One More Thing . . .

That's what keeps me going...reminding myself that after this one thing, the speech tomorrow at CSLA, I can get my life back.

I finally memorized the beginning and the end of my speech. The middle will be easy. I can't wait until tomorrow at 3:00. I'm not wishing my life away, I just want to get rid of this stress. I can't think of anything coming up that can keep me away from the personal development plan. I truly want to devote the time to it that is necessary. Since I signed up for it, I worked overtime for a week, then I worked on a book, then I published a newsletter, and now I'm preparing to give this speech.

OK, I just read the beginning of this post. I really need to rethink this speech and the accompanying stress. Is it such a bad thing? Why am I considering it something bad that I have to get past? It's actually a step in the direction I chose to go. I choose to speak about communication and leadership. I choose to build on my future. This is a step in a process. I have to practice. I really can't turn down opportunities to speak if I truly want to do something with this. I like to talk. I know a lot about communication and I'm learning a lot about leadership.

It's not like everyone will have a transcript of my speech and they'll be comparing what I say word for word. It's not like I don't know my topic so I can wing it if I lose my place. The places that I found the hardest, I can get the audience to engage. This is a learning process. I'll learn; my audience will learn. I have to remember that I'm the expert. Even if someone knows everything I say, I'll just reinforce what they know. How many times have I heard someone teach something that I've already heard? How did I react? Well, at first, I reacted by thinking I already knew it all. Then they say something that triggers something and before I know it, I'm learning something new.

It was the same way with The Secret. All during the first time I saw it, I was saying "that's true." I had already heard it all, but I hadn't heard it in the format like the video. I was fascinated, reminded, encouraged, and motivated. It was something I knew for at least 15 years, yet seeing it once more got me restarted. So it is with my talk tomorrow. Even if they've all heard it all before, I'm not saying anything that isn't true. I've peppered what I'm saying with personal experiences and examples, so it should be interesting and entertaining.

OK, so let's rephrase that. I can't wait until tomorrow at 2:00! I get to give my speech and have a bit more stage time!