4th Dimension Toastmasters

Letter from the President, Cheryl Koorn

Did you know that Toastmasters International is the largest educational non-profit organisation in the world?  There are 195 countries in the world today. Toastmasters has clubs in 113 of these.  70% of the countries of the world have clubs; friendly, nurturing environments, that people can go to learn to lead and communicate more effectively.

I find this so inspiring because our world is in chaos and in dire need of new leaders. We need competent leaders, Caring leaders, capable leaders with vision and focus. Toastmasters teaches us how to become a leader. You and I can become the leaders of tomorrow, the ones our world needs.

As the new 4^th Dimension Toastmasters club president, I have chosen a theme for the next year.  The theme I have chosen is – “ we can, we will, we did”.

We can is about giving ourselves permission to change, to grow and to expand. Permission to dream bigger dreams, to set higher goals and to truly make a difference in our world. I can is about encouraging the people around us. In our club environment it’s about encouraging our fellow members to take just one little step, and then another, and another.  Just to keep moving forward towards our goals.  It is not just about good times though. It is also about being there for each other when we stumble, stutter and sometimes fall. It’s in the times that we lose confidence in ourselves, that we really need our fellow members to tell us that we can.

We will is about determination. The determination to keep going, to keep trying, to keep doing, no matter how loud our fears are. Our will gives form and direction to our dreams, our goals, and our ambitions. It has authority and power. It has the last say. It looks “I can’t” straight in the eye and says I CAN AND I WILL…. And then sets about the work of doing it. We exercise our will when we move into action, and persist until we achieve what we set out to achieve. I will turns I can into I did. Let’s say I will and do it!

We did is about recognising our achievements. Toastmasters is a “learning by doing “environment.  We learn by doing. We have opportunities to do speeches and leadership roles to learn how to do them, and we have evaluations to get valuable feedback on what we do well, with suggestions on what we can do better. It is very important that we acknowledge the things that we have done and recognise our growth, big and small. Saying “ I did” gives us ownership of our achievements. It motivates us and encourages us. It grows our confidence.

We belong to a global communication and leadership organisation with a proven track record of success. We belong to a club with a fellowship of achievement and encouragement. Knowing this, what can we achieve in the upcoming year as individuals and as a group?

This year I challenge you, and me, to dream bigger dreams, to lift our goal posts, to step up and go beyond our limitations. Let’s say we can. Let’s exercise our will, then let us look back with satisfaction and say ‘we did’.

Cheryl Koorn. President 2011/12  4^th Dimension Toastmasters.