Thoughts on District 80 Semi Annual Convention (Macau) Part 2
As promised, I would like to take a few moments to share with you what I have learnt over the three days in Macau.
Lesson No. 1: 台上十分钟，台下十年功
If you translate it directly into English, it means that in order to enjoy the ten minutes of glamour on stage, you have to put in ten years of hard work. That’s what I see in all the contest speakers that day. Let’s take the District 80 Humorous Contest champion for example. His speech contained three hilarious anecdotes of his mishaps with women. He had the audience laughing almost every ten seconds. Considering that his speech was 7 minutes long, he made us laugh 42 times! Each laugh just gets louder and louder. And speaking from experience, it can be quite an ego booster to be responsible for creating these laughs. Yet as we enjoy the humor and crazy antics, no one is aware of the countless hours and sleepless nights writing and rewriting the script. Even a champion speaker like Ed Tate has to rewrite his story a dozen times before it is ready to be used as speech material. Now that is true commitment to the art of speaking! A price that not many people are willing to pay.
Chances are all the great speakers you have heard so far weren’t so great in the beginning. They were just like us. The only difference is that they are willing to put in the hard work to get better. So question is are you willing to put in the necessary work to see the results? If you are, then congratulations! You are on your way to becoming a great speaker yourself!
Lesson No. 2: At the end of the day, the goal doesn’t matter…
Goals are an important part of our lives. They help us create the results we want in our lives. They are often seen as the antidotes to procrastination and sloth. However I am here to say that goals doesn’t matter at all. I stumble onto this realization a year back during my stint in Philadelphia. Back then, I was competing at the Humorous Contest in US and the victories I enjoyed were beyond my wildest dreams. I won at club level all the way to division level, beating over 20 experienced speakers. And just when I thought I will win at the finals (District), I was disqualified because of a silly techicality.
I was not officially a member of my US club when I first compete and because of that, I was not eligible to compete. The disappointment I felt at that time was excrutiatingly painful. It was only an hour before the contest that I learnt the heartbreaking news… I had no more chance to make the thousand audience laugh to their hearts’ content… no more chance to do magic with the other top speakers from around the states… No more chance to bask in blissful satisfaction of having complete the contest.
Yet as I wallow in self pity, I realize an important lesson (thankfully) from a voice in me… “Give yourself a pat on your shoulder… You owe it to yourself to have come that far…” It was at that micro-second when I became present to the entire journey that I have embarked since the first time I stepped into my US club. It was the fateful evening of August 4, 2005. If not for my decision to join the club and later the contest, I will not have learnt about the intricacies of comedy writing. I will not have become close friends with so many of the contestants in my divison. I will not have realized that I can be quite courageous. This new found confidence had served me… even today, which perhaps explained my victory at the District 80 Evaluation Contest. Nothing has gone to waste. The goal of winning the humor contest is merely an excuse for me to play the game, a chance for me to realize this valuable lesson which I now value so dearly.
At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter whether you achieve your goals or not… what counts is the journey and the lessons accompanied it.
(Here’s a similar article that expound on the same lesson: I will be happy when…)
Lesson No. 3: When you put your heart and soul into doing one thing, results are bound to show up
This is the most important lesson that I have come to learnt so far. You have to first understand how I was like two years ago. I was as excited about things in life BUT I put my focus on everything (which can be quite an oxymoron). I was in choir, in training, in gaming, in an online business, in writing, in teaching, in some meditation class and the list goes on… As a result, nothing gets done. I am a pro when it comes to starting things but it never get completed. Until one fine day, I became sick and tired of being busy without the accompaniment of results. It felt as if my whole entire purpose was just being busy. That was when my internal alarm clock rang.
I decided to start slate clean with a difference. Focus on just a few things. Toastmasters was one of them (thankfully!!!) I joined the NUS club, with some nudging from my mentor near end of 2004. I never looked back. Because I focus on becoming a better speaker, I began to see results… and they were phenomenal. I got better at speaking. My confidence surged. And I began to have fun. And as a result, I got even better at speaking. Confidence went up further…
Doors of opportunities that were once closed, opened up for me. I was given the honor to compete at several speaking contests in different nations. I won some. I lost some. But I always learn something new about myself which catapults my growth as a speaker. In fact because of my fervency or “craziness” in public speaking, I got the attention of the local media and my university. This further reinforces my desire to reach the next peak of my public speaking evolution.
Here’s another interesting observation. My friends and even acquaintance began to recommend me to train students and corporate companies in public speaking. (Even though some of my clients were twice or thrice my age!) Not only was I was given an avenue to empty my cup and share what I have learnt over the two years, it felt extremely fulfilling to make a difference in another person’s life. Come to think of it, this blog will not have exist if not for my intention to share everything that I know about public speaking to people in the world. And strangely when I put my focus on helping more people instead of figuring out how to increase the blog’s traffic, more people come onboard. Perhaps this is the universe’s affirmation that I am on the right track.
As you can see, I could not have enjoy these fruits of labor if not for my decision of focusing my time and energies on it. Likewise, you can also start deciding what you want to focus on. If it is personal growth that you want, then by all means, align all your actions to this goal. If singing is your passion and you want to nurture it, then pay attention to that area. It is a very simple lesson but ironically it takes me the longest to realize.
Wow… this is by far the longest post ever… (grins) Nonetheless I sincerely intend that you gain some insights of your own as I share with you mine. Oh and pls do share with me what you got out of reading this post. Thank you! More good stuff coming up.. watch this space!
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Any burning questions to ask? Send them to eric@ericfeng.com and I will get back to you asap. Meanwhile, enjoy the articles at Public Speaking for All!
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Hi Eric
How true that focus is very important. I too was engaged in many activities (and still am) but I am starting to see a convergence between two areas i.e. toastmasters (public speaking) and teaching children (kidsREAD). I managed to marry the two together when I conducted a kidsREAD volunteers workshop for about 20 kidsREAD volunteers within CDAC and it was very exciting!
Sometimes, it’s good to try out different things before we know where is our focus. It’s like you know what you don’t like and you need to plough through the mud and soil to find the gold buried in the mountain.
Congrats on your 1st Runner Up in the District 80 Evaluation Contest and do continue with this wonderful blog!
Hello Ee Chuan! Thank you for your compliments. And yes I agree with you that it is good to try out different things before we know where our focus is. Even if you are not sure what u want, just move. It is in motion that we discover our calling (or whatever u call it) Do tell me more about the kidsREAD program that u conduct when we meet again. Take care!
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