Manage your Destiny
Life takes us on journeys full of bumps, turns and winding paths, some of which we can control and the rest… let’s call them fate or destiny. Upon reaching our mile stone destinations, we realize that we don’t always end up where we thought we would. The good news is that the majority of the reward is found in the journey itself. When travelling with awareness and an eagerness to learn, the world becomes a fountain of endless possibility.
It is with this philosophy in mind that we should approach the new academic year. We should keep our eye on the goal, but not lose focus on what we are able to gain at every step on the way to that goal. Hundreds of school leavers are not doing what they would like to be doing right now. Perhaps they were unable get into the course that most interests them, or they are forced into doing an unwanted foundation year, or they haven’t managed to get into their first choice university. Whatever the case may be, this is no time to wallow in defeat. Dust yourself off, open your eyes, remember your dream, and now find a way to get closer to it.
“How?” I hear you thinking. There are many ways to Rome as I’m sure you’ve heard. It is up to you to find an alternative route, or perhaps you need to substitute your mode of transport. If you are already at university or college, ask the student advisors to help you expand and understand your options. If you are still hoping to join an institute of higher education, don’t waste your time sitting at home doing nothing. Enroll in short courses, English courses or IT courses at your local institute. These certificates will stand you in good stead when applying to study. Now take hold of your life and start securing a better academic future for yourself and your family. You will not be disappointed!
A well known public speaker was preparing to give a presentation in Japan. Hoping to impress his audience he asked his interpreter how to pronounce “Ladies” and “Gentlemen” in Japanese whilst pointing toward the gender signs on the lavatory. After practicing for some time, he began his speech with “Good morning, Ladies and Gentlemen” in Japanese. His audience seemed really amused and afterwards one of them asked him why he had started his presentation with “Good Morning, toilets and urinals.”
And that ladies and gentleman is a perfect example of a public speaker with great personal confidence, but inappropriate knowledge and preparation. In order to master Public Speaking both skills are critical. You can learn to look confident, practice making good eye contact, speak with conviction, but you can’t always and pretend to know what you are talking about.
Another misconception about Public Speaking is that it is something we do in business situations in front of crowds of people. It’s not true. Even speaking in small groups socially is a form of public speaking and can literally terrify some people. There are techniques and tips that can help your hold you own in any social environment, take away nervousness and fear, and allow you to present yourself as the best you can be.
You no longer need to be frightened to voice your opinion in meetings, conferences, and at social functions. With preparation and practice we can all stand up in front of an audience, hold our heads up high and deliver our messages with confidence and conviction.
“It usually takes more than three weeks to prepare a good impromptu speech.”
— Mark Twain
According to the Galup Management Model, only 26% of the employees in an average organization are engaged. That means that 74% of your workforce probably do not feel connected to the organization, and of that an astonishing 56% are actively disgruntled and waste hours of your time on non work related activities.
Performance and talent management can help develop strategies that link the abilities of your staff to your strategic plan. Modern Human Resource Management incorporates the view that people are assets to be to be developed and trained so that the right people are retained in the right positions. In order to do this people have to know what the strategic objectives are, and then align their skills, ability and performance to the operational and financial goals of the organization in order to achieve these strategic objectives.
What that means in simple English is that everybody is good at something and it is in the company’s interest to find out what. If an employee knows he is doing well at something, he will develop self confidence and be motivated and committed, which in turn will increase efficiency. Similarly, if an employee knows why he is doing something, where the organization is going and how he fits into it, he will be engaged. All in all, you will have a happier workforce, lower staff turnover, reduced recruitment and training costs, and higher productivity. Now doesn’t that make a whole lot more sense?
“The workplace should primarily be an incubator for the human spirit.” (Anita Roddick, 1942-2007
