Opportunity Awaits!

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Joining Toastmasters International has affected my life in many positive ways and opened up a lot of opportunities that would not have been there had I not taken that step, and continued the journey.

From my first speech at a Toastmasters Club meeting (where I could not sleep the night before and could hardly eat on the day) in front of 20 members to the amazing experience I had last Sunday is testament to the wealth of personal growth, in terms of confidence, communication and leadership that Toastmasters International provides.

Last Sunday, I was the ‘Test Speaker’ for the District 90 Toastmasters Evaluation Contest at the Annual Conference which was held at Rooty Hill RSL.

A ’Test Speaker’ in Toastmasters delivers a speech that is then evaluated by contestants, who are then judged to see who is the best evaluator by a panel of judges.

18405363_10209459931199732_1520567314_oGetting to deliver a 7 minute speech in front of over 100 people with many Distinguished guests including Mike Storkey, the current International President of Toastmasters International, is an experience that I will cherish for a long, long time.

Receiving speech evaluations from the Top 6 Evaluators in District 90 is something I am very, very grateful for. I learnt a great deal that day.

18426614_10209459931719745_1134015842_oIf you are looking for a way to gain confidence, grow personally and develop your communication and leadership skills, Toastmasters International is waiting for you…

Click on ‘Find a Club’ in the link http://www.toastmasters.org and start your journey today!

David Johnson
Camden Toastmasters
28 April 2017

Your Creative Journey

As an Artist, (whether you are a painter, photographer, musician, speaker, sculptor or any kind of visual artist) you must continue to feed your mind, ask questions of the world and ponder. Your Art is your attempt to answer those questions and in doing so you can add your flavour to society.

So how do you feed your mind?

* Reading books and other literature
* Attending Exhibitions (not just the Art you like either)
* Watching movies, documentaries and other media
* Attending lectures and presentations
* Getting together with your peers or Artists outside your realm
* Go outside your comfort zone
* Attending workshops
* Spending time contemplating about your style, about your world

Experiencing that which is outside your realm of interest is important as well. This has the effect of stretching your world-view and opens your mind to other possibilities. Your feelings about this may reveal to you a new way of seeing ‘the old’ which then will translate into your Art.

Why do all this?

You are a product of your environment. You have been subjected to different influences (chosen or otherwise). You have beliefs and your own thoughts.

Like any endeavour, you will want to grow and evolve, communicate through expressions of your Art.

The world wants to see what and how you feel about things. The world wants to see your flavour, a flavour that can help grow the world into news ways of appreciation and seeing.

The world is waiting…just waiting for you to inspire us!

Written by David Johnson
31 July 2015