Troop Surge in Iraq

AC - Speeches by Management (Project V)
Confrontation - The Adversary Relationship
February 29, 2008

Introduction

Good evening fellow citizens and dear guests,

It is 6 years since the terrorists attacked our nation. But, the pictures of planes crashing into buildings, huge structures collapsing are still fresh in our mind and in our heart. Word Trade Center, the pride of America, was shattered into pieces right in front of our eyes. Around 3000 innocent Americans were killed

Our government responded to the terrorists' call by sending our troops to Iraq - to capture the enemy, to destroy the terrorist hideouts, and to establish peace. The last 5 years, were the most challenging. But, we, the people of America believed in victory and were united through the tough times.

We made a tremendous progress in Iraq in the last few years. We captured and executed Saddam Hussein, we established a democratic government, we trained the Iraqi soldiers, and we improved the quality of education and healthcare. But, we still have some unfinished job in Iraq.

Our enemies are continuing to find creative ways to launch their attacks against innocent people. And it is our responsibility and duty to respond back to that. Today, I am standing in front of you, to share my proposal to strengthen our strategy towards Iraq by increasing the troops.

Proposal

Our past efforts to secure Baghdad failed because there were not enough troops to secure neighborhoods that had been cleared of terrorists. When our forces moved on to other targets, the killers returned.

Our national security team, military commanders, and diplomats conducted a comprehensive review of the situation and proposed to increase the troops by 12,000. Today, there are 158,000 American soldiers in Iraq and this count will become 170,000 by the end of this year. The troop surge will be done in a phased manner in the next 10 months.

Our troops in Iraq have fought bravely day and night. They have done everything we have asked them to do. It is our responsibility to support them and save them from harm's way. This proposal would increase our spending towards the war by $20 billion every year. This troop surge and increased spending will definitely help our men and women in Iraqi soil.

Some of you may have this question - "When will our troops come back home"? I assure them that the day is not very far. With the surge in troops, we'll be able to finish our job and bring our troops back, faster.

Our troops have a well-defined mission: to help Iraqis clear and secure neighborhoods, to help them protect the local population, and to help ensure that the Iraqi forces left behind are capable of providing the security that Baghdad needs.

Conclusion

I am hopeful and confident than ever that this strategy will lead us to the path to victory. There is "no magic formula for success in Iraq" but a failure in Iraq "would be a disaster for the United States".

Today, we are setting a new course to pass on a world without terrorism to our children and grand children.

Today, we are going to tell the world that Americans will remain united and fight against terrorism - NO MATTER WHAT!

Today, we are going to stand behind a proposal that can make America, safer than ever before.

War in Iraq

AC - Speeches by Management (Project IV)
The Status Report

February 8, 2008

Introduction

Imagine it is 4 am in the morning. You are in the middle of your deep sleep. A huge explosion wakes you up. You jump out of the bed in a hurry and go out of your home. You see debris everywhere. You see people drenched in blood ... crying out loud ... & running in fear. It is hard for you to believe what you see. You survived a bomb blast. Later that day, a few army men with hard hats & long rifles, knock your door, ask you to evacuate your home immediately and move to a different place or a refugee camp. This may sound very new to you. However, this is not very uncommon for an average citizen in Iraq since the war began in March 2003.

It is about 5 years since the war began. Do you know how many billions were spent? Do you know how many lives were lost? Do you know what progress was made?

Ladies & Gentlemen, fellow toastmasters ... today, I am going to give you a quick status of the WAR IN IRAQ.

Background

Let me start by giving you some background about the war.

The war in Iraq started when the US led coalition forces invaded the country in March 2003. US government claimed that Iraq is developing Weapons of Mass Destruction... weapons that can destroy the human lives ... weapons that can demolish man made structures... weapons that can destroy thousands of plants and animals. President Bush declared that Iraq is posing a huge threat to the security of United States and other nations. The coalition forces fought and took control of Baghdad. The defeat of Iraqi army led to the escape of Iraq's perpetual president, Saddam Hussein.

Several things happened since then, that led to a flurry of changes both within and outside Iraq. Today, I am going to give you some facts with respect to costs, casualties, politics, education and health.

Costs

President Bush has spent about $500 billions in the last 5 years towards Iraq war. The annual war spending is less than just 1% of our GDP. It is not a very huge amount for the nation. It is not going to affect the economy in any way. But the spending on war is starving other areas, like healthcare and education.

If the money that we spend in war is spent on education, we can have twice the number of elementary schools. Think about the impact of doubling the number of elementary schools. Your kids do not have to sit in a crowded classroom. Your kids will get more attention from their teachers. Your kids can learn more.

Do you know how much each of you in this room has paid for the war? $4,100. You could've bought 100 iPhones with that money.

Casualties

The war doesn't just cost money. It also costs several lives.

About 1 million Iraqi civilians are reported to be dead in the last 5 years. It is similar to taking a state like New Hampshire out of the US map.

US has lost about 4000 soldiers in the war. We are loosing an average of 2 soldiers every day in Iraq.

Have you ever thought about - how it would be to live in this world without your eyes or hands or legs? About 100,000 soldiers were injured or wounded heavily in one form or the other in the last 5 years. Imagine what would they do after returning back home. Yes... Government pays a lot of money to them. But, what can they do with the money - without being able to move around or without being able to see the world.

Politics

The war in Iraq has resulted in some good things also.

Iraq was freed from the dictatorship of Saddam Hussein. Saddam was ruling the country for nearly 25 years. Saddam Hussein was captured in December 2003 and executed in December 2006 for the killings of 148 Shiite Muslims during his regime.

The nation was without a leader since Saddam's defeat in 2003. General elections were held in December 2005. Nouri al-Maliki was sworn in as the Prime Minister on May 2006. The newly formed government has not made any progress in improving the conditions in Iraq. United States supported the new government by sending more troops in 2007. However, there are still NO signs of peace.

The war in Iraq not only influenced the political situation within the country but also within United States. The war spurred mixed reactions in the homeland. US people felt that our army men are caught in the sectarian violence in Iraq. Bush was excessively criticized for the spending in Iraq war and for the loss of lives.

Bush's war policies have made Republicans to lose ground in the elections for the "House of Representatives". Democrats had a sweeping victory. There is a strong feeling among people that Democrats are going to win the Presidential race also.

Education & Health

U.N had lifted their economic sanctions when Iraq invaded Kuwait in 1991. That had a very significant impact on the education system. Many children dropped out of the schools. In the last few years, UNICEF has renovated a number of schools. The school attendance has increased to 95%. All the children were also immunized. A number of hospitals were also renovated in the last 5 years. Overall health conditions are improving. Iraqi government & several non-profit organizations are working day and night to rebuild Iraq.

Conclusion

It has been 5 years since the war began. Some of the original motives of the war are not valid anymore. No Weapons of Mass Destruction found. Saddam was captured and executed. Democracy is restored.

We spent 500 billions. We lost 4000 army men. But, it is still hard to find answers to some of the lingering questions. When will the sectarian violence end? How much more is going to be spent? When are our troops going to return home?

The people in United States want the forces to be withdrawn, immediately. However, President Bush has pledged not to withdraw forces until victory. What is considered a "victory" in Iraq war? Well, Allah only knows ...

Power of Asking Questions

AC - Speeches by Management (Project III)
Manage & Motivate

January 25, 2008

Introduction

Kids ask smarter and tougher questions. How many of you agree with that?

We were also kids at some point in time. We asked all those smart and tough questions. What happened to us, now? Why are we not asking such smart and tough questions, now? Well, our society trained us nicely to accept things, the way they are.

When we were kids, we had lots of interest to know... lots of curiosity to learn. We asked way too many questions to understand the things around us. However, when we grew up, we STOPPED asking questions and STARTED to make assumptions.

Now... How many of you like to go back to your child hood days? Well, I cannot take you to your child hood days. But I can help you to revive the most important and powerful skill that you had in your child hood - YOUR QUESTIONING SKILL.

In the next 8 minutes, you are going to learn the unlimited potential and power of asking questions.

Questions are attention getters

Have you ever listened to radio? If you carefully observe, many advertisers start with a question. Questions like "Do you want to buy a new home? Are you suffering from bad credit? Do you want to re-finance?" All such questions do a good job in captivating the attention of listeners.

You can use this technique in your speeches too. You can start your speech by asking thoughtful, controversial or challenging questions. By asking a question, you'll get the audience to move to the edge of their seats. They'll eagerly look forward to what you have to say.

Learn from the sales experts

Novice sales people tell you "I've got the best product that would solve all your problems. You are going to be the most happiest person in this world after you buy this product". They make these promises, without fully understanding your needs and problems. Expert sales people would first try to understand the customer's needs by asking questions.

Have you ever been to the jewelers shop to buy a diamond ring? An ordinary sales person would force you to "Buy this or Buy that!" without fully understanding your needs. An expert sales person would ask questions like

- Whom are you buying this ring for?

- What is the price range you are looking at?
- Do you have preference for any color?

He would then show you the collections that will interest you. Having understood your needs, he will be in a better position to make a sale.

Ask Questions & Close Deals

Questioning skills can help in negotiations too. Skillful questioning is the easiest and quickest way to uncover valuable information during negotiations. With practice, you will find yourself asking better questions and gaining increasingly valuable information.

Let me a share a personal experience with you. Few months back, I got a 100$ rebate card from ATT for my new phone purchase. I had used 7$ from it and there was a 93$ balance in the card. I didn't use the card for quite sometime and the card expired. I called the customer support and told them "You should either send me a rebate card with new expiry date or send me a check for the balance". There was a lady on the other side and she said, "Sir! Your card is expired and there is not much that we can do about it. You should've used it before the expiry date".

I, then changed my approach. Instead of commanding her or giving her directions, I asked her "Is there a way by which I can get my money back?" She said, "Can you please hold on for a minute!" and she put me on hold. She came back after a few seconds and told "Sir! I can give you a credit for the balance to your phone account". If I hadn't asked that one question, I would have lost 93 bucks.

Try it out yourself

If you still don't believe the power of asking questions, you can try it out yourself. Imagine it is a Friday evening. You return back from work and you want to go out for dinner. You are so obsessed about going to a Chinese restaurant. You tell your spouse, "I want to go out for dinner today. Let us go to a Chinese restaurant". Note that - you are making the decision, here. There is a high probability that your spouse might ask "Why Chinese? Why not Mexican?"

Instead, you can ask - "Honey! I love to go to out for dinner with you today. Would you be interested in going to a Chinese Restaurant?" By asking a question, you are letting your spouse to make the decision. There is a great chance that your spouse will tell YES.

Conclusion

The world responds to those who ask. Bible says, “Ask and you shall receive".

A simple "Will you forgive me?" question has saved several relationships. Ask that question to your loved one, the next time you break a promise.

A simple "How can I help you?" question can result in million dollar business deals!! Ask that question, the next time you talk to your potential customer.

A simple "How can I improve?" question can lead you to a world of opportunities. The next time you meet your friend, ask that question.

Ladies & gentlemen, ask questions ... ask zillions of them ...

Baby Boomers

AC - Speeches by Management (Project II)
The Technical Speech
December 21, 2007

Introduction

Imagine it is January 2030. You are so happy because it is your payday. You open your paycheck and were surprised to see a few hundred dollars less. You rush to the pay roll department and tell your payroll manager "Bob... there is something wrong here. You've deducted more for Social Security". Bob turns away from his colorful LCD monitor and tells you "Hey... starting this year, you owe more to Social Security. Haven't you heard about baby boomers? They all have retired. You have to work hard ... to support them". You get disappointed and frustrated.

Yes. In about 22 years, all the baby boomers would have retired. We have to pay more to social security to support them. What are these baby boomers going to do with that money? Well, they are going to spend it. That is good for the economy ... isn't it?

In the next 6 minutes, you are going to learn more details on "Who baby boomers are", "When are they going to retire", "What is the impact of their retirement"?

Who are baby boomers?

The baby boom generation is a demographic term for the population born between 1946 and 1964 - right after the Second World War. Baby boom is the reflection of the sudden removal of social and economic pressures that kept people from starting families.

U.S. census estimates that the group that holds the “boomer” title is made up of about 80 million individuals. Does anyone know the total US population? It is 300 million. About 1/4 of them are baby boomers.

When are boomers going to retire?

Casey-Kirschling — the nation's first boomer was born in Philadelphia on Jan. 1, 1946. Casey-Kirschling won't bankrupt the Social Security system by her early retirement at 62. But the 80 million Americans who could qualify for Social Security during the next 22 years are sure to bankrupt the system. The first wave of 3.2 million baby boomers turns 62 next year at the rate of 365 an hour. This means 3.2 million boomers are eligible for retirement next year.

The Boomers' Impact

The imbalance between workers and beneficiaries didn't happen overnight. In 1945, a decade after Social Security was created, there were 42 workers paying into the system for each retiree. Today, there are 3 paying for one retiree. By 2030, "Every couple will have their own retiree to support"

As millions of baby boomers approach retirement, the program's annual cash surplus will shrink and disappear. Social Security will not be able to pay full benefits from its payroll and other tax revenues. It will need to consume the general revenue dollars to meet its obligations--money that now pays for everything from environmental programs to highway construction to defense. Eventually, the government has to either slash benefits or cut down on the spending to accommodate Social Security.

When more and more boomers reach retiring age, the number of younger workers, those aged 25-44, will actually decrease. There will be a shortage of qualified workers especially for service jobs.

Optimist's View

Well ... Though there a number of factors to worry about... there is also something good about the retirement of baby boomers.

A sharp rise in the number of wealthy older people will likely have an impact on the demand for several types of consumer goods or services, such as health care, travel and luxury products. The next decade or two will probably be boom times for philanthropy. Colleges and other nonprofit organizations looking for large donations may want to turn up the heat on fund-raising efforts that target this older group.

Conclusion

Baby boomers presently make up a lion's share of the political, cultural, industrial, and academic leadership class in the United States. Baby Boomers are definitely going to make a dent in our earnings. At the same time, they are also leading a consumer and workforce revolution that is changing the way we do business. Though boomers retiring in the next few years would cause more burdens to the economy, it would also increase the consumer spending to a great extent.

Competent Communicator (CC) Project Manual Speeches

Here is my compilation of Toastmasters Competent Communicator (CC) Project Manual Speeches. It has the all the 10 CC project manual speeches that I deliver at my club.

Competent Communicator Project 1 - My College Life   (Ice Breaker)

Competent Communicator Project 2 - Go Veg  (Organize your Speech)

Competent Communicator Project 3 - Mitra - My little one (Get to the Point)

Competent Communicator Project 4 - Good to Great (How to Say it)

Also read: CC Project 4 - Rhetorical Devices (Ideas & Examples)

Competent Communicator Project 5 - How to start/sustain conversations with strangers?  (Your body Speaks)

Competent Communicator Project 6 - How to get the best rating in performance reviews? (Vocal Variety)

Competent Communicator Project 7 - Offshoring - not just a quick fix (Research your Topic)

Competent Communicator Project 8 - Got an idea? Patent it !  (Visual Aids)

Competent Communicator Project 9 - Habits come in series (Persuade with Power)

Competent Communicator Project 10 - Faster Goal Achievement (Inspire your Audience)

Gross Domestic Product

AC - Speeches by Management (Project I)
The Briefing
November 9, 2007


It is a warm Sunday evening. You drive your car down to the nearest Wal-Mart and buy some chips, beer and groceries. You swipe your credit card to pay $50 at the counter. On the way back home, you stop at the gas station. You swipe your card again to fill gas for 50 bucks. You come back home, sit on the couch and watch TV - drinking bear and eating those crispy chips. Do you know that you increased the nation's GDP by $100 on that evening?

In the next 6 minutes, you are going to learn, the various factors that have an impact on the country's GDP.

GDP - Defined

For those brains that are wondering what GDP is - GDP stands for Gross Domestic Product. It is the monetary value of all the finished goods and services produced within a country's border in one year.
For all the mathematicians in this room, this is the formula used to compute the GDP of a nation:

GDP = C + G + I + NX

where:

"C" is equal to all consumer spending in a nation's economy
"G" is the sum of government spending
"I" is the sum of all the country's business investment on capital
"NX" is the nation's total net exports, calculated as total exports minus total imports. (NX = Exports - Imports)

Now, let us take a closer look at each of these factors.

Consumer Spending

Consumer spending includes all the money that you spend in shopping - right from your computer to your car, right from your gloves to your house. Whatever money you spend out of your pocket is accounted under consumer spending.

When labor department reports, "Unemployment rate has gone down" Wall Street becomes happy. Why is it so? A low unemployment rate indicates that most of the people have stable jobs. If they have a stable job, they'll continue to get their paychecks. If they continue to get their paychecks, they'll continue to spend more. When consumers spend more, the GDP value goes up. High GDP value is an indicator of a flourishing economy. When the economy grows, investors make more money.

Government Spending

This includes money spent on constructing bridges, laying roads, buying missiles for national defense, government employees' salaries etc., Bush spends about 1% of the nation's GDP in Iraq war, every year.

Spending by federal, state, and local governments account for about twenty percent of the GDP. From now on, if you see "Road work ahead" signs, don't get frustrated. Feel happy that government is spending money and it is good for the GDP.

Capital Investments

What are some of the capital investments done by businesses? Buying land for office space, purchasing new computers, purchasing machinery etc.,

How can companies help to improve the economy? By doing more capital spending. When will the companies do more capital spending? When they feel that the economy is looking good. It is a "chicken & egg situation".

Net Exports

This is the difference between all the exports and imports made by the country. For example, if you export "Windows software" for $100 and import 100 tainted toys for $1 each, the "Net Export" value is "zero".

What are not included?

Now that we understood what are included in GDP, let us take a look at the things that are NOT included in GDP.

Intermediate spending is not accounted in GDP. Recall the definition ... "GDP is the value of all finished goods and services".

Transferred payments like "unemployment benefits" do not come under GDP because government is not getting any service in return.

U.S GDP - Breakdown

As of 2006, the US GDP is $13.1 trillion. Let us take a quick look at the break down of the US GDP value:

Consumer Spending 65%
Business Investment 15%
Government Spending 20%
Net Exports 0
Conclusion

Let us have a quick recap of what GDP is. It is the sum of consumer spending, government spending, business investments and the net exports.

Don't worry that the economy is going down. Now, you know the factors influencing the economy and GDP. Remember ... consumer spending is the biggest part of U.S GDP. Start to spend the money that you have and economy will continue to improve. Don't wait for the government to start spending :)

Journey to Competent Communication

It looks as if I just joined toastmasters club. 1 year moved very fast.

I completed all the 10 projects given in the Competent Communicator manual. Yes. I am now a competent communicator !! Thanks to all the other toastmasters whose feedback helped me in reaching this milestone.

I've decided to continue with the program and complete at least 2 advance manuals in the next 1 year. There are 5 speeches in each Advance manual. I've opted to do projects from "Speeches by Management" and "Persuasive Speaking" manuals.

CC Project 10 - Inspire your audience - Faster Goal Achievement

CC - Project 10: Inspire your audience
September 28, 2007

Introduction

How many of you want to stay fit, but do not have a regular exercise routine? How many of you here take 'new year resolutions' but do not follow them? How many of you have personal goals for which you hardly spend any time?
In the next 7 minutes, you are going to learn simple techniques to achieve your goals faster.

Also read: Competent Communicator Speeches (Projects 1 - 10)

Visualize

Visualize the pleasure of reaching the goal. Visualize how you would be and how your life style will change after attaining the goal.

If you want to be a billionaire, visualize driving a Porsche or a Z3. Visualize living in your dream house with 20 different rooms, a big lawn in the front and a swimming pool at the backyard.

Visualizing fills your heart, mind and soul with the thoughts about your goal. Visualizing helps you to refine your goals and motivates to achieve them.


Find mentors or people with similar goals

I had a desire to improve my public speaking skills - for quite sometime. However, I lacked the motivation & guidance. My friend introduced me to Toastmasters. With the support & inspiration that I got from other toastmasters, I am now a decent speaker. If I hadn't joined toastmasters, I wouldn't have had the opportunity to learn from others. If I hadn't joined toastmasters, there would be no one to remind "Saro, the next thing that you've to improve is your Vocal Variety".

So, always find mentors or people with similar goals. They can help you to stay on track and reach your goals faster.

Split into smaller goals

You go to a pizzeria and order a pizza. Your hot delicious pizza is served. What if you were asked to eat the whole pizza without cutting into slices? You'll sit there for a while thinking "How the hell am I going to eat this pizza?" I bet you'll be able to eat it faster if you cut it into slices.

The same strategy can be applied in achieving your goals. Split them into smaller goals.

For example, you may have a goal of starting your own business in 2 years. You can split it into smaller goals like

- Develop skills to run the business
- Identify the resource requirements
- Raise capital
- Identify business partners

Assign a time line to each of these smaller goals.

If you have one big goal to achieve, you will not work on it giving an excuse "I don't have time". Splitting them into smaller goals helps you to accommodate them into your schedule. Achieving each smaller goal motivates you further and gives you extra confidence to reach the bigger goal.

Keep a good reminder system

How many of you tell your friends or spouse about your goals? Very good!

I shared my New Year resolution with my wife. I told her that I want to go for a brisk walk every morning. So, these days, she gets up at 5.30 am in the morning, wakes me up for my morning walk and she goes back to sleep again. I'm not sure if she does that to help me to achieve my goal (or) she wants to sleep comfortably in the bed.

Your reminder system can also be as simple as a small to do list (or) a poster on the wall that lists all your goals.

Conclusion

Having a goal & doing nothing about it - is equivalent to "NOT HAVING A GOAL". If there is something that prevents you from achieving your goals, that something is nothing but YOU.
If you had postponed taking actions towards your goals, DO IT NOW. Better late than never. Follow these simple techniques to reach your goals FASTER.

Also read: Competent Communicator Speeches (Projects 1 - 10)

CC Project 9 - Persuading with Power - Habits come in series

CC - Project 9: Persuading with power
August 26, 2007

Introduction

How many of you here do not read at least one book per month? How many of you don't have a daily exercise routine? How many of you do not have time to spend on long-term goals and interests? How many of you spend more hours at work? Well, 3 years back, if you had asked me the same set of questions, I would have lifted my hand for every one of them. I've come a long way since then.

Ladies & Gentlemen, today, I am going to share with you the fact "HABITS COME IN SERIES".

Also read: Competent Communicator Speeches (Projects 1 - 10)

Body

Most of us here are addicted to bad habits. It all would have started with just one bad habit. Take for example - you may be having a habit of "spending more hours at work". When you spend more hours at work, you won't have time for yourself. You may not be able to prepare your food at home. You'll start to dine outside, a lot. On top of that, you won't have time for a regular exercise. You'll start to gain more weight and become obese over a period of time. Having spent a lot of time at work, whatever little time you get over the weekends will be spent in relaxing - mostly by watching television, or movies. You will not find time to read good books. You'll start to assimilate hundreds of other bad habits.

I was no different from you folks until three years back. But, I found that people who lead a balanced life were able to excel in their career as well as on personal front. I decided to bring-in a change into my life.

The first thing that I did is to come home early from work. Instead of spending 12 - 14 hours at work, I started to spend just 8 hours. I did a better time management during the day, assigned proper priority to tasks and avoided all the unwanted activities. This helped me to complete the work in time. Having come early from work, I wanted to spend that time usefully. Instead of dining outside, I started to prepare my food everyday at home. I had more time left out after I was done with the cooking. So, I started to go to the fitness center. With a balanced diet and regular exercise, I became more fresh & active. I could do more things in less time. I realized that I had more time left out in a day.

For quite sometime, I had a passion to do a management degree. I enrolled for a part time MBA program. My whole world changed after that. In my classes & during various networking events, I got opportunities to meet new people from different industries. But I found it hard to initiate or participate in conversations. I hardly had any topics in common, to discuss with them. I started to keep track of the current events, tech-industry, economy, and stock market. This gave me a wealth of knowledge to participate in any conversation with strangers.

During my class presentations, I felt very nervous and found it hard to convey my ideas. I realized that I have to improve my public speaking skills to excel in management. I joined toastmasters. After joining toastmasters, I got the habit of reading books to get material for my speeches and learnt new words on a regular basis.

Now, I'm here .... standing in front of you, sharing my experiences. If I had not brought-in that "one good habit" of "spending the right amount of time at work", I'll not be standing in front of you today.

Conclusion Stephen Covey, the author of the famous book "Seven habits of highly effective people" says "substituting a bad habit with a good habit" is an easy way to get rid of bad habits. Habits always come in series. So, try to bring in just one good habit into your life. It will trigger a chain reaction. It will create a ripple effect. In a few months, you'll be surrounded by a bunch of other good habits. You don't have to wait till New Year to take a resolution. You can do it today.

Imagine what is going to happen on the second Sunday of August 2008. You'll be getting ready to attend the toastmasters meeting. You feel very happy about yourself because you have a regular exercise routine, you read at least one book a month, you spend quality time with your family & friends, and you lead a balanced life. You look at yourself in the mirror, and appreciate you for the one good habit that you brought into your life in August 2007.

Folks, give it a thought... bring-in one good habit into your life starting today... because "HABITS COME IN SERIES".

Also read: Competent Communicator Speeches (Projects 1 - 10)

CC Project 8 - Visual Aids - Got an idea? Patent it !

CC - Project 8: Visual Aids
August 8, 2007


Good Evening Toastmasters. Who invented light bulb? Thomas Edison. Who invented telephone? Graham Bell. Who invented aircraft? Wright Brothers. Well, we all have or had opportunities to become popular like these inventors. We might have thought about, imagined or dreamed about ideas that could've benefited the whole world. But, we weren't persistent enough and committed to make our ideas a reality. I am one such individual. Today, I am going to talk about the 3 ideas that I missed to patent.

Also read: Competent Communicator Speeches (Projects 1 - 10)

Idea#1 - Wireless Keyboard & Mouse

I thought about this way back in 1995. We had a local area network in our LAB. We had about 25 PCs connected to each other using co-axial Ethernet cables. The lab was so congested and we hardly had any space between the terminals. There will be cables running all over the table for network connectivity and to connect devices like mouse, keyboard & VGA monitor. The specialty of our network is - if the Ethernet cable is slightly distorted from any workstation, the whole network will be down. Quite often, some one or the other will try to repair their mouse or keyboard connection to the workstation and that would disturb the Ethernet cables. The whole network will be down.

I used to think - working in the lab will be lot more peaceful if we have wireless keyboards and mouses. Wireless keyboards/mouse became very popular in late 90s. Thats when I realized that I should have patented my idea.

Idea#2 - WiFi in Car

This is a cool idea. What would you do if you are lost in a high way and you don't have a mobile phone with you? In my country, there will be a number of shops close to the highways. If you are lost, you can stop by any of the shops and get the directions for your destination. However, in US you have to take the next exit, find a gas station & park your car to get directions. I thought it would be nice if we have WiFi in all the cars. If you are lost, you can communicate with the other cars in the road to get driving directions.

Also, the WiFi in cars can be used to sense collisions in advance. The WiFi system can detect and alert the drivers if you are following a car so closely or if there is an obstacle close-by.

To my surprise, in 2005, I read an article saying that leading car manufacturers are going to support WiFi in cars to get these functions.

Idea#3 - Access to MAPS using 411

Assume that you got lost while driving and you have a mobile phone with you. What would you do? You'll call your friend to get driving directions, right? What if you had access to maps using 411 services? You can tell your current location and get directions from there to your destination. You don't have to disturb your friend. You don't have to install costly GPS or navigation systems in your car. You just pay 50 cents or a dollar to get this service. I thought about this idea in 2003, when I go out with friends on a long drive. We used to get lost and I wish I had access to a service like this. In 2007, Google came up with Google411, a service that is quite similar to this. You can dial-up a number to access MAPs from wherever you are.


When you come across new ideas - run them with your close friends. They can help you to refine it. Thomas Edison said, " I never perfected an invention that I did not think about in terms of the service it might give others". Your inventions should benefit others. Filing a patent costs between $4K - $25K. If you come up with a work related idea, your employer may help you in patenting it.

There is an inventor in every one of us here in this room. We all have the potential to come up with brilliant ideas. However, we fail to consciously recognize such ideas and make them a reality. Needs drive inventions. You may be facing a number of problems or issues in your home, work place or society. Think how best you can resolve those issues or problems. There is a great probability that you can be an inventor.

Also read: Competent Communicator Speeches (Projects 1 - 10)