So far in my speaking career I have been very lucky with the groups I have been able to speak to.  OSRAM Sylvania, Marriott, a large group of credit unions led by FSCC, RE/MAX Allegiance, DORS (a Maryland-based disability assistance group) just to name a few.  Now I get to speak at a VIP event for Giant Food, but what makes this speech so amazing is not who I am speaking to but where I am speaking.

One of my most vivid memories as a child after my aneurysm was going to Giant with my mom for our grocery trips.  I would remember being gravitated towards the candy section in the store, as any 4 year old probably would do.  Giant had their candy in these huge wooden barrels, at least that is how I remember them being.  I would probably get a small bag of candy for a good trip when I had a check-up with my neurosurgeon while he was at Children's in DC.

Dr. Johnson transfered to Hershey Medical Center in Pennsylvania when I was 7 or 8.  My family and , of course, followed him wherever he went.  I spent the next 11 years taking trips to Hershey.  When I was 18 I was heading off to college and Dr. Johnson discharged me.  He retired while I was in college so I haven't had any reason to go back to Hershey until now...to speak to Giant Food.

My first truly paid speaking engagement and it happens to be in a city that I have not been to since my neurosurgeon discharged me.  Dr. Johnson won't be in Hershey this coming Sunday, but I definitely know all the memories of growing and overcoming my disability will be there.  All the reminders of Dr. Johnson hiding and concealing his smiles as he saw how much healthier I got with each trip...to the point where he told me I don't need my shunt anymore.  There was no need to put me through another brain surgery just to remove it, but by all accounts, I was discharged by Dr. Johnson under his full belief that I am healthy and able.  And now I get to return to Hershey to not only express that joy given to me by Dr. Johnson, but to now share what additionally I have learned over the last 8 years that has gotten me to where I am today-- a point so far beyond what Dr. Johnson would imagine.  And it is a level of ability that will only grow with each passing day.

It's July 11th, 2010 (7/11/10) and where should you be?

Well, it's a Sunday this year, so hopefully sleeping in.  Sunday is the start for my gym workouts, so you know I will be there in the morning.

As regemented as I am with my schedule, I know to mae sure to go to 7-Eleven today for, appropriately, a FREE slurpee in a 7.11 oz cup.

For one, you can't argue with something that is free.  Secondly, you have to enjoy the spontaneous things in life.  It adds to your experiences and gives you something additionally to enjoy in your day.  Besides, if I didn't go to get my free slurpee, (albeit a small one) I never would have known they had a crystal light peach flavor, which was delicious, or an orange flavor, which was also delicious.

And I don't want to hear any excuses about it blowing your diet or that you don't have time.  Every town has a 7-Eleven basically and you will most likely go into town on a Sunday.  And, most importantly, if something is free it does not count towards your daily caloric intake because it's free and there is no reason to deny yourself something that is free.  It's being given to you, why not enjoy a gift?  Everyone likes a present!

So go get your Slurpee, and if you read this after 7/11, go buy a small one...and get the peach because it is just that tasty =)

Working towards getting my driver's license, finding a full-time job again, preparing for my speaking engagement, maintaining my blog, staying on my workout schedule, sticking to my diet, planning a brain surgery survivor retreat, keeping in touch with my friends and survivors AND finding time to sleep.

I think this is everything I have going on right now.  For the longest time I was trying to do all of these every day and then repeating the same beyond rigorous cycle the next day.  What I wound up doing was falling on my face and not accomplishing any one of the goals I am working towards successfully.

That is when I decided to lessen my daily workload and work towards one thing at a time.  The retreat has shrunk significantly in size so that's not much of a problem.  Getting my driver's license will give me more luxury in finding a job (not to mention getting out of here) and the speaking engagement is July 18th.

Instead of trying to do everything at once I am going to check them off the list based on the immediacy of the event and the priority of the goal.  After I get my license I will fully launch into a job search and after I give the speaking engagement I will have more time to maintain the blog/website and reconnect with my friends, survivors and non.

I just need to remember that taking things one step at a time ensures that everything gets done.  I may not be getting everything done that I want, but I'm accomplishing more by doing a small piece that I can handle versus falling down as I try to handle the whole thing.  There will always be more work to get done tomorrow, but what good is it if I am completely exhausting, depressing and depleting myself today?

We all get it.  We don't always ask for it, but we will always receive it.  The question really centers around how you handle it.

I hate criticism.  I don't like getting it, but I am slowly learning to deal with it.  If people take the time to analyze your work, they are only doing so because they care.  No one will take the time to figure out what needs to be changed in your work to make it better unless they want to be invested in your work or your future. (That is, unless you had some of the high school English teachers I had who just wanted to put you down any way that they could.)

Funny story about the English teachers actually.  I could not for the life of me get better than a C on any essay that I wrote for my 9th grade Honors English class.  I always disagreed with how she graded me and couldn't understand why I wasn't getting at least a B.  So, after showing my Dad one of my papers, he agreed to write my next essay.

My Dad has a Master's degree in Composition.  He's a musician and he knows how to write.  I read my paper that he wrote before I turned it in.  I get it back the next week: C.  Even my Dad couldn't get a B or better from my English teacher.  Needless to say, I didn't stay in Honors English for my entire high school career.

High school English aside, people criticize you to help you.  You may not agree with what they say, but you owe it to yourself to take their criticism and adjust it to your liking to make your work not only appeal to them, but appeal to them in a way that still reflects the tone and point you want to express.  Yes, it will take more work to do this, but the best things always take the longest time to create because of the amount of energy and time focused on it.  The best things take the longest to complete for that reason, and you owe it to yourself to display something that appeals to all audiences while expressing exactly what you want to say.  That's your challenge, and the fact that it is a challenge is what makes the result of your efforts worthwhile.

Thinking back to when I first decided to pursue motivational speaking post-college, I remember my mom got these tickets to a day-long event of motivational speakers in DC.  I wanted to go to learn, figure out what I was preparing to get myself into and, honestly, I was expecting to be intimidated and scared at this, basically unknown, path I had desires of making a career out of.

I saw 6-8 speakers talking about everything from finance and business to sports and life.  The thing that shocked me with all of it is that I learned more about what not to do than I actually learned what to do.  I was so scared that I was going to find so many things I had yet to learn, when what I surprisingly walked away with was the satisfaction of realizing that my method of motivational speaking doesn't seem to be used by other people.  It definitely wasn't being used with the speakers I saw that day, who are in the top echelon of speakers out there according to the company they kept.

What makes you successful is how well you find your own niche that nobody else can claim.  What individualizes you?  What does nobody else have that you have innately? 

For me, determination has become a way of life.  I may be different than other people in regards to how I adapt to certain situations, but my strength is relating how I adapt to how other people live.  Instead of using I as a way to make myself sound above other people or making other people feel as though they are doing things wrong in their life, I use the word "I" to relate my situation to my audience.  That way, I establish a personal connection with everyone I am speaking to and, thus, am making my entire speech about them because I took the time to relate who I am to my audience instead of putting myself on a pedestal and talking down to my audience.