traits others carry. But in my quest, I think that it has helped me to embrace the positive qualities of others vs. allowing the quirks of different personality types stick out as an irritation.

The site I used tonight is: http://www.psychometricshapes.co.uk/index.php, but a simple Google search will pull up more information than you can dig through in short order! Expand your horizons by reading various explanations because each one will shed a different light in your understanding.

What Do You Think?

I've heard that many people have dreams but most don't achieve them. How do you feel about that statement? Do you agree or disagree?

I'm going to keep this post just about as simple as that this morning because I really want to hear from you! As I build upon my dream and speak to others about pursuing their passions, I would like to learn about one or all of the following questions:

1.) Do you agree with the statement, "Many people have dreams but most don't achieve them."? Why or why not?
2.) Do you have a dream? How are you doing on accomplishing it? Do you think it's just a fairy tale dream or do you plan to accomplish your dream? OR
3.) Perhaps you have already had a dream come true. Are you willing to share the dream and a brief summary of your accomplishment(s)?

Sunday Reflection

Sundays are a great day to not only rest, but also to spend time with family and friends! One interesting quote that stands out as I think about that is, "You become like the 5 people you spend the most time with. Choose carefully."

I had a great time today. I got to spend time with my husband and my daughter as well as some other family members. Our conversations can get interesting. But what I noticed is that each person tends to talk about the people they are closest to. Why is it that we talk about them? I have to believe that it is because on some level we admire them or long to acquire some of their traits.

Who is it that you want to be? Where do you want to go in life? Are you making the choices that will help you get there? Are you spending enough time with the people that are most able to help you accomplish your dreams?

When my girls were young, I tended to choose friends who parented or had lifestyle choices similar to that of me and my husband. As my girls grow older and I look to my future, I tend to look more and more to other people - people who are already doing or are on the path to doing what I long to do. That doesn't mean that I cherish my earlier friendships any less. We may not talk as much, but those are relationships that I will cherish forever. The new friendships are necessary to help all of us grow.

We are all in the process of defining our life's adventures. Once your passion is identified, set your goals, share them, have a treasure map, and develop the relationships necessary to get there. You are on your way to discovering a whole new you. The fun is just waiting for you to discover it!

Time to Rest or Keep Going?

This has been quite a week for me! It has held a lot of excitement, both good and bad. Both suck the energy right out of me, but I am a driven individual. I have hopes and dreams - goals that I want to meet. I have my eyes set on what lies before me. Whether it is a short or a long term goal, I keep pushing on.

I came to a realization this week. I learned that I really thrive on "the chase." I'd never really thought about what that means. But as I was challenged to think about it, I realized just how true it really is. I thrive on goals - especially larger goals that stretch me. I get excited when I start to see progress. An outright accomplishment is even more fun.

I also realized that there is a certain "let down" period that follows a "chase." If you have ever participated in something big, something you have had to work your way up to, then met the goal, you know what I am talking about. After traveling with my daughter for 100 days this summer, there was a period of let down for me. It was a much bigger time than I expected. It was close to a full two weeks of rest that was needed and an even greater period of adjustment that followed.

As I began to reflect on all of this, I started thinking about what the Bible has to say about rest. First, I was impressed that it is mentioned well over 500 times! We have barely gotten into the Word before we see it for the first time. Genesis chapter 2 tells us that God finished His creation, He blessed it, and He rested! Is it a coincidence that we were gone 100 days, which is divisible by seven 14 times and we needed to rest approximately 14 days? Somehow, I don't think so. We took that day each week, but it is interesting that the rest we needed was really equivalent to one day for each week we were gone.

A couple of my other favorite Scriptures on this topic are Psalm 127 - where it tells us that God gives rest to His loved ones - we don't need to be anxious or work so hard that we don't rest. He will take care of us. And the other is in Matthew 11:28 where Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.

Throughout my times of staying focus and being driven to meet a goal, I find it increasingly important to find time to spend alone with God - a time to talk with Him - to learn more about Him - to develop a trust and faith relationship with Him. As I do that, I feel the excitement & the anxiety start to subside. I begin to rest in Him. I trust in His everlasting love. 

There will always be deadlines, goals, and emotional ups and downs, but there will never be a time so sweet as the time we take to rest in the Lord. Somehow, when I rest in Him, I experience a joy. a peace and a calm that cannot be experienced in any other way. What about you? Will you take time to rest? Or will you just keep going?

Pole' Pole'

I learned a new phrase this week: Pole', Pole'. (po-lay)

My friend Paul was telling a group of us about his climb up Mount Kilimanjaro. The group he was with was led and instructed by a couple Swahili guides. They explained that in order to reach the summit, they must travel "pole' pole'" - or slowly & carefully, step by step. It's easy to imagine having to climb an extreme mountain slowly & carefully, step by step, but is that really how we tend to face everyday life?

This summer my daughter and I set out to walk across America. The number one question asked was, "How can you do that?" There was only one answer I could give. One step at a time. You see, to me, it didn't matter how far we went each day. That wasn't our goal. Our goal was to talk to people and share our lives with them as we traveled. So, if we walked 13 miles, great! If not, I knew we could talk to those around us, accomplishing the primary goal. I knew that each step we took would take us a step closer to the goal.

Life is like any walk or any climb we take. The only way we can accomplish what we set out to do is by taking things one step at a time, pole' pole'. No matter what we have our eyes set upon, there are steps necessary to get there. One step of encouragement may include treasure mapping - visualizing what it is that we want. What does it look like? How is is going to feel? Who can help us accomplish the goal?

Find pictures to help you identify what it is that you are seeking after. Keep the ideas in front of you - be sure the ultimate goal is the center point or focal point of the collage. Set it up in a way that you can see the milestones. How will you celebrate the little accomplishments on the way there?

Pole' pole', my friends! What will your next defining adventure be? I'd love to hear about it!