Learning to Lead

I started this entry on a confused note. This was because whilst I am the leader of my Toastmasters Club, I feel that I am losing the ability to lead my members. Being a leader is no easy job. Whilst we only hear of success stories of great leaders, I am sure that there are a hundred failed stories for every successful one.

Art of saying NO - As a leader, I get many ideas, ranging from volunteering in external events to insistence in running things their way. I learnt that I have to stand firm and not waver in the decisions I make. I have to turn down people's suggestion in a tactical way.

Optimism - As a leader, I would face 'last-minute' surprises & 11th-hour pull-outs. Barely 6 months into my reign, I have faced countless situations of such nature. Counting back, I even had to withstand 6 such 'no-shows' from the same person. I learnt that I have to look at the bright side of things. Maybe such occurrences will make me a stronger man, as I attempt to rally my team to dream only of the positives and possibilities.
Today, I am learning to lead. As I fail, I stand up again. I am just not sure how badly I will fall the next time round.

UP into our dreams

I watched the movie UP. It was an animated movie. When I decided to buy the tickets for this simplistic movie, little did I expect myself to tear in the midst of a couple of touching scenes. Reflecting on the movie, I figured that the producer ensured that all of us didn't waste our time watching a 'cartoon'. As adults, we were engaged into the movie because it allows us to relate ourselves to the character played by Carl Fredrickson. Carl grew up as a young inquisitive boy in a small town. He was energetic and even dreamt of being a pilot. He wanted to travel round the world. Along the way, he met with a girl, Ellie, who shared his dreams. Together, they wanted to go to exotic places, such as the natural waterfalls in South America.
They started to save to achieve their dreams. But time flies and they aged without achieving what they dreamt of so vividly years ago. They had to postpone their dreams time & time again, with reasons such as house maintenance, insurance, retrenchment, medical expenses, etc. Ellie eventually passed away. Only then he realised that he had to live his dream & fulfil what both of them set out to achieve in the 1st place.
I asked myself - how determined do I go about fulfilling my dreams? Maybe I should even question how concrete my dream is. Are our dreams as transient as clouds or are they as solid as a rock? Carl & Ellie started their dream by having a scrapbook to visualise what they would do. Should I start one too?