Happy Lunar New Year to all my friends at Addison Singles Toastmasters!!

Today, January 28, 2017 is translated to January 1 of the year 4715 on the lunar calendar.

This year is the year of the rooster. Therefore, let us all plan our post-Toasties celebration for some chicken friend steak or KFC. #AST9872 #AddisonSinglesToastmasters

I felt that “Lunar New Year” is more appropriate for us in lieu of Chinese New Year since not all our Toastmasters members are
(a) of one ethnic background,
(b) of the Buddhist faith including myself
(c) but ARE a part of a spider web that captures a diversity cultures.

Upon reading information about the lunar new year, I have found that Mahayana Buddhists, the largest sect of Buddhism, believes that enlightenment can be achieved during a person’s lifetime.

To the Toastmasters member, this enlightenment entails a deep understanding or knowledge of a special skill we are all here to learn, public speaking and communications.

Every time we get up on stage, each of us is reaching toward that level of enlightenment step by step as we become a better speaker and communicator. After all, repeatedly speaking in front of an audience is a form of practice. As we practice, practice, practice, we are engaging in a deeper insight into this skill until we make a mastery of it.

Mayahana Buddhists also believe in meditating and reflecting on their life’s situations in previous years in order to pinpoint their faults and bad decisions they have made in the past. Then they would take the time to make some changes in the new year as part of their new year’s resolution.

To the beginning Toastmasters member, most likely everybody starts off as a poor speaker. That is expected. The feedback we get from those who evaluate our speeches will identify our faults so that we can learn from them and make corrections in future speeches.

By learning from our faults and mistakes, we can then strive to become a better speaker.

What will your new year’s resolution entail? Do you want to become a better communicator to your customers and clients? Do you want to pursue a business as a public speaker like Bill Clinton?

—-
Addison Singles Toastmasters meets every Wednesday night at la Madeleine Country French Cafe

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