Greetings! I hope you are someplace cool. It is very hot in New Jersey!! What a great time to stay indoors and get files organized and plan for the fall.
As I was organizing my "story" file, I came across some great stories, metaphors, tales, and fables that I can incorporate into my talks. I had forgotten I had filed them away. Do you have a story file?
If you get "forwarded" emails, you no doubt come across some good ones every now and then. Print them out and file them away.
This week I got one about a young girl who was always depressed. Her mother took 3 pots and filled them half way with water and in one pot put carrots, in the second pot she put an egg, and in the third pot she put coffee beans. After boiling them for 15-20 minutes, she emptied the pots and told her daughter to look and see what happened to three objects. The carrots were soft, the egg was hardboiled, and the coffee beans produced coffee. How come there were three different results when they all faced the exact same thing?
The daughter then asked, 'What does it mean, mother?'
Her mother explained that each of these objects had faced the same adversity: boiling water. Each reacted differently. The carrot went in strong, hard, and unrelenting. However, after being subjected to the boiling water, it softened and became weak The egg had been fragile. Its thin outer shell had protected its liquid interior, but after sitting through the boiling water, its inside became hardened. The ground coffee beans were unique, however. After they were in the boiling water, they had changed the water.
'Which are you?' she asked her daughter. 'When adversity knocks on your door, how do you respond? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?
Think of this: Which am I? Am I the carrot that seems strong, but with pain and adversity do I wilt and become soft and lose my strength?
Am I the egg that starts with a malleable heart, but changes with the heat? Did I have a fluid spirit, but after a death, a breakup, a financial hardship or some other trial, have I become hardened and stiff? Does my shell look the same, but on the inside am I bitter and tough with a stiff spirit and hardened heart?
Or am I like the coffee bean? The bean actually changes the hot water, the very circumstance that brings the pain. When the water gets hot, it releases the fragrance and flavor. If you are like the bean, when things are at their worst, you get better and change the situation around you. When the hour is the darkest and trials are their greatest do you elevate yourself to another level? How do you handle adversity? Are you a carrot, an egg or a coffee bean?
THE POINT IS: May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human and enough hope to make you happy.
The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes a long their way. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go forward in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches.
When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling.
Live your life so at the end, you're the one who is smiling and everyone
around you is crying.
I wish I could credit the author, but it was unsigned. Happy, Happy,
Gail
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Feature Article: THE MONTHLY ARTICLE ON MY PASSION!!
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30% of the Graduating Class of 2008
DID NOT GRADUATE!!
by Gail Cassidy
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"WHAT YOU NEED TO BE SUCCESSFUL" was the title of last week's article about success in the seminar business, the assumption being that most people interested in presenting seminars are at least high school graduates.
The bare minimum for success in any career for the majority of people is a high school diploma. Many of us cannot relate to these statistics, especially if you live in a town like mine, where 94% of the graduating class goes on to higher education. There are places in urban areas where high schools graduate only 30% of their kids.
Low Graduation Rates
The article that follows is about 30% of our high school students who do not graduate. What is not covered are the at least 20% of students who do graduate from high school as functional illiterates which means they cannot summarize a simple article, read a map, understand instructions, and these kids--a total of 50% whom we are failing--are the kids I feel so strongly about.
There are solutions.
Getting action is the challenge.
The following article appeared in the June 26th Westfield Leader. What you think?
AREA - Bob Wise, president of the Alliance for Excellent Education and former governor of West Virginia, reacted to the release of the 'Diplomas Count 2008' report by he Editorial Projects in Education Research Center. The report includes an analysis of graduation rates nationwide, finding that an estimated 1.23 million students, or almost 30 percent of the Class of 2008 will fail to graduate with their peers. Native Americans, Hispanic and Africa-American students are among the groups with the lowest graduation rates.
"Diplomas Count is always a valuable resource, but this year, for the first time, it breaks down graduation rates by Congressional districts, giving members of Congress and candidates for Congressional seats a vivid picture of the state of public education within their communities.
"This matters because education is of vital concern to Americans. A recent poll shows that only the economy ranks higher. As a matter of fact, the two issues are linked. The estimated 1.23 million students not graduating with their peers . . . will cost the nation well over $300 billion in lost wages, taxes and productivity over their lifetimes.
"A poll by the Alliance for Excellent Education found that 78 percent of the American public believes strongly that Congress must tackle the crisis in our high schools. 'Diplomas Count 2008' is a wake-up call to candidates that America's high schools are in dire straits. Congress must commit to meaningful reform, so that every child graduates prepared for success."
One solution to the problem of dropouts, gangs, and teen crime is the introduction of three programs into the schools.
1. Set up a Mentoring Club where seniors mentor sophomore and juniors mentor freshmen. The Validating Mentor and The Validating Mentoree Handbook spell out exactly how to be a mentor or mentoree.
2. Offer an elective on Profit From Your Passionwhere kids are provided direction of their own choosing. There are no wrong answers and they are validated for their own interests.
3. Offer an elective the second half of the semester of speaking and communicating where essential speaking skills are taught and where the entire course is dedicated to pointing out what is "good" about the speaker. What an empowering course!!
At the risk of oversimplifying the solution, I believe that these three programs would give kids a reason to stay in school, stay out of gangs, and find work appropriate for their skills and abilities.
I've worked with "at risk" kids and I know how much talent we are losing to the streets. If you know of anyone interested in promoting these programs, please let me know.
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One Talk Fits All update
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This past Wednesday I had the opportunity to speak on Coachville's Speaking SIG. Listening to people introduce themselves from Paris, Maine, Florida, New Jersey, Canada is totally fascinating to me.
Giving this talk reminded me of how much fun this communication skills talk is to deliver whether it is a one-hour talk, a three-hour talk, or a three-day workshop.
One commonality amongst all businesses is the need for good communication skills among employees. If every business owner were aware of the many studies regarding why people change their place of business, they would definitely be interested.
The most common findings as to why people change their place of business are as follows:
1% die
3% move
5 & 7% have a relationship with someone in the business
9% price
14% because of inferior merchandise
and a huge
61% change their place of business because of the attitude of someone in that business!!
Can you relate?
Have you ever vowed never to return to a store because of how you were treated?
One Talk Fits All can be tailored to fit the needs of any organization desiring to
improve their relationships with co-workers, customers, and clients. Employees are
happy when they are treated with respect and appreciation, and that translates into
greater productivity for the company.
What I learned after giving some variation of this talk for the past 15 years is the variety of audiences the talk/workshop appeals to. Here are a few I've spoken to:
· Customers/clients
· Police Officers
· Board members of nonprofit agencies and school boards
· Parents
· Guidance Counselors
· Sales people
· Customer Relations people
· Corporations
· Companies
· Schools (as part of the curriculum)
· Teachers
· Small business owners
· Chamber of Commerce members
· Network groups
· Secretaries/administrative assistants
· Professionals: doctors, lawyers, dentists
· Prison populations
· "At Risk" teens and young adults
· Stockbrokers
· Negotiators
· Auto salespeople
· Anyone who wants improved relationships.
Take a look at some of sample themes that can be used using this one talk.
SAMPLE THEMES:
· Create the Image You Desire
· Attract More Customers
· Learn How to Feel Good Everyday - All Day
· Increase Your Income By Training Your Employees
· Select the Impression You Want to Make
· Attitude Determines Your Altitude
· Polish Your Image
· Become an Effective Communicator
· Improve Your Personnel/Client Relationship
· Match Perception With Reality
· Learn How to Feel Good All Day--Everyday
· Master Non-Verbal Communication Skills
· Master Human Relation Skills
· Be the Best That You Can Be
· The Secrets of Teamwork
· What You See May Not Be Who I Am
· Plus unlimited other themes--Be Creative!
If you are interested in an easy-to-learn, fun talk to give, go to amazon.com and get your copy of One Talk Fits All.
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