I met Greg through my involvement with Toast Masters, an organization committed to helping people build their confidence in giving presentations and public speaking. Greg has been engaged in public speaking for over twenty years and has recently published a book sharing his knowledge gained on the subject.
Greg always has a positive, focused approach to everything he does. So, as the economy slowed, he turned his attention to reaching another one of his personal goals so that time and energy wouldn’t be lost or misguided. As I’ve gotten to know him, I’ve been encouraged by the manner in which he uses his abilities to help others in the community serving as an advisor in the civic and business arenas.
I trust you’ll be encouraged by his story as well.
Charles Gupton
http://www.charlesguptonphoto.com
Every adversity carries with it the seeds of an equal or greater opportunity.
I am in the residential development business, and as I write this, our local construction output has dropped 75% from its peak before the national economic meltdown. As a result, our projects have generally been on hold for the last six months.
During this time, it has been nearly impossible to do business the way I have done it for the past twelve years. There are few buyers and there is virtually no money available through the traditional channels. We have had to resort to coming up with different assumptions and different actions to be able to move forward. This takes time and it takes skill in convincing others that there will be a fundamental change in the way we do business in the future.
This downtime in activity has allowed me to re-examine my personal goals and to get focused on them again. My “chief aim” in life, as Napoleon Hill calls it, is to help others help themselves. One of my goals has been to write books to help others. I am glad to report that my reduced business activity for the last six months has given me the time to write my first book on public speaking. It’s called “How to Give Your Best Speech or Presentation Ever.”
My second book has just gone into the proofing stage and should be available shortly, and I’ve already begun the research for my third book. Once I broke through all the reasons for not beginning to write sooner, it has become easier and easier to keep my momentum going. Writing is much like public speaking—the more you do it, the easier it gets.
I expect that real estate development will pick up again in the foreseeable future. This slowdown has been painful, frustrating, and downright scary. But in the long run, I believe I will look back on this gap in activity (and income) as a blessing that allowed me to fulfill one of my long time personal goals.
If you are finding your circumstances different than they were a year ago, I encourage you to examine your purpose in life. Recognize this time of challenge as a blessing, and recognize that it carries with it the seeds of opportunity. ~ Greg Ferguson