TOASTMASTERS

I agreed to go with my friend Leah to a Toastmasters group this morning. I had no idea what I was in for, nor did I realize that this is a national organization to help you "become the speaker and leader you want to be" Wow.... This might have more relevance to my life than I thought it would. I mostly was interested in learning techniques to conquer my fear of speaking at sorority meetings about Harts N Crafts. But if it can help me become a better leader and communicate more effectively the mission of HNC, then sign me up. But maybe not so quickly. I'm still reluctant. And scared to death of being called on to give an impromptu 2 minute speak. EEK! We'll see. Maybe I'll be back again.....

Some interesting facts that I learned from the three speeches given this morning....

1. To be the best at ANYTHING it takes a minimum of 10,000 hours of practice. This equates to 3 Hours a Day, Consistently For TEN YEARS!! Pretty inspiring that by the time I'm 39 I could be THE BEST at something ANYTHING I start practicing today!!!

2. Compact Florescent Lightbulbs (those newish kinds that are swirly looking)- Contain Mercury. Not enough to cause Mercury poisoning if you're exposed to it. But Mercury is fat-soluble. And the symbol is HG. Hmmm. This speech didn't really grab my attention too much or leave me with many cohesive thoughts.

3. Happiness is a state of mind. It isn't a realistic goal to attain happiness 100% of the time. One should strive for CONTENTMENT.

Another something interesting a speaker brought up is that it's human nature for us to expect more out of what someone is saying if they are attractive looking. Do you think this is true?

And lastly. I have so many free-spirited friends that I secretly kind of envy for their spontaneity and fearlessness that I thought this was really endearing....

"A free spirit loses something by being reigned in."

HAPPY FRIDAY!
Aaron and I are off to Waco today to meet lots of family: my parents, sister, brother-in-law, nephew, aunt, uncle, and two cousins. We're going to the last Baylor Women's Basketball game tomorrow. YIPPEE! (I'm telling you this so that you know I might not blog tomorrow. But I will be back! On Monday at the latest. YAY!)