Speaking

This post is dedicated to my new ambition, which is to become a motivational speaker and one day speak on an massive stage in front of an international crowd, and have them leave a little wiser than when they arrived. Allow me to share how this came about.

It was a darrrrk and storrrmy night... in a land far far away... (just kidding).

Seriously, after taking 2 weeks off to hunt for a clue on a potential career for myself, I went through some really great books and audio tapes which taught me how to identify something good for myself. I discovered that I have a passion for talking.

I remember in kindergarten, I was so chatty the teacher put sellotape across my mouth to keep me quiet. And as a I looked through the remarks in my student report cards from my younger days, one comment which consistently appeared was that I was an "outspoken child". That passion for talking has grown quite a bit. Now I don't just want to talk... I want to talk on stage!

I'm not saying that I'm always eager to get up on stage and talk to a huge crowd of people I don't know. Truth be told, I do get the jitters whenever I have to speak to people through a microphone. I get stage fright too, like many other people out there.

My first time ever on stage was a complete disaster - 11 years of age, taking part in a storytelling contest back in primary school. My preparation was good and I knew my story relatively well. Unfortunately, once up there, I barely got past the introduction when my brain froze. Not only did I not know what to say next, I was so nervous I forgot what I had already said. I stood there on stage in front of a hall of 500-600 other students and teachers for what seemed like an eternity. It was a nightmare.

When I finally came to my senses, I was just so embarrassed and eager to run off stage that I just pieced together a rough ending to my story, anything which came off the top of my head, a sentence at a time. LOL! barely an introduction and then a pathetic dash for the ending. My story had a head and 2 feet... no body - like M&M's mascot. Suffice to say, I didn't win anything in that competition.

For most people, an experience like that would have been enough to turn a little fear into an all-out phobia. Strange that I somehow managed to find myself on stage again in secondary school, and pulling off a half decent job this time.

Today, whenever I'm put to the task of public speaking on stage, I generally brush off the nervousness within the first 2 minutes of being up there. So I believe I'm off to a good start already.

Now it's just a matter of gaining more skills and refining them. And of course to work on a plan which will ultimately qualify me to have people willing to pay thousands of dollars and fly thousands of miles just to attend one of my talks.

Then the question arises... "Are people going to pay thousands of dollars and fly thousands of miles just to listen to me talk nonsense?" Of course not. I'll need to have something good to share with them. And thus I'm setting off on my quest for personal development in hope that I will realize my ambition before I'm old and grey.

It's a big ambition, but a good one nonetheless. I'm excited!