Still Closing out 2010

Spending my last few days of 2010 in St. Louis was never in my dreams; still, it is a reality.  I am here in St. Louis to attend a funeral.  God chose this time to recall another soul.  Suddenly the children have to grow up to handle responsibilities they had hoped to keep at arms length for quite sometime.  The wake was what it was meant to be - a time to look back.  I did some soul searching as well.

I will be looking to complete another milestone in 2011.  I would like to complete one major achievement before facing the inevitable, if God allows.  Over the years I am not sure if I have competed any major projects that I can call "complete."  I have many "it is complete for now" in my repertoire.

As I look over the horizon I would like to add 'public speaking' to my credentials.  I would like to say on December 31, 2011 that I have truly completed my desire to be a Public Speaker.

I have taken the first step in talking to Dr. Dilip Abayasekara, past President of Toastmasters International.  I look forward to the Champions Edge conference in Las Vegas on February 2011.

Quotable quotes!

I am jaded by the infinite quotes posted as facebook status.  It has come to a point where it is impossible to certify its authenticity.  If a statement is in quotes it is often incorrect.  Most don't seem to have any attribution.  But, it seems we are still enthralled by them.  If we could carve our life by the quotes we read on facebook I will start hitting the 'like' button for all the quotes and put together a plan to use them.

Yet quoting, misquoting and simply changing someone's words etched in history does not make most of us smart. 

Though this is a general trend, I am impressed by some quotes which leave an impression. 

Abraham

Is this really Christmas?

We had a calm and enjoyable Christmas service on the 24th evening.  This Christmas morning I read all the news headlines on google sites only to read about tragedies, failures and a general fear in most parts of the world.  Any good news hidden in between tragedies were nothing more than exhortations for peace from religious and political leaders.  Another Christmas with wishes floating yet ever close to reality.

Even with splintered hopes, dreams and wishes the world continues in to uncharted times.  All we can pray for is leaders with morals and visions, capable of articulating and directing a group of people through these difficult times. 
I hope for a new year with such leaders who will not apologize, but accept their personal failures and move on with their life and leave the leadership role to others waiting in their footsteps.
I hope for a new year where people will not blindly follow leaders whose only dream is personal.
I hope for a new year where people will not blindly follow religious leaders who keep interpreting their religious tenets to fulfill their ambitions.

I hope for a new year where people will find connections amongst their friends and families and strengthen the connection for a stronger relationship.
I hope for a new year where we find more in common with others and may the difference we find in each other help us grow.

I hope for a new year of growth in diversity.


Happy New Year World.

Hopes for 2011
1.  Read two (2) books a week
2.  Become a world class speaker

• Work with a coach 
• World champions Edge website
• Get trained at Lady and champ conference

3.  Complete DTM status in Toastmasters International
4.  Write a speech each week

• Maryland Business Round Table
• Catonsville Toastmasters Club
• Maryland Advanced Speakers Club

5. Write a blog a week
6.  Work hard at Real Estate Career
7.  Be satisfied.

I am closing out 2010 with the only blog I have written this year. There is certainly a hope that I will write religiously at least a blog a week. It is a hope and another new year resolution.
The wind has picked up to 30-40 mph and I can see the hapless leaves that clung to the trees in hopes of surviving another day flying by my window. I am watching CNN reporting the damage done by the rain in California, Arizona and Nevada. A year of trials and tribulations going by as I hope and pray the best for the affected.
Another resolution for the new year is my desire to be a Professional Speaker. I had the privilege to speak to 9th graders in 30+ classes. It was exciting.
This is becoming a blog of resolutions. I have heard that any thought that comes in to your mind lasts 37 seconds. Wonderful ideas have crossed my mind and moved in to oblivion. I chalked it to the 37 second rule when I could not recall them. This was also a year of finding a few good speakers.

I have grouped the speakers as: natural, artificial, naturally professional and artificially professional. They are all talented. I have also come to realize that the 'naturally professional' speakers love their craft and polish their talents every possible opportunity. The Toastmasters group of world champions are in my category of naturally professional speakers, because they recognized their talent and worked hard in becoming world class speakers. The lady and the champs are in that category.

As a step towards becoming a professional speaker is my desire to complete the DTM designation in Toastmasters.

I am a real estate broker. It is a story in itself and a blog for later.

The real estate field will be an area of resolutions in 2011: making the best of the situation is my resolution for real estate. Another blog topic - Real Estate resolutions.

The wind is still howling. Nothing much has changed in the news in the last half hour of writing this blog. No more than 25 lines in a blog is a blog resolution for 2011.