Keep at It

Have you at times felt like, no matter how much you have tried you are not getting results? Let me get to the point. Have you felt like you have done all that you could? Such as posted things on social media; hosted an open house or guest night; notified at the town hall in your community or at your company about your club meetings; invited friends, colleagues and others that you found could benefit from Toastmasters; conducted quality meetings where everyone felt welcomed, supportive and positively energized, and utilized the various tools that Toastmasters has available for any club member to use, and yet you are not seeing the club member numbers grow in your club?

First off, let me tell you. I am glad you are making use of all the available resources and utilizing them to better your own communication and leadership skills through the experience in trying to grow the club member number in your own clubs. I have noticed, sometimes we may get very focused only on the numbers, and not seeing them grow may bring us down regardless of how much we have tried.

Let’s relate this situation of ours with our choice of trying to live a healthy life. We may have our own definition of healthy life. To most of us, it may simply mean to stay disease free as much as possible. In order to stay fit, it may be wise to stay away from “junk food” if we can because we probably can agree by the name itself that “junk” is something we could stay away from. Maybe include a good amount of exercise in the mix to make sure we have some physical activity going to keep the body mobile. Is it enough that we eat and exercise one day to remain healthy? Here is what I have found. Eating healthy and exercising is certainly a good start; but to stay in good shape all the time, I have to keep at it. I have to make sure that I eat healthy on a regular basis and exercise on a regular basis as well. I have realized that it is not a one time and done deal. It is something that needs to be done on a regular basis to live a healthy life.

Let’s bring the concept back to our Toastmasters situation. Yes, utilizing all the resources we have been provided by Toastmasters International and putting on our own spin to enhance our leadership and communication skills is good practice; however, just because we do not see the change in number today doesn’t mean we quit it. We have to keep at it to make sure we maintain the health of our club which consists of all of us. Just like our regular exercise, we want to make sure we are working on our strengths with a positive attitude and bit by bit we will certainly build it. 

My dear friend, keep at it. All the energy that you invest in completing projects in Pathways and ensuring that your club meetings are educational, entertaining and energizing is only going to give you the opportunity to practice your leadership and communication skills that can be applied anywhere in your life. When others see you are having fun and growing at the same time, people will certainly want to follow. Give it time and keep at it.