Posts Tagged personal development

Last night I made a guest appearance on a personal development podcast called, ‘Reinvent U One Talk at a Time,’ with co-hosts, Diana McCray and Patricia Rivera. This is a Blog Talk Radio show created by two women who are coaches and business development and personal development rock stars. The guests on their show all seem to be women who come from a spiritual perspective, which really resonated with me.

Normally, I’d be a completely nervous wreck before going on a live radio show, but I took the time to meditate first and get grounded and then I just relaxed and let it all go. On Monday night I totally nailed my first Toastmasters speech, so I felt like I was on a roll. That accomplishment really gave me an amazing amount of confidence, so I felt comfortable and excited for the opportunity to share my message.

The cool part is that I got thrown for a loop towards the end of the call. You see, as a courtesy, interviewers often send you a list of the questions they will ask you so that you can be prepared with answers. Well, one of the questions they asked was different than the advance questions, so I had to come up with some answers off the top of my head. I managed to pull it off and then I was able to read the answers that I had prepared initially.

It went well and I was thrilled to no end. I was observing this morning as I was sipping my tea, that all of the things that I have been envisioning, dreaming, planning and praying for are coming to fruition right now. It’s really quite challenging to keep up with everything that is coming my way, but I have not forgotten that I have been blessed to be a blessing to others.

When I get a better handle on the huge influx of work that is on my plate right now, I am going to start leading some workshops in my local area. I just attended a lovely workshop tonight at a local branch library put on by one of my Toastmasters colleagues. He totally inspired me to host some workshops to share my gifts and knowledge with my neighbors.

So, I’ll end by asking you what do you have to give? How can you be of service to your community but using your gifts and skills? I have found that the best way to move forward in life is to help other people to move forward. You have been blessed to be a blessing.

Last evening I attended my first Toastmasters meeting since my college days. The first meeting I attended back in the day was an assignment for speech class, but this time I went of my own accord because I would like to brush up on my public speaking skills and get more comfortable speaking in front of an audience and groups again. I don’t have the fear of public speaking that many people are plagued with, and I thank God for that. When I was in college, there were several occasions where I gave speeches, and I actually enjoyed it.

On one occasion, when I was speaking at a Black History Month event, I remember that the audience began to smile and chuckle, but I was a bit disconcerted because what I was speaking about was not necessarily funny. It turns out that my daughter, who was about 2 1/2 at the time, had escaped my mother’s grasp and had crept up to the podium and she wrapped herself around my leg and stayed there for the duration of my speech.

The other day when I was chatting with a client about ways that she could prepare herself for public speaking, I recommended that she try Toastmasters. As I was describing this national organization that was formed as a way to help people develop their public speaking and leadership skills, I realized that maybe I needed to re-visit Toastmasters for myself.

Because I was already familiar with what Toastmasters is all about, I just went to the national website and did a search on my zip code. Turns out there are hundreds of Toastmasters chapters in the D.C. area, but there is also one that meets about three blocks from my house at a church on Pennsylvania Avenue. So, last night I ventured out and paid this meeting a visit. It’s a small club with just 21 members, but only about 9 people were in attendance last night. I felt welcomed to the group, I was invited to speak on two occasions, and I was thrilled to witness the installation of their new slate of officers for the year.

This group seems very supportive and I think that it will be a good place for me to get back on my feet and feeling at ease behind the podium again. I would like to get back into public speaking, and I could also add speech writing to my repertoire of services for my clients. I do, however, still plan to visit another Toastmaster’s group that meets in downtown D.C. that has more of a corporate focus. I really want to stretch myself, and this group feel very nurturing–I mean they meet in the fellowship hall at a church for goodness sake. In order to get the constructive criticism and exposure to a tougher audience, I may want to check out another group to see what I find.

Of course, I’ll keep you posted on what I decide, but I’m eager to get going now that I have been exposed to this fabulous opportunity to grow and develop my skills and abilities.

Live Your Bliss: Practices that Produce Happiness and Prosperity
By Terry Cole-Whittaker
Published 2009 by New World Library

I first learned about Live Your Bliss, by Terry Cole-Whitaker, while listening to the Theater of the Mind Podcast by Kelley Howell. After listening to Kelley’s engaging interview with Ms. Cole-Whitaker, I went out and bought the book and devoured it eagerly.

Live Your Bliss: Practices that Produce Happiness and Prosperity, is both a spiritual/inspirational book and a practical guide to living the life you intend in a blissful way. Cole-Whitaker writes about “living in the abundant flow of divine bliss and opulence,” that is out birthright, but our own self-impose limiting beliefs keep us from tapping into that flow of prosperity.

Chapter four, “Prosper and Live Blissfully by Doing What You Love,” was one that I really enjoyed because it really put the concept of prosperity and abundance in perspective for me. Cole-Whitaker writes about the fact that we are already prosperity. It is not something that we need to go out and work hard to acquire. She also reminds her readers that, “. . . working for money makes money your boss, but working for love makes love your boss.”

Each of the eight chapters ends with ‘Happiness and Prosperity Practices’ and ‘Prosperity Mantras,’ that help the reader to take the concepts and ideas from the book and put them into action in your daily life.

Chapter five focuses on relationships. The author reminds the reader that we are all love, and that we do not get love from outside of ourselves or from other people. She encourages her readers to offer the gift of unconditional love, which is the greatest gift we can give to another human being. She shares seven actions that lead to becoming a master at the art of relationships.

She ends the book with a chapter called, ‘Entrance into the Realm of Divine Pleasures’ which encourages the reader to take responsibility for the world they have created, and to discipline their minds so that they can begin to co-create a world on purpose. She writes about the new world that is evolving and the various ways to develop your spiritual consciousness.

Terry Cole-Whittaker is also well known for her previous books, What You Think of Me is None of My Business, Dare to Be Great, How to Have More in a Have-Not World, and others. She is also a minister, counselor and teacher.

I enjoyed reading Live Your Bliss, because the material is presented in such a way that encourages the reader to actually put what they learn into practice in their everyday lives. You would like this book if you are looking to strengthen your spiritual foundations and you are really focusing on finding a way to prosper from the things that you are passionate about.

Here’s a link to a .PDF that contains an excerpt of the Live Your Bliss
book.