THE POWER OF HABITS

Don’t get trapped in a routine. The secret of success is to practice what you are not good at. Get uncomfortable. A sport’s man, when asked to identify the secret of his success, replied ’I practiced what I was not good at’ All successful people both in and out of Toastmasters have had to overcome obstacles in life. What determines their ability to transcend those obstacles and fears is a great willingness to stretch their comfort zones. In a Toastmaster’s Club your comfort zone is measured by the speeches you give and the assignments you take on. Successful Toastmasters have one thing in common – they form the habit of THOROUGH PREPARATION and ACTIVE LISTENING. Those who clock watch and day dream do not get far.

Your habits reflect your personality. They influence how you dress; walk; sit; smile and laugh. As part of your internal makeup most habits are formed early in life. By adulthood those habits are much easier to follow than change. If you want to be more successful both in and out of Toastmasters, you must make an effort to reject stagnation, and form habits of self improvement. To evaluate your personal habits – ask yourself

• Do successful happy people seem to enjoy my company.

• Do others seek my advice

• Do I continue to grow through careful reading and exposure to stimulating ideas.

• Do I surround myself with positive uplifting influences.

• Do I usually feel good about myself

• Do I look for new ways to improve my speaking, writing, and listening skills

Remember a lack of time is almost always a lack of organization and management. The ability to invest time wisely is a habit acquired through deliberate choice. Success requires passion and is governed by the laws of habit. To develop habits, one must have an objective. It is never the strength of a goal that will make you do anything in life. It is the strength of the purpose behind it. If your goal in life is to make money to put bread on the table, then that is all you will do. This standard requires you to cross the finish line only because it exists. In order to achieve a far greater level of success, you must have passion to go the distance. So finally “Never be content with what you are, if you want to be what you are not”

After that PARTY POLITICAL BROADCAST - the party being Speakeasy Toastmasters – let me turn to the immediate. Speakeasy Toastmasters will hold their next meeting at the Hibernian Hotel, Mallow on Thursday 3^rd May, at 7.50 for and 8.00 pm start. Do call in to see what is going on. You will be most welcome. We have a full and varied programme, and the usual delicious ‘cuppa’ at the interval.

Another big news item for our Club is that our Club member Mike Cronin is representing us at the Toastmasters District 71 Spring Conference, on May l3th in the Evaluation Contest. This incorporates contestants from both Ireland and Great Britain. We are very proud of Mike. He is a nice person, a hard working club member. He has great ability, and a winning personality .He will do us proud at the final. Any Club would be delighted to have Mike as their ambassador, but you are not getting him. He is ours. We wish you the very best Mike. We will be with you in spirit, that is, those of us in the club who are not traveling there.

Speakeasy Toastmasters

Speakeasy Toastmasters fortnightly meeting was held at the Hibernian Hotel Mallow on Thursday last. Despite of or perhaps because of the beautiful sunny evening our attendance was twenty three members. We have three more meeting before the end of this year. So if you have any interest in or curiosity about Toastmasters – come along and see for yourself. You will not be asked to speak unless you wish to.

On Thursday night we had a very full programme. Five speakers entertained us with wide and varied subjects. The speakers were as follows - Mary Moynihan; Mary McCarthy; Pat Sexton; Angela Sheehan; Margaret O’Regan. The topics Master of the night was Mary Stack. Mary had a very innovative approach to topics which worked well. There were many contributions to the topics and of course plenty laughs. This is the sort of thing that lengthens one’s life - fun and laughter. The time keeper was Liam Flynn, and our ‘ah’ counter was Jerry Kelleher. Both did their tasks admirably.

On Saturday night the Division Final of the International Speech and Evaluation was held at the Radisson Hotel, Cork Airport. This was very well attended by toastmasters from the five areas in our Division. We were proud to support the two contestants from our Club who won at the Area Final, beating four other clubs to arrive at this stage which is no mean achievement. They were Mike Cronin and Pat Sexton. At Saturdays Final there were five contestants in each competition. So we are very proud to say that Pat Sexton came second in the Speech Final and Mike Cronin came second in the Evaluation Final. A wonderful achievement. Well done boys - our heartiest congratulations. You both did Speakeasy Toastmasters proud.

Our next meeting is on Thursday May 3^rd. Do leave the gardening or the jogging and come and join us at the Hibernian Hotel at 7.50 sharp. We are still serving the best tea/coffee and biscuits in town at the interval. We serve them with a smile. When did you get your last ‘cuppa’ served with a smile?

We look forward to seeing you there on 3^rd.