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DISTRICT THEME 2009-2010

look, listen, then speak - titiro, whakarongo, korero

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12 January 2010

WHAT DO YOU SEE IN YOUR PICTURE CANVAS?

I am always amazed as I go or my daily walk up Mt Mauao that the picture depicted on the canvas is always different.

Whether it is the weather where one day it is brilliant sunshine and the water is a rich blue or the next day there is a mist drifting across the sea creeping up and covering the top of Mt Mauao.   Some days it is cloudy and a cold breeze, others it is calm.

I see different people – some are tourists (a dead giveaway with cameras and snapping pictures of the magnificent views as they make their way up to the top) and there are the regulars like me doing their daily exercise.   The Pohutukawa trees have shed their flowers, one minute they are in full bloom, the next empty of their rich red petals. One day it is dusty tracks, the next damp with the rain during the night. Rabbits merrily feeding and playing obviously used to the general public walking past their playground, sheep feeding keeping the grass down and they too are oblivious to those walking by.

What type of canvas picture does your Toastmaster Club present to the guest(s) coming to visit your Club?

￘      Is your Club rich with colour like the Pohutukawa or has it lost its bloom?

￘      Do you greet your guests with enthusiasm; include them in your meeting?

￘      Is there an agenda?

￘      Meetings run to time?

￘      Manual speeches appropriately evaluated?

￘      Is everyone given a speaking opportunity?

Sure each meeting will be a different picture canvas but it needs to be stimulating and organized so that the guest(s) want to join – get a piece of the action and become a valuable member of your Club.

Now is the time to refresh your picture canvas of your Club. With 2010 now in full swing, individuals will be considering their options in extending their skill base and if you provide an exciting picture canvas, people will want to join your Toastmaster Club.

So do you see a different picture canvas each day as you go about your business or is it the same picture day in and day out?   Why not change that routine every now and again and you will be amazed what a difference it can make to your day in creating a new picture canvas.   And do look at the picture canvas on display at your Toastmaster Club – is it the same or can you add some vibrancy and colour to it!

“For last year's words belong to last year's language
And next year's words await another voice.
And to make an end is to make a beginning.”
~T.S. Eliot, "Little Gidding"

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5 January 2010

HAVE YOU SET YOUR GOALS?

As part of enjoying the most of the fine weather, I have been walking up Mt Mauao (at Mount Maunganui) each night after work if I have no other commitments. It is certainly not a walk in the park, it is via the steps or the metal track used by 4WD vehicles or a very steep track through the bush – every one of them is challenging. Armed with drink bottle, sunhat, correct footwear off I go. Having fitness on my side, I challenge myself to keep going and not stopping until I reach the top. That is my goal. The relief of making it to the top and sense of achievement each time is in itself rewarding and the view is always awesome.

For some people though they need to take the walk in stages having a break before moving on to reach the top. These people still achieve their goal of reaching the top of Mt Mauao and they reap the benefit of the wonderful view out across the ocean and beyond.

It is like that in Toastmasters. For some, we have our goals set out and just get on and achieve them and there is no stopping. For other Toastmasters, they need to complete each part of the Toastmaster program in bite size pieces – they need to pace themselves. They might have the same goals but choose to carry them out at their own pace and there is nothing wrong with that.

So as we commence 2010, what goals have you set yourself? Do you have a time-line – will you complete your goals at a non-stop pace or will you moderate your pace.?

Now is the time to put a plan into place of what you wish to achieve in your Toastmaster journey this year. Tell your Vice President Education at your home club of the goals you wish to achieve and he or she can program your speeches.

Whatever your goals are make sure you enjoy the journey in achieving them.

The ability to concentrate and to use your time well is everything if you want to succeed in business or almost anywhere else for that matter.

Lee Iacocca

A wise man will make more opportunities than he finds.
Francis Bacon

It is better to fall short of a high mark than to reach a low one.

H. C. Payne

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31 December 2009

Mount Maunganui is an awesome place to go all year around but with daylight saving there are many more opportunities to walk around and up Mt Mauao which is what I have been doing now that my role in Toastmasters is less consuming.

Every day that I have been able to go up Mt Mauao I see something different happening and viewing the huge Pohutakawa trees in full bloom has been nothing but glorious with the beautiful deep red/crimson flowers. When they come out in flower, you know that Christmas is just around the corner and summer is here. With sheep and lambs talking to one another, rabbits hopping around in the late afternoon sun and hearing the sound of the sea lapping up upon the sore in the distance, it is certainly a wonderfully way to have time out. It takes me over an hour to walk from the car up over the Mount and back down the other side and back to the car. While challenging it is rewarding to reach the top and take in the view.

Having time out is important. Sometimes we can become consumed in our work and our interests such as Toastmasters. Like anything the more you put into it the more you get out but there are times that you just need to step away and recharge the battery, switch off and go back to the task at hand with a refreshed mind.

Do take time out over the Christmas break to give time not only to yourself but to your family as well. They too need your time and attention and often we put work and personal interests before family which is not healthy and the level of communication can break down.

Do come back in the New Year refreshed, take time to have a look around your home town, spend time with family and friends and generally rest yourself.

All the best for 2010 everyone.