SPEAKING.APP

Life will sometimes feel like a fight. The punches, jabs, and hooks show up as challenges, obstacles, and failures. But if you stay in the ring and learn from the fights you’ve already survived, then at the end of each round, you can still be standing. Mr. Contest Chair, fellow fighters, when was the last time life tried to knock you down? And who was your toughest opponent? Most often, our toughest opponent is ourselves. Let me take you through three rounds where I had to face myself. Round one: college. I dropped out of college not one, not two, not three, but four times. And I told myself, “College isn’t for me, and I’m never going back.” Round two: marriage. I married my soulmate, the love of my life, my best friend. He was fine, too. We were married for eight long, beautiful, amazing months. You heard that right, months, not years. It felt like right after we said “I do,” the heavyweight champion stepped in and delivered a knockout blow to our vows. Boom. Divorced. Round three: speaking. In 2015, I competed for the first time in the International Speech Contest. I won at the club level. I won at the area level. I won at the division level. District was next. I was on a roll. I was on fire. I was unstoppable. Then I lost. I was crushed. After taking hit after hit, I was ready to throw in the towel. I was down for the count. Six. Seven. Eight. So let me ask you again: when life knocked you down, who was your lifeline? Was it your family, your friends, or your faith? And maybe you weren’t the one on the canvas. Maybe you watched someone you love take a devastating blow. Were you their lifeline? Were you the coach in the corner saying, “Get up. Get up. Stand up!” That’s what I had to do for myself. I gathered my strength, picked myself back up, and chose to stand. And in that moment, what used to feel like a mirror of defeat became a window of possibilities. I got back in the ring. I went back to college. I got my degree. I graduated magna cum laude. After failing four times, I was still standing. After losing at district, I kept going and I’m speaking to you now on the World Championship stage. Even after suffering loss, I’m still standing. And as for my marriage, I’m still in training. I haven’t found Mr. Right yet, but this is an international convention, and there are thousands of men from hundreds of countries. So, single Toastmasters, call me. Even after my divorce, I’m still standing. Here’s my challenge to you: stay in the ring. Whether you’re the fighter throwing the jabs and hooks, or the coach on the side of the ring helping someone rise, don’t quit after the hit. Use what you learned from the previous rounds. Because when that final bell rings, ding, ding, ding, the fighters and the coaches can raise their hands in victory, still standing. Mr. Contest Chair.