Speech Toastmasters speech 5, 1st Draft

  I have been part of different communities in my life.

Some I was born into (Dominican) or spoken the language of (Spanish). Others I struggle to learn (the language of money, finance and self-development). Other communities transcend language, and go into values and morals. (what Do you believe in so strongly you are willing to die for?)

We need a plan for our lives. The moment we are born, we are being told what to do and what to accept. We get out the womb and we cry our first cry, we have to interact with the air and not the amniotic fluid of the womb. As kids, we are separated from our parents instantly to nurses, then babysitters, then schools. Life is what happens between getting out of school and starting it the next day. When we grow up, life is what happens between leaving work and the next time we come in. It is all conditioning.

Conditioned to not follow our hearts, not hear our voice. We tune ourselves out. We hate hearing the voices in our head. We learn what to do think, what to value, from our families. Some of us follow that for the res of our lives. Some of us are brave enough to start asking questions and seeing what fits and what doesn't' fit.

I met a man this weekend that he had a long list of fears. He had never left his hometown. Now his mother died, his father died, and his sister died. He spent no time with his family and is recently separated from his wife. What does this town offer him? 

Nothing but comfort. In a town where the only things to do are work, go to sleep, or to go Walmart, he was afraid to leave. He had never left when he was younger and now he was struggling to leave as an old man. He said he was comfortable and then he said, to be honest with you I am afraid. I have never lived anywhere else. 

I gave him solutions but one by one he told me why he couldn't. This man had the longest list of fears. Go to another town. I'm afraid of bridges. I don't like long drives. I don't do planes. All the ways to get to his desire, travel he kept saying all the reasons why it didn't work.

It's not only him. I was offered a huge opportunity to make money and get license and all this stuff and my brain jumped up to tell me why I couldn't. I don't have a car. How can I? and then it stops there. The truth is, we are not our thoughts. we are not our brains. We can change the way that we think, and we do not have to let our fears hold us inside the cages of our comfort zones.

So I want to ask you today, what have you done that makes you uncomfortable lately?  We come into a place, we must learn the rules, then we do our best to follow the rules. Some of us are rule breakers and refuse to conform to rules, that comes from a distrust of authority. Some of us have never, ever, ever, had the thought. In the club, its okay to drink and to grind in a stranger. In church, cover up your body and it's okay to sing out loud and be quiet when the preacher is talking. At home, for some its okay to walk around naked, for others its a place where they can do drugs. For others, its a place to study and train up your children.

Boundaries. What are they for you? What do you really, want, really, really want? 

Have you ever thought about what you wanted? 

Not what your parents wanted, or church wanted, or what you think God wants (a nice, quiet girl). What do you want? What brings you joy? What if I told that you are good enough to design your life?

What if I shared that its okay to make your own rules. Take away the ones that don't work for you. What will happen?

Adventure, self discovery. Let your hair down. (I'm sorry if you've been told it had to be in a bun). All the rules we are following, someone else created. Chase your dream life today. 

I can't answer this for you, you have to answer this for yourself. 

I am free! Say it with me, slowly now: I am free!