Dream - 23 April

“Twenty years from now you will be more disappointed by the things that you didn't do than by the ones you did do. So throw off the bowlines. Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover.”

These wise, inspirational words have at times been attributed to Mark Twain; to the writer H. Jackson Brown, and even to Brown’s mother.

The fact that no-one really knows who used them first does not detract from their power.

So, it was these same words that our newest CC, Angie Kivido, used to start her CC9 speech (Persuade with Power) about her dream to climb Mount Kilimanjaro, aptly called “Dream”.
Achieving a dream, according to Angie, is not something which just happens. It has to be aimed at and planned most deliberately. What follows is a breakdown of some of the steps that she took to make her dream a reality. With a little application, it seems to me that these steps would fit the realisation of almost any dream:

• Define your dream

This boils down to what has been said before about goals or dreams being SMART (Specific, Measureable, Attainable, Realistic and Time-based)

• Believe in yourself

It is self-evident that a dream will remain just that if you,

the dreamer, don’t believe in your ability to attain that dream.

• Break out of the rut
Benjamin Franklin said, “The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting a different result.”
So, expecting to realise dream by continuing old behaviours is planning to fail. Success in the achievement of your dreams will require changed behaviour.

• Make your dream known
Allowing your dream to be known by others makes it real. There is always fear attached to speaking your dream. Fear of ridicule; fear of failure. However, you would be surprised at how supportive others are once they are aware of your dream. Soon too you will discover that there are others who share your dream. That shared passion will go a long way towards helping you to realise it.

• Do not fear failure

There has to be a price to pay if something worthwhile is to be achieved; otherwise the attainment of that dream is cheapened.
If that means that there are moments of failure along the way, so what? Each time you try again it means that you have been strengthened in the pursuit of your dream.

• Change your mind set
If circumstances have allowed you to become negative with regard to the attainment of your dream, it is up to you to change the way you are perceiving things. Positive thoughts lead to positive outcomes.

• Celebrate small successes
Every time you experience a small success on the route to attaining your dream, celebrate. That positive reinforcement will be an incentive to reaching greater things.

These steps seem so simple, yet they helped Angie to conquer Mount Kilimanjaro in 2005! Just imagine what they can do for you.

Talking about the realisation of dreams – 23 to 26 May will see a gathering of Toastmasters from all over Southern Africa at LeaderCon. With world class speakers to entertain and inform us, I think we are in for a treat. We wish the delegates from Division E all the best of luck as they represent us in the Evaluation and International Speech Contests.

If part of realising your dream entails completing a CC or any other project speech, do let me know so that I can slot you into a programme as soon as possible.

Until next time

Ricky Woods
rickywoods604@gmail.com