I’ve lived a large part of my life being in several places simultaneously mentally, with my body moving forward in today.  I used to think that this was a really handy way to accomplish many things at the same time. I felt like I was cheating the game of physics on time only to discover that I’d been cheating myself by not fully being in the present.  Where the evidence of me cheating myself  is most glaring is when I speak. 
I had lunch today with a friend and fellow Toastmaster, who is also a professional speaker, Susan Baughman.  I haven’t had the chance to hear Susan speak professionally, but I have had a chance to hear her speak in our group and what I’m most impressed with is how clearly and easily she conveys what she means to say.  Unbeknownst to me, Susan recorded a speech that I made a couple of week’s ago and handed the CD to me saying, “I think you’ll be surprised to hear what you’re saying”.  She knows that I am a Coach and that my intent is to help other people live the life of their dreams by discovering their strengths and using their strengths to lead them forward. 
Luckily, another friend of mine who had not heard my speech grabbed the CD from me so she could listen to it before I could.  I knew what I probably sounded like in my speech.  I knew that I was probably NOT saying what I meant because I had tried to memorize and say other people’s words about strength and so the speech did not resonate from my soul.  On a different level than listening, I believe we humans can sense when someone is being “real” and when someone is faking it.  Having a group of people sense that I am not being completely real when I am talking about something so dear to my heart is the last result that I want.
My life learning theme this past couple of months seems to be about really settling in to who I am and being who I am.  The material I had used to put my speech together was from my SUN Coach Trainer who I respect very much. I used his words to describe strength because I am so attracted to how he talks about it.  What I understand now is that I have to take his words and meaning and make them my own by using my words and meaning.  This means that I have to pay attention to what I am saying and really be able to get behind what I mean. 
My brother, Howdy Russell (yes, Howdy is really his name) is a speaker for Paul Davis Restoration. He travels across the U.S.A. talking with groups of Independent Insurance Agents about exciting topics such as mold and weather damage.  You can probably imagine how “dry” a subject this can be, yet Howdy is a born comedian and can take the material of explaining about the intricacies of mold damage and how it can affect the Insurance Agents’ bottom line and turn it into a fun speech that makes you want to listen because of his keen wit.  Howdy takes basic information and makes it his own.  His trademark is to find the humor in the drollness of life so that you find yourself laughing about black slime crawling up the walls of peoples’ dwellings instead of falling asleep.
If you were going to give a speech today, what would it be on and how would you make it your own?  How would you say what you mean and mean what you say?
I’m making a commitment to give my speech on strength again. I’m tossing out the notes from last time and having conversations with as many people as I can about how focusing on their strengths can lead them to success until I understand what it is that I mean to say about helping people to discover their strengths.
What do you mean to say, today?