Looking for Some Help

There comes a time when you decide to make a move. A decision that could very well impact the rest of your life.  This is one of those decisions.  I have been trying to get this speaking business of the ground for more than a year now.  There is at least one if not more than one obstacle is my way.  I have a full time job that is demanding, intense and usually satisfying.  But is leaves little time to develop my passion for speaking publicly.  I am not a boastful person but I will honestly say that I am very good in front of a group of people.  My message is well received and the people listening actually have several take aways after a presentation.  Check out the the testimonial page on my websites.  The quotes are real.

What I am looking for is some assistance in booking appearances.  I can blog to my heart's content and I can blindly make phone calls or send emails.  But what I am looking for is a reference or two about companies that help public speakers get opportunities to speak.  Suggestions will be more than welcomed at jim.boyd4512@gmail.com .  If you are reading this and you actually are from a company that provides services to public speakers seeking engagements then by all means please contact me. 

The bottom line is that I am hungry to pursue this endeavor.  I just need someone or some company to point me in a few directions.  Thanks

The Benefits of Making Time

We are all very busy.  It is hard to find someone, no anyone, who will tell you they have a lot of time on their hands. Instead, when you ask someone about life they will often reply something along the line of "There are not enough hours in the day" or "I really need eight days in a week to get everything accomplished." Here's a good one, "I have so much to do and not enough time to do it." 

Time was made this past weekend for a 13 year old named Colin.  He's one of the grandsons.  He had been promised by his grandfather a few weeks back that he would come and watch him play soccer because the last time his "grandpa" was in the area he was injured and couldn't play.  This was not one of those events that required a trip of a few block or across town.  It's two and a half hours one way.  His grandmother had established a tradition long ago of taking the grand kids out for their birthday for lunch and a present.  "Colin's "grandma" was in another state on this latest visit so "grandpa", for the first time, took on the birthday duties.  Lunch was at one his favorite places for "shrimp" and then it was on to a book store to get the latest two editions in a literary series Colin was reading.  ( They were on his birthday and Christmas list)  When grandpa took him home he was told a hug was needed for grandpa and grandma too.  It was the strongest  hug I had had in a long time.

The subsequent two and a half hour drive was a joy.  I was in the clouds.  The connection made that day is one I will never forget and it provide a valuable lesson or two.  I could have stayed home but if I had I would have missed the blessing of getting to know one of the grand children a little better and I would have missed a gift that was for me.  Some may know this and for some this may be news but when you give..often times what you are giving to gives back.  In this case is was conversation, a hug and a smile or two.  Plus a care free drive home.  I count four Benefits of Making Time and that is a pretty good return on the investment.  So the next time you find yourself presented with a similar situation whether it be family or something else...make the time.  All the other "stuff" can wait.  But these precious opportunities don't come by all that often.

Peace of Mind in the Middle of the Storm

Life is always teaching you something.  Today, October 13, is a perfect example.  It was tough from the get go because this week in my profession requires the alarm to go off at 2:45 in the morning.  The stress inherent in that alone would drive some people to drink. (I quit 10 years ago)  Work was less than enjoyable, and yes there are days it is a joy, because I was down right tired. The trip home was anticipated to see the new tree planted in our backyard only to find it had not been done.  They found  an underground cable no one previously knew about.  The situation was being investigated while the furnace technician was in the basement doing the routine fall maintenance.  The Reader's Digest condensed version of the story is that the furnace needs to be replaced.  The storm clouds had already formed even before the tree saga began to unfold and the storm was raging as my wife and I talked about the financial obligation that was ahead of us.  Yet, despite all of that, I can sit here tonight in relative calm and with a sense of peace of mind. 

Maybe it was the walk with the dog before the sun went down tonight.   Maybe it was knowing that no matter what life throws at you, it can be dealt with in a positive way.  Case in point, the experiences of today led to time for thought and a long overdue blog post.  But maybe,  even more importantly, it's the confidence that I will make it through tonight and tomorrow and in the long run the events of today are just the bumps in the road that are a part of life. 

Perspective is a very important part of life and it's been clear to me for a number of years that we all need to take a step back and put days like the one just described into perspective.  It's just one day.  What happened on this day cannot be undone. I can only look forward to another day tomorrow.  I believe its perspective like this that provides Peace of Mind in the Middle of the Storm.

Dealing with the negative

I was speaking recently at a convention in Arizona when someone posted a question about negativity that subsequently allowed for a teaching moment.  Here’s the set up.  An organization is in a meeting.  There is someone who has a negative streak a mile long who tries to stifle discussions about new ideas  claiming anything new must be approved by the groups board of directors..  The concern was over relatively new members in the group to become discouraged and disinterested if their ideas are not at least heard. 

This could be a viable solution. I told the questioner to let the person with the negative streak know that he was right, the board of directors had the final say.  But at the same time, everyone in the group at a meeting or in another arena is entitled to have a say.  This did not mean that the person who had the idea would actually see it approved.  But at least they would be heard. 

This example allows both people to maintain their positions without alienating anyone.  The person who has the new ideas fells empowered because they have been given the opportunity to share and advocate for their idea.  The person with the negative streak who insists on things being done the same way has also remained engage and should not feel rebuked.  The board of directors does, if you’re recall, have the final say!

Continuation of the Theme

The last post dealt  with the idea of putting away the phone for a while, even a short period of time, as a means of focusing on what is happening in life now and getting away from what can be a distraction.  Little did  I realize that just a few days later a respected news organization would publish a story about the very topic. There was a story the week of August 26 from the Associated Press entitled "Sleep With Your I-Phone, You're Not Alone."  http://tinyurl.com/3ffc5jw    One of the key points made in the story is the growing fear that young people would prefer to interact with their phones as opposed to other people.  It mention how the smart phone, for all of its benefits for making life easier, is becoming an addiction for a lot of people.  This is a short post on this Sunday because the answer is very clear to me.  It is okay to put down your smart phone.  You do not have to check it every ten minutes  for messages, or to see if someone has updated their Face book status.  Any messages you receive will still be there in an hour or two.  And does the world really need to know the latest and sometimes very trivial development in your life?  This can all wait.  Waiting also affords you a tremendous opportunity and that is to engage in some great conversation or interaction with a human being and not a machine

Stretching the Definition of Vacation

I had some R&R time recently.  My wife and I traveled west to the mountains of Colorado and the base of Beaver Creek Mountain where the temperature never got above 75 during the day and at times hovered around 50 at night. ( It was glorious considering the heat index in Iowa that week was between 115 and 120.)  We stayed at the Westin Resort and there were times that I wondered whether we were actually on vacation.  First it seemed like a bad sign when we loaded the car and both of our laptops were making the trip. When I take vacation its supposed to be a get away from it all including a getaway from the electronic world because we all seem to be tied to it day in and day out.  Writing this blog us just one example. But while I checked email a few times and did a little work associated with my business Keys 4 Life, I was astounded at what I saw people doing at the pool and on the mountain. 

Here we were at a perfect time for relaxation, a time to "get away from it all" and people are sunbathing while checking their phone for messages or updating their Face book status.  Come on! Does staying connected have to be so important these days that we cannot disconnect for just a couple of hours?  I saw a father running after a toddler who was going from hot tub to pool and in transit..he was checking his phone.  Nothing can be that important.  We were in one of the most beautiful parts of the country.  Why can't that be enough?  I finally wised up about half way through our vacation.  The laptop went into a corner of our room and wasn't opened until we got home five days later.  I also intentionally left my cell phone in my room the final two days of the trip.  It was a very freeing experience. I think we all should do the same...just for a couple of days. 

The vacation with my wife was great and yes...most of the time we got a long just fine.  In fact, one of her co workers today was actually surprised that we went on vacation together, alone, and had fun doing so.  We'll do it again in early December when we spend a week in Cancun.  And I'll make sure that I leave the laptop at home.  My guess is I won't miss it and I bet you wouldn't either if you left it home when you head out on vacation the next time. 

Young People and Yearning

I spoke recently at a youth conference in Baltimore, Maryland. In attendance were about six or seven dozen high school aged students.  Several adults and some young people from the college aged crowd were there as well. The topic was understanding self worth, developing a passion in life to help others and remembering that the most important person in your life is you.  The talk went very well but it was what happened afterward that really had an impact and a life lesson.

 

A 15 year old girl came up to me with eyes that said she was searching for answers.  She told me she did not know what she was going to do with her life and she was having trouble making finding a focus.  It turns out she was a spitting image of the “teenager from the 21^st century.”  She was involved in five different sports at school and 13 student organizations or activities.  No wonder she was having trouble. It sounded like the kind of schedule that was designed for disaster or at the very least, exhaustion.

It really doesn’t matter that she had not found a direction in her life.  I told her I did not figure that out until the age of 44 which meant she had plenty of time. The real key here is that she was yearning for a direction.  Counsel followed with a suggestion to slowly begin to pull back. Instead of 13 activities or organizations cut it in half next year and in half again the following year.  Perhaps she could do the same in sports.  The point is the key to direction in life is finding something that becomes passionate for you. You cannot do that with 13 activities and five sports.  As you reduce those numbers the activities or causes that remain come to the top and develop into passions.  They often times develop into life long callings. 

 

So for the over scheduled, go ahead and reduce that clutter in your life. Take a hard look at your calendar and decide what should stay and what should go. Then focus on the items, causes or organizations that remain and enjoy