Commitment & Success in Public Speaking

I don’t think I have to tell you, if you have picked this book and especially if you have kept reading so far, anything about commitment, because you are already committed not only to becoming a better speaker but also to your own personal growth.

It was June 2009, after I made the commitment to take on several different leadership positions (which would impact my life at many levels) when (extract from my diary): “Suddenly, I felt a deeper pull of commitment to speaking in public. Once again, I heard the subtle but powerful voice of Spirit in my heart and in my head and my immediate answer was without knowing where this would take me. I wasn’t scared about this but I did know that my answer would mean a great leap in leadership”.

By July 2009, I hear the voice of Spirit again: “You are already moving on in a different direction”.

“What?” I complained: “I have just taken on these positions and, at an energy level, my life is already moving on in a different direction?”.

This was very scary. I didn’t even know what I was doing in my new leadership positions. I didn’t know what they entailed. I didn’t know what they would demand from me. I didn’t know what resources I needed to use and, more importantly, I didn’t know if I could do it! And there was Spirit not just assuming I could do it but giving me direction for new jobs and what-knows what other paths to follow!?
Everything was happening at the speed of lightening. The feeling was awful. I felt as if I was a con: there I was, trying to convince people that they could count on me to lead them, yet I didn’t know myself if I could do it. And there was Spirit showing me a bigger picture still, and me saying yes to whatever they were asking from me, without knowing what that exactly was, yet having the unmistakable and incredibly energizing feeling in my heart of the fear and excitement that I feel when I am taking on a challenge that Spirit gives me, knowing that it is the right one!

I had just taken on some new responsibilities and even before I felt at home in the job, I was being asked to get ready to move on! This made me feel really uncomfortable but I knew what it meant: although people were getting used to me being in the different positions of leadership I had taken, energetically, I was already moving forward getting ready for positions of further responsibility that were being shaped in the background . Because I had made the commitment to follow Spirit’s guidance, no matter how crazy the situations seemed at the time, with full faith that everything would be all right in the end.

Kind of jumping over a cliff hoping for someone to catch me on the way down before I crashed!

I could see that the shift that I was undertaking through this blind commitment was a mind-shift towards success. Having moved into the mind-sets of giving value and being of service, I was very clear of my priorities and my family was always going to come first. Hence, I felt forced to reject attending some of the meetings and / or events that did not have a value aligned to my main focus or life path, even though people would expect me to actually be there.

I follow my guidance on individual basis, for individual tasks, meetings or projects. I will never be the perfect fit for an organization or a group because, sooner or later, the freedom with which I have chosen to take on tasks and jobs will make me move on from city to city, from group to group, from country to country, from job to job... as it has been the norm for me in my life so far.

I can’t afford to waste time, energy or money to be polite or to fulfil a role that others expect from me! I don’t do well with the politics of stroking people’s egos in order to make them comfortable because my sole focus is of empowerment, and this means breaking comfort zones and bringing on change. This means doing things differently if the old ways don’t work.

And the thing is that I can’t tell people what changes these are in advance because, like the breeze, I move with the flow of the energies that appear at each moment, with the guidance of Spirit and the inner feelings or intuitions that I get. I can’t plan what I am going to do or say, although I do plan, but I am always ready to make a last minute change because this is how the Universe moves – ever spontaneously and creatively. I can understand how this total lack of security can make people feel as if the ground has been removed from under their feet and that they can’t simply go with it. So I don’t think that this way works for everyone. And I don’t intend to impose this kind of leadership style on anyone!

It has taken me many years of intense personal development work to be able to ride the energy ebbs and tides that the Universe continuously throws upon us and I must admit that it has not been easy! It is getting easier now, but many times I can’t explain what I know, feel, sense or intuit. I just know it and I follow blindly! And many times I don’t even think it is going to work! But then, just out of the blue, when I least expect it, something happens, something comes back to me, bringing the exact result that I was looking for! (well, not exact, much better than what I wished for in the first place, to be exact!).

And although all this can make me feel very uncomfortable indeed, especially when I see people’s faces as they feel the fear of the unknown, the discomfort of having to become someone that they refuse to be (yet!), and definitely the inconvenience of losing control, grip of things, it also gives me a feeling of speed and movement forward on my life path that sometimes feels supersonic! Fast and furious!

And this is success for me: I feel I am on track. I feel I am learning invaluable skills, that I can be there for my family and friends and that I have some lay-by, a hard-shoulder of time and energy on the sides of my life to give for emergencies or unexpected events. I feel I achieve what is important for me.

I don’t feel I have given my loyalties to the wrong master… and I haven’t talked about money yet! Because to be honest, not so much money has come my way, so far!

Because of this, I know that every single choice I have made so far is right for me, because as there was no money involved, definitely was based on integrity and uncompromised reasons; reasons based on love, passion, spiritual endurance, emotional balance (e.g. no neediness or manipulation involved)…

… but this has started to change as we enter 2010.