This is my speech for Level 1 of Motivational Strategies pathway, Project Evaluation and Feedback. Some techniques in this speech are inspired by Md. Qatani's World Championship winning speech.
*Swirls drink in the glass.*
It has been a long week, I could use some of this. Don’t worry, this is just my third glass of the evening and there is a long way to go.
Are you all going to judge me because of that? Do you think excessive alcohol consumption can kill? Let me tell you something. Do you know that the number of people dying from Diabetes is 5 times the number of people dying from any causes related to alcohol? Yet, if I pull out a snickers bar, no one would even notice.
Toastmasters and guests, did you find that surprising? That is because it is.. It is hard hitting realization, it is mind bending information and…. It is a big bag of lies. I made up that story.
Stories are powerful. Stories are power. The right story delivered to a person at the right time could transform their lives. Stories, fables and fairy tales are not just artifacts of our childhood. Look around you, they are literally everywhere. So much so that sometimes we tend to overlook them. Tonight, I want to talk to you about some stories and some stories that we tell ourselves.
The first story that comes to mind is that of Money. Currency! Money is the greatest story ever told. Everyone believes in the gospel of Money.
Imagine this. A piece of paper, a dollar bill, can be turned into food at the restaurant. Food can be converted to physical labor.
Labor can lead to a payday. That payday brings us more such pieces of paper that we began with. It’s magic!
All of this magic revolves around the trust in a story. The story says that this money has value because the government and the central bank says it has value. As long as the government and the central bank are deemed to be trustworthy, money will keep working its magic.
Not the story you were expecting, was it? *pause* Let me give you another one.
We just came out of an exhausting election season in the US. Since 24x7 news networks tell us that there is no such thing as too much politics, let's talk about Nations.
Nations are not naturally occurring phenomena. Mother nature doesn’t have walls. Nations are products of history.They are carved out by guns, germs and steel.
It is the belief in a common story that binds people together in a Nation. People chose to live as one nation because the values reflected in the story appeal to them; Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
At this point, you could ask me : All that sounds nice. Money and nations sound very important topics. But what can I, an individual, take away from this rambling?
My answer to that is, Good question! Glad you asked.
2020 has been a year like no other in our lives. We have witnessed our world turned upside down.
It took away a few things from us, right?. Like our freedom to be near our loved ones.
Sometimes, the very loved ones.
Taken away were our plans for the year and the very innocent wish of a happy new year.
At the same time, we have gained quite a bit in the process.
We have realized that we are resilient beings.
We deserve a strong and competent leadership. That is non-negotiable.
We have realized that when we join forces, science can advance by leaps and bounds. Never before did we have a vaccine for new disease so quickly.
So, I want to leave you with a question. What is your story about 2020?
Will it be the story of a year that scarred us forever?
Would it be the story of a year that made us stop... and think?
Think about what is important - people, relationships and the planet that we leave for our next generation.
Thank you!
