Saturday, March 14, 2009
Friday, March 13, 2009
Entertainment Speaker (Project 5) - My life in US - A Roller Coaster
AC - Entertaining Speaker (Project V)
Speech after Dinner
March 13, 2009
Introduction
Steep climbs, deep falls, sudden twists & turns ... If I've to put my USA experience in simple terms, "It was a roller coaster". Wow ! What an experience. It was full of excitement, fun, adventures, and entertainment. Today, you are going to get a short peek into what was going on in my life in the last 6 years.
Beginning of the ride
I came to US in Oct, 2002, right after the dot.com bubble burst. I took my seat in the roller coaster, buckled up and got ready for the ride. When many immigrants were packing their things and leaving the country, I entered the country with lots of hopes and dreams. I felt like a firefighter marching into a burning house, when everybody in the house is running out to the doors.
Experience in Mobility Networks
I joined a start-up company in the valley. The company had lots of people, lots of hope - but, very little money in the bank. Our CEO was very optimistic. Every time we had an “All-Hands” meeting he'll tell us "Oh... We are doing extremely well. We are working on the last-mile of the technology and investors are very interested to give us money". This went on for about 6 months.
It was June 2003. We had an all-hands meeting, as usual. The CEO told that we are getting very close to raising funding and we may get a 'funding term sheet' any time. The next day, we didn't get the "funding term sheet" but we all got our "termination letters". Yes. My company couldn't raise funding. They filed for bankruptcy & closed the doors. Most of my co-workers were smart. They were already looking for jobs and they all had offers at hand. I strongly believed in the company and the CEO. I didn't expect the company to go under, this soon. I learned my first lesson about Corporate America - "Never blindly trust the CEOs. They are paid to be optimistic".
I managed to get into another job in a couple of weeks. That was a startup too. I spent my next 3 years with this company. I got a wonderful opportunity to manage a small team. The job also involved traveling to several places in Europe & North America.
MBA & Wedding
The ride got a bit more exciting in 2005. I signed up for 2 major things. I enrolled in a part-time MBA program and I signed-up for a full-time husband program. Yes. I got married. I thought I should prepare myself for a married life. The first thing that I did was I bought the book “Men are from Mars & Women are from Venus”. I read the book page by page, line by line, word after word. After reading the book, I thought I mastered the art of “understanding a women”. I thought I had learned all the tricks to keep my wife happy. Its 4 years since I'm married. Now, I feel, like writing a book. The title would be “Men are from Mars, my wife is not from Venus”.
Toastmasters
My MBA course was very intensive. While doing my MBA, I realized that I've to improve my public speaking skills. A friend of mine introduced me to Toastmasters. I'm glad that I joined toastmasters. I set myself a goal of completing 10 speeches every year. This is my end of 3rd year and I'm completing my 30th speech in Toastmasters. I'm thankful to all the fellow toastmasters for helping me to be a better communicator.
I'm also very grateful to 2 people in Toastmasters. The second person is my “friend”. He introduced me to Toastmasters. If not for him, I wouldn't have had an opportunity to meet wonderful people like you. The first person is “Warren”. I'm proud to say that I'm one of Warren's students. His workshops made a very significant impact in my thinking and communication. I would've spent another 10 years to learn the stuff myself, that I learned in just 1 year, from his work shop. Thank you Sir !
Returning back to India
With all the fun & excitement going around, I didn't realize that my ride is going to come to an end. I have been thinking about going back to India for a while. But, I kept postponing the decision. At first, I thought I should go back in 2 - 3 years, then I thought I should go back before I get married, then I thought I should go back before I get a kid, then I thought I should go back with a 'business' plan, then I thought..., then I thought ... there was no end to the list. Well, finally I had to pull the plug.
The turn of events in my personal life made it easy for me. It took just less than an hour for me to decide. I booked tickets for my wife/daughter in the next 1 hour. I packed and sent them to India in the next 24 hours.
The last part of the roller coaster ride is very exciting. I cleaned up and sold my household items. Things sold pretty fast. Thanks to the recession. People love used items! We spent years and years to accumulate those items. But they all vanished in days. I found a job in India, too. I'm all set to go back. The ride is going to stop soon. I'm ready to unbuckle my belts in a few weeks from now.
Conclusion
Life in US taught me a number of things. I got a wonderful exposure both from a career standpoint and from my personal standpoint. I'm not the same person who entered this country 6 years ago. My dreams became reality and my hopes were fulfilled.
If I had not come to US, I would have been like a tiny little fish in a pond. Today, I feel like a shark, that can swim in a ocean. I know how to go with the tides and against them.
I'm quite excited to return back to India and meet my family & friends. The ride was quite exciting and memorable. I'm definitely going to miss you all. But, change always happens. I strongly believe, “every end is for a new beginning”.
Saturday, March 7, 2009
Entertainment Speaker (Project 4) - The Importance of Change
AC - Entertaining Speaker (Project IV)
The Dramatic Speech
February 20, 2009
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The Dramatic Speech
February 20, 2009
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Introduction
Today I'm going to talk about "The Importance of Change". You may be wondering ... Is this guy going to talk about the "change" happening in his personal life? Is he going to talk about the word "change" that is used often in politics? Hold your horses ... I'm NOT going to talk about any of those "changes". I'm going to talk about the importance of always keeping some CHANGE in your pocket.
Like most of you, I was quite used to the credit card culture. I never used to carry any cash in my wallet. I realized the importance of carrying cash, only when I made that trip to Seattle.
Toll Booth Experience
We took a flight from San Jose to Seattle. The flight landed in Seattle around midnight. We were so tired after our flight journey. We rented a car and drove to the hotel. There is something special about traveling with a kid. Right after you throw the kid into the car and start the vehicle they'll ask for one of the two things - either they want to get down and go "peppe" or they want to eat/drink something. My daughter asked for water. Unfortunately, we didn't have any water in the car. I had to take an exit to look for a shop. Right after taking the exit, I saw this small toll both. It was unmanned. I was quite surprised to see a tollbooth there. There was a signboard that said, "Please deposit 75 cents here". The machine doesn't accept dollar bills and accepts only coins. I had just two quarters in my wallet. My wife checked the bags, her purse etc., and we couldn't find any change. There were no lights in the near vicinity.
Handled Toll Booth Situation
There was a video camera sitting on the top of the tollbooth. It was smiling at us, eagerly waiting to picture us, making a violation. There was not even a single car/vehicle in that area. I got very frustrated. I spent nearly 10 minutes waiting there for someone to show up. My daughter started to cry for water. I was helpless. I decided to make a toll violation and pay the fines later. Suddenly, a light bulb went on in my head. I got off the car and looked down on the road. I found a glittering 25 cents coin on the road. I knew someone would have dropped a quarter when they were trying to pay the toll from their car. I thanked all the godly powers that dropped the 25 cents from the sky, just for me. I was lucky enough to find a quarter on that road. Otherwise, I would have paid a 100$ as fine. I learned my first "change" lesson - Always carry some "quarters" or "coins".
Trip to Vancouver
We spent a day in Seattle. The next morning, we got up and drove to Vancouver. We parked our car along the side of the road and roamed around in the downtown area. Around evening, we came back to the car. My wife & kid went to the back seat. I was the designated driver and I looked at the Google map for directions. It said, "Head northeast towards Main Street". First of all, I don't know which is "northeast". Second of all, I don't know where "Main Street" is. I was puzzled.
Man threatening for money
A gentleman walking on the roadside voluntarily stopped near my car and asked me if I need help with directions. He is a medium fit Afro-American. He looked very decent. He helped me with the directions and I was patiently listening to him. I was so happy and thanked him for his assistance. (You've to convey that he is talking to you from the other side)
He looked around inside the car and asked me for 5$. I told him that I don't have 5$ change. My photo camera was on the front seat. He immediately put his hand inside the car and grabbed my photo camera. He told that he'll give my camera back only if I give him 5$. I told him that I don't have change. All, I had was a credit card.
I don't know what to do. My mind went total blank. I was so tempted to ask, "Do you accept credit card?" :) I'm not sure if the guy carried a gun.
I don't know if I have to shout. In the mean time, my wife who was sitting at the back, searched through her bags and found a 20$ bill. I gave the guy a 20$ bill to get my camera back. We immediately left the place and drove back to Seattle. It took us a while to recover from this impact. If I had carried some "change" in my wallet, I wouldn't have had this terrible experience. I would've silently given that guy a 5$ note. This was my second change lesson.
Conclusion
I realized the importance of carrying some change in my wallet, after our trip to Seattle/Vancouver. These days, I always carry some cash.
Ladies & gentlemen ... Whether you believe it or not, "CHANGE" is important. Always carry some change in your wallet. Remember ... The greenback is at times more valuable than the plastic.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
Entertainment Speaker (Project 2) - New Year Resolutions
AC - Entertaining Speaker (Project II)
Resources for Entertainment
January 2, 2009
Madam Toastmaster, fellow toastmasters and dear guests. Happy New Year!!
Introduction
How many of you take New Year resolutions? How many of you stick to your New Year resolutions? It is not very surprising to see lesser number of hands. Research has shown that 90% of the people give up on their New Year’s resolutions, before the end of January and guess what, majority of the remaining 10% give up before the end of the year. The initial enthusiasm you see in January vanishes soon like a piece of butter placed on a hot pan. Today, I’m going to give you some tips to effectively reach your New Year resolutions.
Try “to GET” instead of “to GET RID OF”
Many a times New Year Resolutions fail because “People try to desperately RUN AWAY from their bad behaviors”. Instead of RUNNING AWAY from something, focus on RUNNING TOWARDS something. The only time RUNNING AWAY FROM SOMETHING works is when you are chased by a hungry dog.
When you try hard to UNLEARN your bad habits, you focus too much on the BAD than focusing on the GOOD. For example, when delivering a speech, the more you focus on getting rid of nervousness, the more nervous you become. Instead, you should focus on how you would feel if you deliver the speech successfully.
Quit Smoking Resolution
One of the prominent New Year resolutions is to QUIT smoking. Zig Ziglar, the powerful motivational speaker was a “three-pack-a-day” smoker. Cigar was almost like a 6th finger in his hand. He had a New Year resolution to quit smoking. I think he was so passionate about that resolution. He took the same resolution every year for more than 20 years. He had tried to quit many times using every tool and technique he heard about. He tried all the things from applying “patches” to destroying the “matches”. But as long as he was trying to QUIT, he couldn’t break the grip.
Finally, he changed the approach. Instead, of trying to QUIT the habit of smoking, he developed a dream to become a non-smoker. He fell in love with the idea of breathing clean air instead of smoky air. He wanted his body and clothes to smell nice instead of smoky. He decided to start acting and thinking like a non-smoker, and when the thinking took hold he simply quit smoking.
Get support from your friend (or) spouse
How do you sustain your newly formed habits? Get help from your spouse and all your friends. Ask them to “remind” you. They’ll do it very sincerely.
Dan’s story
I read an interesting story from a book. Dan, a young man in his early 30s took a New Year resolution of getting up early and do jogging. He asked his wife to wake him up at 5 o’clock in the morning. Every day, his wife gets up at 5 o’clock sharp, wakes him up and goes back to sleep. He was very happy that his wife is very supportive to reach his goals. But, do you know the real reason why Dan’s wife woke him up everyday? Dan snores a lot during sleep. If she wakes Dan at 5, she can get at least a few hours of peaceful sleep in the morning.
Your friends and spouse will remind you promptly about your goals – if not for selfless reasons, they’ll do it at least for their selfish reasons. After all, they get some credit too, if you become successful.
Conclusion
New Year Resolutions are easy to make – but hard to sustain. Experts say it takes 3 weeks to develop a new habit and 6 months for it to become a part of your life and just 1 week to completely give up. Giving up a resolution is THAT easy. Focus on what you WANT TO BECOME than focusing on what YOU DON’T WANT TO BECOME. Get the help of your friends & spouse. If you follow these, 2009 is going to be the first year where you will be reaching all your New Year Resolutions.
Saturday, November 29, 2008
Entertainment Speaker (Project 1) - Life on the Wheels
AC - Entertaining Speaker (Project I)
Life on the Wheels
November 28, 2008
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Life on the Wheels
November 28, 2008
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Introduction
We take so many things for granted, in our life. For example, any time we open the tap in the kitchen or bathroom we assume there is going to be water. Any time we turn-on the television or the air conditioner, we assume there is going to be electricity. But, I realized the importance of these simple things, during my trip to Glen Canyon in Page, Arizona. Today, I'm going to share my experience of living in a Recreational Vehicle (RV).
Friend dropped out
My friend & I decided to go to Glen Canyon for the Christmas holidays, last year. We were very excited because we had booked an RV for the trip. Unfortunately, the day before the trip, my friend's daughter got sick & he had to drop out. I have never driven a RV before. The longest vehicle that I've ever driven is a 10 feet U-Haul truck. So, I was in a dilemma whether I should cancel the trip (or) should I go ahead with the original plans. Finally, I decided to go ahead with the original plans.
The RV
My wife, kid & I flew to Phoenix and rented the RV there. It was a 29 ft motor home. It was so huge. I was staring at the RV like a tiny little kid standing in front of a huge elephant. The RV had all kinds of appliances like stove, microwave, fridge, air conditioner, television etc., It had all the facilities that you would typically have in a house - kitchen, bathroom, bedroom, sofa, dining table, etc., The RV also had a generator to power-up the appliances.
Driving Experience
I have always enjoyed driving. But, for the first time in my life driving was so unpleasant. Driving a car is like riding a horse. You can go really fast. But driving a RV is like riding a camel in the desert. The RV was going very slow. A 3 1/2 hour drive took us nearly 6 hours.
The worst thing about driving a vehicle of this size is - you don't have a rear view mirror & you cannot really see if a cop is behind you. For the first time in life, I did something that I've never done - Driving within the speed limits.
RV Park in Page
By the time we reached our camping area in Page, it was 11 pm and it was completely dark. The weather was very cold. I was literally shivering when I hooked-up my vehicle to the water, electricity and sewage outlets in the camping area. We were so tired. We had our dinner and went to bed immediately.
Frozen Pipe
The next day morning when we opened the tap in the kitchen sink, we didn't get any water. I wore several layers of clothes including a sweater and a thick leather jacket. I stepped out to see why the water supply stopped.
I was amazed when I stepped out of the vehicle. Our camping spot was near Lake Powell. The lake had completely frozen due to the cold weather. I looked around and we were the only party to camp there. I went around the vehicle to check the water connection. The water in the tap & the tube had completely frozen. That is the reason why the water supply was blocked. We waited for a couple of hours for the sun to show up & melt the ice.
Generator
We got ready & visited a few places in Glen Canyon. When we were not in the camping area, we had limited access to water and electricity. We were so tempted to turn-on the heater when the vehicle was parked. But, we cannot let the generator run forever. Otherwise, we would run out of gas.
We cannot take a long shower when we were not in the camping area. Water was precious :)
Nice things about RV
Though we had some shortcomings, there are several nice things about living in a RV. Have you ever thought about lifting your home, placing it on wheels and taking it along wherever you go? Well, that is exactly what an RV is. Whenever you want to drink coffee, you don't have to look for Starbucks. You can pullover the vehicle and prepare hot coffee with fresh aroma. You don't have to search for rest areas along the roadside. Because ... the roadside itself is your rest area. I mean, you can pullover and use the bathroom in your vehicle.
How many of you feel drowsy when you drive your car during the sight seeing trips, especially after a heavy lunch? Did you ever feel like taking a nap? Well, if you are driving a RV you can park your vehicle and take a comfortable nap.
Conclusion
We stayed in the RV for 3 days. I realized the importance of water & electricity during our trip. I have been conserving water and electricity, since we made that trip.
Our trip to Glen Canyon is very memorable because of the RV. We enjoyed our life on wheels. We had quality time.
Ladies & Gentlemen, if you are planning for your next trip, you should definitely consider renting a RV. I bet you, its lots of fun!!
Wednesday, November 5, 2008
Table Topics: Theme "Thanksgiving"
(Also read: Table Topics - Theme "Halloween")
1) What is your most memorable Thanksgiving cooking experience? Why?
2) I hate Thanksgiving weekend because ...
3) If you would like to call someone as a turkey, who would that be?
4) Give us 5 reasons why we shouldn't eat turkeys on Thanksgiving weekend.
5) If you get an opportunity to go on a date with someone on Thanksgiving day? Who would that be?
6) I love Thanksgiving weekend because ...
7) What is your most memorable Thanksgiving weekend? Why?
8) Whom do you like to Thank the most in your life? Why?
9) If you get an option to change the Turkey in the Thanksgiving menu, which one would you go for (instead of Turkey)?
10) If you have to convince a vegetarian to eat Turkey on Thanksgiving - what would you do?
11) You are a boss in the IT company. You have to convince your employees to work during the Thanksgiving weekend. You are employees are sitting in our club. How would you persuade them?
(Also read: Table Topics: Theme "Christmas")
(Table topics conducted in TGIF club in 2008)
Saturday, November 1, 2008
Be Hopeful About the Future
AC - Story Telling (Project IV)
The Touching Story
October 31st, 2008
I want all of you to close your eyes for a few seconds. Now, think about the worst thing that ever happened to you in your life ... Something that was a huge loss to you. Something, that made you to regret. For example, a lost job, a strained relationship or lost money.
You may now open your eyes. We all would've had at least one such bad thing that happened to us, in our life, which had a lasting impact on us. Whenever such bad things happen, we have two options. We can think about it again & again and continue to worry about it till the end of our life. Or, we can forget about it and be HOPEFUL about the future.
Today, I'm going to share a real story. I read this story recently in a magazine. This story is about a person called Naresh who became successful, just because he didn't lose HOPE, when a terrific incident happened in his life.
Childhood
Naresh was born in a village in Southern India. His father is a truck driver and his mother is a housewife. His parents were illiterate. It was 1993, and Naresh was 6 years old at that time. He was fair and a bit tall. He had very beautiful eyes and lots of hair. He was very naughty and he used to run all around the house playing with his friends. At the same time, he was smart. He did very well in his studies. His parents had high hopes about Naresh's future.
Accident
It was January 11, 1993, the fateful day. Naresh and his parents were ready to go to a nearby village for a family function. They got a ride in Naresh's father's friend's truck. The front cabin didn't have much space. Naresh was made to sit close to the door.
The elders were busy talking about something. Naresh was playing with the truck door's latch. All of a sudden, the door opened wide & threw him out. He was lucky enough to survive the accident. Nothing happened to him but his legs were severely injured. He was immediately admitted to a government hospital.
The doctors in the government hospital treated his wounds & bandaged his legs. He was there in the hospital for a week. When the doctors removed his bandage they were shocked. They found that the tissues in his legs were decayed because of insufficient blood supply. Naresh was immediately rushed to a district hospital. The doctors in the district hospital examined his legs. The doctors didn't have any option than to amputate his legs. In no time, both his legs were cut off up to the hips.
Naresh woke up after the surgery. He had lots of pain. He pulled over his covers and was shocked to see that his legs were missing. He asked his mother, "Mom! Where are my legs?" His mother burst into tears. She doesn't know what to tell her little son. Naresh was in the hospital for three months.
Return to Home
The day Naresh reached his village, his house was flooded with curious people; all of them wanted to know how a boy without legs looked. But he was not bothered. He was just happy to see all of them, after a long time.
Life without Legs
Naresh got admission in a near by school. His sister was also put in the same class though she is two years older. His parent thought she could take care of Naresh if both of them were in the same class. Naresh's sister never complained. Naresh was so lucky to have such a loving sister. She carried him in the school for a few years and after a while, his friends took over the task. All his friends saw to it that Naresh was part of all the games they played; they carried him everywhere.
Through out his childhood days, Naresh didn't lose hope. He was very confident that he can lead a successful life. He wanted to be an engineer when he grows up.
Life at IIT- Madras
Time ran fast. Naresh completed his high school education. He got good grades. He decided to join an engineering college. He got admission into one of the premier educational institutes in India - Indian Institute of Technology (IIT). Naresh felt privileged to study with some of the brilliant students in the country.
The world is full of good people
Naresh got help from total strangers without him asking for it. He got new friends, who took care of him during his college days. There were people who were taking care of his hostel and college fees.
Naresh's college had in fact arranged a lift and built some ramps at the Computer Science department for him. His fellow college mates got him a powered wheel chair, so that, he can move around the campus on his own. His life changed after that. He felt free and independent.
Internship/Job Offer
While he was doing his college, he got an opportunity to come to Boston to do his internship. After completing his studies he got a job offer from one of the leading technology giants in the industry - Google. Today, Naresh is working in Google's Bangalore office.
Be Hopeful
Think about it for a moment. What would you do, if the same thing had happened to you? What if you had lost both of your legs? Will you be what you are today? Naresh has proven that "if you are HOPEFUL & motivated, nothing can really stop your success". Quite often in life, we face bad circumstances. Are those circumstances, really bad like the one faced by Naresh. If Naresh can achieve something in life, you can too. Believe in yourself & be HOPEFUL about the future. Nothing can stop you from achieving your goals.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
Project 5 - The Persuasive Leader - Are you a DAY DREAMER or an ACHIEVER?
AC - Persuasive Speaking (Project 5)
The Persuasive Leader
September 12, 2008
Introduction
Close your eyes for 5 seconds and think about THE ONE BIG THING that you want to achieve in your lifetime. How many of you want to start your own business or be an executive in a big corporation? How many of you want to travel around & visit places? Now, be frank, how many of you used the 5 seconds that I gave for a short nap (snore here)?
We all have goals to achieve in our life. But, we hardly do anything about our goals. It is like aiming to climb Mt. Everest, but GASPing (demo here) to climb even a staircase. We postpone things to tomorrow. We give ourselves an excuse "I don't have time". But the fact is "WE ARE LAZY".
Lazy to Wash Clothes
At times, we are too lazy to do even simple things... like, washing clothes. During weekdays, you postpone to do the washing over the weekend. The much-awaited weekend comes. You say to yourself, "I will wash clothes as the first thing on Saturday morning". Saturday comes. But, you wake up only around NOON. By the time you have your breakfast it is 3 pm. You get a call from my friend - "Hey! Want to go for a movie, in the evening?" Your mind starts to weigh the options - "Wash & Iron the clothes (or) Watch Iron Man?" Your mouth makes the decision before your mind does. You say, "Yes" for the movie. You convince yourself "I have the whole day tomorrow. I can do the washing on Sunday". Sunday comes & goes. Finally, you postpone doing it, to the next week.
This happened to me once. I had two weeks of dirty clothes piled up like a HUGE mountain. A guest who visited me asked, "Is there a dead rat in this house?" I felt very embarrassed to tell him that I've two weeks of clothes to wash.
Lazy to Prepare for Exams
Let us see what we do in school. When the academic year starts, we all aim to get good grades. But we postpone to prepare for the exams until the VERY last day. Finally, the night before the exam comes. You take your book and start preparing for the exam. You count the number of pages (carefully excluding Table of Contents, Foreword, Index etc.,). You think, "There are 200 pages in this book. I can complete the whole book in 4 hours" You look at the clock. The clock shows 8pm. You start reading.
The clock strikes 10, you had just covered 20 pages and yawned 200 times. You are drowsy. A debate begins in your mind - "Should I continue to read (or) sleep now and get up fresh in the morning and read". Guess what! Sleep wins. Immediately, you close your book and set your alarm clock to ring at 4 in the morning. You get into a deep sleep. Your alarm rings like a SIREN at 4 am. Your eyes are still closed. Your hand searches for the alarm clock & BANG... the alarm clock dies. You say to yourself "Let me sleep for 5 more minutes". You sleep for 5 minutes & wake up again. The clock shows 4.05. You ask yourself "Isn't this alarm clock 5 minutes faster than the clock in the hall?" You go back to sleep again. But, this time you sleep for 2 hours. You get up at 6, scan a few pages from the book and go to the exam. How many of you have had a similar experience?
My Friend's Exam Experience
One of my friends had an interesting experience. He didn't prepare well for the exam. He went to the exam hall. The question paper was distributed. He stared at the questions for 10 minutes. None of the questions looked familiar because he didn't prepare well. He walked to the front and asked the examiner "Sir! Am I in the right exam hall?" The whole classroom laughed.
When are we Lazy?
You may think we are lazy always. But WE ARE NOT. We can watch Olympics overnight in the TV, without even blinking our eyes. We become drowsy only when we read our TEXT BOOKS in the night. We can talk for hours with friends about "how the government should keep the city clean". We become lazy only when we have to spend a few minutes to clean our own bathrooms every week.
Conclusion
Laziness is like taking drugs. It gives you momentary pleasure. But, it ruins your life.
Laziness makes you a daydreamer. Not an achiever. Have you heard about the "Hare & the Tortoise story"? The Hare can run faster than the Tortoise. But, in spite of that, the Tortoise won. Why? The Hare got lazy and decided to take a nap, whereas the Tortoise started to move right away. The Tortoise won the race because it wanted to be an ACHIEVER & not a DAYDREAMER.
Ladies & Gentlemen,
Do YOU want to be a daydreamer or an achiever?
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Everyone Makes Mistakes
AC - Story Telling (Project V)
Bringing History to Life
September 5, 2008
Introduction
How many of you have made mistakes in your life? Oh ! This is a dumb question. Everyone in this world makes mistakes. From great presidents to poor residents, everyone makes mistakes - no exceptions.
When we were kids, we made mistakes unknowingly. Our parents used to correct us. When we grew up, we hardly listen to what our parents say.
You might be familiar about Gandhi - the leader who was behind India's Independence. Gandhi was known for non-violence. Gandhi was known for adopting vegetarian diet. Gandhi was known for peace. Some of you may even think, you've to be born with these qualities to be famous like Gandhi. But, it is not TRUE. Gandhi was a common man like you & me. He has made several mistakes when he was a youth. So, what differentiates Gandhi from the rest of this world? Well, he corrected his mistakes. He took control over his mistakes before his mistakes took control over him.
Today you are going to hear the story of Gandhi that was least told. You are going to learn about the darker side of Gandhi. You are going to get drenched in surprise. These are real facts, based on the information from Gandhi's own biography - "My Experiments with Truth".
Meat Eating
Would you believe if I tell you that Gandhi ate non-vegetarian food? Could you imagine little Gandhi having chicken soup, & spicy lamb curry, without his parents knowing it?
Gandhi is a vegetarian by birth. However, he was always worried that he wasn't strong enough like his friends who are meat eaters. Gandhi was scared of ghosts, thieves, & snakes. He never slept alone in darkness. He used to imagine that he'll be haunted by ghosts on one side, and thieves on the other side. One of his friends told Gandhi, “You can become strong if you eat meat. Look at me... I'm not scared of ghosts. I'm not scared of thieves. I'm stronger than you. Even some of our teachers eat meat. Do you think they are fools? Indians are so weak because they do not eat meat. Look at the British. They all are meat eaters. That is the reason, they are ruling us”.
Gandhi was persuaded by his friends arguments. Gandhi decided to eat meat. His friend prepared & brought him delicious meat dishes. They both went to a lonely place near the river to have the feast. Gandhi didn't like it initially, but his passion to become stronger forced him to be a meat eater. Whenever he ate meat, he couldn't get a proper sleep. He felt as if a goat was jumping & making noise inside his tummy.
His parents didn't knew about this habit. Whenever his mom asks why he is skipping a meal, he would LIE that he is not hungry. This went on for about a year. Gandhi felt guilty of lying to his parents. His conscious pricked him everyday. Hiding the truth haunted him every night. The “imaginary goat” that was inside his tummy, started shouting louder & louder. He finally decided to give up the meat eating habit. Since then, Gandhi never touched meat in his life.
Smoking
Meat eating was just one of the several mistakes that Gandhi did during his childhood. Gandhi was also attracted to smoking cigars. He found pleasure in emitting clouds of smoke from his mouth. At first, he started smoking with the stumps thrown away by his uncle. However, those stumps were small and couldn't emit much smoke. Then, he experimented smoking with stumps of certain types of plants. That didn't satisfy his passion, as well.
Cigars were too costly and he couldn't afford them. So, he started to STEAL money from his servant to buy cigars. This went on for a while until he realized that stealing money from a poor servant is a great sin. He felt ashame of stealing money. Gandhi then decided to give up his smoking habit as well.
Lust
Gandhi got married to his wife at a very young age. In those days, kids used to live in their respective parents' house after marriage. They hardly get to meet each other. Gandhi started living with his wife after their 5th wedding anniversary. During those days, Gandhi's mind was filled with lust than love.
There were a few occasions when Gandhi was close to committing the biggest sin in his life. His bad acquaintance took him to even prostitutes. Fortunately, the turn of events brought him safe out of such situations. Gandhi was glad that he didn't commit that mistake.
Conclusion
Look at the early stages of Gandhi's life. He was just an ordinary person. He has done all the mistakes that you & I have done in our life. Gandhi was not born a Mahatma. But he inherited habits that turned him into a Mahatma. Gandhi made several mistakes like any of us would. But, he corrected them at the right time.
We all make mistakes. Sometimes we do it knowingly, sometimes we do it unknowingly. Whenever you make mistakes you have two choices – you can continue to repeat the mistake again & again (or) you can acknowledge & correct the mistake.
Think about the mistakes that you make in life - at home, at work & in your toastmaster sessions. You have a choice. You can repeat the mistakes (or) correct them. I'm confident that you'll choose the later.
Give it one more try
AC - Story Telling (Project III)
Moral of the Story
August 15, 2008
Introduction
Have you seen a kid that was successful when trying to stand for the first time? Kids fall several times when learning to stand. But, they never give up ... they try again & again ... and finally, succeed one day. When we were kids, we never gave up. But, as we grew, the society conditioned us to give up so soon.
Today, I'm going to share a real story... the story of a grocery store keeper, who succeeded in life just because "He tried once more and didn't give up". I'm going to call him the "grocer".
Background of the Grocer
This grocer was born in a poor family and started working in a grocery store, at a very young age. He worked in the same store for 10 years. He grew to become a handsome young man. He was about 6 feet tall and normally wears a white dhoti and a half sleeved shirt. He was very passionate, loyal and hard working. He got married to a beautiful young woman and they were blessed with a baby boy.
Grocer's attempt to own the store
Having been with the store for a long time, the grocer expressed his interest to buy part of the store's ownership. However, his boss didn't like the idea. The grocer was "let go" the same day. The grocer didn't expect this. He was very disappointed. He couldn't believe that he is out of his passionate job.
Grocer's attempt to start his business
The grocer decided to start his own business. He sold his wife's jewels and used all his savings. He started his own grocery store. The community in which he opened the store had stiff competition. His business wasn't profitable. He had to close the store in 10 months. He lost all the capital. He didn't have money to even feed his family. His ego prevented him from working for some one else. He didn't know what to do.
Grocer's frustration
The grocer hated himself. He was born poor. He didn't get a good education like others. He couldn't own the store that he liked. He wasn't successful in his new business. He felt defeated in life. He saw no point in leading a life full of failures and disappointments. He decided to commit suicide. He bought some pesticide and went to the seashore to commit suicide. When he was about to drink the pesticide, thoughts of his wife & little kid came to his mind. He imagined how their life would be after his death. He didn't want them to suffer. The grocer decided to "start his business again" and "give it one more try".
Grocer "giving it one more try"
He borrowed some money from his known contacts. He started a new store in a different locality. He applied all the skills that he learned previously. He worked twice as hard as he did last time. This time, the business was rocking. God finally rewarded him for his hard work. He was happy that he didn't perform the blunder of committing suicide. He was happy that he decided to "give it one more try". In a few years, the grocer became very rich & well settled.
Who is the Grocer?
I have known this grocer for "many many" years. He is a person that I respect. He is my inspiration. I have the privilege of calling this grocer my "Dad". Yes, the grocer is none other than my father.
If my father had given up after his failures, I may not be standing in front of you today delivering this speech. I may be cleaning empty coffee cups in a restaurant or may be begging near the traffic lights for money.
I am grateful and thankful to my father for the valuable lesson he taught me.
Conclusion
So, ladies & gentlemen, whenever you face failures in life, "Don't give up... Try again".
Think about some of your greatest achievements in life. You achieved them because you worked hard; you continuously fought against failures & you never gave up. Some of you in this room are DTMs and Advance Communicators because you never gave up after completing your CC or CL.
Now, I want you all to repeat what I say, "I'll never give up ... no matter what... I'll try again and again, until I succeed".
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