Page 8 - Voices November 2016

AS I SEE IT. . .

Be So Good They

Can’t Ignore You

by Leanna Lindquist, DTM—District Director

Be so good they can’t sought after keynote speaker,
ignore you is comedian and author Steve Martin’s an experienced TEDx orga-
advice to aspiring entertainers. The quote has nizer, speaking coach and TEDx speaker. I think
been used to refer to entrepreneurs, business it’s safe to say when Cathey took the first step on
people and anyone pursuing their passion. As I her Toastmaster journey she had no idea where
see it, the quote applies to Toastmasters. it would take her. She is so good she can’t be
As you settled into your club did you notice ignored. This is one success story. Is yours yet
the standouts, the ones who were developing to be written?
a competitive advantage by building valuable You owe it to yourself to take advantage of
skills? Did they share best practices? Did you every opportunity your membership offers. If
aspire to speak or evaluate like them? If you want you are fortunate to live in an area with multiple
to rise above the crowd you must be good, very clubs, visit them. Speak whenever you can. You
good. Toastmasters can help if you are willing will never learn to swim unless you dip your
to invest in yourself. When you put in the hard toe in the water. Make meeting attendance a
work it can result in starting up a remarkable high priority. If your club is not providing you
career, a promotion at work or making a differ- what you need, talk to your club leadership. If
ence in your community. YOU can be the one necessary, find another club. Don’t let anyone
people are talking about. or anything keep you from “being so good they
Does this sound too good to be true? It doesn’t can’t ignore you.”
have to be. Every day members all over the world
leverage the skills they learned and developed
in Toastmasters to propel
their careers and private
lives. This can be you.
Where will your journey
take you? Lao Tzu, author
of the Tao Te Ching and the
founder of philosophical
Taoism, said A journey of
1,000 miles begins with a single
step. Your journey begins
when you actively partici-
pate in a club meeting,
training or conference. It is
propelled when you step up
as a club or District officer.
Cathey Armillas, DTM
joined Toastmasters in 2003.
Since then she has served
as the District 7 Governor,
launched her own business,
and authored an award-
winning book. Cathey is a

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