, It has been
many months since the last time I posted on this blog. I had some stories
to tell but time just flew by through the New Year, Valentine's Day, and Lunar
New Year, and I did not get a chance to put them on paper. Last week, I
promised my friends at Toastmaster that I would present an inspirational
speech, so I had no choice but to write it on paper on Tuesday night, and
finally delivered it last Wednesday. I hope that as I share the speech
"Following Your Dreams" again on this blog, it inspires you to
follow YOUR dreams!
FOLLOWING YOUR DREAMS-An
Inspirational Speech
Have you ever had a dream or
goal that you want to achieve in life?
A dream like that of Susan Boyle, Britain Got Talents contestant back in
2009? Dream to be a
great singer, or to be successful in your career, and become a star in your
field? Well, with several chapters
in my life, I had a few dreams or goals that I finally achieved. From my life experience in turning dreams
to reality, I can share some with you today, and hope that it inspires you as
you are following your dreams.
When I was in high school, I
had a dream to be one of the top 50 students of Thailand, and a dream to win
scholarship to study aboard. I
achieved the two dreams that were steppingstones to a stable career in higher
education. After I finished
college in Australia on full scholarship, I went back to Thailand to serve as a
lecturer in a top Thai University.
Then I dreamed to be promoted to an Assistant Professor, Associate
Professor, and possibly Professor.
Despite lack of formal postgraduate degrees, I was able to achieve the
academic dream of becoming Associate Professor before emigrating here to the
U.S. When I came to the U.S. I had
to start a different career all together, and worked my way up to where I am now.
From these experiences and from reading about a few success stories, I would
like to share with you some factors that may help you to reach your dreams:
1. Do simple things right: You may have heard the saying, “He who is faithful in
a very little thing is faithful also in much”. Whatever job you may be entrusted with, do it with the best
of your ability. Even when the job
may seem unimportant. If you can
do easy things right, your boss will recognize it, and deem you trustworthy for
more complex assignments.
When I
first learned Thai classical music, I was entrusted with playing a small cymbal. I did it well my instructor promoted me
to play bigger instrument, and finally I had a chance to play in front of the
queen of Thailand, and played at radio station just next to the King’s palace. You can learn a few things from even
the simplest things. For example, if
your job is to distribute mails in your organization, you can learn about the
organization structure and the relationship among different functions in your
organization. No job is too small,
you can always learn something, and develop certain skills such as organization or communication skills.
2. Set goals, both realistic and
unrealistic: Successful
people are relentless goal-setters. They break down larger milestones into
smaller, more achievable tasks.
Just like when I want to tidy up my house but I don’t have much time to
clean the whole house at one time.
I can break down into different areas and just focus on finishing one certain area at a time. I would
feel accomplished and have better hope in finishing the whole project.
High tech leaders such as Bill Gate or Steve Job envisioned things that seem
unrealistic and out of this world at the time. Those impossible dreams are now realities that we often took
for granted.
High tech leaders such as Bill Gate or Steve Job envisioned things that seem
unrealistic and out of this world at the time. Those impossible dreams are now realities that we often took
for granted.
3. Work hard: You may think that successful people
were just lucky or were born in rich families, but the fact is the majority of
the successful people work very hard to get where they wanted to be. People like Bill Gate, Warren Buffet,
Mark Zuckerberg, and etc were all very hard working people.
4. Get others to work with you and never
underestimate others: See value in the work of others, and help others when
they seek your help especially in modern organization, teamwork is essential to
accomplish big things. You may
also look for mentor, someone who knows about more about the work that you just
started; some one who is willing to train you or help you develop skills as you are building your career.
5.Take risk and willing to fail: If you are afraid
to do new things or face changes, you will never reach your dream. In the world full of changes, your
ability to manage changes is one of the qualities that employers seek from
their top employees. When you
fail, don’t make excuse but learn from the mistake, and move on.
6. Never give up. As Winston Churchill who led Great Britain through World War
II said to young soldier: “Never Give Up”! Even though he was in his seventies, he was able to overcome
all the stress and strains of war and helped lead the Allied forces to victory.
In the face of adversity, always think on the
bright side, have sense of humor even when you encounter toxic people at work.
Stay the course to reach the goal.
Fellow toastmaster, when you have dreams; be passionate in following them like in the song:
Climb every mountain, search every stream, follow
every rainbow, till you find your dream…Remember to 1) Do the simple things
right. 2) Have goals both realistic and unrealistic. 3) Work hard, 4) Get
others to work with you 5) Take risk, and 6) Never Give Up and stay
positive. You will be able to
reach the end of the rainbow and find your dream there!
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