Today our meeting started with Paula, our Immediate Past President, performing newly-elected officer inductions. The new officers include:
- President: Moises
- VP of Education: Sarah
- VP of Membership: Ahmad
- VP of Public Relations: Jamie
- Secretary: Traci
- Treasurer: Steven
- Sergeant at Arms: Bill
Our meeting theme, introduced by Toastmaster Bill, was “Mindfulness.” Bill explained benefits of mindfulness. He then led us through a relaxing breathing exercise. Grammarian, Sarah contributed to the theme and brought “Intentionality” for the word of the day.
All three speeches were rich in mindfulness.
Traci gave the first speech, titled “Clarity using the StoryBrand Framework, from Donald Miller’s book, Building Your Story Brand.” Clarity is essential to land that powerful force of an idea into the mind of our audience. The StoryBrand Framework is a mindful system to hold the attention of our audience so that we can intentionally deliver a clear message. Traci used the movie, Finding Nemo, to identify the 7 parts of the StoryBrand Framework, then applied this structure to a marketing pitch for Toastmasters. Learn more about this system for clarity by getting Miller’s book, or better yet listen to it on Audible.
Next, Jamie gave an inspirational speech, “Fight Like a Girl.” There is so much outside pressure to perform, especially if you’re Simone Biles, the most decorated U.S. woman’s gymnast ever with World/Olympic medals. While the world anxiously awaited her performance last month at the Tokyo Olympics, it was bewildering to watch the unfolding withdrawal from her event for mental health. What?!? What seemed like a weak decision, in which she would regret the rest of her life, has propelled her into an overnight superstar for mental health and personal wellbeing. She knew her mental state put her in danger. She was wise to understand her limitations and brave to stand up for her wellbeing. Jamie demonstrated that what can bend can also be irreparably broken by telling the story of a Russian gymnast, Elena Mukhina. Elena was very aware of her limitations and risk but succumbed to the pressure of her coach to perform a dangerous move. As a result, she broke her neck and eventually died from quadriplegic complications. Jamie motivated us to prioritize prudence over prestige, prioritize healing over hurting the land, and prioritize graceful self-care over glory and gold. The world needs a hero to fight like a girl!!!!
Our final speaker, Jong, asked the $75,000 question of how much money does it take to make us happy, during his speech titled, “The Pursuit of Happiness.” Humans are in pursuit of happiness. Happy people benefit from this characteristic as they are less likely than their unhappy counterparts, to get sick. Their happiness benefits the world around them, it’s contagious and has a ripple effect on others. How do we get it? It’s not genetic, it’s learned through our experience. We can mindfully design our environment and train our brains for happiness. Jong discussed three destructive obstacles in the pursuit of happiness that can be avoided. They include materialism, perfectionism, and social comparison. He told us about an interesting study that people are happier when they act in kindness toward others, rather than pampering themselves. Jong’s engaging speech inspired the audience to design their environment and train their brain in the pursuit of happiness.
Table Topics Master Paula provided inspirational quotes to give contestants the opportunity to reflect on mindfulness. Topics discussed were: items that stir happiness, anticipated actions that draw a beneficial experience, and elements found in nature that inspire a welcoming mindset.
President Moises closed with this quote: “Where you go, there you are.”
The meeting summary – summary in the intention of mindfulness: Be mindful. Be mindful about making your ideas clear for your audience, be mindful in the priority of your needs, and be mindful to choose happiness with your environment and in your actions to help others.
Keep sharpening your sword with Toastmasters!
Our next meeting is August 28st.
Some ideas....What brought you to Seattle Sunrise? Where are you from? What would you like to learn? What's your proudest accomplishment? What did you want to be when you were small? What would you sing at Karaoke night?
