MY TOASTMASTER'S AWARD!!

Hey guys!

Did you miss me? It’s been a while you know! I've missed it here so I guess the missing must be mutual lol it just has to be. I’m pretty excited today and I don’t know why..oh well, I'm alive and I guess that’s more than enough reason to be happy or isn't it? Christmas is really close and I am particularly excited about this season for a reason, which I would probably talk about on my next post. In the mean time, let’s talk about the weekend. How was your weekend? I hope you had a nice one? Mine was great and pretty overwhelming. Shout out to the latest and outstanding graduate in the house, Bitrus Audu, who hasn't only made me a proud sister but has been a major source of inspiration and a blessing to the Audu's. I mean, what can I say! all thanks and glory to God Almighty. I strongly believe greater things are yet to come and I'm patiently waiting for them all. Unto the matter of the day... 

Have you guys heard about the Toast Master's International?  Well, that would officially become my new club come January 2015 and You guys need to become members as well. I'll tell you why. Attending the training/meeting was the most exciting and productive part of my weekend. Toast master’s international is a world leader in communication and leadership development where members come together to improve their speaking and leadership skills. With the way we youths are getting out there and into the realities of life, one needs to get really involved with a lot of productive activities that would enhance certain skills and personal development. I was introduced to the club by my friend Winston and was invited a few months back but work and my busy life left me with little or no time during the week and my weekends were also booked with a couple of activities as well. This weekend however, was the last training/meeting for the year so I decided to go with a couple friends, Yinka and Ayo who were already members and guess what? It turned out great!

We started off with a couple of introductions and speeches which were in turn, evaluated by the congregation. This was followed by a couple of games. The first was a listening game/test which involved the entire congregation and was aimed at assessing the ability to listen critically and to note the number of words starting with the letter ‘B’ in a given story while the second was a number game/test which was aimed at assessing the ability to think fast by counting the numbers 1-100, omitting the multiples of 4 and the numbers that end with 4 within a given time frame. Luckily for me, I won and I was awarded a prize. ‘Twenty spiritual lessons for creating the life you want’.

Pardon the picture quality I never experredit!!

I was particularly excited about this award because I felt loved...yeah I felt loved by God. There are certain things I may not be sure of in my life, but one thing I never doubt is God's love for me and if I have to explain it, I probably wouldn't make a single sense even if I wrote over a thousand words lol. I've noticed that each time I desire something; I don’t even have to pray too much for it. Most times, it just needs to be in my heart and he sees it even before I ask. A few days ago, I was just thinking about my Christmas break and wondering what personal development book to get next as I had run out of the few ones I had, only for me to receive the perfect book with the lessons I believe God is trying to teach me..Isn't God too amazing? Well, It may seem small and irrelevant but it means a lot to me knowing that God knows all my needs and supplies them according to his riches in glory.

Anyways, back to the toast masters. A certain number of toast masters were called up to give speeches and share their experiences at toast master's international. I was particularly impressed at the level of boldness, fluency and confidence most of them exhibited after hearing their success stories of public speaking. I was however, particularly intrigued by this certain lady who gave a wonderfully inspiring speech. I could tell she had been through years of constant practice, dedication and commitment to developing herself. She exhibited all the qualities of the kind of woman I am in the making. She was full of humility, confidence, boldness, independence, intelligence, value, wisdom, principles, self worth, drive and charisma all added to her beauty (what a babe and a half!). She happened to be one who struggled a lot with public speaking and never really had any interest in going public. She was then introduced to toast masters international by her husband after which She decided to enroll for 'selfish reasons' according to her. She wanted an avenue where she could socialize, make new friends, meet new people and create a good network but she realized that even creating a good network and building relationships required effective communication which is what most people tend to overlook. She figured that communication was a vital part and an essential skill for success and so, she knew she couldn't run away from it and decided to develop hers by commitment, dedication and practice. Today, she happens to be a motivational/inspirational speaker (relationship wise), and even has her own radio station called 'Talk the Talk''..isn't that so inspiring? well it is for me and should be for most of us. I've been on a mission to develop myself and I try to read as much books as I can just so I can learn some tips, build my mind and gain more knowledge but I've realized one thing: No matter how many books I read and how many tips I learn, I can never grow without application and I can only apply myself by practice. You can only learn to speak by speaking and to write by writing so in the midst of all the work, hangouts and chill-outs, I encourage everyone to find time, get engaged and involved with a few productive activities as they are really essential for growth. I have found one myself and you should too, and with the help of God, we will all grow mentally, spiritually, financially and otherwise *wink*wink*.

By the way, I would be sharing some of the lessons from the new book as I go along, so look out for them. Until then,

I hope you enjoy the rest of your week :).