The room was really dark and very cold, the feisty air from the AC were like frozen icicles brushing my foot. And there in the cold room, I felt I was walking down the in the Multipurpose Hall of my School where more than 2000 students gathered. And as the Principal of the school started naming the students who had distinctions in their exams, one by one student started coming out from their respected lines. They went on the stage where a gold badge was pinned on their shirt, and the whole school gave a thunderous applause to each the students.
Towards the middle of the whole ceremony, I heard a familiar name being called “Jaison James” 85%, and all 4000 eyes stared at me as I went up the stage to receive my gold medal. I was exuberant , I was in the 3rd heavens, floating and glowing like a 100 watt bulb.
At that moment I heard a familiar irritating voice shouting on top of her voice “Jaisoooooooooooooooon GET UP....Schools in 35 min” MOM!!! I haven’t finished dreaming yet !!!
Respected Toastmasters, Ladies and Gentlemen. A Warm Good Evening!!
I am a dreamer, a hardcore dreamer. I have been dreaming since I was in my mother’s womb. I remember my mom telling the most babies in the womb would kick – meaning they would be football players, some would dance- meaning they would be ballet dancers, and rarely some would even punch- meaning they would become boxers. But never could a foetus be so peaceful like me, no sound, no kicks, and no punches. It dreaded my parents so much that they would get my mom’s tummy scanned, just to see if I was there.
So what was I doing there??? Well.
My dear friends, wouldn’t it be wonderful if you were the prince in every fairytale you’ve ever read? Wouldn’t it be charming if you could get to kiss the princess after fighting the dragon?? Wouldn’t you be enthralled if you were the knight in shining armor defending a castle?? Well now you’ all know where I was.
Let me first of all tell all of you to resist everyone who tells you “You don’t live in a Dream world” “There’s no time to dream anymore” “Wake up to reality” etc. You can still dream.
Dreaming is very psychological, it arises out of your subconscious mind, where dreams are stories or life incidents, which happened to you. We spend a lot of time in our lives trying to do what our body does not want to do. And the body in retaliation gives pieces of information or incidents back to our subconscious mind to reprocess it so that the body becomes relaxed.
That is why sometimes we have dreams in which you won an award at Toastmasters International Speech Contest defeating reigning district champion Mr Aaron Watson or sometimes a horrifying monster comes from the cupboard to say hi. Interestingly, we can also alter the course of our dreams, like continue from a romance novel you were just reading, when the original hero dies and you court the woman.
Dreaming is highly recommended. It is an answer to most of life’s problems.
Husbands you can dream that your wife’s are beautiful like the first time you saw her and you wanted her so badly, beneath a thick layer of mascara and Fair n Lovely cream. Wife’s you can dream that your husband’s still look boyish and handsome having a head full of hair and a lean tummy.
Somebody once said you are what you dream. If u have a dream, ladies and gentlemen, please dream it day and night, and you will see the whole universe conspiring to help you fulfill your dream. There are many life incidents of dreamers whose dreams have come true. But the most inspirational one is of a man I read of.
There was a young man, who had a dream-he dreamt of being an Actor- the most successful actor the world has ever seen. He approached a lot of directors for a casting role. Everyone turned him down. The reason – he had a semi paralyzed face and his nose was crooked. Directors shouted in unison “YOU R UGLY” “YOU CANT ACT”.
After all turn down by directors, thoroughly discouraged, he dreamt of being an actor – day after day and night after night.
One night in a dream he thought of a script for a movie, the next day made a screen play and decided to act and direct in his own movie. The movie was successful- and went on to become one of the highest grossing films in the history of Motion Pictures. People received the “UGLY” actor – In fact he was named among the 100 handsome people in the world. The film was called “ROCKY” and the actor is Sylvester Stallone.
My friends, people will call you ugly, they will discourage you, they will despise you, feel jealous of you , tell u ur not good enough – But do you have a dream??? A dream that’s more important to you than anything in the world?? Most people SAY DON’T KEEP DREAMING DO IT. But I say unto you DREAM IT & YOU’LL DO IT!! You are what you dream !!!
Let me take you back to the dream i had in the beginning of the speech. I had this dream in 5th std. And my dream came true in 8th std .It took me 3 yrs to fulfill my dream. I did get a medal and a thunderous applause in front of the whole school. It took me 5 years. What was eerie about the whole thing was, the moment was exactly how I pictured it to be.
DO YOU HAVE A DREAM??? DO YOU HAVE A DREAM YOU THINK YOU CANT ACHIEVE ???? DO YOU HAVE A DREAM THAT'S MORE IMPORTANT THAN ANYTHING IN THE WORLD??? If u do DREAM DREAM DREAM
Tuesday, March 16, 2010
Sunday, March 14, 2010
LIFE IS A GARDEN
Elizabeth Lawrence once said:
“There is a garden in every childhood, an enchanted place where colors are brighter, the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever again.”
Ladies and Gentlemen, my childhood too was like a garden, and like in every garden, I too had flowers, four flowers that stood really tall above others.
The first flower in my garden of life has been my sister Sherin
As far as I can remember,She has been a person who always watched my back. When the first time I joined my parents in Saudi Arabia at the age of 7 , I could not differentiate between blue or green , not to mention sound an alphabet from the odd English Language.
After a week of being with my parents and siblings, I understood it was not my grandmother who gave birth to me, but it was my mother who brought me into this world and I did have a person called dad as bonus. My early recollections of my sister was her teaching me the rhyme “Oh! My Darling Clementine” , I immediately hummed along , much to my amazement learned my first Nursery Rhyme.
My sister was very protective about me, even though I was the eldest among my siblings.
We went to school together , my sister clutching my hand while crossing the road, replacing Spiderman’s and Batman’s with Barney and friends and monitoring my table manners. In school, thanks to my English I maintained a mutual understanding with everyone, they hated me and I hated them. This led me into a lot of fights.
One day, my sister saw me cry in school after a boy bullied me, and she in a fit of rage pushed him in front of the whole school and gave him a knock which he’d never forget for the rest of his life. Wow and I thought “How Strong”. I was not as huge as I am now , and now that I’m , and she’s far away , I really don’t pick fights with anyone.
As the years progressed, she molded my personality, spoke up and stood up for me, defended me when I got into trouble with my parents, and even now continues to do so. The only complaint that she has about me is that I don’t love and care for her enough. She usually says that when I take her shopping!!
The second flower in my garden of life has been my parents.
For the past 25 years, my parents are in Saudi Arabia. My dad James Thomas is a technical supervisor in an oil company and my mom Valsa is a staff nurse.
I can recall my parents talking to us, about how difficult it is to bring up a family with 3 children in a foreign land. It was indeed a land of opportunities but of heavy suffering and hardships. As they continue to still work there, we see them probably once a year. Initially life for my parents had been a struggle, but with a little grace and luck they brought us up.
The one thing I have learned and admired about my parents is the virtue called perseverance. As my parents explained this, it is very difficult for me to understand as perseverance can only be perfected through experience.
Though we lived on a very small budget, my parents provided us with the best of things. I remember vividly the day I got my first red bicycle-lovely and sharp it stood .I was one of the first boys to have a cycle among my peers.
The second gift I recall was when we got our first computer in 9th std. A computer was unheard of in a middle class family. But my parents in spite of their limited income provided myself and my sisters all that we wanted.
These actions of my parents, to show us love even in adversities have been a great inspiration and a wonderful role model to follow.
The third flower ladies and gentlemen in the garden of my life has been Saudi Arabia.
All that I am today is because of the tons of bittersweet experiences that the wonderful country has offered.
From a frail boy of age 7, who didn’t know how to say “Thank you” in English, am standing here in the midst of an auspicious gathering delivering my Ice breaker!!!
Saudi Arabia taught me to have passions for life. During my stay there , I had a tremendous passion for learning new things and my teachers often complained that I was over inquisitive.
Among the many passions developed, one was an outdoor game - Basket Ball, a game to this day I love, and have led many school level matches to sheer victory. Since I had to come down to Bangalore to pursue my MBA , I have less time for sports.
Another passion was in a world surrounded by books. By the time I was in 8th STD, I had read almost all classical works like Dickens, Dumas, Twain’s, Elliots, and Enid Blyton. As got to my 10th STD, I had finished all the Sidney Sheldon’s; Nicolas Sparks and Julie Garwood’s and now I do harvest that incredible passion.
I always wanted to speak. I learned and experienced the power that communication had from my early days – My first proposal to a girl , it went out swell .
And as I look into the spectacle of my future, I see myself as a wonderful speaker and a presenter.
Ladies and Gentlemen the fourth flower blooming in my garden is TOASTMASTERS.
The first time I heard the word “TOASTMASTER” was when a wonderful, elegant, calm, fearless speaker from this club came to Kristu Jayanti College where I study. It’s none other than Mr John Bosco. I was able to notice a difference in his speech compared to other speakers and wondered what it was. I asked my friend what was so different, and one of them said – TOASTMASTERS. I got acquainted with Mr Bosco, and joined toastmasters the next week.
My journey however has been rough and on the rocks. I have been in toastmasters for the last 6 months, and until now, never had the courage to stand on this lectern and speak. I was so terrified that I was thinking of quitting toastmasters.
However today I am glad I did not make that decision. And I tell all of you who are perplexed and tossed in this material rat race and think of quitting toastmasters – DON’T .
Those who travel through thick clay are hindered and dirtied in their journey, but let me remind you, victory follows perdition.
I’ve decided to persevere in this journey, even though the road is paved with thick clay. And I humbly ask all my fellow toastmasters to help me and encourage me in my long and tough journey ahead.
I know there will be many more flowers in my life. I count my blessings each day - one by one at all the flowers that bloomed in my garden and God who is my eternal Gardener.
These flowers are for all of you, and especially this flower is for Mr Bosco, who helped me take my first Baby step.
Finally ladies and Gentlemen ,let me tell you life has been one incredible journey.....................
“There is a garden in every childhood, an enchanted place where colors are brighter, the air softer, and the morning more fragrant than ever again.”
Ladies and Gentlemen, my childhood too was like a garden, and like in every garden, I too had flowers, four flowers that stood really tall above others.
The first flower in my garden of life has been my sister Sherin
As far as I can remember,She has been a person who always watched my back. When the first time I joined my parents in Saudi Arabia at the age of 7 , I could not differentiate between blue or green , not to mention sound an alphabet from the odd English Language.
After a week of being with my parents and siblings, I understood it was not my grandmother who gave birth to me, but it was my mother who brought me into this world and I did have a person called dad as bonus. My early recollections of my sister was her teaching me the rhyme “Oh! My Darling Clementine” , I immediately hummed along , much to my amazement learned my first Nursery Rhyme.
My sister was very protective about me, even though I was the eldest among my siblings.
We went to school together , my sister clutching my hand while crossing the road, replacing Spiderman’s and Batman’s with Barney and friends and monitoring my table manners. In school, thanks to my English I maintained a mutual understanding with everyone, they hated me and I hated them. This led me into a lot of fights.
One day, my sister saw me cry in school after a boy bullied me, and she in a fit of rage pushed him in front of the whole school and gave him a knock which he’d never forget for the rest of his life. Wow and I thought “How Strong”. I was not as huge as I am now , and now that I’m , and she’s far away , I really don’t pick fights with anyone.
As the years progressed, she molded my personality, spoke up and stood up for me, defended me when I got into trouble with my parents, and even now continues to do so. The only complaint that she has about me is that I don’t love and care for her enough. She usually says that when I take her shopping!!
The second flower in my garden of life has been my parents.
For the past 25 years, my parents are in Saudi Arabia. My dad James Thomas is a technical supervisor in an oil company and my mom Valsa is a staff nurse.
I can recall my parents talking to us, about how difficult it is to bring up a family with 3 children in a foreign land. It was indeed a land of opportunities but of heavy suffering and hardships. As they continue to still work there, we see them probably once a year. Initially life for my parents had been a struggle, but with a little grace and luck they brought us up.
The one thing I have learned and admired about my parents is the virtue called perseverance. As my parents explained this, it is very difficult for me to understand as perseverance can only be perfected through experience.
Though we lived on a very small budget, my parents provided us with the best of things. I remember vividly the day I got my first red bicycle-lovely and sharp it stood .I was one of the first boys to have a cycle among my peers.
The second gift I recall was when we got our first computer in 9th std. A computer was unheard of in a middle class family. But my parents in spite of their limited income provided myself and my sisters all that we wanted.
These actions of my parents, to show us love even in adversities have been a great inspiration and a wonderful role model to follow.
The third flower ladies and gentlemen in the garden of my life has been Saudi Arabia.
All that I am today is because of the tons of bittersweet experiences that the wonderful country has offered.
From a frail boy of age 7, who didn’t know how to say “Thank you” in English, am standing here in the midst of an auspicious gathering delivering my Ice breaker!!!
Saudi Arabia taught me to have passions for life. During my stay there , I had a tremendous passion for learning new things and my teachers often complained that I was over inquisitive.
Among the many passions developed, one was an outdoor game - Basket Ball, a game to this day I love, and have led many school level matches to sheer victory. Since I had to come down to Bangalore to pursue my MBA , I have less time for sports.
Another passion was in a world surrounded by books. By the time I was in 8th STD, I had read almost all classical works like Dickens, Dumas, Twain’s, Elliots, and Enid Blyton. As got to my 10th STD, I had finished all the Sidney Sheldon’s; Nicolas Sparks and Julie Garwood’s and now I do harvest that incredible passion.
I always wanted to speak. I learned and experienced the power that communication had from my early days – My first proposal to a girl , it went out swell .
And as I look into the spectacle of my future, I see myself as a wonderful speaker and a presenter.
Ladies and Gentlemen the fourth flower blooming in my garden is TOASTMASTERS.
The first time I heard the word “TOASTMASTER” was when a wonderful, elegant, calm, fearless speaker from this club came to Kristu Jayanti College where I study. It’s none other than Mr John Bosco. I was able to notice a difference in his speech compared to other speakers and wondered what it was. I asked my friend what was so different, and one of them said – TOASTMASTERS. I got acquainted with Mr Bosco, and joined toastmasters the next week.
My journey however has been rough and on the rocks. I have been in toastmasters for the last 6 months, and until now, never had the courage to stand on this lectern and speak. I was so terrified that I was thinking of quitting toastmasters.
However today I am glad I did not make that decision. And I tell all of you who are perplexed and tossed in this material rat race and think of quitting toastmasters – DON’T .
Those who travel through thick clay are hindered and dirtied in their journey, but let me remind you, victory follows perdition.
I’ve decided to persevere in this journey, even though the road is paved with thick clay. And I humbly ask all my fellow toastmasters to help me and encourage me in my long and tough journey ahead.
I know there will be many more flowers in my life. I count my blessings each day - one by one at all the flowers that bloomed in my garden and God who is my eternal Gardener.
These flowers are for all of you, and especially this flower is for Mr Bosco, who helped me take my first Baby step.
Finally ladies and Gentlemen ,let me tell you life has been one incredible journey.....................
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