What makes you or me (or anyone) take action? There’s a need, and then there’s a reason that the need surfaced now. In other words, there’s a “why” and a “why now”. Not too long ago, I started a Data Science program at Rockhurst University. When someone asked me “why?” I told them the true […]
Category: General Posts
2017 Toastmasters Convention Prep
The Toastmasters International Convention is coming next week, and once again I can’t wait to be there! There will be great speakers, awesome contests and lots of seeing good friends again for four full days. Here’s the schedule of events – https://www.toastmasters.org/Events/2017-International-Convention/Schedule If you can’t be there, there will be some live streaming options (Did you know there’s a photo contest […]
2017 – It’s a New Year
If there’s one resolution I can keep year in and year out, it’s my resolution to read. Here are some of my favorites from 2016, and some on my list for 2017: Read in 2016 Start.: Punch Fear in the Face, Escape Average, and Do Work That Matters, by Jon Acuff – as it says […]
Toastmasters: Getting your DTM through Pathways
Recently, I added an update to the District 22 blog on Pathways. That FAQ has some useful information on the new program, and it has led to a number of questions about completing your Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) award before Pathways rolls out. Specifically, should you finish in the existing system or, if not, how do you decide […]
2016 Toastmasters Convention – Pathways Update
Coming this week at the international convention, Toastmasters International is scheduled to have a Pathways booth for members to see a demo of the new program. As a reminder, Pathways is our new educational program, coming from the REP efforts you’ve hopefully heard about before. I was contacted this week as a Chief Ambassador of […]
Be Cynical
Why cynicism is easy: 1. It gives us an out. We can dump the responsibility somewhere else, so the failure isn’t our fault. After all, effort is a risk, while blaming a poor economy, not enough time or not having support removes that risk. Remember – this also means the success doesn’t get to be […]
2016: End of month one
So I opened 2016 by trying something new. I set weekly goals and tried to keep them instead of an annual resolution. The result? Mixed. I met some goals, and didn’t even get close on others. The excuses and reasons were varied and sometimes entertaining (to me) but the result was less than amazing, to […]
2016 Week Two: The next list
Last Week I posted about my first week of trying a one-week resolution. This was my alternative to the standard New Years Resolution. One thing I noticed last week – I started thinking about multiple week goals for the next few months. I had to stop myself from taking the dark path to some big-ticket […]
2016: End of week one
Last week I posted about a weekly resolution idea. I did keep my first resolution, which was to post something each day this week. On to week two!
2016 Week One: The short list
Yesterday I posted about alternatives to the standard New Years Resolution. Today, I’m going to start week one by taking my own advice, and see how that goes. So here it is, my simple weekly goals for week one (Jan 3-9): 1. Blog each day this week (this doesn’t mean 365 posts this year. Just […]