I have not written for some time. Yesterday it occurred to me that the statement I just made isn’t true. I belong to a Toastmasters Club and last year I became the first person in the club to complete a pathway, which consists of about 15 speeches.
I have written more than 15 speeches and I don’t think I posted any of them here.
I presented this at our September 2022 meeting.
When I was about 10 I came across a magazine. It was full of photos of people standing on large surfboards holding small sails. They called it windsurfing. I wanted to do that. but I lived in Johannesburg and the nearest body of water was zoo lake.. I don’t think anyone ever windsurfed there. I would dream about windsurfing! Fast for ward two years. My parents bought a farm in Stanford and I went to see it in the July holidays.
The neighbours had a windsurfer! They also had a dam! My cousin was out from England on his gap year, working on the farm. He had taught windsurfing at club med the previous summer. The universe had granted my wish.
I asked him to teach me. He said he couldn’t because he didn’t have a wetsuit. Neither did I but I wasn’t going to let that stop me. I begged him. He agreed to stand on the shore and instruct me. My family and the neighbors’ teenage daughters watched as I waded into the freezing water then spent more time in the water than on the board.
Afterwards, I had to defrost in a tepid bath for about half an hour. I did this every day for a week! My father later said to me that he had never seen such determination in his life. Maybe if I hadn’t learned to windsurf I would have a law degree, I would go sailing at Bloubergstrand beach every afternoon in summer while at varsity instead of studying. I certainly felt I was seizing the day.
Do you often find you set grand plans for your day that you don’t accomplish?
Last night. I said I would go to gym at 5:45 this morning . I woke up at 5:45 made tea and then … made my daughters breakfast instead. The problem, Simon Sinek, says is I haven’t got a strong enough why. In his book, Start With Why, Sinek says individuals with a deep internal purpose can overcome fierce obstacles and persevere far longer than those who simply want to make money.
I decided that my next pathway would be effective coaching. I chose it for two reasons:
I want to help my clients and behavior management is the foundation of sticking to a financial plan.
I also want to help myself.
The last time I displayed such commitment was when I was studying to qualify as a certified financial planner. I have failed often and learnt many painful lessons. I have the grey hair to prove it. I felt it was time to learn how to pass on some of this hard-won wisdom.
I recently volunteered to be a Toastmasters club coach and will soon be running a speaking program for local high school kids. I’m hoping this path will provide some useful tools to help me.
If you find that you aim to seize the day then snooze through it consider your why. Maybe that will help you jump up and get to it, rather than poking the day with a sharp stick hoping it will go away.