9 April 2014: The best lessons we’ve ever learned in life.

This evening we had a great session. We had the chance to listen to two advanced speakers and we learned the best lessons for life.

Catalina was the Toastmaster of the day. The best lesson she has ever learned is that no matter the size of the problems or struggle in life, she can always persevere with the power of music and love. We have to savor our life and not waste time. Catalina explained how the BCN TMT sapiens life cycle works and encouraged all of us to follow the Leadership track and the communication track.

Daniel was the timekeeper of the session. He made us wiser by explaining that life provides us with tones of good lessons, probably too much for a mortal like him. We should try to do something for our body, something for our mind and overall do something for our soul, not praying but taking care of values, people and self-motivation.

M.A. Gracias was the grammarian. His best lesson in life is that life hands you a lemon then you should make a lemonade.

Lidia was the Ah-counter. She enlightened us by explaining that we should not trust that things will always end up being all right, and when things do not end up well it is not the end.

In my case (the blogger), I presented myself explaining that my best lesson in life is that we should let our hart be our compass.

Francisco was the first speaker of the evening. Francisco’s best lesson was that we should not sweat or worry about the details in spite of the fact that most of things in life are details. If he could give his younger self some advice it would be not to take himself so seriously and worry less. Francisco told us an enthralling story about butterflies and hurricanes. Francisco told us how the wing beat of a butterfly can end up causing big positive things, things that are much more powerful and positive than what a hurricane can bring to us. As an example he told us personal anecdotes about how providing little help for another person can end up as a big change an improvement for that person. Finally Francisco encouraged us to be the butterfly of somebody else whenever we have the chance.

Jesús was the second speaker. The advice Jesús would give to his younger self would be “You have learned how to swim and now you are facing a wide river. You are afraid because the water is cold and the current is strong. Jump into that river. The truth is that everything you fear will happen. But you will also meet a mermaid and experience extraordinary love. The person who reaches the other shore will be a different you, stronger, more confident and with bigger dreams. You will never become that person if you stay on the shore”. However, the most important lesson he would teach to his younger self is “pay more attention to your mother when she teaches you how to cook!” . Jesús told us a moving fairy tale about the ugly duckling. The ugly duckling was a little duck who thought he was clumsy and ugly in all aspects of life.  Others constantly mocked him. In the midst of his sadness the ugly duckling started to sing. His voice was so beautiful that everybody came to see him and to listen to him. Eventually, everybody wanted to be his friend and the ugly duckling was happy for ever. Jesús explained that many people find themselves in this situation many times, afraid that the others will laugh. This story shows us that we have to follow our heart until the end.

Lukasz, the first evaluator congratulated Franciso. Lukasz praised the very good body language and the personal examples linked to Francisco’s story. The best lesson of Lucasz is that life's a journey, not a destination, and that as much as goals are important the whole process is very important as well.

Madalina, the second evaluator thought Jesús had done a very good speech. Madalina explained that Jesús has a very good body language and huge potential in inspirational speeches. In particular Madalina liked the way Jesús pushed a table away from the stage to make himself room to explain his story. It’s worth mentioning that this action was repeated by many people from that moment on to the end of the session. Madalina's lesson is that she used to spend too much time talking and too few time listening. Listening is one of the most powerful skills someone can have.

Ana was the table topic master. Her best lesson is that no matter what happens to you your own happiness depends on you. Ana proposed to make elevator speeches. Isaac met the CEO of Zara in the lift. He told the CEO that he should analyze himself, find out what made the CEO what he is now and suggested the CEO to think in the butterfly that caused his hurricane. Ambrós, met the CEO of Google and asked him what his personal goals were and if he was comfortable with himself. Jelena, met Artur Mas. She gave him advice for his next audience. The fourth speaker, one of our guests, met Barak Obama. He told him that our problems cannot be solved with great speeches.

The general evaluator, Rayane, explained how Toastmasters is such a great opportunity to learn how to deliver speeches and we improve our skills, critical thinking and timing management. Rayane congratulated the speakers and mentioned how good it was that everybody is introduced by a personal note (our best lesson in life in this case). Rayane also reported some minor things for improvement. Rayane's biggest lesson is that we should never judge someone on physical appearance.

Finally the acting president announced a new member: Miquel Cazaña, to whom we congratulate and wish all the best ! (see picture below).