ガラにもなく緊張、カッコわる～！
しかし、面白い経験だった
今まで何度も会社でグローバルに外人を相手に英語で司会や商品説明をしてきた。
しかし、今回つくづく感じたことは、それはスピーチではなくリーディングだ！
俺はスピーチをするぞ！と決めて準備した。
しかし、原稿が出来上がったのは直前で飲みもあり練習は余りできなかった（言い訳）。
いつもの癖か、スピーチしながら自分でも分かる
知らず知らずに原稿に目が、アイコンタクトがないぞ！
手ぶりもロボットのようにぎこちない、
スピーチ後Ah Counterから聞いたが13も噛んだ
情けないがAJから口ほどにもない奴と言われる始末
次に見てろよ！次回は完璧を狙うぞ！
はともあれ、スピーチ後、写真のように記念のバナー（？）をもらう
今回の原稿は我ながら完璧な出来栄えと自信があるが
The Enjoyment of Life
1. Opening (Younger days)
Good evening fellow toastmasters and welcome guests.
I want to start by asking you a very important question ! Do you enjoy your life? For me, yes, I do.
Today, I will tell you how I enjoy my life.
First, I want to explain ‘why’ I enjoy my life now, by telling you something about my younger days. If I were to use one word to remind myself of my young days, it would be to learn ‘patience’.
I was not very satisfied with my life when I was younger, even when I had performed and achieved as a rugby player in a strong rugby team. Please look at this picture. This is when I was in college.
Rugby dominated my life, I did nothing but played rugby every day. We trained hard so as to win the game. We did not think of losing, we thought only about how to win.
When I was 32, I stopped playing rugby in my company’s rugby team, Blue Zoomers. But I continued to stay on the team as a coach. It was not fun, and I did not enjoy doing that. I was not in the action, I was on the sidelines, just ‘thinking HOW to win.’I was not enjoying my life.
So, I decided to change and go find new enjoyment in life ‘after rugby’. I decided to spend time with good friends who would encourage me to take up other amazing activities.
2. Body (After retired rugby)
Now, let me share 4 different fun experiences as a result of that decision. I have gained so much enjoyment from them as you will hear.
1) Mountain climbing
Three years ago I started mountain climbing. It gives me a lot of pleasure. Beyond the physical climb, I gain a feeling of a deep fulfillment when I stand at the peak. I even forget how difficult the climb was, and feel how the air tastes great. The view and scenery from the summit is spectacular!
Here is Mt. Ishizuchi in the Ehime prefecture, it is the highest mountain in this area.
The best part after coming down from the mountain is to enjoy the hot spring and drink some cold beer. Fantastic!
2) Rugby re-visited
Would you believe it ?…….I then discovered how to enjoy rugby again ?!
First by cheering my favorite rugby team. 0f course, the Mazda Blue Zoomers; see my T-shirt!
In fact, they are playing a game tomorrow at Hiroshima stadium. I am so excited! Would you like to join me? It will be amazing.
Back to the point…
Second, another fun way to enjoy rugby is playing for enjoyment, not caring if we win or lose.
I have joined a local team of Hiroshima in Kure. This club is not concerned about wining or losing.My teammates and I play for the simple enjoyment of the game.
3) Weight lifting
Now into the heavy stuff, weight lifting is also one of my favorite sports.
See this picture. This is squat. I love it.
For me, it is a stress-buster.
My mind is totally clear, everything just disappears when I lift the heavy weights. All my concentration is centered on lifting the weight. All I can think of is how many times it goes up; one, two, and three.
When I make it to ten that is great - it is final. It feels amazing.
4) Great friends
In the past, I thought the best friends were the ones who encouraged me during my rugby playing days.
Now I have opened up my focus and attracted a whole new set of great friends, who encourage me in the different areas of my life.
See these pictures. They are all my best friends.
These are a sample of the fun things in my life.
I also write about these things in my blog.
3. Conclusion
As for my next peak…
What next?
・I want to enjoy my life more and more.
・I want to enjoy QTC with good friends, that is my next target peak.
・To make the most of this I am improving my English.
・Yes, I can do that with the support of my fellow club members.
Till next time, I leave you with a question - How do you want to enjoy your life?
Toastmaster
