My Toastmaster Speech # 2

Objective: This speech has to have an apt Opening with proper transition to the Body and Conclusion

John Lenon a popular musician once said, “When I was 5 years old, my mother always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down ‘happy’. They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.”

Toastmaster of the day, fellow toastmasters and guests a very good afternoon.

When we were kids , we weren’t as lucky as John Lenon to escape with such an abstract answer, we had to deal with the varied expectations of different adults when they questioned us “what do you want to become when you grow up”

In most cases I played along with each of their expectations with different answers for each of them.

When my teacher asked I said “I want to study well and become a great Scientist”

To my cool cousin I said, “Like you I want to become an Air Hostess and fly high in the sky”

To my friends I naughtily said, “I will become an Action Heroine”

And to my Dad, I was serious faced and said, “I want to be a Doctor”.

By now they would have realized that I did not mean any of what I told them.

So what did I really want to become?

My aspirations changed day after day. Moment after moment. Second after second

When it was an artist on one day

It was an architect on another

When it was a poet at one moment

It was a dancer on another.

Seeing my fickle minded nature, my parents grew really concerned and one day they called me aside and advised how important it is to have a steady ambition.

“Ambition gets you to focus;

Focus would make you study hard;

When you study hard you will get good marks;

And when you get good marks you will get good colleges;

With good colleges you get good jobs;

And with good jobs you will make a lot of money;

With lots of money you will be a grand success in your life.”

Like every obedient child, I wanted to listen to them then. But being the totally opposite I did not pay heed to them.

I continued being my erratic carefree self – but as fate would have it, I did end up studying hard and like most of you here I too became an Engineer.

That too “An Engineer with an MBA”!

I studied hard, I got into good colleges, Got a good job and by society’s definition my life is “Settled”.

People no longer ask me what I want to become when I grow up, instead they ask “How it feels like to be a grown up”?

Who are you kidding people, just because I am a grown up now, should I stop aspiring to grow further?

You know,

J K Rowling grew into a brilliant author and had us spell bound with her magical work at her age of 34.

John Pemberton grew to invent the “thanda mathlab Coca Cola” at the age of 55

Harland Sanders grew to build “The Finger Licking Good” KFC Empire at the age of 65

Now tell me should I stop aspiring to grow now when I am in my prime 20s?

Should we stop aspiring to grow whatever be the age we are in now?

Like most of you here, when my inner self asked me this question, I nodded too.

With this new found conviction I decided in Mahatma Gandhi’s words to be the change that I wanted to see in the world and started going on a prowl asking everyone I meet “What do you want to grow up to be?”

I drew attention from then in a very wrong way, some gave me the disgusting “Are you kidding me” look, some others an angry glare and others laughed on my face.

After many shame faced instances I tweaked my question and asked “How do you want to grow in the later part of your life?”

When I tried this after the initial hiccups I did get pretty interesting answers.

My friend said she wanted to grow her boutique and make it a fashion hub one day

My bro in law said he wanted to become a good father when his son grows up.

And you know what my father said – He said he want to grow his business and expand it abroad.

What was more interesting than those replies was that this question made them think and wonder (for a change) and left beautiful smiles on their faces

So when I ask you “What do want to become later in your lives” without feeling weird or puzzled, just put on your thinking caps and answer me with a smile J.

So how do you want to grow in the later part of your life, Toastmaster of the day.