Build your Self Confidence!

While I was in Melbourne I had the opportunity to hear Gerry Roberts speak. He was encouraging us all to realize that we all have a book inside of us that just needs to be expressed….more about that later.

But one of the things that he talked about was about how we should all think about joining Toastmasters, especially if we were going to be doing any sort of public speaking. Well when I heard him say those words it really hit me that this was something I must do when I went home!

So on Tuesday night I attended my first Toastmasters meeting!!  Wow!  It was fantastic!! I should have joined years ago! The people there were unbelievable. Talk about great role models! They were eloquent speakers and their speeches were fascinating and moving. The members were lovely people from all sorts of backgrounds and very friendly and encouraging.

And in the Toastmasters magazine guess who’s picture was there along with other very well known international speakers who had been a Toastmaster…..none other than Bob Proctor!!

I picked up so many tips just in my first night such as use of humour, gestures, stories, voice intonation etc. I know that this is a forum where any of us can begin to craft, and later really master speaking in public with confidence.

So check out your local Toastmasters group if you are really interested in your own personal development!!

Love

Love expressed softens the harsh cutting edge of any experience. Whether we’re the recipients of love or the givers, we still share in the promised rewards, the greatest of which is the knowledge that we belong, that others know us. We know we’re not alone when we feel another’s love, and when we have someone to give love to.

Independence and self reliance are worthy attributes, and may prepare any one of us for survival in hard times. However, if they interfere with our awareness of and praise for the interdependent nature of the world, we’ll discover that our personal survival is at stake. Our emotional, intellectual, and physical development is enhanced by our involvement with others.

The alienation any of us feels at this moment can be quicly dispelled if we’d but offer the hand of love and willingly receive it in turn. Our lives are rich and fulfilling in proportion to the love exchanged among us.

 I will let someone else know I love them today and cherish the good feeling it gives me. ~ThePromise of a New Day.

Intimacy

‘Intimacy means that we can be who we are in a relationship, and allow the other person to do the same. “Being who we are” requires that we can talk openly about things that are important to us, that we take a clear position on where we stand on important emotional issues, and that we clarify the limits of what is acceptable and tolerable to us in a relationship. “Allowing the other person to do the same” means we can stay emotionally connected to that other party who thinks, feels, and believes differently, without needing to change, convince, or fix the other.’

~ The Dance of Intimacy

by Harriet G. Lerner

Fearless Living

I wanted to share with you a wonderful book I read some years ago now. At the time it had a tremendous impact on my life. It’s called Fearless Living by Rhonda Britten. In her book….

 

‘Rhonda tells her own inspirational story of overcoming the violent death of her parents and shedding the fears that kept her from success. She believes that we live our lives according to two patterns of behavior that she calls the “Wheel of Fear” and the “Wheel of Freedom” .The key is to get off the Wheel of Fear and on to the Wheel of Freedom where one can take risks, seize opportunities and nurture self confidence.’

 

In the chapter called “What is Fear” she says, ‘Fear is both the cause and effect of the feelings, thoughts or actions that prohibit you from accepting yourself and realizing your full potential. Fear stands between you and your ability to go anywhere you like, do anything you want, and meet anyone you please. To help you stay safe, fear motivates you to hide your essential nature by thwarting your ability to express yourself truthfully.

 

Renowned psychologist Abraham Maslow, in his classic work Toward a Psychology of Being, described the process in this way: “this kind of fear is defensive, in the sense that it is a protection of our self esteem….We tend to be afraid of any knowledge that could cause us to despise ourselves, or to make us feel inferior, weak , worthless, evil, shameful…We also tend to avoid personal growth because this, too, can bring another kind of fear…This is the struggle against our own greatness…Thus to discover in oneself a great talent can certainly bring exhilaration but it can also bring a fear of the dangers and responsibilities…The moment of fright is understandable, but it must be overcome.”

 

Fearless Living is about helping you do precisely that, not just once but as a way of life.’

 

It’s well worth a read!