Primarily this blog is about sharing experiences of money management and giving advice to students and graduates as they progress through their careers. Over the years, I’ve developed sound devices for money management including tracking expenses, developing a budget that works for me and investing in the stock market whilst remaining highly diversified.
I feel as though money management is more a case of maintaining what I’m doing to better my financial system and less about learning the basic (although it’s important that I keep reading up-to-date information on personal finance). As such my focus has turned to personal development. The beauty of personal development is that you can branch out in as many ways as you like. The aim to improve your skills could be in order to pursue a new career, get that promotion, strengthen your relationship with a loved one or simply to broaden your experiences.
One of the things I enjoy about my job is the opportunity for development. During a recent project management training session I learnt many tips and skills that I could not only apply to the day-to-day tasks of my job but also to my daily development outside of work. One of the facilitators talked about F.E.A.R and defined it as False Evidence Appearing Real. I couldn’t agree more that fear is in the mind but it does not mean I don’t suffer from the same nerves and anticipation before something important or unfamiliar. As part of my self development I’m trying to get out of my comfort zone whilst also working on skills that will be useful for my career and my well-being.
I recently joined Toastmasters. Toastmasters is an international non-profit organisation which improves your public speaking and leadership skills. The mission of Toastmasters is the following:
Toastmasters International is the leading movement devoted to making effective oral communication a worldwide reality.
Members gather to practice public speaking in front of the club (and guests) and receive evaluations for every speech they do. There is a manual (Competent Communicator) which helps to lead members through 10 speech projects and the content of each is decided by the speaker. Alongside this manual you can work through the Competentent Leadership manual which is how you manage to develop both public-speaking skills and leadership skills.
The great thing about Toastmasters is that you can come to a club (and others) as many times as you like as a guest. There is no limit on how many times you turn up without paying the annual membership fee. The benefit of joining is that you will be able to work through the 10 speech projects, receive feedback and receive mentorship from a more experienced member.
Last Monday, I went as a member for the first time and did my first Table Topic (a one to two minute impromptu speech on any given topic). It was terrifying but at the end of it I felt a trememdous amount of achievement and thoroughly enjoyed the rest of the session as a result. Despite taking two years to go back to Toastmasters since I first went as a guest I’m happy that I’ve finally gotten over my fear and am making positive strides towards my personal development goals.
