Macdonald (Lebogang) and I had an opportunity to attend the launch of the Greenside Toastmasters Club, at Greenside North of Johannesburg - 17 November 2010.
That was a remarkable and a succesfull launch. I am glad Soweto Positive Speakers Toastmasters Club had representatives at the launch. We had fun.
I encourage members to attend our club meetings and those who can, to attend meetings hosted by other clubs.
This will help us to see how other clubs are being and run and organised. Most importantl
y is to learn the art or public speaking from other speakers. It is encouraging to see people who ha
ve fear(s) of speaking in public making a speech in front of strangers. You can only learn by participating and the more you give speeches and take some leadership roles in your club, the more your speaking abilities will improve.
Greenside Toastmasters Club will be having a guest speaker, Richard Riche, at their next meeting. He will be talking on how to make preparing a speech easy on yourself.
Please do attend or contact me and will give you directions on how to get there.
Time - 7pm Date - 1 December 2010
Venue - Pirates Club - Greenside
watch the video of the launch of Greenside Toastmasters Club:-
At Soweto Positive Speakers Toastmasters Club, we have our meetings on the 1st and 3rd Saturday of the month. We encourage people to come and learn the art of public speaking. Come and join our club and you will see your confidence rise.
Become massively successful,
Baleseng Tau Public Relations - Soweto Positive Speakers Toastmasters Club
I had a wonderful evening at Dance Factory on the 22 October 2010. I watched Thabo Rapoo's dance piece, named Batsumi. I enjoyed the music. I so much loved how he managed to mix classic music with Afro dance. Most of us expected to see Thabo as One of the dancers. He was a percussionist on the night while the dancers implemented his well choreographed piece.
I have seen Batsumi 4 times and to tell you the truth all performance we totally different and exciting. I saw interesting moves last night
that I did not see in the 3 performances I saw before the one I saw last night. All the dancers were very good and they flowed with the backgrounding music. Costume, lights and music were fused together to complete the artwork. Personally, my stars for the evening were Mr. Thulani Chauke and Ms. Sonia Radebe. I was charmed by their moves. Collectively all the dancers made the show a masterpiece.
Batsumi is a masterpiece about men as hunters and women as gatherers. Men hunting for their families while women gathering wild fruits and vegetables. This is a must see
I have known Thabo Rapoo, since 1989 to date. We been buddies then and we are still buddies today. Only if our schools provided art lessons, maybe I could have seen this Thabo's dance talent earlier and he could also have started dancing at an early age.
Anyway, Thabo Rapoo has been performing locally and abroad and I am sure his art pieces are going to make the audience drop their jaws. All I can say is that you will never know what to expect when you are going to watch his art pieces. He is full of suprises.
This is a very disciplined artist who is focused and dedicated to his work. I am so excited he now has an artist manager, named Ms Onthatile Matshidiso. A very beautiful woman, who will help Thabo Rapoo, to relauch, brand and position himself as the best choreographer in Afrika. She is a dynamic woman who understands the Artworld, as she is an artist too. This will not be an easy road as we know that Artworld demands and artist manager with a strong courage and a stamina like an Afrikan hyena.
I have seen, read and directly observed Thabo's rise in the Artworld. It was not an easy road for him, but with Passion, Dedication and Discipline, he is now where all dancers and choreographers aspire to be. Thabo is where he is because he has been 'hungry' to achieve his goals. if you are 'hungry' enough, you will do whatever it takes you to do in order to reach your goals. You better be hungry!
Do you sometimes feel like you've done everything you can on something. Yet, you're not making any head-way?
Business guru, Rich Schefren, explained that thinking profoundly about one's business is the best and possibly the ONE saviour for your business.
And I know this applies to every aspect of one's life - even if you don't own a business. It could be your career, your family life, personal life etc that needs a little jolting.
So here's his tips to get your business and life going in the right way again, when things seem somewhat damp...
1. Spend 15 minutes identifying all the obstacles currently standing in the way of your business/life goals. Then choose the one you
believe will give you the biggest payoff if eliminated.
2. Next, spend 15 minutes trying to uncover the root cause of that obstacle. You can do it by thinking about the obstacle and asking yourself, "Why am I experiencing this stumbling block?"
When you have an answer to that question, ask yourself WHY about your answer. Keep repeating the process until you've drilled down to the root cause of the obstacle - at least five levels below the surface.
3. Now, spend 15 minutes brainstorming as many different approaches as you can come up with to dealing with the root cause of the problem. Choose the solution you believe to be best.
4. Finally, for the last 15 minutes, think through all the steps you'd need to take to execute the solution you just identified.
I found this fictional story the other day and thought you might enjoy it. It was originally written in Home Life Magazine by Elizabeth Silance Ballard in 1976 and became one of the most requested stories in the magazine’s history. Several versions of this story have circulated around the Internet.
Mrs. Thompson exemplifies the type of leadership we should all take notice of. She helped this little boy, Teddy, feel like he was important and changed his life. It’s amazing what kindness can do. Teachers are some of the greatest leaders there are. This is a great holiday; make you feel good, type of story. I hope it is meaningful to you in each of your leadership capacities at work, home, church or wherever.
As she stood in front of her 5th grade class on the very first day of school, she told the children an untruth. Like most teachers, she looked at her students and said that she loved them all the same. However, that was impossible, because there in the front row, slumped in his seat, was a little boy named Teddy Stoddard.
Mrs. Thompson had watched Teddy the year before and noticed that he did not play well with the other children, that his clothes were messy and that he constantly needed a bath. In addition, Teddy could be unpleasant. It got to the point where Mrs. Thompson would actually take delight in marking his papers with a broad red pen, making bold X's and then putting a big 'F' at the top of his papers.
At the school where Mrs. Thompson taught, she was required to review each child's past records and she put Teddy's off until last. However, when she reviewed his file, she was in for a surprise.
Teddy's first grade teacher wrote, 'Teddy is a bright child with a ready laugh. He does his work neatly and has good manners... he is a joy to be around..'
His second grade teacher wrote, 'Teddy is an excellent student, well liked by his classmates, but he is troubled because his mother has a terminal illness and life at home must be a struggle.'
His third grade teacher wrote, 'His mother's death has been hard on him. He tries to do his best, but his father doesn't show much interest, and his home life will soon affect him if some steps aren't taken.'
Teddy's fourth grade teacher wrote, 'Teddy is withdrawn and doesn't show much interest in school. He doesn't have many friends and he sometimes sleeps in class.'
By now, Mrs. Thompson realized the problem and she was ashamed of herself.. She felt even worse when her students brought her Christmas presents, wrapped in beautiful ribbons and bright paper, except for Teddy's. His present was clumsily wrapped in the heavy, brown paper that he got from a grocery bag. Mrs. Thompson took pains to open it in the middle of the other presents. Some of the children started to laugh when she found a rhinestone bracelet with some of the stones missing, and a bottle that was one-quarter full of perfume.. But she stifled the children's laughter when she exclaimed how pretty the bracelet was, putting it on, and dabbing some of the perfume on her wrist. Teddy Stoddard stayed after school that day just long enough to say, 'Mrs. Thompson, today you smelled just like my Mom used to.'
After the children left, she cried for at least an hour. On that very day, she quit teaching reading, writing and arithmetic. Instead, she began to teach children. Mrs. Thompson paid particular attention to Teddy. As she worked with him, his mind seemed to come alive. The more she encouraged him, the faster he responded. By the end of the year, Teddy had become one of the smartest children in the class and, despite her lie that she would love all the children the same, Teddy became one of her 'teacher's pets..'
A year later, she found a note under her door, from Teddy, telling her that she was the best teacher he ever had in his whole life.
Six years went by before she got another note from Teddy. He then wrote that he had finished high school, third in his class, and she was still the best teacher he ever had in life.
Four years after that, she got another letter, saying that while things had been tough at times, he'd stayed in school, had stuck w ith it, and would soon graduate from college with the highest of honours. He assured Mrs. Thompson that she was still the best and favorite teacher he had ever had in his whole life.
Then four more years passed and yet another letter came. This time he explained that after he got his bachelor's degree, he decided to go a little further. The letter explained that she was still the best and favorite teacher he ever had. But now his name was a little longer.... The letter was signed, Theodore F. Stoddard, MD.
The story does not end there. You see, there was yet another letter that spring. Teddy said he had met this girl and was going to be married. He explained that his father had died a couple of years ago and he was wondering if Mrs. Thompson might agree to sit at the wedding in the place that was usually reserved for the mother of the groom. Of course, Mrs. Thompson did. And guess what? She wore that bracelet, the one with several rhinestones missing. Moreover, she made sure she was wearing the perfume that Teddy remembered his mother wearing on their last Christmas together.
They hugged each other, and Dr. Stoddard whispered in Mrs. Thompson's ear, 'Thank you Mrs. Thompson for believing in me. Thank you so much for making me feel important and showing me that I could make a difference.'
Mrs. Thompson, with tears in her eyes, whispered back.. She said, 'Teddy, you have it all wrong. You were the one who taught me that I could make a difference. I didn't know how to teach until I met you.'
This is my year, 2010. Gone are the years that frustrated me socially and in business. I am back inaction to complete missions that were abandoned because of certain circumstances. Circumstances that I could have prevented had I been careful enough. I glad they happened as I had learned valuable lessons in life.
Business went down, broke up with the one I love(d) dearly and friends varnished on thin air. My faith to come back and be who I wanted to be never faded away. I knew what I need in life and how to get it. I was just not inspired, but not lazy. I was less inspired to go for my goals, I had shifted my focus on current and temporary problems at that time. I was aware that was not the end of the road, but I did not do anything about the situation that I was in. surrendered and moved out of my lovely and sunny apartment, went back home to stay live with relatives.
A week later with relatives, I realised that I do not belong there and what has happened to my dreams and goals that I always fought for. Dreams that never made me sleep at night. I questioned and challenged myself. I felt I was losing hope in life, deep down I knew that I am strong and can make it again in life.
Life sometimes hits you harder so that we can learn its valuable lessons. Lessons we cannot find in educational institutions. Internal debates continued, until I realised that I needed to shift my mindset and change my focus. I had to re-focus on my dreams and goals that meant a lot to me. Problems and whatever that troubled me at that time never meant a lot any longer, but my dreams were now much more IMPORTANT than 'so called' stressors. Going back to the drawing board meant, writing my life plan and writing my business goals.
I wrote my action plan, for business and personal. One of the most important aspect in action plan (life and business) was to start socialising with people who will help me achieve my goals. I started swimming in a sea full of sharks with sharper teeth. I stopped being a shark in a small pond. I was now a small fish in a sea, no longer a shark in a small pond. I rubbed shoulders (still do) with successful people and those who never accepted defeat in life. I hanged around with those who see failure as another lesson in life and not as a weapon of 'mass destruction'. My mindset slowly but surely changed. My confidence level went high one day at a time. I started seeing light in myself and started to smile again.
My library of motivational books had collected dust, I removed the dust and read them one by one. I listened to motivational CD's and DVD's day in and out. I inspired myself further and further. I joined Toastmasters International, to develop and hone my speaking abilities. I met young and confident speakers whose eyes were sparkling stars when they make presentations.
My network was growing daily and it was becoming full of very influential people, socially and business wise. At toastmasters I learned how to speak and address people professionally. I became more aware of myself when I speak, my confidence level rose again. I made speeches in my club, I visited other clubs in other areas. In my mind I knew that I needed to build and reinforce my network. Visiting other clubs meant more and more influential people in my circle. The less influential and forever complaining started drifting away slowly in my life, as my topics were now different.
Now that I believed in myself more, and was fighting for my goals. I attracted like minded people in my life, sharks with sharper teeth in the sea (business world) started inviting me in their groups. They no longer intimidated me, even though I felt so small amongst them. I observed how they did things and duplicated them. I read books and newspapers that they read. i hanged out where they hanged out. I met their friends and friends' friends.
It is true that success from those who succeeded in life with rub on you if you hang around them. If you hang around those who complain two things will happen (1) You will end up complaining instead of appreciating life and being a goal getter; (2) You will loose a lot of energy trying to show them the positive side of life. Move away from such people, you don't need them. Some of these negative people are our friends, relatives, colleagues and the one we love. Where would you find successful people....? Attend business expos, seminars, workshops, social networking forums. It is crucial to have positive thinkers in life and not those who will discourage you. Better be alone than be with the complainers.
One of my goals in life is to be an internationally acclaimed motivational speaker, using my life as a case study. I have seen a lot, I know the joys of being self made rich and the sorrows of being self-made poor. I choose to be rich and be more successful in all my endevours in life. I am still building my list of influential people and I literally deleted those who never made a difference in m,y life and yet they expected me to make a difference in their lives. Say no to win-lose friendship, say yes to WIN-WIN. Be brutal about it.
I am now a Vice President (Public Relations) for local Toastmasters International Club, bought a car and don't owe it a cent, got a Diploma in Project Management, and now going for advanced level course in Project Management. I am now involved in community development projects, we doing musical festivals to promote musical bands who are not known and yet they are better than known ones. I no longer stay with relatives, I have my own place in Mogale City. I am happy. Be aware whom you befriend.
I still run a printing business, Tau and Associates, we print banners, flyers, posters, t-shirts, lanyards and also have mobile billboards for rentals to advertising agencies and small businesses
