Tether me up!

I got up early this morning to go to my BNI breakfast meeting. Before I headed out the door I decided to check my email, and noticed a message from Else, from the Toastmasters chapter that I belong too. One of the planned speakers had unexpectedly become unavailable, could I give a speech tonight, and since I've recently returned from Fiji then surely I have many interesting stories to tell.

Give a speech tonight? On the day of? Without enough time to prepare? Are you kidding?

Wait a minute. I just got back from Fiji. I graduated from Tony Robbins' Life Mastery and Wealth Mastery programs. I climbed The Poll. I’ve done the Firewalk. Am I really going to crawl back into my comfort zone, crawl back and live inside that box? Is that what I want my life-after-Fiji to look like? Duh. Climbing The Poll won’t mean anything, will be nothing more than a pleasant memory, if I start living like that again. LOOK UP.

I made up my mind that I would give that speech tonight after all. This would be my Speech #6.

I came up with the speech opening while in my car on my way to BNI. I recalled a phrase that I had written in an email I sent to my buddy Dallas the previous day. It was a phrase I had written in a moment in which I was feeling inspired to face a challenge that I had previously been avoiding. “Tether me up, I’m going to climb that pole!” I decided that this phrase was my new mantra and that it would also be the title of my speech.

After my BNI meeting ended I had a meeting with a business associate. I wouldn’t have access to my email until the afternoon so I wouldn’t have a chance to reply to Else, and by then she might find someone else. I didn’t want to let that happen. I decided I’d call her as soon as I arrived at my meeting location. STEP UP.

Ring ring. Else answers. Suddenly I realize that it’s only nine a.m. What if I’m calling her too early?

Only nine a.m.? I’m at my second business meeting of the day and it’s only nine a.m.? Life is not the same, life is changing - that’s for sure. I don’t have jet lag - I’m just living in my own private timezone.

I got a lot of positive and encouraging feedback after I gave my speech tonight. BREATHE. WHAT’S NEXT?

At the end of the meeting Else asked for volunteers to fill the roles for next week’s meeting.

“Is there a speaker slot still available?” I asked. There was. “Tether me up - I’m giving Speech #7 next week.”

One role out, another role in

In a few weeks I will be completing my role as captain of my men’s team, Grand Central.

Shortly after that I will be taking on a new role, as VP Membership of the Toastmasters chapter that I belong to.

Like the song says, “Life is changing.”

The Pole

Last year I walked on fire. This year I faced The Pole - a 50-60 foot pole that I and my fellow Life Mastery participants were invited to climb and leap off on the first day of the program.

The purpose of this exercise was to get us to confront our fears and bust through them; it served as a metaphor for life, for doing what it takes to reach our goals, to climb to the top and to leap and grab hold of our dreams.

I remember last year after I completed my fire walk I could tell by people's faces who had done it and who had not. The ones who had done it were glowing, pumped, exuding excitement. The ones who had not looked tired, worn down from having spent a long day at the seminar.

I had apprehensions about climbing The Pole but in the end I remembered the distinction in how people looked who had done the fire walk versus the ones who had not. I decided that I wanted to be one of the people who had done it.