I totally ROCKED my Toastmaster’s speech today. I was uber-prepared. Too much fun. Here it is:
“Every day, people settle for less than they deserve. They are only partially living or at best living a partial life. Every human being has the potential for greatness.”
Does anyone know where this quote comes from? It actually comes from the Hi-Lit Toastmasters Club website. This quote has prompted me to talk to you today about the people who inspire me. My goal is that at the end of 4-6 minutes, you will not only learn a little bit about me but also learn a little bit about others, as well as yourselves.
Many people may say that athletes, rock stars, and movie stars are very inspiring. After all, they are on TV, their every move is scrutinized, their pictures (and pictures of their babies) and sold for millions of dollars. They’re FAMOUS! However, most are very badly behaved. Yes, some are talented and are doing great philanthropic duties. But they are also getting paid an insane amount of money for entertaining us for a couple of hours on a big screen. And while I have nothing against organized sports, athletes who get paid zillions of dollars to play a game don’t really encourage me to go out and change the world.
Ordinary people who achieve extraordinary things. These are the people who inspire me. Ordinary people who have a burning desire to make a difference in the world. Whether it’s striving to be the best parent they possibly can to their kids, making a difference in a student’s life, or taking a pledge to serve and protect and carry OUT those actions consistently, day by day, year after year, unfailing in their efforts, these are the people who inspire me.
I received an email recently from my girlfriend. She was employed by a great company for 11 years, a job that she thoroughly enjoyed. She also did some motivational speaking on the side. She continued to accomplish both jobs for a time. Now she has decided to quit her job and pursue her passion of speaking to groups of women to inspire and motivate them to be their personal best. Yes, it’s a risk, and yes, she is scared. But she’s still doing it. And she’s making a difference.
Tara is the perfect example of how achieving extraordinary things sometimes means getting out your comfort zone. Doing the same thing over and over again will give you the same results you’ve always had. But following the road less traveled, or blazing your OWN trail, takes guts, and the outcome can be extraordinary.
Each one of you here in front of me inspires me. Every other week, you reach out of your comfort zone to give a speech or fulfill a specific role. Yes, you may screw up, but you get up and speak anyway. And you come back and do it again and again and again. You are reaching out of your comfort zone….and getting better and better and better. YOU inspire me.
Dick and Rick Hoyt are a father-and-son team from Massachusetts who together compete just about continuously in marathon races. And if they’re not in a marathon they are in a triathlon — that daunting, almost superhuman, combination of 26.2 miles of running, 112 miles of bicycling, and 2.4 miles of swimming. Together they have climbed mountains, and once trekked 3,735 miles across America.
It’s a remarkable record of exertion — all the more so when you consider that Rick can’t walk or talk.
For the past twenty five years or more Dick, who is 65, has pushed and pulled his son across the country and over hundreds of finish lines. When Dick runs, Rick is in a wheelchair that Dick is pushing. When Dick cycles, Rick is in the seat-pod from his wheelchair, attached to the front of the bike. When Dick swims, Rick is in a small but heavy, firmly stabilized boat being pulled by Dick.
Ordinary people achieving extraordinary things. Like the single mom who endured a neglectful childhood, chronic illness, two failed marriages, bankruptcy, an abusive relationship, clinical depression, and countless struggles only to persevere and rise above even stronger. She is now employed full-time in the finance field, is also a certified personal trainer with her own successful fitness boot camp business, and is currently creating a website to inspire, motivate, and educate busy professional women how to slow down and take care of themselves through fitness, nutrition, and general health and wellness. Not only that, but I have also raised two incredible young women essentially by myself.
That single mom stands before you today, a much more confident person, and challenges you to keep reaching out of your comfort zone to make the world a better place. Impact the world by inspiring yourself.
DO EXTRAORDINARY THINGS.
