Pathways - Project 2 - Evaluation & Feedback - Change is constant

“Saro! Study well upto 12th standard. You can start relaxing after that”, told my well wishers. So, I changed myself from a not so studios boy to a studious boy. I studied well and came out of school with flying colors. When I joined college, the same people said “Saro! Study well for the next 4 years and you can then start relaxing in life”. If the books in school were like Karina Kapoor, the books in College life were like Kushboo Sundar. If memorizing the content from school books was like climbing the stairs in IIKM, memorizing the content from college books was like climbing the 7 mountains in Tirupathi. 

Somehow, I graduated, got a job offer and joined a company. And the first thing my boss told is “Saro! Technology keeps changing rapidly in this industry. You’ve to learn pretty much every single day”.

Dear Toastmasters and guests, in this ever changing world, Change is the only constant. 

Take for example my Toastmasters career. Toastmasters have brought great changes in me and my life

1. During those days, I used to have a Head full of hair but today, I have a head full of shine... I mean wisdom. During those days, I had more hair to comb, these days, I have more face to wash. 
2. During those days whenever I went to the stage, I used to be scared ... but today whenever I go to the stage, my club members are scared
3. During those days, when I don’t achieve my goals at work, I used to get feedback.. today, whenever I don’t achieve my goals at work ... I start giving feedback to my manager, before he starts giving feedback to me.

My food habits have also been continuously changing ...

1. There was a time in my life when I used to eat only the things that my mind asked me to eat - which, in those days, was almost EVERYTHING. Right from the things that grow on the land to the things that move on the land. Right from the things that float on the water to the things that swim inside the water.
2. Those were the times when if someone had asked me in Tamil “Saro! How much marks did you score in English exam or Saro! What did you eat for lunch ... I would give them the same response”. But over the years...my proficiency in English language as well as my diet have changed

Changes are rapid and almost everywhere. Look at changes happening in our lifestyle because of  Technology today -

1. During those days, televisions used to be of XXL size and our T-Shirts used to be of small size. Today, because of the time we spend in front of Televisions, televisions have become small and sleek, but humans have bulged to XXL size. If we continue to change like this, we wouldn’t have traffic jams at all. Because, humans will develop ability to start flying in the air like hot air balloons. 
2. Technology is enabling our directors and producers to create and distribute more movies today. With 200 movies getting released in a year, there are at least 3 or 4 movie releases, every week. By the time you see a movie poster and decide to go to the theatre to watch a movie, the movie is gone ! And unfortunately, good citizens like us are forced to watch the movie online at www.thiruttuvcd.com.
3. I remember the days when movies were called a blockbuster when they run In theatres continuously for a year. Movies like Batcha ran for more than a year. But today, movies run for just 2 weeks and they are called a blockbuster. If they run for 3 weeks, it’s called bumper hit and record collections. Occasionally, a movie may run for 4 weeks and that’s because the theatre owner is the producer for the movie.

Dear Toastmasters, the world is changing fast and our Toastmasters curriculum is also changing, to keep pace with the world. Toastmasters has brought all of us into the Pathways. No pun intended. Who knows… one day, we’ll be having this club meeting from our home sitting in front of our computer, eating our breakfast and sipping our coffee. Bharti… International Speech Contests may not happen in an international location in the future - but, it will happen right here in Sowcarpet, in your home, in front of your computer. Who knows, we may be doing a virtual handshake with the Toastmaster of the day in the future, through a hologram image. Until that change happens, let me do a physical handshake with our TMOD.