Toastmasters-Speech 6

During the rule of King Harshavardhana, India was prosperous in knowledge. Knowledge was in such abundance that people from all walks of life used to engage in debates, discussions & dialogues. In that place there was a scholar named Pundit Antar Surdham. He traveled the length & breadth of the country in search of truth.

He once heard of a monk living on top of the mountain. He decided to meet the monk despite the risks involved.

When he reached the foot of the mountain, he saw a narrow, winding irregular path that seems to lead to the heavens. In his eagerness to meet the monk, he did not notice the lush green forest, the sparkling streams & the silky clouds lazily floating in the sky. When he reached the top of the mountain, he was surprised to see the master sitting outside as if expecting him.

He rushed to the master, paid his respect & said, “Greetings beloved master. I am pundit Antar Surdham from Pataliputra. I have come all the way to know the truth. Tell me. Does the God exist? Is there a life after death? What is the truth & so on?”

The monk smiled & said. “Son, You must be tired. Allow me to serve you a cup of tea.” The monk came back with a cup & a big teapot. He started pouring the hot fragrant tea. The cup was filled to the brim, but the monk did not stop pouring. The tea began to flow down the side of the cup in to the saucer. Pundit was surprised but with due respect to the master he said.

“Beloved master, enough. The cup is full & there is n0 space for even a drop of tea.”

The monk ignored him & he kept on pouring the tea & now it was all over the fragile wooden table. Pundit was angry. But he also wanted to learn. So he slightly raised his voice. “Enough master, enough, the tea is all over the table”. The monk pretended not to hear as he was focused only on pouring the tea. Now the tea was all over the ground.

This time Pundit was really angry. He was so agitated that he shouted at the master. “Can’t you see? The cup is full & the tea is all over the place. Stop this foolishness. I don’t want your cup of tea.”

The monk stopped pouring, stood up & started back into the hut. After that there was no sign of the monk.

Antar Surdham’s face was livid with anger. Every inch of his body was trembling. He screamed at the top of his face. “What kind of master are you? How can you be an enlightened person? Is this the way you treat you guests? All my time, All my energy& All my efforts are wasted for an insane stupid man like you.”

He uttered these words & turned to go back. Suddenly he heard the master’s words. “You are right Surdham when you said the cup is full & there is no space for even a drop of tea.” Go Pundit. Go and empty the cup of your mind. Your mind is overflowing & there is no space for an even a drop of what you are seeking.”

These words pierced Pundit’s mind like a sword piercing the flesh. He stood there in surprise realizing that all the answers to his questions lie in his mind. In that silence he could feel that every corner of his heart is filled with eternal happiness. Every step he took, he could feel a subtle dance in his feet.

He once again heard the master say. “Go Surdham. Go in piece. But this time go beyond the cup & break the cup. Shatter it forever forever forever.”

Antar Surdham had tears in his eyes. As he started his return journey, he could smell the scent of the jasmine flowers & he noticed the beautiful sparkling streams. He was at piece with himself. He could feel the soft gentle music of the breeze kissing the bamboo trees. As he walked through the forest he heard the master’s words echoing his ears.

“Go Surdham, go. Go beyond the cup. Go break the cup & shatter it forever forever forever forever forever."

Toastmasters-Speech 5

A tragic incident happened 2 days before my joining the firm. Two junior lawyers of the Bendini Law firm were killed in a road accident.

Good Evening Fellow Toastmasters & Friends.

In spite of 3 job offers from three of the prestigious law firms in US, we selected this small, low profile firm in Memphis. We include my beautiful wife Salma & I.

Well Salma is Hollywood actress Salma Hayek & is my lovely wife. We met during my first year graduation & our 3-year romance ended in marriage last year. We selected this particular law firm because they offered me a higher pay plus a brand new BMW on lease.

Even though my first year in the firm was hectic, we were leading a happy contented life. The year that passed had been like heaven for us. From a congested 1-room apartment in college to a posh new villa, from a second hand Mazda to a brand new black BMW & with the highest pay package in town, I had announced to the world that I, Yasim.K had arrived.

Few days later a person approached me while I was taking snacks from a local shop. He flashed an FBI card & introduced himself as Tarrance, special agent FBI. He t0ld me they are closely watching the firm & it’s attorneys. I instantly lost my appetite. He also disclosed that the deaths of the attorneys were not accidents & there were 5 deaths like that in the last 10 years.

I was perplexed & startled. I secretively hired a private detective to enquire about the firm & the deaths of the attorneys. He revealed to me that the firm had close links with the mafia & all 5 deaths were suspicious. I started to develop a migraine, a migraine that would keep growing.

History of Bendini firm says that no one has ever dared to resign from the firm. The last 2 attorneys ventured & were found dead. FBI needed the illegal documents in the firm to catch the mafia. If I deliver these illegal documents FBI would give me asylum, but the mafia will get us as they never ever forgets anything.

I disclosed the entire episode to my wife & I could see that she was trying hard not to cry. We spend hours & hours undecided which way to turn; realizing that there was; nowhere to turn.

The next day Salma & I fabricated a big fight & she left Memphis to stay with her parents. I informed FBI that I would deliver the first set of illegal documents if I get 1 million dollars tax-free.

The day after I delivered the first set of illegal documents I received an urgent call in my office. The secretary came running & told me that it was from Justice Hugo & I was late for his court.

I suddenly got pale. I grabbed my coat & briefcase & ran. I didn’t have time for the lift. I ran down the stairs past the receptionist & quickly got out of the Bendini fortress.

For a month I knew that if Justice Hugo called up I had to hit the floor on a dead run because something had gone drastically wrong somewhere.

Once I made sure I was safe, I called up Tarrance. He admitted that there was a leak in the FBI.I was devastated. “A leak Tarrance. A leak in the FBI”. I couldn’t believe my ears. I realized that it was not safe to trust these dumb FBI fellows.

I called up Salma & said. “Listen, You don’t even have time to kiss goodbye to your mother. You have to check in at hotel Hilton in Cincinnati under the name Rachel James”. I reminded her “Salma, if you didn’t run in next 10 minutes then you are dead”.

I reached Memphis airport & took 4 one-way tickets to 4 different locations. The 3^rd ticket was taken in Yasim’s name to Arkansas, but the last ticket was bought to Cincinnati under the name of Sam Fortune. When I reached Hilton Hotel in Cincinnati, thank God, Rachel James, my wife had safely arrived.

I had planned the entire situation before & was sure I was 2 steps ahead of both the fibbies & the goons. The FBI & the local police had blocked the entire roads & air traffic. But they had never ever thought of the water & I had made all the arrangements. When it was midnight we took a small rowboat & reached a 10-seat vessel anchored in the middle of the sea. The owner of the vessel was a person like us who has been running from the Interpol for the last 28 years. He explained that we have to spend half of the year in the vessel & the other half in several of the small Caribbean islands so that no one would catch us.

I realized that it was all over. The year that has passed has been a tumultuous one for me. We will have to run for the rest of our life with an inherent fear of getting caught. I hugged Salma & sat hand in hand with her realizing this would be our life from now. I closed my eyes contemplating what lies ahead.

Trrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr. The alarm bell was ringing. I opened my eyes. There was no Salma & no boat. It was my friend Syam who was sleeping next to me. I looked at the alarm clock & it was 6.40AM in the morning. I realized that I am already late & if I didn’t hurry I would miss the 7.15 Infosys bus.

Toastmasters-Speech 4

How can a person be really happy?

“May be he has recently Married".
"May be he has recently divorced”

But when I say I am a happy person it is because I was bestowed by GOD with some wonderful & wonderful friends."

Mr. Toastmaster, Fellow Toastmasters & dear Guests.

Friends are an important part of my life. For the last 9 years I m staying with my friends & that way I am as close with my friends as I am with my family. The 4 years of college days are the most memorable days in my life. The kind of fun that we had at that time was just incredible.

We stayed in a private hostel & there were a couple of real interesting characters in our group & let me introduce one such character to you. His name is Mr.Pravin. He is an absent minded and forgetful person. Once he kept the specs above his head & after some time he forgot where he had kept his specs. He ran down the corridor, climbed floors in search of specs. He didn’t find it. Then he came running to my room and asked “Yasi, Yasi did u see my spects”. I just couldn’t suppress my laugh. But regaining my composure I told him in a serious overtone “Pravin, why don’t you check in George’s room”. Everyone said the same thing or the other & it went on. And finally out of desperation said.."Man.. Where did I keep my specs." and the specs was broken to 2 pieces by then.

At times he used to keep the spects on the table & go out for bath & our friends used to hide it. After going thro this torrid act 3-4 times, he decided, “enuf is enuf ", And he thought, "Let me keep the spects in a safe place."

On that particular day when he went to bath, he removed his trousers, carefully removed the specs & wrapped in his trousers, & kept the trousers near the window. That day he had a contented bath, as he knows that his specs was safe. When he finished his bath as usual he took his trousers & shook it. There lays the specs in 2 pieces. Now you know how forgetful he is?

Another incident, which is clearly etched in my memory, is what we fondly call “Operation Gabriel”. Below our hostel there was a mess, and the mess owner was an irritating character apart from being a miser. He had a particular habit of buying a hen, butchering it & making it the next day’s chicken. So we thought, we should teach him a lesson by putting an end to this atrocious act. So we decided to kidnap the hen & the operation was named “Operation Gabriel”.
On that particular day we all wore black dresses, and painted our face black. When we made sure everyone slept, we sneaked downstairs and slowly approached the hen. As none of us had prior experience in handling the hen, the hen started running around & making noise. Then one of our friends who was an expert in this came forward, made a friendly noise (Ba Ba) & slowly lifted the hen like a feather & placed in a sack.

We took the sack & darted to our friend’s place nearby. The hen was transformed into a delicious & aromatic Chicken fry in no time. Even though cook, had put a lot of chilies while preparation we gulped the chicken it our satisfaction. But the Chicken & the owner had their revenge on us. You know how? The next morning we all had stomach upset . On that day as we passed the owner, we looked at his depressed face, rubbed our stomach & said “Gabriel is creating a lot of problems”. The owner got really perplexed & how much we enjoyed seeing the ginger eaten face of mess-man.

And we had loads & loads of fun being together. After the college we all came to Bangalore & for the last 4 years we are staying together. We are like a closely-knit family & we take pride in helping others at times of distress.

All good things must come to an end. Our window period is also going to end. Now few have gone abroad & others are planning to settle in foreign countries & few are going to get married. The thought that friends wont be around makes me really sad. But I know we all have to move on at some point & these lines give me solace

Friends will come and friends will go,
The seasons change and it will show,
I will age and so will you,
But our friendship stays, strong and true.

Toastmasters-Speech 3

When was the last time you checked your radiator?

I'm not talking about the radiator of your car. What I am talking about is your internal radiator. Just like the radiator in your car, your internal radiator must be kept in top condition in order to work at peak efficiency. So let’s check out how your ‘radiator’ is working today.

Mr. Toastmasters, Fellow Toastmasters & Dear guests,

Do you continually radiate enthusiasm to those around you? Great people realize that enthusiasm can be highly contagious, so they look to spread it around at every opportunity.

There was a person called Michael who had this unbounded enthusiasm. So his friends asked him, Michael, how can you be a positive person all the time? How do you do it?"

Michael replied, "Each morning I wake up and say to myself, I have two choices to make today. I can choose to be happy or I can choose to be sad. I choose to be happy.

Each time something bad happens, I can choose to be a victim or I can choose to learn from it. I choose to learn from it.

Which approach do you choose? If it is the former, then hats off to you. If you find yourself somewhere in between, there is still plenty of room for you to get better.

Harry S Truman once remarked that

When he studied the lives of great men and famous women, he found that the men and women who got to the top were those who did the jobs they had in hand, with everything they had of energy and enthusiasm and hard work. ~ “

How to achieve this unbounded enthusiasm. You need to have the "I Wills" for Enthusiasm. What are these I will’s.

• I will be an energy-giver

All the enthusiastic people are energy givers. These are the people who don’t need to be reminded of their work. They volunteer to do task others would resist and do it with a lot of enthusiasm.

• I will smile

The most attractive thing you can wear is a smile! A smile is contagious. A smile comes natural when you see another person smiling. It takes 72 muscles to frown - only 14 to smile!

• I will treat every job as important and put my heart into it

When you do a thing, do it with all your might and enthusiasm. Put your whole soul into it. Stamp it with your own personality. Success requires going that "second mile."

• I will not be discouraged by failure

It’s easy to become discouraged when met with disappointment. Remember what Winston Churchill said about failure. "Success is the ability to go from failure to failure without losing your enthusiasm.

I would like to share with you a touching Story I read about Edison. The occasion was a December night of 1914, and the great Edison industry of West Orange was destroyed by fire. Edison was 67 at that time and much of his life’s work went up in Spectacular flames.. The next morning when he was walking near the charred embers of all his hopes and dreams, he made this classic dialogue

“There is great value in Disaster. All our mistakes are burned up. Thank God we can start anew.”

How many of you can take it the same way Edison did? I m sure most of us would be devastated by the trauma. The greatest aspect was

Three weeks after the fire, Edison managed to deliver his first phonograph

Edison was indeed an unusual man, but isn’t this unusual ness that makes us in doing great things. All the successful people are energy givers. Are you & me going to be an energy giver and radiate enthusiasm around? That is the question that we need to answer.

I would like to leave you with this simple message about enthusiasm.

“Work like you doesn’t need the money.
Love like you've never been hurt.
Dance like nobody's watching.
Sing like nobody's listening.
Live like its Heaven on Earth.
"Be who you are and say what you feel,
because those who mind don't matter and
those who matter don't mind."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ End of Speech ~~~~~~~~

Toastmasters-Speech 2

There is so much to do. There is never enough time. I feel pressurized & hassled. I don’t feel that I m leading a happy perfect life.

How many of you have NOT faced the same situation OR a situation similar to this.

Mr. Toastmaster, Fellow Toastmasters & Guests

Each day in our life, we wake up, go to Office, comeback home, eat drink & sleep. Have you ever thought what you want in life is in alignment with what you are doing right now. It is incredibly easy to get caught in the activity trap of day-to-day life. To work harder & climb up the ladder of success only to realize that the ladder is leaning against a wrong wall. So it is Very important for us to decide what we want to do in life.

Let me take you to a simple exercise. I want all of you hear to visualize the situation that I am going to explain now. You may all, close your eyes for better concentration. In your minds eye see that you are going to the funeral of a loved one. You park your car & enter into the building. You will see the flowers & see the sad faces of friends & relatives.

As you walk down to the front room of the building & look inside the casket, you suddenly come face to face with yourself. Yes, This is your funeral 3 years from now.

As you take a seat & wait for the services to begin, you look at the program in hand. There are to be 4 speakers. The first speaker is from your family & the 2^nd speaker is one of your friends who can give a sense of, what you were as a person. The 3^rd speaker is from your profession & the 4^th from ur society

Now think deeply. What character & achievements would you want them to see it in you & what difference would you have made in each of their lives? I want each one of you to take a few minutes to jot down these impressions once you reach home.

Now you may open your eyes.

These impressions will greatly increase our personal understanding. As Martin Luther King, Jr. put it well: "The time is always right to do what is right." Decide to always do what is right - today and every day - and you will find yourself building a life that matters.

We are always presented with numerous difficulties in life. It is actually kind of beautiful when u think about it. Here we are sitting & minding our business & from out of no-where comes a perfectly designed problem to make us stronger & wiser. So the best possible outcome is not to whine about it but to accept the challenge and embrace them.

No one has ever faced greater struggles in life than this legendary Cyclist, Cancer survivor & 5-time winner of Tour-De-France. (Now anyone in this audience who can name this Cyclist will get this chocolate). At the age of 23 with sheer commitment, he became the first American to win the Tour-De-France. At the age of 24 he was diagnosed with testicular cancer & doctors gave him a 20% chance of survival. From the pinnacle of his career he was bought down to the depths of despondency. He didn’t whine & fret about his fate. He decided to fight back cancer. The greatness of man is such that not only did he fight back Cancer but also he was into racing the next year. And the very next year he won the Tour-De-France for the 2^nd time. There are innumerable no of cases where people have fought & survived against all odds & became legends in their own field.

Our life is much like the evolution of a butterfly. The butterfly has to struggle & struggle inside the cocoon to get the strength to its wings.

Ladies & Gentleman, we all are like these beautiful butterflies with our fair share of struggles in life. We gain strengths from these struggles. Remember, “Diamond is just another piece of coal, which performed well under pressure”.

One of the fundamental freedoms of human kind is his freedom to choose. We don't get to choose how we're going to die. Or when. We can only choose how we 're going to live. The freedom to choose our lives, the freedom to choose our partner, the freedom to choose our day-to-day actions.

How judiciously & wisely we want to exercise our freedom of choice determines the outcome of our actions. I would like to leave you ladies & gentlemen with this poem by Robert Frost

“Two roads diverged in a Yellow wood”

And Sorry I could not travel both

I took the One less traveled by

And that has made all the Difference.”

Remember that, “Our life is the sum result of all the choices we make”.

Mr. Toastmaster.

Things to do for viral infection

1) If you have fever use Tylenol every 4 hours. (Aacetaminophen)
2) If you have congestion, use Claritin-D 2 times a day in the morning and afternoon
Claritin-D^® provides powerful relief from:

• Sinus Pressure
• Nasal Congestion

- Claritin-D contains the following ingredients

• Loratadine 5 mg ( Antihistamine)
  
• Pseudoephedrine Sulphate (Nasal Decongestant)
  

- Sometimes Actifed is also used for congestion. It contains the following ingredients

• Chlorpheniramine maleate 4 mg
• Phenylephrine HCl 10 mg.
  

3) For Sore throat, gargle hourly with a glass of warm water containing a teaspoon of salt
4) For Sore throat, use 10 mg benzocaine lozenge every 2 hours

• It contains Benzocaine 10 mg (Oral anesthetic)
  
• Menthol 10 mg (Oral analgesic)
  

OR
- For Sore throat, you can use Cepacol
Cepacol contains

• It contains Benzocaine 15 mg (Oral anesthetic)
  
• Menthol 3.6 mg (Oral analgesic)

5) If you have cough, use Robitussin generic cough medicine every 4 hours. The ingredients are

• Dextromethorphan HBr USP 10 mg (Anti-tussive aka Cough Suppressant)
  
• Guaifenesin USP 100 mg (expectorant aka helps to bring cough up)
  

6) Drink 8-10 glasses a day
7) Refrain from Smoking.