A few years ago, I was lucky enough to attend an amazing course called The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People.  One of the exercises in this course helped me realize that I really wanted to become a motivational speaker!

At that time, it was really just a pipe dream.  I never really did any public speaking before, and anytime I got up in front of a small crowd, I would feel a rush of anxiety. 

However, I knew that my heart was onto something because I kept imagining myself in the shoes of the current greats such as Eric Thomas (ET), Tony Robbins, and Robin Sharma. How much fun would it be to be so passionate on stage that your passion vibrates through the audience?   How inspiring would that be to be able to use words and body language to help others improve their lives?

This very thought of becoming a motivational speaker has helped me formed the basis of my Mission in Life which is twofold: help motivate people to improve their lives and build a beautiful invisible legacy.

To help me get closer to my dream, I spent 2.5 years honing my skills in my local Toastmasters club.  During my time at Toastmasters, I focused so much on motivational speeches, that one of the feedback from a fellow Toastmasters member was that he wanted to see a funny speech from me!  The most valuable lesson I learned in Toastmasters was that becoming a great speaker takes a lot of hard work and preparation but anyone with perseverance can improve immensely.

From Toastmasters, I began to take on any opportunity there was to speak at events.  I am lucky enough to work for a manager and a company that provides plenty of opportunities to do keynote speeches and present workshops to hundreds of people at a time.

I really have no idea where my passion for speaking will lead, but I can tell you it does not matter to me.  Life is not about reaching a specific goal; it is about the journey that leads us to our destiny….

 

Here is a keynote speech I recently completed at a CASEIT.org competition.


What happens when one of your lifetime passions intersects with your expertise area you spent years in the workforce honing?

It is an indescribable feeling that I hope you all have a chance to feel one day. 

Ask me what I am doing after work and the answer is generally the same “I am off to coach!”.  I know I struck a chord in my heart when I realized I have an urge to coach even when my own boys are not interested in playing a particular sport.

To me coaching sports is not just about teaching kids how to play a game- it is much bigger than that.  Coaching to me means motivating each child to do their possible best and not to stand for less.  It is about teaching the kids that practice and hard work trumps talent.  It is about raising the confidence of each child so that deep down inside they realize that they can accomplish any goal they set.

In the back of my mind, I always think back to the amazing coaches and teachers I had when I was a child.  These individuals gave up their own personal time to have an everlasting impact on me. 

My hope is that I can and will carry on the same type of legacy for this generation of the future.

It is truly amazing how many different things in life there are to learn.  One of my true passions in life is to spend many hours working on mastering a particular skill.  I find something new and interesting and fully immerse myself into it.

When I was a child, I would watch and admire my dad, who in my mind, could literally do anything.  Growing up I watched him master the guitar, be a table tennis champion, play snooker with professionals, build a thriving business starting with literally nothing (my parents were refugees from Cambodia and arrived in Canada with nothing but the clothes on their backs).

I believe that it was my dad’s influence that gave me this never quit and always persevere attitude.  Those who know me know that once I find a new passion, I will do everything I can to master it.  I will spend hours at a time working and practicing the new craft on a daily basis. 

I believe one of the keys to living a wondering life is to continue to learn and grow by finding new passions and acquiring new skills.  I find that too many people give up too early during the skills learning phase because things get difficult or they hit a plateau.  I argue that the plateau is the best time to thrust forward and push harder than ever.  Once you get over the hump, amazing things start to happen.

The book, Talent is Overrated by Geoffrey Colvin helped me understand what it takes to become truly great at something.  It helped me dispel previous myths I had in my mind about natural gifted people.  Reading this book gave me even more confidence than ever that practice will usually trump natural ability…

My journey to acquire new skills and find new passions will be an everlasting one….