Leadership means many things to many people…I think it means being proactive… being the first:
- Taking the initiative
- Setting the standard
- Managing
- Planning
- Resourcing
- Identifying vision, goals and priorities
- A good leader takes responsibility and says” the buck stops here”.
- Leaders show the way and model by example what they’re trying to accomplish.
- Leaders press on and press in, and they run counter to the culture of convenience… they refuse to get stuck in the “bright and shiny objects”, diversions, and side eddies of our culture.
- Leaders strain and strive with intentionality and energy to build relationships and create a legacy and heritage and their families…. I do much of this is simply by taking the initiative, being intentional and planning by writing and accomplishing compelling goals that are relationship based…
Leaving a Legacy of Leadership
Who does not want to leave a positive legacy!
We want to leave a heritage to my family, friends, church and community at large.
Think about your personal leadership, through which you leave us a legacy to those behind you. See life as a chance to identify your purpose, position, passion, and posture.
What shapes you? Intentions? Motives? Opinions? Thoughts? Responses? What shapes your words, attitudes, deeds, reactions, and more?
So what is leadership, do you have it?
How do you get it?
What are you leaving behind now?
What do you want to leave behind?
What will change in order for you to do the above?
How do you get there from here?
To impress or to influence…
would you rather impress someone or truly have an influence in their life? Impressions are on the surface, therefore, are often superficial.
Influence on the other hand, is often real, honest, and requires far more ability.
Influence necessitates communication with people and the cessation of self absorption.
Your life’s lessons…
Many of our life’s lessons are made up from our experiences, relationships, and mistakes. Have you been honest with your fears, failures, frustrations, and feelings?
The above serve to shape your life’s message. That life’s message consists of a spiritual component, your life’s lessons, your life’s passions, and indeed, your life’s mission. Most of what we call failure can be transformed to tangible lessons we can share with those we have relationships with; pain transformed to purpose and passion.
Every leader has 5 components that define him or her.
1. Let’s talk about your POSITION…
Are you in a position to be credible, vulnerable, real, and genuine?
Are you believable, touchable, straight up, humane, and do you have integrity?
2. Every leader must have his PURPOSE.
People are the priority.
Are you able to connect with people are you a relationship builder?
Do you serve and meet needs?
Do you truly love other people?
Can you allow love to define your purpose and thereby your leadership legacy?
3. The third element of leadership is your POSTURE.
Do you live in a posture of being open, teachable, and always learning? Are you able to lose preconceived notions ideas and attitudes? You walk in the Spirit and live in the art of possibility in your day-to-day living?
4. One last element is your PASSION.
Passions define leadership.
What are you passionate about? Are you a spokesperson for your passions? What causes, groups of people, or issues do you champion?
5. Your Mission in life.
Do you want to leave a legacy of love for those around you?
Then have quality relationships with people. Be an example to follow. Serve others.
Leaving a legacy of leadership also means the facing and overcoming of adversity. How you deal with adversity defines you. Are you bitter, or better?
You will need faith to face your challenges. Then you can come through, as someone who can truly serve others and help them in their time of need.
A LEADER–
- A leader knows where she is going, why she is going, and how to get there
- A leader knows no discouragement, presents no alibi
- A leader knows how to lead without being dictatorial; true leaders are humble
- A leader leads for the good of the most concerned, and not for personal gratification of his or her own ideas
- A leader looks for the best in those he or she serves
- A leader marches with a group, and interprets correctly the signs of the pathway that leads to success
- A leader has his or her head in the clouds, but his or her feet on the ground
- A true leader considers leadership as an opportunity for service
- A leader is one who has not sought the high places, but who’s been drafted into service because of his or her ability and willingness to serve
- A leader listens, communicates, and cares
- A leader has courageous conversations
- A leader manages time, money, resources and is a good steward
- A leader washes dishes, cleans the bathrooms, and does what’s needed
- A leader does not look for, nor require, kudos
In conclusion, we all need to–
Find our voice and use it toward our life’s passions, purpose, posture, and position to leave a legacy of leadership. Find your voice and your gifts, and use your voice and your gifts. Lastly, help others find their voice and their gifts, so they too may leave a lasting legacy of leadership and a heritage of love.
Tags: Become a better Father, Communication, encouragement, father, Goal-setting, lead, leader, leaders, leadership, leading, leaving a spiritual family legacy, legacy, love, relationship, Scott Hammond, Speaking, Unconditional love
1. SPEAKING SKILLS–It is a must:the ability to accurately communicate and express ideas, concepts, and persuade your family in a compelling manner.
2. MENTORING–Being good at bringing your kids up to their potential in any skill by helping, leading, serving, and coaching.
3. LEADERSHIP–Learning to be the initiator, instigator, and to lead with compassion.
4. TIMING–Understanding rhythm, cadence, and precise timing both in how to speak and when to speak….or not!
5. IMPROMPTU SPEAKING–Really being prepared to speak in a compelling way at any moment of need. Being here now AND having something cogent to say.
6. GOOD PLANNING–the skill to exercise good focus, organization, and productivity in all aspects of parenting and family life.
7. RELATIONSHIPS–People are what is of value in life. Relationships therefore, become paramount. It is how we develop these that defines us as individuals.
How much money is being boring costing you?
ANSWER: Too much.
Boring ideas lose.
Boring people fade.
Boring organizations fizzle.
LESSON LEARNED: There is inverse relationship between how successful you are and how boring you are.
Seth Godin talked about this at length in a recent podcast with Ductape John:
“If the marketplace isn’t talking about you, there’s a reason,” Seth says. “If people aren’t discussing your products, your services, your cause, your movement or your career, there’s a reason. The reason is that you’re boring.”
This reminds me of the movie American Beauty. Towards the end, Ricky (the outcast) finally shoots down Angela (the popular girl) by evoking her deepest fear: That she’s normal.
“You’re boring. And you’re totally ordinary. And you know it,” Ricky says.
Devastated, Angela storms out of the room.
Ouch.
What about you?
Are YOU normal? Do your customers perceive you as normal?
Hope not. Your business depends on it.
Today we’re going to explore a list of thirty ways to become the most interesting person you know. As someone who makes a living writing books about “not BEING normal,” (as well as being pretty abnormal himself!) each of these practices comes from my direct experience, observation, research and reflection.
1. Avoid the Always/Notice the Never. Find out what people who do what you do ALWAYS do, then do the opposite. Similarly, find out what people who do what you do NEVER do, then do the opposite. Here’s a helpful video module with an exercise you can implement to make this practice happen. What are you currently doing that’s unpredictable?
2. Make the mundane memorable. What do your voicemail, email signature, business card, website and blog have in common? ANSWER: They’re all boring. Keep in mind: Nobody notices normal. Nobody buys boring. And nobody pays for average. So, the secret is to create a seamless predictability among all marketing touchpoints. All of these are underused branding hotspots (and more!) require a unique touch. How many customers is being boring costing you?
3. Don’t be one-dimensional. I once had a boss whose sole interest, purpose and passion in life was sports. That’s it. The guy couldn’t carry conversation like a normal person unless the topic related to sports. Or, if the conversation was not about sports, he’d go out of his way to make sure it slowly became that way.
THEE most uninteresting, one-dimensional guy I ever worked with.
Now, I’m not against having a passion for sports. I love sports. (Go Cardinals!) What IS as a problem, however, is when you maintain such a limited worldview and openness for activities and experiences outside of your scope of interest, that is mars your ability to relate to others in a healthy way. Bor-ring. How many dimensions do YOU have?
4. Learn the principles of amazing storytelling. Stories are powerful. Stories are better than statistics or quotes. Stories are what customers; readers and audiences remember and connect with most. Ultimately, stories are the best way to communicate a message. So, if you want to become a master storyteller, my suggestions are: (1) Listen to Garrison Kiellor, (2) Read Made to Stick and (3) Attend Doug Stevenson’s Story Theater program. How many people are repeating YOUR story?
5. Be a story distiller. BUT, you can’t just tell the story. Because that’s not enough. So, when your story is over, don’t just move on to the next story. First, figure out the lesson(s), universal human experience/emotion, practical take home value and Call to Action. Here’s a helpful article on how to extract take-home value. Why are you telling this story?
6. Be a Smokin’ Hot Piece of Brain Candy. One of Edward DeBono’s most underrated books is called How to Have a Beautiful Mind. In the opening he states: “As you get older, physical beauty tends to fade. But beauty of the mind is independent of age and can actually increase with wisdom and experience.”
In short: Be Brain Candy.
This idiom of psychological attractiveness means “someone with high mental appeal AND significant substance.” It’s more enduring, attractive, marketable, approachable, memorable and, of course, more INTERESTING. Check out my Top Twenty List of Smokin’ Hot Pieces of Brain Candy. Are you eye candy or brain candy?
7. Be childlike, but not childish. One person’s playful spirit brings out the same in another. So, by acting childlike, you subconsciously give other people PERMISSION to the same. It’s contagious. It’s approachable. It’s memorable. And everyone can relate to it. How are you giving people permission to be playful around you?
8. Be more challenging. Ask questions like: Is that always the case? So what? What stops you? What would happen if you didn’t? What’s your proof? Break people’s patterns. Make them stop, think and say, “Wow…” It works. How challenging are you?
9. Be radically honest. It’s unexpected and unforgettable. Read this life-changing book and, if you practice what Brad practices, I guarantee you’ll become twice as interesting of person by the time you’re done. How are you branding your honesty?
10. Become a Question Master. It’s not just about asking a bunch of questions; it’s about valuing a questioning attitude. So, every time you hear or read a question that makes you react in ANY way, write it down. Add it to your running list of questions. Categorize them. Sort them alphabetically to make it easier on your eyes. My list has 6000. How many questions do you have on your list?
11. Books. Speaking of books, I suggest you make a list called, “Top Ten Most Interesting Books I’ve Read.” Next to each one, write three attributes, actions or states of being that make those books so interesting. When you’re done, look for patterns. Extract the key ideas and then ask yourself how you can practice that in your own life. What did you read today?
12. Consciously choose how you experience the world. In his mind-blowing book, Playful Perception, Herbert Leff suggests, “Expand your repertoire of useful awareness plans and you will improve the flavor and value of your inner experiences. Increase the choice about the quality of your experience.” Check out this awesome list of 43 awareness plans to make your daily life more interesting. Are you making mindful choices for experiencing the world?
13. Create Points of Dissonance. Vagueness stimulates curiosity. And curiosity is a natural motivator of human engagement. So, there’s a certain dissonance when people observe an unexpected or unexplained behavior. Especially when it’s inconsistent with their environment. (Like seeing some guy wearing a nametag at the gym, for example.)
The challenge is to craft an idea, a message, or a look that when people are first exposed to it, they can’t help but respond with, “Huh?” or “Ok, so, I just HAVE to ask…” Those words are money in the bank. Remember: The most effective way to attract people’s attention is to B-R-E-A-K their patterns. Copyblogger has a killer post about being interesting as it relates to this topic. What patterns are YOU breaking?
14. Establish your voice. If you want make your thinking, writing and speaking more unique, relevant, persuasive, memorable, appealing and more creative, you need to pull material FROM, and cite examples USING multiple, eclectic and personal sources.
In the words of Kurt Vonnegut: “If you want to be a great writer, be a great date for your reader.” Here’s a meaty, practical guide on how to do this. WARNING: If you’re an Oprah fan, you may not want to read it. Is your writing innovative or imitative?
15. Expand your references. In the book Unlimited Power, Tony Robbins said, “Limited references create a limited life. If you want to expand your life, you must expand your references by pursuing ideas and experiences that wouldn’t be a part of your life if you didn’t consciously seek them out.”
Remember: The more interesting experiences you have, the more interesting people you meet, the more interesting things you see, watch, hear, read, taste, the more interesting places you go, the more interesting you will become. Everything is a plus. How have you stepped out of your comfort zone this week?
16. Explore the word “interesting.” It literally means: Engaging or exciting and holding the attention or curiosity. Arousing a feeling of interest. A state of curiosity or concern about or attention to something. Involvement with or participation in something. An excess or bonus beyond what is expected or due. Something, such as a quality, subject, or activity that evokes this mental state.
OK, so, now that you know that, go do that. Go BE that. On a scale from 1-10, how interesting would you say you are? How interesting would your top 20 customers say you are?
17. Extract the positive characteristics. Make a list called, “Top Ten Most Interesting People I Know.” Next to each one, write three attributes, actions or states of being that make those people so interesting. When you’re done, look for patterns. Extract the key ideas and then ask yourself how you can practice that in your own life. This exercise is how I began writing this very module on being interesting. It works and it’s fun. What would an interesting person do in this situation?
18. Extract the negative characteristics. Next, make a list called, “Top Ten Least Interesting People I Know.” Next to each one, write three attributes, actions or states of being that make those people so uninteresting. When you’re done, look for patterns. Extract the key ideas and then ask yourself how you can practice the opposite of in your own life. What would an uninteresting person do in this situation?
19. Fascinate yourself with the ordinary. “Evaluate critically every novelty you encounter,” Mihály Csíkszentmihályi wrote in his amazing book Creativity. “One of the surest ways to enrich life is to make experiences less fleeting.” If you do this, you WILL boost your creativity. You will flood your mind with new ideas. You will build a solid foundation of curiosity. And the combination of those three results will mold your melon into an attractive, valuable commodity that your clients will want to have access to.
Remember: Clients don’t want to hire consultants or marketers or coaches – they want to hire cool, smart people who happen to do those things. What ordinary stuff fascinates you?
20. Find interesting in almost anything. Similarly, Edward DeBono encourages people to embrace curiosity by constantly saying, “Now that’s interesting…”“Be able to find interest in almost anything,” DeBono says in the aforementioned How to Have a Beautiful Mind. “Be curious. Explore things. Bring up a discussion. Get people’s opinions, ideas and values. Explore, elaborate and make connections.” Are you practicing that enough?
21. Gain an eclectic education. In his book, The Invaluable Leader, my friend Dale Furtwengler suggests, “Gain an eclectic education. Expose your mind to things outside your normal areas of interest or discipline. The more quickly you can connect with your listeners, the more effectively you can communicate in their language, the more insights you can port from other disciplines, the more valuable you become.”
Your challenge is to infuse your writing, ideas and conversations with the cool, interesting things you’ve learned through your eclectic education. People will become interested. What weird books have you read recently?
22. Hang with interesting people. Listen. Watch. Soak it in. Ask yourself what it is about this person that makes them so interesting. Then DO that. Then BE that. How many of your friends are boring?
23. Have a killer vocabulary. That doesn’t mean use fancy words that showcase your brilliance. Just strong words. Powerful words. Well-timed words. Unexpected words. Perfect words. And of course, killer questions that nobody else is asking. Does your language challenge people?
24. How to Answer a Question. Answering questions creatively, counterintuitively an unexpectedly leads to a higher level of thinking. Which elevates the conversation to a new level. Which enables both parties to discover their individual truths. Which yields more compelling results than if you would have offered a simple yes or no.
This, of course, is very interesting. (You may enjoy this handy guide on how to answer questions in more interesting, cool ways, too.)
So, think about the last time someone answered a question in that way. Weren’t you instantly drawn into that person’s radius? Weren’t you curious and intrigued about what they were going to say next? How often people respond that way to YOUR answers?
25. Identify and amplify your Personal Philosophy. Simply ask yourself the following question, “If everybody did exactly what I said, what would the world look like?”
The answer(s) to this question will become a blueprint of your personal philosophy. Your unique, interesting approach to business, life and people. And if you were smart, you would print these bullet points on a Philosophy Card. Very interesting, indeed. Do you have a business card or a philosophy card?
26. Insert your passion into everything. Embed your passion into the pavement of your daily encounters. You will engage, excite and inspire people because that’s what passion DOES. Embed your passion into the pavement that leads the way.
For example, let’s say your passion is guitars. Cool. The next step is to begin inserting that passion into every possible Passion Point. Your metaphors. Your pictures. Your gifts to customers. Your ezines. Your tweets. Your office. Your voicemail. Check out my homeboy Mark Williams, The Rockin’ Realtor. Pretty interesting dude. What’s your passion? How many of your customers know what it is?
27. Keep an Interesting Log. Any time someone (yourself included) says, “Wow, that’s SO interesting…” make a note. Write down what was interesting about the topic, thing or idea at hand. Look for trends and patterns. Extract the key ideas and then apply them to your business and life. What three interesting things did you notice yesterday? How many of them did you write down?
28. Pioneer in obscure areas. Believe it or not, I’ve been internationally recognized as “The World’s Foremost Expert on Nametags.” Folks, that’s absolutely insane. I still can’t believe that’s what people call me. However, ever since The Washington Post gave me that title in 2003, it’s stuck. (No pun intended.) So I just went with it. And over time, it’s served me, my business and my wallet well. What specialized knowledge have you developed?
29. Predictable Unpredictability. In Edward DeBono’s book, I Am Right You Are Wrong, he answers the question about what makes something (or someone) interesting:
“There is always interest in a pattern-rich repertoire. If around any subject there is a rich networking of patterns, that subject becomes interesting.”
Your challenge is to build up a critical mass of interest by being what I call Predictably Unpredictable. You do this by positioning yourself in a way where people want to know what’s going to happen next, i.e., “I wonder what nametag related adventure he’s going to have today!” I call it The Caveman Principle™. How unpredictable are you?
30. Transform ideas into questions. I call this creative process “Catapulting.” It’s something I’ve been doing every single day for years. Here are two examples of how it works.
*If someone casually mentions, “I can’t believe I just stumbled upon this for the first time!” then you would write down on your question list, “What have you recently stumbled upon for the first time?”
*If you read the passage, “This behavior will make it hard for people to take you seriously,” you would jot down, “What is affecting your ability to be taken seriously?”
See how that works? Pretty cool. Pretty darn interesting, too. That’s how I’ve collected over 6000 questions. How are you turning ideas into questions and questions into catapults?
REMEMBER: Nobody notices normal. Nobody buys boring. And nobody pays for average.
On the other hand:
Those who are interesting get noticed.
Those who get noticed get remembered.
And those who get remembered GET business.
How successful you become is a function of how interesting you are.
LET ME ASK YA THIS…
How much money is being boring costing you?
* * * *
Scott Ginsberg
That Guy with the Nametag
Learning– Creating a family culture of openness, honesty and a love for lifelong learning of compelling and often difficult life lessons. We are lifelong learners.
Really Living– Having a family environment which is engaging, fun, and in the moment. We are learning to stop and enjoy the right now.
Loving– Contributing to a family culture that chooses to love, forgive, give grace and mercy. Deciding and determining before hand that we will choose love first and foremost.
Lasting-- We are running the race with a big picture in mind. Failure is not an option nor is division, divorce, or bailing on each other. We are in this for the long haul– together.
Tags: Become a better Father, Communication, dad leaving a family legacy, dads, Family, father, Fathering, fathers, Goals, love, Scott Hammond, success, Unconditional love
SCOTT HAMMOND—SCOTTPRESENTS.COM
1680 Prairie Hawke Court, McKinleyville, CA 95519 (707) 839-0774
http://www.BecomeaBetterFather.com, http://www.ScottPresents.com
Personal Philosophy and Work Focus
As founder and president of Scott Presents, a personal and organizational
development consulting firm, Scott pursues a whole person approach in sharing information
on communication skills, whole marketing, compelling relationship development, and easy –to- use productivity skill-sets. Scott’s inspirational approach promotes collaborative learning in an informal, compelling style and atmosphere.
The key elements of Scott’s personal philosophy are four- fold:
· Integration, blending the mind (thought), body (action) and soul (purpose).
· Empowerment, acknowledging and supporting the passion and gifts within us.
· Growth, providing the tools to co-create learning and growth opportunities.
· Relationship Development through compelling communication, marketing, and nurturing business and personal relationships.
At the core of Scott’s consulting, speaking and training firm is his passion for “digging deeper.”
Scott draws on easy to understand productivity training, speaking skills, parental expertise with 9 kids, and 30 years of real world marketing to provide tools for greater personal effectiveness, connection to purpose, and achievement of goals. His services focus on engaging all parts of the organization in clarifying shared vision and values, and in implementing those in everyday work and personal life.
Work Focus
Key consulting services include:
(1) building partnerships through easy to learn sales and marketing strategies
(2) organizational change and growth
(3) strategic visioning, goal setting and mission development
(4) personal branding through effective networking skills
(5) marketing and advertising consultation
(6) workshop, training and meeting design & facilitation
(7) collaborative problem solving
(8) coaching
These key services focus on helping public and private sector organizations, businesses, and
communities build strong leaders, teams and relationships among their partners. Partners learn to share responsibility for the successful outcome of the partnership.
Scott lives with his family in McKinleyville, California, and continues his lifelong quest to Be Here Now, enjoy rich relationships, and to make a positive difference by leaving a compelling legacy.
He has completed his book Mid-Life Renaissance and continues to pursue raising a family who carry on his positive legacy of care, compassion, and making a difference and to enjoy each day—One Day at A Time…
My Kids Love this stuff….Don’t tell Chuck but me too..
- Chuck Norris invented black. In fact, he invented the entire spectrum of visible light. Except pink. Tom Cruise invented pink.
- When Chuck Norris calls 1-900 numbers, he doesnt get charged. He holds up the phone and money falls out.
- Chuck Norris once ate a whole cake before his friends could tell him there was a stripper in it.
- Some people like to eat frogs’ legs. Chuck Norris likes to eat lizard legs. Hence, snakes.
- There are no races, only countries of people Chuck Norris has beaten to different shades of black and blue.
- When Chuck Norris was denied an Egg McMuffin at McDonald’s because it was 10:35, he roundhouse kicked the store so hard it became a Wendy’s.
- Chuck Norris can’t finish a “color by numbers” because his markers are filled with the blood of his victims. Unfortunately, all blood is dark red.
- A Chuck Norris-delivered Roundhouse Kick is the preferred method of execution in 16 states.
- When Chuck Norris falls in water, Chuck Norris doesn’t get wet. Water gets Chuck Norris.
- Scientists have estimated that the energy given off during the Big Bang is roughly equal to 1CNRhK (Chuck Norris Roundhouse Kick)
- Chuck Norris’ house has no doors, only walls that he walks through.
- How much wood would a woodchuck chuck if a woodchuck could Chuck Norris? …All of it.
- Chuck Norris doesn’t actually write books, the words assemble themselves out of fear.
- In honor of Chuck Norris, all McDonald’s in Texas have an even larger size than the super-size. When ordering, just ask to be Chucksized.
- Chuck Norris CAN believe it’s not butter.
- If tapped, a Chuck Norris roundhouse kick could power the country of Australia for 44 minutes.
- Chuck Norris can divide by zero.
- The grass is always greener on the other side, unless Chuck Norris has been there. In that case the grass is most likely soaked in blood and tears.
- A picture is worth a thousand words. A Chuck Norris is worth 1 billion words.
- Newton’s Third Law is wrong: Although it states that for each action, there is an equal and opposite reaction, there is no force equal in reaction to a Chuck Norris roundhouse kick.
- Chuck Norris invented his own type of karate. It’s called Chuck-Will-Kill.
- When an episode of Walker Texas Ranger was aired in France, the French surrendered to Chuck Norris just to be on the safe side.
- While urinating, Chuck Norris is easily capable of welding titanium.
- Chuck Norris once sued the Houghton-Mifflin textbook company when it became apparent that their account of the war of 1812 was plagiarized from his autobiography.
- When Chuck Norris talks, everybody listens. And dies.
- When Steven Seagal kills a ninja, he only takes its hide. When Chuck Norris kills a ninja, he uses every part.
- Contrary to popular belief, there is indeed enough Chuck Norris to go around.
- Chuck Norris doesnt shave; he kicks himself in the face. The only thing that can cut Chuck Norris is Chuck Norris.
- For some, the left testicle is larger than the right one. For Chuck Norris, each testicle is larger than the other one.
- Chuck Norris always knows the EXACT location of Carmen SanDiego.
- When taking the SAT, write “Chuck Norris” for every answer. You will score over 8000.
- Chuck Norris invented black. In fact, he invented the entire spectrum of visible light. Except pink. Tom Cruise invented pink.
- When you’re Chuck Norris, anything + anything is equal to 1. One roundhouse kick to the face.
- Chuck Norris has the greatest Poker-Face of all time. He won the 1983 World Series of Poker, despite holding only a Joker, a Get out of Jail Free Monopoloy card, a 2 of clubs, 7 of spades and a green #4 card from the game UNO.
- On his birthday, Chuck Norris randomly selects one lucky child to be thrown into the sun.
- Nobody doesn’t like Sara Lee. Except Chuck Norris.
- Chuck Norris doesn’t throw up if he drinks too much. Chuck Norris throws down!
- In the beginning there was nothing…then Chuck Norris Roundhouse kicked that nothing in the face and said “Get a job”. That is the story of the universe.
- Chuck Norris has 12 moons. One of those moons is the Earth.
- Chuck Norris grinds his coffee with his teeth and boils the water with his own rage.
- Archeologists unearthed an old english dictionary dating back to the year 1236. It defined “victim” as “one who has encountered Chuck Norris”
- Chuck Norris ordered a Big Mac at Burger King, and got one.
- Chuck Norris and Mr. T walked into a bar. The bar was instantly destroyed, as that level of awesome cannot be contained in one building.
- If you Google search “Chuck Norris getting his ass kicked” you will generate zero results. It just doesn’t happen.
- Chuck Norris can drink an entire gallon of milk in thirty-seven seconds.
- Little known medical fact: Chuck Norris invented the Caesarean section when he roundhouse-kicked his way out of his monther’s womb.
- Chuck Norris doesn’t bowl strikes, he just knocks down one pin and the other nine faint.
- The show Survivor had the original premise of putting people on an island with Chuck Norris. There were no survivors, and nobody is brave enough to go to the island to retrieve the footage.
- It takes Chuck Norris 20 minutes to watch 60 Minutes.
- You know how they say if you die in your dream then you will die in real life? In actuality, if you dream of death then Chuck Norris will find you and kill you.
- Chuck Norris has a deep and abiding respect for human life… unless it gets in his way.
- The Bermuda Triangle used to be the Bermuda Square, until Chuck Norris Roundhouse kicked one of the corners off.
- There are no weapons of mass destruction in Iraq, Chuck Norris lives in Oklahoma.
- Chuck Norris doesn’t believe in Germany.
- When Chuck Norris is in a crowded area, he doesn’t walk around people. He walks through them.
- Chuck Norris once ate an entire bottle of sleeping pills. They made him blink.
- James Cameron wanted Chuck Norris to play the Terminator. However, upon reflection, he realized that would have turned his movie into a documentary, so he went with Arnold Schwarzenegger.
- Chuck Norris can touch MC Hammer.
- Thousands of years ago Chuck Norris came across a bear. It was so terrified that it fled north into the arctic. It was also so terrified that all of its decendents now have white hair.
- Chuck Norris played Russian Roulette with a fully loaded gun and won.
- It takes 14 puppeteers to make Chuck Norris smile, but only 2 to make him destroy an orphanage.
Tags: Add new tag, Become a better Father, Chuck Norris, encouragement, Family, Fathering, humor, love, Scott Hammond, Speaking, success, Unconditional love
For many, public speaking is high on their list of biggest fears. In the scheme of things, that’s silly, so utilize these CEO grade tactics and pretty soon you’ll be an orator only afraid of death, taxes, and clowns.
By Kevin H. MacLean
Which is more frightening to you: death or public speaking? Many people have difficulty choosing between the two. Perhaps because they fear that public speaking could possibly lead to their death while death only very rarely ever leads to public speaking.
But public speaking isn’t something to be afraid of, in fact, it is an amazing opportunity. You get the chance to impress whole groups of people that you rarely work with all at once. Being an effective public speaker is one of the best ways to show your coworkers and bosses that you know what you are doing and can get it done. Still, this is little comfort to some in getting over their stage fright. If you count yourself among these terrified souls, relax, take a deep breath, and keep reading. You will find that public speaking is a far more manageable thing than you have feared all these years.
Mental Approach
Allow me to let you in on a dirty little secret, everyone gets stage fright. Even the most talented and incredible performers on the planet get nervous. To get over it they follow many of the rules that I’ll list below and most importantly they realize one very important truth: the audience wants to listen to them.
In social settings the audience is looking to be entertained, in professional settings they want to learn. The premise is the same in both and while one is usually more formal than the other the mental approach is also very much the same. When you get up there in front of a boardroom or classroom or any room full of people try think of it as though they are all your “fans.” It’s easier to talk to people when you know that they like you. Once you realize that those people you are terrified to talk in front of want you to succeed it takes a lot of the pressure off.
Another important point that many people overlook is to make sure that you remember that nerves go both ways when you are speaking. Often when you look people directly in the eyes you can make them uncomfortable (and if you are already nervous you may forget what you’re talking about). A good trick if the setting is not too intimate is to look at everyone’s forehead, this creates the illusion of eye contact without the discomfort.
Make sure not to over-analyze whatever you are going to be presenting. People have a terrible habit of psyching themselves out when it comes to public speaking because they build it up to be so much more difficult in their minds than it actually is. A sure fire way to forget your lines on stage is to concentrate too hard on what you are saying. Try to follow what you say as naturally as possible and always try to be thinking about what your next point is going to be.
Rehearse, Rehearse, Rehearse!
Those three words are the true and only way to give a good presentation of any kind. Make sure you know your material as thoroughly as possible; you never know when your boss is going to challenge you with a tough question. There are many good ways to rehearse speeches and presentations. Cue cards are a very common choice, but people often get caught using them as a crutch. If you decide to use cue cards try to practice with them enough that you don’t actually need them when it comes for the real thing and if you absolutely must have them only write brief notes on them to remind you of your main topics and points.
DO NOT write down your speech word for word on anything that you will be using in your presentation, it can make things very boring for the audience and, worst of all, makes it seem like you didn’t rehearse. Another method of rehearsing (and my personal favorite) is using a voice recorder. Digital recorders are great for this; they are cheap and can be found at any electronics store. It can make the process a little more time consuming because you need to listen to your playback but I find it helps memorize your points faster and there is the enormous advantage of being able to hear yourself; letting you know what sounds good and what doesn’t. As you begin to get your points down you will find the recorder will help you make your delivery more creative and interesting, something that will bring your presentation to the next level.
Speak to Your Audience
You can break down public speaking into three different levels: poor, direct, and engaging. The first, poor, is when you stutter a lot, forget what you are going to say, all the things you generally should be able to be avoid if you rehearse enough. Direct speaking is better but it is just the facts and even if you deliver it with energy it can often bore or even worse make your audience uncomfortable.
Your ultimate goal is to be able to cross over into the realm of an engaging public speaker and the first step to making that move is relating to the audience you are speaking to. When a stand up comic performs in front of a bunch of college kids his material is going to be different than when he does Late Night at the Apollo. The same principle applies for you. If you are presenting to your peers whom you work with frequently, feel free to be a little more casual. That doesn’t mean you should tighten up when you are in a board room full of your superiors, in fact, try to learn a little bit about them. If they are big sports fans or family oriented try and work it in some how. If you can find any little bit of something they can personally relate to in your presentation it will go a long way not only for those listening but being impressing them as well.
Once you start to engage your audience they will begin to loosen up and become as comfortable with you as you are with them. Another nice trick is to try and put a well placed joke near the beginning of your presentation somewhere. Regardless of the setting a little humor does a few very good things: it lightens the mood and the pressure, shows that people are listening, gets them to listen closer, and further demonstrates your impeccable people skills to the big wigs in the room.
Be Passionate
Now, you might really have to work at this one. It isn’t always easy to find what is exciting about sales figures and term profits but if you can master this step, the realm of public speaking will be yours for the taking. Ever notice how much you have to say about something when you are really angry, or when someone starts talking about your favorite band? Well, that is how you want to be able to talk when you are giving a speech: freely. Try to find something unique about at least one or two of your topics that you can pause and give special attention to during your presentation. You can’t fake true passion and everyone in the room will notice when they see it.
Try not to get so excited you forget your talking points or lose your composure but you will find that your passion is contagious and if people believe your attitude they will start to get excited about what you are sharing with them. That is how you get from “Hey, that presentation yesterday wasn’t bad” to “Hey, that presentation Mark gave on Voodoo Economics was totally incredible!”
Once you are able to find something in your presentation to be passionate about the whole of your subject gains new life. Everything is easier to remember because you are building around something, you worry less, and you might even start to enjoy the whole process.
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6 Minutes, 50 Years
Here is legendary Coach Bear Bryant‘s speech to his Alabama football team before a 1974 game: “Most of you will live another fifty years or more. I hope it’s seventy, but if it’s fifty that’s still a good life, and what happens today you’ll have to live with the rest of the way. You can’t get it back if you don’t win. It’s sixty minutes and over. The losers are the ones who say, ‘Oh I wish I could play it again.’ You can’t play it again.
Well, you’re not really going to have to play sixty minutes. None of you. The longest play in a game is six and a half seconds. The shortest play is less than two seconds. That’s barely a wink of the eye. You’ll average five seconds a play. Five seconds of total effort, going all out, giving a hundred percent. You oughta be able to hold your hand in a fire that long…”
Tags: Add new tag, Alabama, Alabama Crimson Tide, Alabama Crimson Tide football, Bear Bryant, College football, compelling quote, Football, Scott Hammond, SEC Football, Sports
How to Write an Inspiring Speech
Do you want to inspire people? Do you have a burning desire to share your life experiences and tell your stories so that other people can benefit? If so, there are a number of things to consider when writing an inspiring speech.
This last summer I was inspired by what I witnessed at the Beijing Olympics. As the drama unfolded around Michael Phelps’ quest for eight gold medals, I found myself relating to his family watching from the stands. I couldn’t relate to Michael and his mind-blowing accomplishments, but I could relate to the emotions that his family was experiencing: the pride and elation and love.
The reason I could relate to his family was because day after day the network kept telling us the story of his childhood. It was like being invited into his home and sitting on the couch watching home movies and going through family albums. By the time he won his eighth gold medal, I was rooting for him as if I was family. He became my surrogate child and when his mom cried, so did I. His accomplishment was inspiring because I felt I was a part of it.
Make Your Story Their Story
In an inspiring speech, you want to bring people into your experience. They should feel as if they are part of what you are talking about. You want to connect your story to their story. If you don’t make this connection, your speech can be interpreted as indulgent and preachy.
Some of the clients who come to me for coaching on their motivational speeches have amazing stories. Similar to my experience with Michael Phelps, their accomplishments are often so far from my reality that I can’t relate to the accomplishment. However, though I may not be able to relate to climbing Mt. Everest or being a 3-time world champion sportsman, if their story is told well, I can relate to their human experience, and to the drama of their inner struggle, challenge, disappointment or victory.
Reveal Your Inner Struggle
Your story comes alive for me when you reveal your inner struggle. It doesn’t matter what your story is about; climbing a mountain, adopting a child or making a big sale, I can relate to your inner struggle more than to your specific accomplishments. You must be willing to share your private thoughts and feelings in order for me to connect. That means you have to move beyond telling me what happened, to letting me feel your emotions and share in your thought process.
Get Emotional
Your inspiring speech may contain twenty or thirty thousand words but it will fall flat if it doesn’t contain genuine emotion. Words are interesting. Emotions are powerful. It’s not enough for you to tell me stories and share insights. It is the emotional context, shown and experienced rather than narrated, that makes you inspiring. You need to get emotional while you are speaking.
Michael Phelps was emotional and we saw it. His family members were emotional and we saw it. And because I felt that emotion, I connected to the story that was being told. I got hooked. I call that an “empathetic experience.”
Build a Bridge
Your personal experience gives you credibility as a speaker. I don’t care how many books you’ve read or what you’ve learned from your research, I want to know what you know from experience. Once you’ve shared your experience by telling me your stories and giving me examples to support your points, you then need to build a bridge from your experience to my experience.
Hey You! Yeah You!
The way you build a bridge and make your speech more inspiring, is by talking directly to me. Use the word “you” and I know you are talking to me. You make it personal to me by asking me questions like, “what about you?, how about you?, when will you…?” rather than asking “what about us?, how about us?, when will we…?” If you use words like “we” and “us”, they are general and I can pretend you are not talking to me. If you make a point and then say, “This is what I accomplished and you can do this too,” I get inspired. The word YOU is incredibly powerful. Use it.
Talk to One Person at a Time
Every member of your audience is hearing you one-on-one. They are listening to what you say and personalizing it based on their life at that moment in time. It is very immediate for them. Consider the difference between speaking to the “whole audience” versus speaking to that lady in the third row with the glasses, and then talking to the gentleman wearing the striped shirt, etc. What would it be like if you were talking to your friend? How would you speak to a friend?
Tone It Down
Have you ever seen a motivational speaker that said all the right things but failed to connect? They use a big voice and a big smile, but lack authenticity. They are the cliché motivational speaker that gives motivational speakers a bad name. In working with hundreds of speakers, I’ve found that it has a lot to do with vocal and emotional tone. Get real. Tone it down.
Just Talk to Me
A woman in a recent Story Theater Retreat came to me with one goal: to get real. Her story was fine, her heart and mind were in the right place, but she was stuck in “speaker” mode. She was having one heck of a time toning it down and just being her authentic self. Somehow she had gotten the message that she had to pump it up to be motivational and inspiring. Every time she got up to speak she’d go into “speaker” mode, and every time I reminded her to ‘just talk to me.”
It took multiple reminders before she finally relaxed into herself and stopped pushing. In the end, she was more inspiring when she toned it down and spoke naturally than she was when she came in the door. She accomplished her goal. She got real.
Intimacy is the Key to an Inspiring Speech
As you sit down to write your speech, stand up! Walk away from the computer. Take a walk with a pad of paper or a voice recorder. Go to a coffee shop with a friend and talk about what you believe. Listen for your natural cadence. Learn to write in your own voice. Think about what you’d say to a friend who is in pain. How would you counsel someone you care about? How would it sound? Be aware of the intimacy in your voice based on the emotion you are feeling. Write your speech with the intention of talking to one person at a time.
The Architecture
I just spent two days working with an aspiring speaker on his keynote. We made hundreds of strategic choices. And over and over again he kept commenting on how complex the design phase was, what I call the architecture of the speech. Without the proper architecture – the right ingredients organized in the right sequence – your speech won’t hold together. Rather than being easy for the audience to follow, it will jerk forward like a car in desperate need of a tune up.
Don’t simply write your speech; design it. How will the pieces hold together? Where will they intersect?
You can write an inspiring speech. You can be an inspiring speaker. Your life and your stories can inspire people. Don’t wait. Start writing your inspiring speech today.
If not you…who? If not now…when?
by Doug Stevenson
1. Ask someone (everyone)
2. Bring a guest
3. Advertise in newspapers
4. Advertise o public access TV
5. Sample or demonstration meetings
6. Letters or personal contact with local businesses
7. Contact with Chamber of Commerce
8. Bookmarks inserted in library books
9. Public meetings at malls, outdoors, etc
10. SpeechCraft
11. Booth at malls, fairs, festival etc.
12. Pamphlet in doctors’ offices, hospitals, cafeterias, libraries, etc
13. Host an Open House
14. Contact past members
15. Hold membership drives and contests
16. Warm greeting
17. Guest information packet
18. Guest introductions
19. Encourage, but don’t force, Table Topic participation
20. Ask for comments
21. Clearly marked room
22. Club business cards
23. Distribute extra magazines in waiting rooms, etc
24. Hold high-profile meetings
25. Advertise at local colleges
26. Have a guest speaker
27. Have a special guest day
28. Have a program for non-members
29. Make prospective feel important
30. Have enjoyable programs
31. Make some meetings social evetns
32. Have a Club web page
33. Use email
34. Put posters in stores
35. Ask corporations and employers to sponsor or subsidize membership
36. Have a reward program for those who bring a in anew members
37. Create more fun
38. Have a variety of snacks
39. Invite the media
40. Use word of mouth
41. Network with coworkers, friends, and family
42. Follow up on guests
43. Have educational meetings
44. Have friendly meetings
45. Lead by example
46. Have incentives for those who join
47. Members give talks at other organizations
48. Provide guests with free meals
49. Corporate Clubs provide brochure for new employee packets
50. Display the trophies
51. Club sponsor a deserving, needy individual
52. Lure passers-by with free food
53. Advertise with a blimp at sports events
54. Have a marching band spell out your club’s name
55. If you are the boss, make your employee join
56. Ask the District for help
57. Provide child care
58. Hold join meetings with non-toastmasters groups
59. Share your toastmasters experience with other
60. Participate in community events
61. Write letters to community groups
62. Be active in Chamber of Commerce, Rotary, Kiwanis, etc
63. Publicize Clue successes, election, contests, in local newspapers
64. have a club newsletter
65. Have a club brochure
66. Hold a public debate
67. Never cancel a meeting
68. Members should be prepared
69. have a planned agenda
70. Encourage interclub visits
71. Form/join a speakers’ bureau
72. Teach public speaking at vo-tech, community college, continuing education
73. Hold public workshops
74. Wear your pin
75. mention Toastmaster at meetings of other organizations during announcements
76. Send newsletter to guests
77. Visitor Day – each member sends out 10 invitations
78. Talk up Toastmasters to those who express problems with public speaking
79. Ask guest to join
80. Get a three meeting commitment
81. Advertise in church bulletin
82. When asked about your speaking skills, tell them about Toastmasters
83. Tell everyone about the benefits of Toastmasters
84. Have informative meetings
85. Make it Fun
86. Bumper Stickers
87. Smile
88. Invite guests to your place of business to get better acquainted with them
89. Attract a wide age spectrum
90. Give testimonials
91. Elect a dedicated VP membership
92. Hold smooth meetings
93. Get experiences Toastmasters to join as dual members
94. Repeatedly invite prospective members
95. Practice selling Toastmasters at Club meetings
96. Make it look easy
97. Promote humor in speeches
98. Make meetings more interactive
99. Send thank you to guests
100. Have table at trade shows
101. Hold a Speechathon with as many speakers as possible
102. Think like a child-how would you get someone to play with?
103. “put in words” apparel to writers’ clubs
104. Toastmaster minute on radio
105. Interaction with story tellers’ organizations
106. “Do it for you” poster contest at schools
107. Bring your boss
108. When someone notices your progress, tell them why and invite them
109. Hold meetings at senior centers
110. Have new member kits
111. Hand out flyers and brochures
112. Have a host for each guest
113. Hand out invitation cards
114. Members constantly promoting and raving about Toastmasters
115. Meet at a good location
116. Explain the structure of Toastmasters
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Tags: Add new tag, Become a better Father, Family, Fathering, recruitment, Scott Hammond, speaker, speakers, Speaking, the family, toastmaster, Toastmasters
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