We're all experiencing the effects of this COVID-19 pandemic together, though separately.
Does it feel surreal? Like nothing you ever experienced before?
Actually, this feels familiar to me. Feeling useless, confused, with things constantly changing?
I felt like this the whole two years I was a Peace Corps volunteer in Mali.
But looking back, it was one of the best times of my life and one that profoundly changed who I was and what I realized I could handle.
Toastmasters Learning Institute
Saturday, June 6, 2020, 10 am - 2 pm
Zoom To be Announced
A few years ago, I went to a birthday party for a co-worker at a fancy steak restaurant. I sat across from one of her friends, who turned out to also be in Toastmasters.
I said, "How long have you been a Toastmaster?"
She said, "Oh, about ten years."
I said, "Have you become a Distinguished Toastmaster yet?"
She said, "No, I haven't done all the requirements."
High on the slopes of Mauna Kea
and looking across the sea,
Here is the place we learn each day
and we're as happy as can be
Did your elementary school have an anthem? Well, that was ours at Ernest B. deSilva school in Hilo.
I feel lucky to have grown up in Hawaii.
It was the seventies. That was around the time when native Hawaiian activists, inspired by the Civil Rights movements on the mainland, were pushing for renewed cultural awareness and political power in Hawaii.
For the past ten years I've been writing speeches, about once every other month. I've also helped others write speeches, usually in the context of Toastmasters but sometimes for TED talks, speeches for work, and other presentations.
Today I want to talk about how to pick a topic, make a title and introduction, build and practice your speech, and following up after you complete a speech.
I know we're all busy so I'll make this quick.
Sometimes the hardest thing is to just get started.
Over the years I've mentored nearly 20 students and members.
America likes to think of itself as unique and special. We like to believe we have the best schools, the best doctors, the best movies, the friendliest people.
But American exceptionalism is bad in one way: the way we pay our taxes.
When you think about filing your taxes, does it make you feel happy and excited? No, you probably dread the idea.
Usually I promote ways to make your life easier. But this time I want to make your life harder.
I want you to get rid of all your friends.
Sounds radical? Yes. But drastic methods are called for.
It's part of the process of weaning yourself away from Facebook.
Let me tell you about my former housemate Kelly.
Kelly was from the Bay area before she came to UNM to study.
What is Vitamin G? Gratitude. Okay, it's not a vitamin, but like a vitamin, it's essential to your health.
Gratitude is an exercise: It's good for you, and the more you practice, you will get faster and stronger at it.
I once read about a person who scoffed at Thanksgiving.
"It's an insult to the Creator," he said, "to devote only one day to giving thanks. It's important to be thankful every day, not just once a year."
My own personal list:
Do you sometimes feel you are surrounded by shit that doesn’t work? Your car makes a funny noise, your computer quits connecting to your external drive, the furnace stops turning on as scheduled?
When you think about all the things in your life that have computer components inside, a lot of these things can -- and do -- go wrong.
I'm old enough to remember when cars, phones, and TVs only had mechanical parts. Now cell phones, .mp3 players, drones, and many household appliances are computerized and/or connect to the internet. It's frustrating when these things quit working.
