Countdown to CSLA Presentation

I'm definitely feeling better about the speech I'll give at CSLA in Bandera, Texas, Friday afternoon. We are on the agenda for 2:00-3:30 Friday. That's the end of a 2-day retreat. I'm assuming the participants will be tired, fighting to stay awake. So I'll have to shake them up and keep them thinking and moving. I've decided to change my narrative to more of an audience participation slant with them offering the lists of things. I think it'll be the best way to do it.

It would be better for me to get them to actively engage instead of passively listen and nodding off.

Anyway, I can just about go through my speech without notes. And for that I'm grateful. When I gave it Friday, I was so nervous, I read most of it. The parts that I read were awkward to begin with, so it was hard for me to remember them. So, I reworded them, and it feels much better. Darren LaCroix says great speeches aren't written, they are rewritten. And mine is definitely rewritten. Tweaked. Much better.

I was going to block the speech and pick what part of the stage I'd say each part, but I was struggling with the content and basic delivery, so the staging is going to have to wait for next time.

Clearing the Clutter

Because of the One-Year Personal Development Plan, I started collecting books to read. The books started collecting on the dining table, and before I knew it, I was feeling very claustrophobic. I finally took the time yesterday to clear the clutter and put the books in the library. I also put books that had collected elsewhere away, and I almost filled a bookshelf. I think the next book I get will be Evelyn Wood's Speed Reading course. I feel I have to pronounce every syllable of every word when I'm reading, which really slows me down.

Another good thing that happened when I was putting things away was I found my Professional Speaker Toastmasters Manual. I thanked God out loud. I'd been looking for it since last Thursday, tearing my office and the rest of the house apart looking for it. It was on the table all along. I'm going to give my speech this week using the Keynote Speaker criteria. It's funny, the modifications I made to my speech, incorporated the criteria. I want to let the participants know that they are at the beginning of a great journey. Learning how to be a leader will change their lives.

I also got some really good feedback from my club when I gave the speech Friday. If I incorporate those points and the must haves and must avoids from Darren LaCroix, I'll have a winner for sure.

Now I just have to make time to practice. I can a couple of times today, and tonight, and tomorrow, and Wednesday. Maybe I can do it for Laura tomorrow.

Good Things Are Happening

Today I've been very productive for a Saturday. I got up about 7:30, cleaned the kitchen, loaded and started the dishwasher, washed my clothes and the various towels that have gathered in the laundry room, sorted through the 2010 receipt box, and took a 2-hour nap.

Now it's time to get ready to listen to the 2001 International World Champion speaker talk about "owning the stage." If I want to be a public speaker, I'll have to learn things like that. And I can practice this week when I speak at the CSLA retreat.

When I get home this evening I'll run through my speech a couple of times then I'll get back to the assignments for the One-Year Personal Development program. Tomorrow after church, I'll do the same thing.

Next week is my daughter's 29th birthday, so I assume I'll take her and her family out for dinner one evening. Then I'll get back to the personal development program. It's a looooong week of assignments. I may have to put the rest of it off a week or two so I can do this part justice. I think this week had 76 pages in it when most of the others had 11 or so.

It's Not Life Back to Normal

Life is so much better than it was before. My son has a car and a job at the same time for the first time ever!! He can actually pay me back some of the money he borrowed for the first time ever!!

We are both so happy!!!

He and our neighbor have been working on the Explorer all week. They fixed the door and checked and refilled any fluids that it needed. Now they're doing more extensive maintenance. Everyone says it's a good vehicle and we got it for a steal! God was watching out for us. I kept telling my son that something good was waiting for him, and I was right!

Now to me. Having my car back has been so freeing. I'm so grateful that everything is working out for my son finally. He's been under a cloud since he was 16. He turns 27 in 3 weeks, and his future seems bright.

The only thing I have that stresses me out is a speech I'm giving next week. I took the opportunity to give it today at our Toastmasters meeting. I found how rusty and unprepared I am. The evaluator made some great suggestions to polish my powerpoint and my speech. The audience of 5 liked the speech. Someone who'd heard the speech before said he learned something new this time. I'm surprised because he was nodding off most of the time. But that's OK. It helps me prepare for something similar that may happen next week. We'll either be around the lunch hour. I may make my audience participant segment of my speech flexible. If I see more than 2 people of the 25 nodding off, I'll make them stand up for an exercise that my audience today enjoyed.

My walking buddy called to let me know that she went to the passport expediting office today so she'll have a passport in 2-3 weeks. It looks like we'll be shopping for a cruise for the end of April. That means I have to start saving money!

I'm so excited!!!

Hip Hip Hooray! My Son Got a Car Today!

It's a 98 Ford Explorer, and we're both excited! I get my Jaguar all to myself for the first time in 17 months! I haven't had it to run errands in the evening since Jan 3. Believe me, I am so ready to get back to a normal life. The first place we went after the car lot was to Jiffy Lube, and I'm glad we did. It needed to be inspected, which we didn't notice. It needed a new air filter and coolant. The radiator was clogged with old rust that was the consistency of peanut butter. It needed a tail light and a rear windshield wiper. That cost $200, but the guy there said it probably would not have made it home with the radiator in that shape.

One more thing needs to be fixed. The last guys who test drove the car broke the handle on the driver's side, so my son has to climb over the console to drive. But, he does it! Our neighbor will help him fix that this weekend.

I'm so glad I took the day off today to get a car for him. We were determined that today was going to be the day! Thank you God!

Once a Wish, Now a Reality

It's small, I know, but something I put down on my New Year's resolution want list was a Kindle. I actually got a NextBook 3 about 2-1/2 weeks ago at a great price. So, listing it actually helped me get it.

Having your goals written will help achieve them. It's better than carrying them in your head. Putting it on paper helps sort things out. I'm finishing up Week 4 of my Personal Development plan, and starting Week 5, Goal Setting, this week. That's when the magic starts.

Between my Feng Shui Treasure Map and setting goals, I think big things will happen. Case in point. Until I actually wrote this goal down, I hadn't done anything, really, to achieve it. I've been saying I want to be in the Avon President's Club, but I haven't actually done anything to earn that. I heard about a book, Network Marketing for Dummies, by Zig Ziglar and John Hayes, and I ordered it from Thriftbooks.com. I got it Saturdeay and have already started reading it. I think it will help me get started. It won't do it for me, but it will guide me. Many of the people in the Jim Rohn organization made their money through the MLM industry, selling products and building downlines, becoming expert at Network Marketing. I believe that is how we can continue to improve our bottom line during the economic rollercoaster we're riding now. Next week I'll have been an Avon Representative for 2 years. It's been fun, and I'm ready to move up. Up until now, I've been happy building my customer base. Now it's time to build my organization. I treat this business like I'm working for Avon, when I'm actually working for myself. I ought to treat it that way. When I first joined, I did the basic training modules, then I "got busy" and haven't gone back.

I'm in Charge of My Life

Once I realized yesterday that I was actually in charge of my life and my Mom isn't here to watch me and tell me what to do, I felt so empowered!

Here I am, 58 years old, and I'm just now getting it. Now that I've got it, I'm working hard to keep it.

It's funny that the 1-year personal development program I'm doing with Jim Rohn, Chris Widener, and Kyle Wilson is either spurring my thoughts, or my thoughts are in sync with what's happening. Either way, the Holy Spirit is definitely guiding me.

Let me explain. Yesterday I had this epiphany about my being in control, no one else. Then last night and this morning, I was studying the materials from the Plan and there were questions that made me think a little harder about that exact thing. They say that I won't recognize myself after a year. Well, I don't think that would be a bad thing.

The realization has actually made a big change in me. I would venture to say to my psyche. I have a sign in Word that reminds me that I'm in Charge of my life. My choices are mine to make. And I put it in front of me on one of my screens first thing each morning, and it occasionally pops up to the top so I can see it. It's a great affirmation.

I lost 1 lb at Weight Watchers yesterday. I really didn't deserve it. But I feel that I will deserve it next week because I'm making many little changes that will add up to a big difference. Zig Ziglar was talking about that today. Minute changes every day add up to big changes over time.

I'm so excited about the changes that are happening. The next week the Plan will include goal setting. First I'll have go to through a series of questions asking what I want then what I plan to do to get there. I'll keep you posted.