“To succeed, we must first believe that we can.”
— Michael Korda
We are often challenged in life. And when we are challenged, we can choose to see hardship or opportunity. If we choose to see opportunity, the first thing to do is start with our strengths.
The Sherwood Town Criers - Starting With Their Strengths
Tonight, I visited a great little Toastmasters club in Sherwood, Oregon with a fun name –
The Sherwood Town Criers.
They have a solid, core group of experienced members but have fallen into a slight membership dip. When membership drops in your club it is easy to throw in the towel. It is easy to say it’s not worth it.
But that is not what Sherwood is doing. They contacted me about helping them build up their membership base, they have requested a club coach from the district. They asked for help, and they are going to get it.
At the meeting tonight, I was impressed with the interest the group showed by coming up with lots of ideas for improvement. They were attentive and talkative as we discussed ways to raise community awareness of their club.
The most important suggestion I had for them is one which I have only learned recently.
When you are staring down a challenge, first identify your strengths and build on them. By believing that you *do* have skills and abilities to overcome the obstacle, you are more likely to act. By taking action, no matter how small, you will build confidence. As you build confidence, you will act more often and more effectively. And so on.
Sherwood’s strengths are their core group of experienced members, open speaking slots for rapid personal growth, a willingness to learn, and people that really care about each other and continually improving. That combination is very desirable.
I am looking forward to visiting Sherwood Town Criers again very soon. In the meantime, if I am challenged I will start with my strengths.
I hope you will too.
Spoke by request at Sherwood Town Criers Toastmasters club… Also took some vacation time this afternoon to volunteer with my wife during Art Lit for the 7th graders. One of my wife’s strengths is her amazing artistic talent.
Give Our Time 
Starting with our strengths is such an important step. Recently I posted a photo on Facebook that said, “You don’t have to start out as an expert you just have to start.” I think often times our fear masks our strengths and we do throw in the towel.
Thanks for the reminder not to do that and always come back to what strengths we possess that will help us begin any new venture.
You are most welcome.
Many years ago, I read in an article about chess that masters (or experts or geniuses) were just people who had played a lot of chess for at least 10 years.
That, of course, is an over-simplification, but there is a lot of truth to it. If we want to be good at something, just start doing it. Then do it again and again and again.
Thanks for the comment, Linda!