Friendship Toastmasters Club: July 2015

Saturday, July 25, 2015

21 July 2015 - Life's a Marathon, not a Sprint!

This is a beautiful analogy for living life, not just running a race. Angela Duckworth, a professor in the University of Pennsylvania in her psychology research found that Grit is the one of key success factor in one’s life.

Grit is passion and perseverance for very long term goals. Grit is having stamina. Grit is sticking with your future, day in, day out, not just for the week, not just for the month, but for years, and working really hard to make that future a reality.

As with endurance running, life requires the same thing from us that a marathon does, to endure till the end, without quitting at any point before the finish line, and without cutting corners. It is about never giving up, being persistent and resilient. Their passion and commitment towards the long-term objective is the overriding factor that provides the stamina required to "stay the course" amid challenges and set-backs. Essentially, the grittier person is focuses on winning the marathon, not the sprint.

The audience were inspired that "Grit" is the true recipe to success.

Table topic master, Tan Geok Ean, CC challenged the members on topics around the theme for the evening.

Visiting Toastmaster, Yap Poh Soon from TTDI TMC was the first volunteer to take up the Table topic challenge - "Between failure and giving up, which would you choose?".

Visiting Toastmaster, May Ong from OUM TMC got a cycling picture where she shared her experience when she was younger.

Keny shared with us how Richard Brandson inspired her to do something exciting in life.

Visiting Toastmaster, Patrick from TTDI TMC was given an Apple picture and he passionately shared Steve Job's success story.

Last but not least, our president, Benz Chan shared how he learnt from his past experience. "Mistakes are proof that you are trying".

Our first project speaker, Wong Mi Shan delivered CC#1 - Icebreaking speech. This soft spoken lady shared that she is a strong believer of gender equality. We know more about her, at least we know she plays the guitar instead of piano!

If I weren't afraid.....

Second project speaker, Edrea Poh delivered Advanced Communication Manual - Public Relationship. Edrea shared her personal experience in Toastmasters, from personal development to gaining speaking competency.

The Toastmasters

Guess what are they watching???

We had a special clip for Timothy and Mi Shan, a clip that captures all the memories we had in Friendship Toastmasters.

Cheers!

Special cake for the lovely couple..... All the best to both of you!

I always believe absence makes the heart grow fonder ;p

Last but not least, special thanks to our General Evaluator, Sue Ding, DTM, District Governor. Sue Ding shared a very detailed 'general evaluation' with us. She complimented our SAA, Keny for being thoughtful and ensuring guests are well taken care of all the time, not forgetting keeping them well fed too! She was impressed by the strong bond that we have among the members, and this is even more apparent when the Tim and Mi Shan's farewell clip was played during the meeting. Well done, Friendship Toastmasters!

Sue Ding has provided valuable feedback to us, and we hope to see you again!

A meeting will never be complete without a group picture of everyone!

In conjunction with our theme, we would like to share this motivating talk by Angela Duckworth:

Click me! Link to Youtube

Something we can learn from the cute ducklings:

Cheers,

Ng Lai Leng

Vice President of Public Relations of Term 2015/2016

Friday, July 10, 2015

7 July 2015 - People.Purpose.Passion

All great achievements start with passion. Passion is what fuels everything. Passion is what motivates you and keeps you going. It is your unique lens on the world that shapes not only who you are, but who you connect with and what opportunities you pursue along the way.

Passion is what shapes your purpose in life and in business. When the idea for a venture or a cause starts taking shape, purpose is what ultimately helps define it. That shared passion, that shared belief, is what motivates people, gives them the sense of belonging and excites them about accomplishing the same mission and being a part of your movement.

Passion and purpose go hand in hand. When you discover your purpose, you will normally find it is something you're tremendously passionate about.

- Steve Pavlina, Blogger and author -

The success of our missions depends on people we partner with. No man is an island. The team or partners who shared the same set of beliefs, goals, and visions will work together, challenging each other and supporting each other everyday.

Stella Lee, the Toastmaster of the evening started the meeting on time and introduced a new session for this term "Do you know". Ng Lai Leng introduced her beloved dogs to the members of FTMC and were surprised to meet other dog lovers in the house.

Meet Don and Girlie

Esten Tan lead the table topic sessions. Four brave souls took up the challenge.

Guest Sze Wei gratefully pointed out that he was inspired by a division governer 7 years ago and he sees him as a mentor. Guest Lee Hwa, President from WIM elegantly shared that passion is the most important criteria to be successful in life.

Alex was asked : Passion or money - which is more important? Being an experienced speaker, she cleverly articulated the thoughts about her choice of money, and concluded that passion will lead to more money!

Sivadas tried his luck to negotiate the 'easier' topic with the TTM, and he shared one of his successful story in his life; that was when he bagged the gold medal for 10 years service recognition award.

Chor Chee Hoe, the Immediate Past President impressed the floor by delivering the Ice breaker project (again) with the title "The original me". We know more about the origin of his name, his "sweaty palms" and his support for original CDs ("Buy original, listen original"). He left the audience mesmerised by ending his speech with a quote:

"You are born an original, don't die as a copy" - Chor Chee Hoe

Congrats to Chor Chee Hoe for winning the best speaker for project speech!!!

Tan Lay Theng successfully delivered her technical briefing by sharing with the audience the 6 factors impacting one's performance, according to Gilbert's Behaviorial Engineering Model (BEM). Lay Theng stressed the importanced of getting the "right person for the right job".

I would perform better if......

Our humourous speaker, Sylvia Tan caught 101% of the audience's attention by her dramatic shark attack story! What a miracle for Jane and Brian to survive from the unexpected shark attack! The moral of the story is that there is always hope in life.

FTMC was very grateful to have Jacky Cheng from WIM TMC as our general evalutor. He was impressed by our "friendliness" :) and simply love the cheering throughout the meeting. He has provided valuable feedback to us, and we hope to see you again!