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Toastmasters Competitive Speakers PDX

5 Reasons Why You Should Start a Competitive Speakers Club

By Motivation One Comment

Last month I, along with 22 other Toastmasters, created a club in Portland, OR, dedicated to helping speakers improve the way they speak competitively at all levels.

Whether you are a Toastmaster or not, you should consider starting one of these clubs in your city.

Here are 5 reasons why:

1)   To surround yourself with those who are better than you

2)   To improve the way you develop and deliver your message so any audience would want to hear it

3)   To improve the quality and quantity of those who compete at all levels

4)   To improve the quality and quantity of those who are judges at all levels

5)   To receive expert feedback that executives would pay for

Our goal is to start a Competitive Speakers Club in every Toastmasters District around the world.

So far, we have started five. We have 86 more to go! We want to improve the quality and quantity of competitive speakers around the world and want you to join us!

If you are in Toastmasters, or want to join Toastmasters and would like to start a club, we have ambassadors ready to help you get your club started.

Email me at ryan@averytoday.com, and I will connect you with someone who can help get your club up and running!

Together, let’s improve the quality and quantity of competitive speakers around the world by creating a community of those interested in being better speakers! As always…

Dream BIG,
Ryan

Ryan Avery Money

What’s the best investment to make in today’s economy?

By Motivation, Productivity 9 Comments

Today’s question comes from Indira Berikova from Alma-Ata, Almaty, Kazakhstan, when she wants to know “What is the best investment in the market right now?” 

I have a good grasp on money management and taking care of our future as my wife and I are almost debt free, live below our means and give 10% of our income away to good causes.

That was not always the case.

Have you ever been so broke you had to water down your soap and struggle to find rent money? A couple years ago, Chelsea and I had to water down our watered down soap. We had $84 in our bank account, had no idea where rent money was coming from and almost got on food stamps.

I applied for 75+ jobs with no response (even Quiznos didn’t hire me!). I remember laying on our carpeted floor, not knowing what we were going to do. We walked outside to clear our minds and the phone rang. I got a job! An awesome job! They even paid me an advance so we could stay in our apartment and slowly get back on our feet.

I don’t like being crunched for cash. It’s not fun going to the grocery store and not being able to get the types of food you want. It’s not fun when you have friends who go out and you can’t join them because you can’t even afford one happy hour beer. It’s not fun to not be able to buy your wife a $2 flower to show her you love her because that’s not “in the budget.” I never wanted to be in that situation again!

Once we got that light of hope with a job offer, we did everything we could to advance our personal and professional career. We started reading, digesting, learning and taking in as much information as we could about life, success, money, happiness, family, goal setting and travel.

We agreed to always live below our means, take care of the things we care about most by sticking to our four pillars and to have a successful life. Four years later, we still live by these principles and it has helped us have a life we feel proud to live.

So I am not a financial advisor, I dabble with my E-Trade account by buying stocks and selling options and right now most of the money we make goes right back into our companies, but the best investment you can make in today’s economy, without a doubt, is yourself! 

Invest in you! Read more books. Watch more educational videos. Listen to motivational CDs. Go workout and take alone time. Create goals. Stretch yourself. Do what it takes to make things happen in your life! When you invest in yourself, others will invest in you.

What are you doing right now, today, so that tomorrow you are stronger, better, more efficient and more successful than you were two days ago? Invest in yourself and not only will your family be stronger, our world will be better!

Keep investing in yourself and it will pay dividends for years to come. Thanks for the question Indira and as always…

Dream BIG,
Ryan

P.S. My goal is to help you reach yours. I will be honest, open and share valuable content that will help improve areas of your life. If you like my content, sign up to receive articles in the right hand corner of this page. Thank you and keep working to make things happen!