hi steemians , as i mention in my previous post i a huge passion for public speaking this lead me to join the worlds most recognized institution of public speaking 'toastmasters international'. A few weeks ago i deliverde my first toastmasters speech , its called the ice breaker, its a quite expository piece that reveals a alot about my personality ... so fellow steemians i want to share with you my ice breaker.
When the purpose of a thing is not known abuse is inevitable .
Good morning FELLOW toastmasters and guest ... . with the looks on your faces I can tell that a number of people are wondering why the emphasis on the "fellow'' .. . . well that mystery would be unravelled as we journey through this speech.
About two decades ago the olugbode family was agog with joy as I Joshua olugbode was born into the pretty much middle class family. As the members of the family gazed at this young baby one thing was evident , that this baby boy would grow to be a very handsome man, as many can bear witness on this day.
Let's speed things up a bit, two years after my birth my parents became pastors in the reedemed Christian church of God and these set me on a path of talent exploration . as I grew up I discovered I have so many gifts and interests. let me share with you a few of my discovery experiences .
While I was in junior secondary school There was an interschool relay competition And my school kanmi comprehensive college , needed one more athlete to complete the relay team, a friend suggested I should try out , i tried out I got picked and I went ahead to aid the team in winning the the Gold medal , and on that day Joshua the athlete was born ... I went ahead to win more medals for not just my school but other organizations as well.
All of these incidents made two things clear I could do a lot of things but I had no idea what I wanted to do ... I was a pretty brilliant child which to society translated to be you must study medicine and become a doctor but I knew that was not what I wanted for myself , unfortunately societal and peer pressure had pushed me into the sciences and I found myself struggling with a course I had no real interest in human anatomy ... though I knew my joy was not in medicine ,i still had the big question to answer "what was I made to do " ... And that for me was not an easy question to answer because I could do a number of things from athletics , to music , to speaking etc. This lead me to embark on a journey of purpose discovery .
On this journey , I made new friends, found true faith, met mentors and followed role models.
As I journeyed I began to gradually understand the reason for my existence , I understood why it was important I learnt some of the skills I had learnt earlier in life , I understood that each of those had their roles to play in ensuring that I fulfilled purpose and on that faithful day I was in my room at olabisi onabanjo university laying on my bed whilst listening to a tape when I had my first real epiphany ,at that point it still seemed foggy and unclear but I pressed on with my journey and got better clarity as I then realized that I am with a mandate to build a purpose driven generation, but it was impossible to do this without a platform , then naturally my interest in public speaking became stronger amongst all my other interest. That was how i found my platform .In the bid to effectively understand the art of public speaking I found toastmasters international ... And gradually things began to fall in place , I had left that state of confusion, lack of self will and low self esteem because I found purpose . now the baby boy from twenty years ago is now a purposeful man
Knowing my purpose got me through tough times , it got through periods when a lot of things seemed unclear and it has helped me to keep my head in the game of life .
So ladies and gentlemen I urge us all to actively put in effort in a bid to find purpose and when we do lets keep pressing to attain it,finding purpose is what led me toastmasters international and now I can proudly say Good morning FELLOW toastmasters and guests .
The toastmaster