In Store:

Hear leaders New Year wishes

Give tribute to Gandhiji

Learn secret table topic tips

Write Speech script like Shakespeare

Protect liberty

Don’t ever forget. You are unique and special

Tm Sudha’s Toastmasters memory

Beautiful Lies

Eagles

Leadership lesson from Amazon’s leader

Laugh Out Loud

Jananee’s realization about New Year resolution

Speech that Bharath Raja Treasure

PRESIDENT ADDRESS

By TM Thanigeaswara It is my pleasure to write address for the special issue of

speaks out for the 375th meeting in the New Year. A very happy

and prosperous new year to everyone. In fact it may be my last

address as president of Chennai toastmasters club. No other club

in Tamilnadu ever reached the heights reached by our club. In its

long legacy, how many leaders were created and n number of

members have benefitted. The lighthouse club of Chennai has

seen more than 500 members in its history. In this moment, I

congratulate the founding members of this club from the bottom

of my heart. Without your selfless dedication and commitment,

this has not been possible.

In my journey as the president of the club for the past six months, I learned a lot. I thank you all for the

support you had provided to the club. I joined as a complete novice speaker two and half years back. Within

my two and half years of journey the club had given me the post of treasurer, VP-Membership, VP-Education,

president, mentor, club mentor and many opportunities during the contest season. The learning’s are

immense. One should experience the journey. I am wondering what kind of person I will be now if have not

visited the Chennai toastmasters.

The club has given me the urge to read quality books, good friends with quality thoughts and action. It

has also given me a chance to mingle with large group of people in the toastmasters’ community. Nowhere,

you would get this type of opportunity. Everything in this world is due to cause and effect. I urge the new

toastmasters to stick to this wonderful movement for a longer period in-order to reap the benefits.

New Year brings new things to life. This has brought new set of elected office bearers to our club. I

wish all of the elected office bearers a fantastic leadership journey ahead. Every post in the office bearers list

has got unique opportunity to serve the members. Under the leadership of TM Deepa Bharatkumar, I am sure

the club will attain new heights.

Long live Chennai toastmasters club and its legacy.

MESSAGE FROM

DIVISION M

GOVERNOR -TM DAN NADAND.

Chennai Toastmasters is the Mother of all clubs

that has branched out in Chennai. There are lot of

eloquent speakers in the club. Under the leadership of Thanigeaswara, the current team is doing a splendid

job. I have witnessed, CTM has become the breeding ground of champion speakers, leaders on various fronts

during the Toastmasters events. Anchors to be the beacon of light in the Toastmasters fraternity. I wish the

newsletter team headed by Bharath Raja good luck on this endeavor. Wish you all a great and a prosperous

new year. Hope, your dreams and wishes come true on your future and current experiences.!!! God bless you

with the wisdom of knowledge and power to lead.

With lots of love and smile. .

Dan, Division M Governor

1 + 1 What does it means? Members who have referred a friend that joins a Toastmasters club will receive a 1+1 decal and a personalized letter from Executive Director, Daniel Rex and me. This letter

will be presented to members by club presidents. Also, each month, the referring

member's name will be listed on the 1+1 webpagewall. To reward members� efforts, all names will be included in a monthly drawing to win an exclusive 1+1 Toastmasters

branded T-shirt.

TMI

NEW YEAR WISH -DTM SRINIVASAN KARTIKEYAN

CONGRATULATIONS on the successful completion of

2012! Chennai Toastmasters, despite various challenges,

you have stood tall.

When I got call from TM Bharat Raja & TM Selva

Bharathi, I was on the mode of “Oh God, not another

article!”. I strongly believed I was article out. Kept

pushing putting pen to paper (I am not a

computer/keyboard man!) to the last minute. Then with

no other way to go, here I am sitting back and trying to

put my thoughts in order, and have tried to put into

words what comes to my mind.

End of 2012 & the start of 2013… another year that

brings another opportunity to start our lives anew,

despite the Mayan predictions This time, we will leap

old barriers to have a real breakthrough! We will take

one little step, then one more, then yet another, and step by little step, we will totally explore and emerge

with our unlimited potential. We will show off all our talents, and in that we will inspire those around us to

bring out their own talents to the fullest potential. We will read and learn a bit, we will speak and learn a bit

more, & we will also write and learn a lot!

All our goals will be accomplished; but then again, may be not! But we will forge ahead celebrating every little

step, as we know not which little step might turn out to be GAINT step that gets us to the top!

HAPPY NEW YEAR to all of YOU!

A TRIBUTE TO

MAHATMA

GANDHI By TM Ramesh Daswani

If you had lots of money, what would you choose for

yourself: a piece of coarse plain white cloth or nice jeans and colorful T-shirt?

Fellow toastmasters and esteemed guests. good evening. I believe, we would all select the latter

option, isn’t?

There was a time when Gandhi would have chosen the latter. At school, as a child and later as a

student of law in England, he bought the best of clothes, in tune with the fashion of the time. There was a

time when Gandhi was dressed in full formals – a coat, suit and a tie.

How then did the change to a mere loin cloth occur? What are the incidents that made Gandhi to change his

dressing style?

Well, it did not happen overnight but in phases. The first phase in this shedding began during his stay

in South Africa.

Having suffered at the hands of the British rulers he came to feel that if Asians and Africans were to

win over humiliation, they needed to stop imitating Europeans at once.

At the same time, Gandhi was also influenced by the book Unto This Last.

Real beauty, he learnt from this book, comes from within rather than from that which is outside. In

Africa, therefore, his western clothes gave way to his native Kathiawar dress: dhoti, kurta and a turban. It

was in this elaborate Indian dress that Gandhi returned to India in 1915.

Soon after, he went on an extensive tour of India. It was during this tour that he came to realize what

poverty meant.

Once, in Madurai, he addressed a public meeting attended by a large number of men and women.

That night, the picture of those half clad men and women filled his thoughts.

Next morning, Mr. Rajan who was translating Gandhi’s English speeches into Tamil, came to pick him

for a meeting. Finding Gandhi in a loin cloth, Mr. Rajan said, "It is time for the meeting. Please get ready

soon." "I'm ready," said Gandhi. Surprised, Mr. Rajan asked again, "Are you not getting dressed to go?" At

which Gandhi said,

"From today, this is what I am going to wear - the dress that every Indian wears."

Children loved visiting Gandhiji. A little boy

who was there one day, was greatly distressed to

see the way Gandhiji was dressed. Such a great

man yet he doesn't even wear a shirt, he

wondered. "Why don't you wear a kurtha,

Gandhiji?" the little boy couldn't help asking finally.

"Where's the money, son?" Gandhiji asked gently.

"I am very poor. I can't afford a kurta." The boy's

heart was filled with pity.

"My mother sews well", he said.

"She makes all my clothes. I'll ask her to sew a

Kurta for you."

"How many Kurtas can your mother make?"

Gandhiji asked.

"How many do you need?" asked the boy. "One,

two, three.... she'll make as many as you want."

Gandhiji thought for a moment. Then he said, "But I

am not alone, son. It wouldn't be right for me to be the only one to wear a kurta."

"How many Kurtas do you need?" the boy persisted. "I'll ask my mother to make as many as you want. Just

tell me how many you need."

"I have a very large family, son. I have forty crore brothers and sisters," Gandhiji explained. "Till every one of

them has a kurta, how can I wear one? Tell me, can your mother make kurtas for all of them? At this

question the boy became very thoughtful. Forty crore brothers and sisters! Gandhiji was right. Till every one

of them had a kurta to wear how could he wear one himself? After all the whole nation was Gandhiji's family

and he was the head of that family. He was their friend, their companion. What use would one kurta be to

him?

In the last 65 years after independence which we owe to Gandhiji, lots of things have changed. Majority of

the people have switched to a multi-layered clothing style – while there is still a cross section of people who

dress like Gandhiji.... not because they don’t like to wear a jeans and a T-Shirt... but because they cannot

afford to buy a shirt and a pant. When you don’t like the shirt/pant that your parents buy for you... When

you don’t like the dress that your spouse presents to you... imagine the number of people who are without a

proper dress to wear! At the end of the day, what is in a dress?!

TABLE TOPICS TIPS

-DTM SARO

"Every member who comes to the toastmasters meetings should

get an opportunity to speak" - if this is the mantra of your club, I'm

very confident that your club will be successful. Toastmasters is a

'learn

by doing' program where a member learns by performing a role in

the club. There are three types of

members in any toastmasters club:

- Members who proactively signup for meeting roles in advance

- Members who take roles only when it is THRUST upon them

- Members who enjoy coming to the meetings, but do not sign-up

for any roles

Topics Master plays a crucial role in engaging and giving

opportunity to members who are not playing

any role in the meeting. However, some Table Topics Masters do

not realize the importance of giving

opportunity to EVERY MEMBER of the club TO SPEAK. Such Table

Topics Masters, do one of the

following:

- Call the 'favorite' or 'popular' toastmasters in the club (for ex., Club President, Club Mentor etc.,)

- Call the members who are already playing a role in the meeting

- Call the member(s) of a different toastmasters club, who is visiting your club as a guest

- Call guests

This affects the success of the club in the long run. For example, a member who spends 30 minutes to an

hour to commute to attend the club meeting may not get an opportunity to speak in the meeting. When

new members do not get an opportunity to speak for 2 or 3 weeks in a row, they may lose interest/

motivation to come to the meeting. Either the club officers should motivate such members to take a

role every week or the Table Topics Master should give an opportunity for such members to participate

in Table Topics segment. Table Topics Master should give preference to the club members who do not

have a role to play in the meeting, before involving others.

Here are some tips for Table Topics Masters to be effective in their role:

1) Table Topics Master should come to the meeting at least 15 minutes in advance. This will give an

opportunity for the Table Topics Master to identify 'who are all playing roles' and 'who are all NOT

playing roles' in the club meeting. Most of the times, the role players list changes in the last minute.

Table Topics Master should consult with Toastmaster of the Day and General Evaluator to make sure

that he/she has the updated list of role players.

2) Table Topics Master should have a list of identified speech topics - at least 15 different topics.

Preferably, a new toastmaster should get those topics reviewed by a mentor or a senior toastmaster in

the club. This will help to ensure that the topics(s) provide scope for the participants to speak for at least

2 minutes.

Table Topics Master – How can you help your club grow?

3) Before calling a guest to participate in Table Topics, the Table Topics Master should check with the

guest whether he/she would be interested to participate in the Table Topics Segment. Not every guest

would be excited to deliver an unprepared / impromptu speech in front of strangers.

4) Table Topics Master should call members in the following order (My personal recommendation!).

If you follow this order, even if you had to cut short the Table Topics segment due to lack of time, you

would've covered all of your non-role players.

- Members who are non-role players

- members who are minor role players (Timer, AH Counter, Grammarian, Ballot Counter etc.,)

- guests (if they are interested)

- members of other toastmasters club(s), who has visited your club

5) Table Topics Master should keep his/her introductions very short. I've seen Table Topics Master who

speaks for 5 minutes before getting into the Table Topics segment. This denies opportunity for at least

2 Table Topics speakers. A few Table Topics masters talk for about a 1 minute after every table topics

speech. This is also not recommended.

6) The purpose of Table Topics segment is to encourage members to think on their feet and speak. If

Table Topics master selects topics that are "too tough" or topics that are "too abstract" or topics that

lack "clarity", members will find it difficult to speak. For example,

- "Assume that you are caught by a Traffic Police while speeding and you have to escape without

paying fines to him" If you give this topic to a new member, he/she would not have any clue

about how to speak and what to speak.

- A topic like "Craziness is the welcome mat at the doors of creativity" is too difficult for

somebody to handle.

- A topic like "What do you think about economy?!" is too abstract

7) Customize the topic to the person. For example, you can give a relatively easier topic to a new

toastmaster or a guest who participates in the Table Topics segment.

Hope this article helps you to do your Table Topics Master Role better. Let us give opportunity for

everyone to speak, learn and grow!

MENTORING-SPEECH SCRIPT

REVIEW CHECKLIST

By DTM Saro Velrajan Continued

As a mentor, you'll be helping your mentees in preparing for their speeches. You may be reviewing their speech scripts to suggest improvements and for making maximum impact on the audience. Here is a

checklist that you can follow when reviewing your mentee's speech scripts. When you review a speech script, look for the following things:

1. Speech script organized?

a. Introduction - Interesting or attention grabbing? b. Body - Two or three key points substantiated with examples or stories?

c. Conclusion - Memorable? Powerful?

2. Speech appropriate to the audience? a. Topic relevant to the audience? b. Content appealing to the audience? c. Content is interesting? (informative or entertaining or educative or persuading)

3. Speech meets the project objectives stated in the manual? 4. Speech can be delivered within time? 5. Presentation of the material

a. Grammatical errors? b. Long sentences? c. Unwanted statements? Statements affective the flow? d. Written to “speak” (instead of being written to “read”)? e. Organized into different sections? f. Emphasis of appropriate words in the speech (for ex., statements that have to be spoken with

high volume should be in BOLD or CAPS… I saw a HUGE ELEPHANT in the forest)

6. Think from your mentee’s shoes and also from the audience shoes a. How will or how can the mentee deliver this script?

b. How will the audience receive this material? When giving feedback on the script:

1. Give specific feedback (instead of just saying “make the introduction interesting”… suggest them an interesting speech introduction… tell them “this is how, I would’ve done it”)

2. Give constructive feedback

appreciate the nice things about the speech script… don’t just comment about the items that aren’t written well

Use words such as “I recommend”… instead of “You should”… User statements such as “Consider changing this introduction…” instead of saying “This

introduction is boring”…

3. Use track changes in Microsoft Word… it helps the mentee to understand the changes that you’ve

done to the script

PROTECTING

LIBERTY TM KUSH TRIPATHI

Liberty is always taken for granted especially when you live

in a country where you have the liberty to do almost anything

without hurting anyone. No one stops to think of what would

happen if liberty is denied or at the most, snatched from us. And

no one, absolutely no one thinks about the people who put their

lives at stake, giving up their own liberty to live a normal life, just

so that ignorant people like us can go on living to the fullest with

the liberty bestowed to us. This is no form of criticism or blame

on anyone in particular, as I am equally guilty of being ignorant

and indifferent. Or may be, I was, until a few days ago.

It was just another one of those monotonous train journeys,

fiddling with my phone and looking out the window, cursing the

network coverage of my phone’s service provider for not letting

me continue a conversation about some not so useful things

with a friend of mine. Just then, a boy of barely eighteen years of age walked in and occupied the seat

opposite mine. His clothes looked so simple and out of trend. He didn’t have the basic commodities that a boy

of his age was expected to have! A cellular phone let alone the miniature version of a music player! Well I

wasn’t so surprised when I found out he didn’t even carry a bag and he was travelling somewhere far! I

wondered what he was doing in the AC class III coach with all his friends trying to fit into a single side sleeper,

when none of them seemed to even look like they belonged to that section of the train. On top of that, they

were creating quite a racket with all their display of sense of humor like little cherubs.

It wasn’t too late before my extremely easy-going and not- so- don’t talk to strangers family, especially my

cousin, picked up a conversation with him. And only then did I realize what a poor judge of character I had

been. I hadn’t paused to think of who the boy might be before I made my mind up about him. Well, he was a

first semester pass out from the National Defense Academy (NDA), Pune. Initially disinclined, I began listening

to his answers as my family fired a round of questions at him about his schooling and the lifestyle at the NDA. I

was taken aback to hear that they actually survived at the Academy without any form of “electronic

entertainment” that most of us were addicted to! As I kept listening to him describe his tedious routine that

started at 4 am and ended by 11pm, all day long trying to cope with academics and training to be physically fit

by taking up various activities like horse riding, swimming, trekking, outdoor sports,etc. They were previously

allowed to have an hour of entertainment called “Liberty” time which apparently was scrapped o ff in order to

make them more resistant to the temptations such things could create! (I can’t remember the last time I

parted with my phone, movies, television, laptop, and access to social networking. It’s quite a thing to be

ashamed of!)

The rapid fire round continued for another half an hour until someone asked him why he chose to do

something different in a world of cut throat competition where people vied to earn at least a penny more than

the other person so that they could secure a luxurious life for themselves and their families. The young boy’s

answer left me in awe for his spirit.

He said,” I’ve always wanted to be a part of the Indian military since I was child. I don’t really care that my

friends might earn more than me or live together with their families when I may not be able to do the same.

But what is important is that I chose to help them live their dreams by rendering my services in a small way to

our country. I only find happiness in the fact that I will also be a vital part of a system that doesn’t sleep in

order to make sure that our country sleeps peacefully under safe and secured roofs. My ambition is to get into

the Indian Military Academy (IMA) and become someone someday and hold my head up proudly and say to

myself that I have indeed achieved something in life by securing my country a bit more, even on my death

bed. Hence I’m on the path of physical and emotional detachment from my family so that every other Indian

can stay attached to his or her family, without having to worry about bombshells destroying their lives. I do

not and never will regret this decision of mine for I am only proud in knowing that I will not rest without

having given back something within my bounds, to my country, Mother India.”

I sat there frozen in a mixture of emotions. Sympathy or pride? What was I supposed to feel? I still couldn’t

believe those words that flowed out of the young boy’s mouth. Such was his inspiration and dedication. At

that moment it did not matter to me if he had a phone or if he was well dressed. It didn’t matter to me if he

looked elite or moderate. All that mattered to me was that, a boy, barely eighteen, possessed such

insurmountable levels of will power and confidence, and most of all, patriotism, something that every Indian

ought to learn from him. When all of us chose to enjoy life and plan ourselves a happy future ahead, this

young boy chose to put a fence around us and stand guard so that no one trespasses our liberty and safety.

The realization of how ignorant and indolent I had been about the innumerable people standing on borders,

keeping themselves awake for days so that not even a swallow that posed a threat to the nation’s security

could enter the country’s premises. Yes, there have been security breaches and pretty serious on es too. But

we tend to forget the fact that it amounts to less than one percentile of the flaws and that the liberty of

expressing our views about those flaws is still intact because there are still other men in uniform guarding our

country.

I dint ask for his name, for I wanted to have the liberty of respecting him and writing about him because he

had given me an inspiration and a reason to write, and it all seemed easy for me to write about some random

stranger who created a deep impact in my life and helped me realize the purpose of my own existence and the

willingness of so many people living on borders in ignominy, just to let our country they envisage, live in light.

This was just one Indian I had met. There are, I am sure, a million more like him, striving to protect out liberty

and our country by sacrificing their own lives. We may not be able to go up there and lend a hand to them in

holding their ammunitions, but I hope we can at least keep them in our thoughts, and be grateful for the cozy

beddings and sweet dreams that we enjoy every night, at their cost.

DON`T EVER

FORGOT; YOU

ARE UNIQUE

AND SPECIAL

-TM RAJASEKAR PC

Your presence is a gift to the world, You're unique and one of a kind. Your life can be what you want it to be - Take it one day at a time. Count your blessings, not your troubles, And you'll make it through what comes along. Within you are so many answers, Understand, have courage, be strong. Don't put limits on yourself, Your dreams are waiting to be realized. Don't leave your important decisions to chance - Reach for your peak, your goal, and your prize. Don't take things too seriously - Live a life of serenity, not a life of regrets? Remember that a little love goes a long way - Remember that a lot goes forever. Remember that friendship is a wise investment, Life's treasures are people...

“Unique”Rajasekar

MY MEMORIES OF

BEING A

TOASTMASTER -TM SUDHA RAJESH

I still remember the day I walked into CTM. I saw the

speakers deliver their speech. At the end of the meeting, with

a chip on my shoulder, I asked TM Ravi Bhaskaran sir, if I could become a mentor. I said I wanted to help

people with public speaking. He replied I must become a mentee first. I didn’t understand then. A year and a

half later, I realized how much I have learnt and how much I owe to CTM.

Today, I want to share what I’ve learnt.

Toastmasters offer learning to everyone who walks in through its doors. It is amazing that you evolve as a

great speaker and a great leader. No matter which level one is in, there is learning for everyone. If you are

struggling to speak, you must speak often to overcome that problem. If you can speak fairly well, you must

speak often, to speak really well. If you can speak really well, then you must learn the art of ‘right’.

Art of ‘right’?

Saying the right words to the right person, at the right time is certainly an art. Add another element, ‘saying

the right amount of words’ to it and it becomes an enviable art.

One who masters that art becomes a great leader. Everyone improves with every speech, every contest and

every educational session. No one remains the same; everyone grows, everyone evolves. One should not

compare themselves with others, that is the lesson I learnt. Rather, one should compare themselves with

one’s own self a year ago.

Every contest brings out the best in you. The experience either makes you a better speaker or a better leader.

Everything that can go wrong will go wrong during contests. But despite all the testing times, the organizers do

a fantastic job and no one notices the glitches.

People join the club as a member. But later they become a family member and don’t just remain club friends.

They go to great lengths for simple favors. They immediately come to your help at the most troubling times

and are always there to celebrate every little achievement or every milestone. In short, the system itself is

impeccable and beneficial to one and all. I do not know if Ralph Smedley envisioned it like this or if

toastmasters function this way in Western countries but in India, especially in our lovely Chennai,

toastmasters is a platform that gives a lot back to people than what people can give back to it.

BEAUTIFUL LIES

-TM DEEPAK PANDIAN

All is fair in love and war – when

they say so , could you get what makes them fair? The most

essential ingredient in both these places is lie. When a young

man meets his woman, he could express he has many ways

to express his love. He could walk and genuinely say “Hey I

want to marry you” or express his wonder at her charm and

plea her like a Gautam Menon's hero” Oh Charming young

lady, I haven't seen a beauty as beautiful as you. Will you

marry me!”

Respected President , Toastmaster of the day fellow

toastmasters and distinguished guests , I am going to share

with you more beautiful lies like that today. Looking back

neither the guy was blind nor was the girl dumb to fake

reality. They knew the reality but that little lie has made the

moment for them. Larger moments like this are made out of

little lies like those.

You can find many such beautiful lies sprinkled along

in our life. Why should a man lie? Isn’t amoral or morally reprehensible? When i think of lies in my life, I

couldn’t stop thinking of my dad. He is the one who keeps my life moving with his lies.

When I was put in kg, I cried to my dad “Dad I am not happy with the school. I will get back to home. I

have lot of problems here!” My Dad said” Don’t worry kid. This school is just for two years. After two years you

will grow up and I will put you in a bigger school were you won’t having any problems.” Sure I did grow up and

landed in the bigger school where the older problems vanished, but i had got even bigger problems,

particularly with mathematics.

When I got in to higher secondary, the entire family thronged in to my table and my Dad started” Dude

this is the most important phase of your life. If you work harder here the entire life will be a smooth sail for

you. You need to score well to get in to a good college!”. I trusted him and wasted my days studying hard.

May be I did not get in to the IIT’s but my problems would have been the same even if i had been there.

I was thrown away from my home away and from my loved ones. Saddest part of it was that I was forced to

take messy mess food. I went back to my dad and told him “Dad I need to be with you Dad. I don’t deserve to

be away from home”. My Dad again lied “Son, You must understand that you are growing up. You need to make

a life on your own, for which you need a job and the job badly needs this degree. Go get crowned. You will

make it beautiful in life”. I believed and came back and passed four years and landed up in a good job as told.

But only after coming up I understood that the job was not as good as it was told to be. Do you like

yourself to be imprisoned inside the glass prison from 9 AM to 9PM listening to a grumpy boss? I went back to

my Dad and suggested him rather I take up his business. He said “Son Be cool. This is the most important phase

of your life. You need to make your own family and you need to get a good life which needs a good wife. And a

good wife demands a good job like yours.” That seemed like a truth to me

.

But assume that I get married to the most beautiful girl in the universe. I could envisage myself walking

back to my Dad within a couple of months .Dad, ” Why should share my time and space with a moron such as

she. We don’t have anything in common and please get me a divorce”. My dad will be saying” Son! These are

phases which everyone undergoes in life. Everything will be resolved once you get a kid”. I believe in him and

walk back.

Let’s assume few more things forward and look back at them.

It happened that I got a cute kid but only later to find out that he is also the most mischievous one in

the world. I went back to my Dad” Oh No Dad I am tired of this life. I was happy as a kid but now i couldn’t be

myself. This kid has only aggravated our problems. I need to do something!” Dad said” Don’t worry dear son! In

a year he will be going to school. Put him prekg and your problems will be solved once he starts going to

school.

I was dumb stuck “Dad are you the one saying it. Do you remember that all my problems started only

from the day I entered that kinder garden. How can you ask me to do the same for my child “. My Dad had a

smile and said “Son you got it! That’s life. My Dad asked me to do that and go and do that to your son. He will

understand about it later in life”.

When i was back i stood apart and thought about the path I walked. It was really beautiful. I was a

happy kid in the KG’s, hard working student in my school days, an inquisitive teen at my college, been a

passionate worker and a compassionate lover. All was possible only because my dad’s lies. When he lied to me,

it was not that he was not aware of reality but he wanted to create a beautiful ambience for me where i could

do my best without worrying about the results. The ultimate purpose of human life is to be happy and make

the ones around you happy. And it’s not bad when you achieve it with some Beautiful lies like these.

Thanks to my Dad and here i come, my son. ….

Hearty New Year

Wishes

TM Anjaneya

Pleasant December wades through the Mayan fears and

mother earth moves successfully into to a new year with full

of promises and desires. Time for presenting gifts to near,

dear and also to receive from Santa Claus. Gifts given with

right intention will make receiver and giver happy. I have

observed that there are gifts which are more powerful than

material gifts. That reminds me Shakespeare’s quote

“Prayers and tears have moved me, gifts could never”.

Along with material gifts, prayer for the one’s we love will

bring multiple benefits. It is not necessary to limit our prayer

only to those who love us. Prayer can be performed to improve the quality of life of the people who are

serving us, Alcoholic neighbor who stands on the compound wall and talks loud on the street, security guard

who blows the whistle exactly when you are about to sleep. Prayer can also be used to reduce your anger

towards senseless shopping wife, Facebook frenzy son and mobile maniac daughter. Prayer can also be

performed to change your attitude towards a toastmaster/colleague who you don’t like.

Dear Friends – In this world, people are living with their illusions and trying to bring them out is often a futile

exercise. Instead, pray for them and your attitude will certainly change and move you towards

happiness/eternal bliss.

EAGLES

TM VARADARAJAN

PRINCIPLE 1: Eagles fly alone at high altitude and not with sparrows or

other small birds. No other bird can go to the height of the eagle. Stay

away from sparrows and ravens. Eagles fly with Eagles.

PRINCIPLE 2: Eagles have strong vision. They have the ability to focus

on something up to five kilometers away. When an eagle sites his prey,

he narrows his focus on it and set out to get it. No matter the obstacles,

the eagle will not move his focus from the prey until he grabs it. Have a

vision and remain focused no matter what the obstacle and you will

succeed.

PRINCIPLE 3: Eagles do not eat dead things. They feed only on fresh prey. Vultures eat dead animals, but eagles will not.

Be careful with what you feed your eyes and ears with, especially in movies and on TV. Steer clear of outdated and old

information. Always do your research well.

PRINCIPLE 4: Eagles love the storm. When clouds gather, the eagles get excited. The eagle uses the storm’s wind to lift it

higher. Once it finds the wind of the storm, the eagles uses the raging storm to lift him above the clouds. This gives the

eagle an opportunity to glide and rest its wings. In the meantime, all the other birds hide in the leaves and branches of

the trees. We can use the storms of life to rise to greater heights. Achievers relish challenges and use them profitably.

PRINCIPLE 5: The Eagle tests before it trusts. When a female eagle meets a male and they want to mate, she flies down

to earth with the male pursuing her and she picks a twig. She flies back into the air with the male pursuing her.

Once she has reached a height high enough for her, she lets the twig fall to the ground and watches it as it falls. The

male chases after the twig. The faster it falls, the faster he chases it. He has to catch it before it falls to the ground. He

then brings it back to the female eagle.

The female eagle grabs the twig and flies to a higher altitude and then drops the twig for the male to chase. This goes on

for hours, with the height increasing until the female eagle is assured that the male eagle has mastered the art of

catching the twig which shows commitment. Then and only then, will she allow him to mate with her. Whether in

private life or in business, one should test commitment of people intended for partnership.

PRINCIPLE 6: The Eagle Prepares for Changes: When ready to lay eggs, the female and male eagle identify a place very

high on a cliff where no predators can reach. The male flies to earth and picks thorns and lays them on the crevice of the

cliff, then flies to earth again to collect twigs which he lays in the intended nest. He flies back to earth and picks thorns

laying them on top of the twigs. He flies back to earth and picks soft grass to cover the thorns. When this first layering is

complete the male eagle runs back to earth and picks more thorns, lays them on the nest; runs back to get grass it on

top of the thorns, then plucks his feathers to complete the nest. The thorns on the outside of the nest protect it from

possible intruders. Both male and female eagles participate in raising the eagle family. She lays the eggs and protects

them; he builds the nest and hunts. During the time of training the young ones to fly, the mother eagle throws the

eaglets out of the nest. Because they are scared, they jump into the nest again.

Next, she throws them out and then takes off the soft layers of the nest, leaving the thorns bare When the scared

eaglets again jump into the nest, they are pricked by thorns. Shrieking and bleeding they jump out again this time

wondering why the mother and father who love them so much are torturing them. Next, mother eagle pushes them off

the cliff into the air. As they shriek in fear, father eagle flies out and catches them up on his back before they fall and

brings them back to the cliff. This goes on for sometime until they start flapping their wings. They get excited at this

newfound knowledge that they can fly.

The preparation of the nest teaches us to prepare for changes; The preparation for the family teaches us that active

participation of both partners leads to success; The being pricked by the thorns tells us that sometimes being too

comfortable where we are may result into our not experiencing life, not progressing and not learning at all. The thorns

of life come to teach us that we need to grow, get out of the nest and live on. We may not know it but the seemingly

comfortable and safe haven may have thorns. The people who love us do not let us languish in sloth but push us hard to

grow and prosper. Even in their seemingly bad actions they have good intentions for us.

PRINCIPLE 7: The Eagle Knows when to Retire: When an Eagle grows old; his feathers become weak and cannot take him

as fast as he should. When he feels weak and about to die, he retires to a place far away in the rocks. While there, he

plucks out every feather on his body until he is completely bare. He stays in this hiding place until he has grown new

feathers, then he can come out. We occasionally need to shed off old habits & items that burden us without adding to

our lives

LEARDERSHIP

LESSONS FROM

AMAZON COM’S

JEFF BEZOS -TM MADAVAN

Jeff Bezos, who has taken the place of Steve Jobs as the leading tech CEO, is one of my favorite leaders,

mainly because of his long term vision and strategic focus. His willingness to ignore the Wall Street and its

dangerous obsession with quarterly earnings is legendary and helps him focus on his long term strategy for

AMAZON

In this interview with Forbes, he details 10 Leadership ideas that he practices to keep Amazon.com on top.

Which one is your favorite leadership idea?

1. “Base your strategy on things that won’t change.”

2. “Obsess over customers.”

3. “We are willing to be misunderstood for long periods of time.”

4. “There are two kinds of companies: those that try to charge more and

those that work to charge less. We will be the second.”

5. “Determine what your customers need, and work backwards.”

6. “Our culture is friendly and intense, but if push comes to shove we’ll

settle for intense.”

7. “If you want to be inventive, you have to be willing to fail.”

8. “In the old world, you devoted 30% of your time to building a great service and 70% of your time to

shouting about it. In the new world, that inverts.”

9. “Everyone has to be able to work in a call center.”

10. “This is Day 1 for the Internet. We still have so much to learn.”

LAUGH OUT LOUD -TM ARUMUGAM

"Obesity is like a saving account," Dr K.P Mishra explained

to an audience. "You can reduce the account

either by making your deposits smaller or spending more.

Similarly, you can reduce by either eating less

or by exercising.

"Doctor," a stout banker in the audience interrupted, "my

problem is that I don’t have a savings account

but a fixed deposit".

- From Dr K.P.Mishra, Humor in Medicine

2) When It Needs Petrol, It is mine.

Friend: Is that beautiful car yours?

Myself: It is and it is not.

Friend: What do you mean?

Myself : When it is for shopping, it is my wife's. When it is for a party, it is my son's. And when it needs

petrol, it is mine.

3) They did not give me anything!

Beggar boy: Give me some alms, please!

Myself: What? Begging at such a young age? You should have gone to school.

Beggar boy: I went to school but they did not give me anything.

Myself! (Speechless)

4) Sitting under a bridge

myself: “I sat under a train while it thundered

over me. I did not get even a scratch”.

Friend: “Impossible! You would have been

crashed.”

Myself : “No, it is true. I was sitting under a

bridge.”

Friend! (Speechless) And started to sing “why this

koleveri di. “

My Realization about

New Year Resolutions

TM Jananee

Resolutions, we believe, will help us to better our life and make us disciplined.

But now we make a joke out of resolutions - Easy to frame one and break it rather than follow it.

I'm a confused person who thinks a lot and who arrives at no definite conclusion until the right time comes. Recently I was thinking about which

career to choose and how to design my own career path after 10 years of work experience in IT. "My experience wasn't that rewarding as my interest was not

in IT", was my usual response. But recently I found that that part of the work I'm doing is not the one I'm interested in. I discovered that there are many challenging things that can be done in IT - understanding the problem, thinking through it, designing it, listing of different cases of the problem and arriving at an optimal solution. Well anyone who reads it will tell this is the work of any

one in any industry. My discovery was each of it is a world in itself and it has to be attended patiently and with interest. However, I could not master everything and I did not have the patience to go back to my basics. Because going back to my basics will reveal to me the breadth and depth of knowledge that I overlooked in past years at my work.

However, without getting my basics right I'll not be able to proceed forward if I were and were not to continue in the same job. I cannot continue in the same job until I know the nuances of my work. I cannot remain at peace in some other job after me learning the lesson - Going Back to Basics – from my current job. I was both confused as should I still remain in IT or move to a new one. Even if I move to a new one, I need to start all over again from beginning. But something told me that until I go back to my basics whichever field I choose I need to hit a similar point. But, I was aware that my skill set did not match the work I wanted to do remaining in IT. I do not want to find an escape route without working towards the lesson learnt. So why not proceed in whatever I do – remain in IT.

I started to learn the areas that I didn't know. Discovering the reality shook me again. Even going back to basics revealed that I did not know the very basic concepts! Confusion, impatience, wavering mind, what -to-do thoughts overwhelmed my peace. I could feel every cell of mine shivering.

It was not until January 4th, 2013 I got an answer. That morning when I was cooking a Spark hit me.

I'm not good in cooking. I'm not good in clean my own house. But my mom is an expert in cooking and maintaining the place clean. She is skilled in doing it. She was in my Chennai house for 3 days. She cleaned my house. I could feel the difference between me cleaning it and her cleaning it. Not that the house was messy when she cleaned it but the added touch of an expert was well obvious!

That's when a thought struck me - It matters how much you work towards getting a work right. The more you work the more you become skilled. My mom knew that she is too good in cooking and she doesn't compare her cooking skills with others. Neither does she stop cooking. Every time she cooks the same food, she improves. She adds to her skill.

That's when I unconsciously compared this to the development of motor skills in children and how it affects adults when not attended to at a young age. A child learns by observing and then practicing as instructed by

adults. Those observation and practice turns into his thoughts. Until a child is rightly educated on things he cannot develop a right attitude towards it. So the responsibility is within each of us. Unless we hone our skills we will not be able to transfer the knowledge to our children. The more we are an expert the more we can help our children. Unless we give attention to details, we cannot expect the same from children. When the teaching is confused and not to the satisfaction, the receiving end will also be the same. As the saying goes,

"First impression is the best impression”, the first lesson for a child comes from his family members. So do not leave the responsibility of learning to SCHOOL rather take that mantle on you as you are helping your child to

become the PERSON who wished you wanted to become. So why not create two persons of you – by your own practice and by your teaching of what you learnt.

So I resolved my confusions in getting back to basics and honing my skills in my same job. It's demanding and exhausting. But when I learn a new lesson, make a new discovery I marvel at my own improvement. I needn't

stop doing it as my discoveries are my learning for MYSELF. The extent to which I learn translates to how much I can take and give back to others.

Will I follow this without breaking throughout my life? You will have to check me out on this!

Speech I treasure TM Bharath Raja

This is my humor speech delivered in a contest. Till date I treasure

this speech because it means more to me. I never ever felt so

confident and happy after delivering a speech. This speech made it.

My mentor Saro made it. You Toastmasters made it possible.

1991. 3 days before the Valentine’s Day – a cute little baby boy was

born. His parents were trying to name him. His grandma thought

he’ll become a musician and wanted to name his as “Ilayaraja”. His grandpa thought he’ll become a director and wanted to

name him as “Bharathi Raja”. His parents thought that he was going to rule the whole India and named him as "Bharath

Raja". Thank God “None of them thought, I’ll become a telecom minister and didn’t name me as A.Raja”. I had

a number of interesting experiences in life where my name Bharath Raja played a significant role. I would like

to share some of them with you.

Going back in history… I was studying 6th standard … it was a history class. Our teacher was taking a lesson on

democracy. She asked us “What is the definition of democracy”?. The whole class was silent. Thanks to my habit of

watching television non-stop. I learned much more from the History channel than what I learned from my History

teacher. I knew the answer to the question. I jumped out of the chair and shouted "a government of the people, by the

people, and for the people". Teacher appreciated for the answer but asked me another question right away – like our

President Prabakaran who asks multiple questions before giving a chocolate. The second question was "Who defined

democracy?". The whole class shouted "Bharath Raja".

Years passed… I was doing 1st year in college. We were all assembled in our college auditorium for a training program.

The trainer looked like our Monkey Kartik. The trainer gave us a challenge. He asked the students to come introduce

themselves without using the words "I", “Me” or "my". Like our table topics, no one volunteered to speak. The trainer

thought of motivating the students to participate. He took a fresh 500 rupees note from his pocket and said “It will be

given to the student who wins the challenge” . Immediately, I could see a queue of students coming forward to

introduce themselves – like the toastmasters who rush to get their plate of bondas during the tea break. But everyone

failed because they unknowingly used the words “I” or “Me”. Like our super star movie, the hero of our story came,

picked the mike and with confidence said "This is Bharath raja. Bharath raja is doing his fourth year in mechanical

engineering. Bharath raja’s charisma and charm got him a number of girl friends in college, in his dreams ". Hearing my

speech, the trainer’s face changed from a soft Ooty apple to a rough jack fruit. He gave me that 500 rupee note, with

tears in his eyes. I never thought that my name would earn 500 rupees.

During the 2nd year of my college, problems worth more than Rs.500 started to come because of my name. was in my

class with the exact same Raja. Though our names matched, we were different beast’s altogether. He looks very smart,

while I … “Let us not go there”. He had so many real girlfriends, but I was like our Rajesh… having girlfriends only in my

speeches”. . But, I was a slightly above under-average student. Teachers get confused with our names and most of the

times, end-up giving low grades for me. I don’t know whether you believe this story or not. But my parents believed this

for the last 2 years. There is 1 more year to complete my studies and I’ll soon get over the problem due to my name.

Well, the next incident happened in our own Ruby Hall. After 20 long years of existence, a fellow toastmaster changed

my name – that too without my parent’s permission. A couple of weeks back, during table topics session, the TT master

called our philosopher … Newton … sorry, Milton to the stage. He was given a topic "You do not remember your own

potential". As always, Milton started talking about everything except for the topic - He suddenly dragged me into the

topic. I’m not sure if it was because I was sitting in the first row? or because he noticed that I wasn’t listening to him. He

gave me a new name “Bharathi Raja”.

In the last 20 years I’ve realized that your kid will not become a music maestro Ilayaraja, or a director Bharathi Raja or a

minister A.Raja, just because you’ve named him so. Had that been the case, we wouldn’t have had several valuable

toastmasters in our club - our Shankar would’ve been a director, Mohan would’ve been an actor and? Your identity is

NOT in the name that your parent’s coin, your real identity is in the NAME that you earn for yourself.

New executive Committee!!!

The New Executive Committee of CTM for Jan-Jun 2013 — with TM Anjaneya Sastry, Ramesh Daswani,

Deepa Bharatkumar, Sakthi Prasanna, Prasanna Venkatanarayanan, Bharath Raja, MK Madhavan Photography, Pramoth Krishnan G, Varadarajan Sarangarajan, Thanigeaswara Anbarasu Kalappan and Arumugam M Ramani.

Editorial Team

Chief editor TM Bharath Raja

(It was really exciting and a great privilege to be the

editor of this special edition. Thank you everyone for your support )

Sub editor TM Selvabharathi

(I learned many things being an editor. I thank all the

people who contributed to this special edition of

speak out from bottom of my heart. Do support editorial team of the Speak out)

From:

Chennai Toastmasters Club,

Ruby Hall, Presidency Club,

Egmore, Chennai.

Time: We meet every Sunday at 4 – 6pm.