I had been sent on a training course by the company I work for.
It was a day-long event. The name of the course was:
Inspiring & Leading Others.
I had no idea who I had obviously angered to be sent on such a pointless thing but hey, a day not working is not to be sneezed at.
I turned up at the training centre for the early morning induction and looked around for anyone familiar that I knew. To my horror there was no-one. No-one at all. Oh dear. This meant a day of polite conversation and awkward silences.
Well, it might. If it were not for the majestic gods of caffeine and sugar!
I quickly sourced the coffee machine and loaded up my internal personality engine with some biscuits and two double expressos.
There, that was better, now I was in a state of hyper-alert.
I appraised the victims attendees of the training who were unfortunate enough to be trapped here with me. A small bunch. Typical office people. Grey of skin and limp looking. That was ok. I could feel the caffeinated sugar rush begin to pound from within.
Don't worry little people, I will save you all.
I whispered as if stroking a hungry cat.
It wasn't long before the trainer came out and introduced herself.
Hey guys!
She yelled.
My name is Kathrin and today I am going to be your inspiration and partner in crime in today's course, Inspiring and Leading Others!
I stuck my hand up.
She smiled like a wild furry thing on top of a snowy mountain.
You there! No need to raise a hand just shout out if you have anything to say!
Happy to be here!
I yodelled, like a mad thing on fire.
That's the spirit!
She yelled back.
Everyone... Are you happy to be here? Shout it out!
Happy to be here!
I shouted.
The other five people looked at me dubiously as if Kathrin had hired me as a stooge for her gig.
Louder!
Exhorted Kathrin.
Everyone joined in half-heartedly. Except for me. I yelled for all I was worth and as we all moved to our seats I slapped my chest and let out the occasional YEAH.
Kathrin had us all introduce ourselves and give our job titles before we got stuck into learning how to inspire leadership.
As I suspected from the get-go, the course was a lot of hogwash. A mish-mash of different motivational posters presented as if they were solemn life lessons.
Throughout it all, I was an effervescent bubbly source of annoyance for all of the other attendees. Where I felt myself lagging I quickly jacked myself up with more caffeine and sugar. The day was passing at a furious rate.
Then came the final exercise. A presentation.
We were to present our life story and put it in a context as to how it could empower others. Not all were required to do it but Kathrin implored us to dig deep and push ourselves to the max. We had fifteen minutes to prepare.
I headed over to the coffee machine and racked up another couple of brown delights.
Then I stood, shaking my hands, swaying my hips and moving my head around in circles.
One of the girls on the course with me, Helen, was frantically scribbling notes on a piece of paper. I sensed a little competitive spirit from her. Yeah! Now we were talking! She looked up.
Aren't you going to do a presentation then?
Oh yeah, I am doing it alright.
I replied breezily.
But you are not taking any notes.
I smiled a wide smile of confidence and summer breezes.
I don't need notes lass.
She shook her head at me.
To fail to prepare is to prepare to fail.
She said rather smugly.
Catch a goosey by its tail, if you never try you'll never fail.
I batted right back at her. I think I made it up, it was hard to tell through the haze of coffee.
Then it was time.
Only two of us had volunteered. First up was Helen.
She stood in the middle of the floor and read haltingly from her notes. Her story seemingly revolving around going to University and getting a succession of jobs.
After five minutes she finished talking. There was a smattering of applause.
It was my turn. I hesitated, then took a deep breath.
I saw Helen smirk at my seeming indecision.
I started smiling and strutted to the middle of the room. I began recounting the tale of a shy and quiet boy.
A boy with a passion for the guitar but who found it difficult to speak to people on account of his crippling shyness. in his teens, he joined a band. Their first gig was just around the corner. The shy and quiet boy was petrified at the thought of performing in front of a crowd.
He did not know what to do. Minutes before the gig his hands were shaking so badly he knew he would not be able to play the guitar. The sound engineer for the gig saw this and took him aside. Pretend you are someone else. Someone who is confident. Someone for whom this is nothing. He whispered. Now go!
The shy and quiet boy nodded and then it was his band's turn to go on stage.
They faced the crowd, the shy boy lifted his head up. A nervy but confident smile on his face. He strummed a chord and then the band started playing. The gig was a resounding success.
The band played more gigs and with each, the shy boy found it easier to play the part of the confident person.
One day the boy looked at himself in the mirror before playing a gig, He readied himself to pretend to be confident again and suddenly realised he didn't have to pretend anymore.
He had played the part so well he had become the confident person he had pretended to be. And that boy is standing here before you now. This is my message.
No matter your skills there is always something that you can do and succeed at. Never give up!
There was silence for a moment then everybody clapped enthusiastically led by the course tutor Kathrin. She bounded toward me and gave me a big hug, a tear in her eye.
That is amazing!
She cried. She held my hand up.
Who couldn't be inspired by this?!
She exclaimed.
Once all the hoo-ha had died down, I packed up my bag and readied to leave.
Helen walked me out.
That was pretty impressive back there. You had us all on the edge of our seats.
Cheers Helen, that is so kind of you to say.
I beamed back at her.
Are you still in the band?
She asked, flicking her hair out to the side.
I looked at her fondly, despite having only known her for six hours.
No, I was never in a band, I just made all that rubbish up on the spot.
Her eyes bugged out of her head.
What?! But...but??!
Oh, there is my bus! Bye!
I headed off into the night.
What about you? Have you any awe-inspiring positive life stories to share? Or like me, do you wing it and hope for the best?
Tell us your best tales in the comments. I will be there to listen!
Authored by: @meesterboom
Click on the coin to join our Discord Chat
Witness proposal is here:
Go To Steem Witness Page
In the bottom of the page type: adsactly-witness and press vote.
Use small letters and no "@" sign. Or, click here to vote directly!
Thank you!
How can I get over your story? Somebody, please tell me! Hahaha! I'm hoping the coffee buzz is true. Drinking that much coffee everyday kind of takes away the buzz effect and only makes many people feel 'normal'. Nonetheless, you got many readers' attention. It's worth reading from start to finish. Great writing!
@hiroyamagishi.....i found u amaizing here i m going to follow u when i read u r comment this make think that u should be a sucessfull person in future....hope...is thing thing ...hold on pain ends
Nice
https://steemit.com/steemit/@braveit/steemit-a-path-to-prosperity
A wonderful story from you, Haha! Well done
You have strange stories with coffee
Thanks for sharing
I really love the structure of the history, it is easy to read and catch my attention easily, what i liked most is the ending, how you turned out things!!
You are a good liar then hahah
Pretty much :0D
Wow! You had me glued to the screen and laughing while I read. Loved the surprise ending and the smattering of sarcastic humor. So funny. And your drawings were the perfect addition. LOVED IT!
Hehe, thank you. I appreciate the reading and the liking of the surprise ending!
I'm going to start following your content, @meesterboom Truly a great read.
Aw shucks, Cheers!
The start of this story had me laughing!!! Just last week we were talking about being forced to sit in on workshops or staff meeting about absolutely nothing of any purpose or consequence. The same old jargon presented on a different slideshow and with a different perspective. It feels like we have been doing it so long that the proverbial pendulum has swung from one extreme to the other and back already.
Oh I knows it man! I knows it will. Just do what I do. Load up on the madness!! :0D
https://steemit.com/steemit/@braveit/steemit-a-path-to-prosperity
That was one nice class of “Inspiring & Leading Others.” I can tell you took it really seriously “Happy to be here”lol yeah yeah lol. I can imagine this happy to be here guy thinking he already saved everyone. I’m glad I didn’t have to do the presentation about life story, I definately wouldn’t beat your story. You had a lot of coffee for one class I have to tell, I’m sure it made you inspired even more as a leader.
That’s the spirit! haha. His story was very inspiring, but after-all it was made up. However, he definitely inspired and led others with his made up story even tears were involved. Great and funny story @meesterboom.
Exactly. It still had the desired effect!!
Haha really delightful @adsactly. Well the point is to inspire right? Doesn't matter of its bullshit as long as the aim is achieved. Nice read
Now that is exactly right, it's the end result that matters!!
This was a fun read 😀 I didn't expect the ending! Coffee is my most favorite beverage in the world too!
It's a fine fine liquid!
"No matter your skills there is always something that you can do and succeed at. Never give up!"
And, you have the skill to make a false but truly inspiring story. Well done.
Here, Cheers. It worked great!
Haha - good point with a presentation like that. The message you get across is the main focus. What they don't know about you as a little boy won't hurt them! I bet Helen was a bit cheesed off though! Good one!
She was a little, I am glad I have never seen her since!
note to self: never invite you to one of my trainings ;) Always that bloody rebel in the bunch ruining everything! haha.
Haha, but I am so keen!!!! :0D
You don't even know what my training would be about! :D
Ooo saucy! ;0)
And now I am lost for words...thank you ;)
Hehe!
Brilliant gifs mate , You had me going at the end, I was thinking this was going down a series motivational road and them bam. You made it up to impress. Quality!
I am glad you made it through the serious part!
good post
Hahaha. I wonder what Helen would say if you wait for her to finish her word. It's ridiculously inspiring. lol. I wish to have that confident when I was sorrounded by people I never know instead of full of awkward moment
Great story told in a passionate way. This is a great motto to live by. Never Ever Give Up. I can only imagine how much we all can achieve if we merely take these words to heart. I enjoyed your post. Thanks
Excellent paragraph structure, you manage to generate intrigue with your writings and you always give your personal (magical) touch to the readings. regards
i like this story....
my dear friend @adsactly..
thank you for sharing with us.
Thank you for reading
thank you too....
Wow,this is a vivid story. Great!
well done to the lecturer and yourself. The aim was to inspire and provide leadership and both were obviously achieved.
It can seem that way!
"I've always found that anything worth achieving will always have obstacles in the way and you've got to have that drive and determination to overcome those obstacles on route to whatever it is that you want to accomplish."
That is great one there. Thanks for sharing this
well writing,,i like this story intersting...
thanks for share.
It was a pleasure to share, thank you for reading.
VERy good post
Thank you very much
Haha! Love this!
:0)
What a fascinating experience. I'm going through something that is stretching me and I'm inspired not to give up..
I can wholeheartedly recommend never giving up!
Thank you @meesterboom..
Nice post
hopefully you are long and healthy is always in its protection...@adsactly
Cheers, same to you!
When you go through some stuff like this, some things wakes up inside of you, sometimes you don't even know what it is but it is there. MOTIVATION
I can feel it inside me already!
Wow...This perfect piece got me reading with rapt attention.
I really love this💯
Hahaha gorgeous post and attractive writting way excellent job @adsactly 👍🏼
this is a really good story @adsactly , and to think this was my first story here
I tend to wing it too when telling a story. If I had to hazard a guess at telling a story I would tell the one where my boyfriend decided to commit suicide after years of inner torment after sending me the last text message that he would ever send while on this Earth. I thought that part of me had died with him when he left us but I have been able to continue to live for him and continue his journey that he never got to finish. I am currently on the first trip that we had planned to take together and am planning the next one. I am in the process of selling the house that I have felt trapped in for seven years so that I have the freedom to go out into the world and pursue the dreams that we had together. He was an inspiration to me and to so many others.
Ivy
Simply riveting story...
The ending caught me.
Nice presentation of leadership! Hahha
Good day @adsactly. I would like to have a some opinion about my wife's story,
https://steemit.com/story-mentor/@thidaratapple/the-house-hut-introduction-part-1
She's a Thai National and having a bad time writing English stories but, she keeps on doing it. I would like to help her but she told me that she wanted to be her original story.
I'm not asking for upvotes instead I would like to know some comments about her writing. Writing stories is not my genre, honestly speaking so, I commented here as minnow of ADSactly for a little help and some advice for her story if you don't mind.
Thank you in advance @adsactly! More power!
Great post tnx for sharing I just upvoted.
steemit all the way.
check out my new post.
UPVOTE COMMENT RESTEEM.
@gclipse
^--- You made this exact same comment at least 35 times in the last 4 hours. View these duplicate comments
Upvote this comment to support @duplibot and help reduce spam and superfluous comments.
I like the story.. "never give up" yeah :)
I also think you're a band member... I got one same story too. There was a child want to learn how to speak loud in front of the crowd. His a shy type but really want to do it. Many years have gone and the child turn into a boy then to man. Until today his trying to speak louder, clearer and with confident in front of the crowd but he not made it. But he got some spirit to keep trying and trying. In fact he wrote it on the piece of paper. He write, never give up, try until you die. Unfortunately, he died at age of 86 didn't speak a single sentence. I forgot to tell his a mute.
A very motivative theme.It is certitude that whenever shy and timid people are encourage by their vicinity. Then definitely they will have a zeal to face the world and to prove themselves.
I really enjoyed reading it. Except for the screaming/yelling... it made me aware of the fact, again, I never really had a dream. I assume because I never believed I would get that old, survive longer as the age of 12-15. I also realised that what you dream about if you are younger is completely different (to me useless) to do at the time I might be able to do so (age of 70 or so) plus if it comes to it, it doe not seem that important at all. I guess no dreams, no goals for me as a person.
What about you? Have you any awe-inspiring positive life stories to share?
Oh my dear friend, I think my best positive inspiring story to share with you is all my friends living in Venezuela one of the most beautiful countries in the planet.
Every person in that country is living a real silence war with the crisis, hungry and insecurity, every moment that they find some food just are thinking what are they going to eat tomorrow.
All days I thinking in these people living in Venezuela they are really survivers they are my best story inspirational.
he concept of true love is fading away because everyone has a plan. (Well, everyone is 'expected' to have a plan.) This plan consists of some steps, and these steps are taken based on data obtained from observing the steps taken by other people. Every now and then, somebody will give you a good plan that is 'supposed to' work, because it has worked for a number of people, except there is no guarantee that the same plan will work for you.
True love does not happen in microseconds. It starts from a special moment and it builds up over time. It can start in childhood or adolescence. It can start when all your hair are white. There are ups and downs in every relationship.
As far as dating is concerned, it is nothing but testing compatibility with a person. There is no guarantee that dating will lead to a relationship. There is no guarantee that a relationship requires dating. There is no official rule book on dating.
You are 18, man. Getting a girlfriend for the sake of 'having a girlfriend' is counterproductive to your other life goals. Just enjoy your life and watch out of signs.
Hahahahaha.... OMG!!.. That was a wonderful piece @adsactly ... Reading it was fun and inspiring too.. especially the part about the shy boy.. Even though it was all made up!...i felt like Hellen... You must be rili smart to have made up that story on the spot... Or is it all made up?!...if it is... Then I like you already!!
Wow
Thank you for the message, it really inspire me. Yes we should never give up.
Help me please, vote my picture
@ajiera
plez wot up me
Goodness! You had me stuck to the screen and chuckling while I read. Adored the unexpected closure and the sprinkling of wry cleverness. I truly adore the structure of the history, it is anything but difficult to peruse and get my consideration effectively