Jeffley’s “Dial it Up!” (to Life).

Speech giver: James Jeffley

Organization: Toastmasters.org (International) at TM International Conference: August 13-16, 2015.

Venue: Caesar’s Palace, Las Vegas, U.S.A.

Purpose of this post (Acronym: R O S E):

1. To Retain this valuable information for posterity.
2. To Offer inspiration to people.
3. To Share the wisdom gleaned from motivational and inspirational speech givers at such events.
4. To Effect positive changes in the world.

This speech (“Up Yours!”) was given by James Jeffley, speech contest participant at Caesar’s Palace during the just completed International Toastmasters Conference in Las Vegas, U.S.A.

Dial it up. James Jeffley. Life is like a thermostat….up yours. Dial up your thermostat. Find Peace and greater consciousness. Up yourself. There are tools to dial oneself up….

On the 18^th Mar 2015, he was talking to his sister who called. What’s up? Then came the cold, hard facts….dad passed….He fell to the ground….

Even as minister, sometimes he needs help too….having learned through difficult experiences the purpose of his speech was to provide some tools. He himself was able to dial himself up…refocus, centre, and rededicate himself to life, and he continues to do so today.

What does it mean – ‘to dial oneself up,’ how do we do this? Shift your state (of consciousness) when you’ve been knocked down…and remember always…to…breathe….

2015 was an incredibly difficult year. On the 08^th  Jun he received a second blast of negative information…He had been happily married for 20 years, the last four, well, let’s just say, he should have seen it coming …Even then, despite the coldness, lack of intimacy and sharing, he still wondered later….if he was going to be missed, if he jumped at the edge of the pier….as his marriage fell apart completely and divorce proceedings had begun.

His bucket list is what saved him…he’d always wanted to join Toastmasters…and somehow, miraculously at this, his lowest point, the thought… “why not join Toastmasters?” entered his mind life). In Toastmasters he found an esprit de vivre, an enthusiasm, a joy and a new way of looking at life! For these very reasons, James credits Toastmasters as saving his life!

Reach out to positive people. Yes, 2015 was a bad year, with losses that were difficult to bear – no one wants to lose a close relative, especially someone as dear as a father. And to add to this, the utter breakdown of his marriage…regardless to say, there were some pretty desperate moments in James’ life in 2015.

Counting his blessings though, he had the support of good friends, like Kiran P. and he remembered to be grateful for everything in the world – he gave thanks for every breath, being able to hear, for absolutely everything…and these thoughts turned into hope and happiness…Is there something you would like to dial up? Breathe, be grateful, join in!….Life is like a thermostat….so…Up yours….!

Tags: adaptable, attitude, clarity, how to separate yourself from the pack, human resources, neil shreedhar, nilesh shreedhar, solutions, tips on personal growth at work, working together, working well together