Advance Manual : 226-A The Entertaining Speaker
Project # 1 : The Entertaining Speaker
Title : Lying, Cheating and Forgiving
Delivered at : PICPA Riyadh Toastmasters Club
Evaluated by : ATG/CL Rufino "Ron" Jacobe Jr.
Target Norm : Advance Communicator Gold
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Let me guess, you thought I was talking about the statement of a known President, aren’t you? Yes you are right, it was a statement of a president! But it didn’t come from a president of a republic, instead, it comes from an immediate past president of a club.
Fellow Toastmasters, ladies and gentlemen, good evening!
I grow up in a military camp with a father who enforces military discipline among us – my siblings! I never like routine! For me, it was a cage that restricted my creative freedom. One time, he asked me to watch and take care of our chicken farm. With a sunny day and cool breeze kissing my cheeks, it didn’t take a minute to make me fall asleep… while sitting on a chair. Several minutes later, I heard a loud “uhum” and when I open up my eyes I saw my father feet right in front of me. I immediately take a sign of the cross and said, “I was praying, don’t disturb me”. I lied, and I get away with it.
Years later in the corporate life, I served as the information analyst of Roberto Ongpin. We got deeply involved with the stocks trading of Best World Resources and I saw the “dirty hands” of stock manipulation. “This is cheating”, I warned my boss. Smiling , my boss sent us to Tagaytay highlands for a retreat and was “entertained” with beautiful models… of what I called that time... the World’s Best Resources. When the BW stock plunged eight months later, my boss got away with millions of profit. I went to Singapore with a new lease of life… thinking we got away with cheating.
In Singapore, I pick up photography as a hobby. Not long enough, two famous magazine hired me as an apprentice photographer – FHM and Maxim Singapore. The fee was a measly $50 per session but the rewards was great. I got the privilege to see up close and personal some known personalities like Fiona Xie, Ase Wang, Vanessa Mae, and Filipinos like Diana Zubiri and Alec Bovic. More than that, I established a name and soon enough, models would just come to my studio for a photo sessions.
When my wife moved to Singapore, she was very much surprised to learn that I converted our flat as my Studio. She discovered heaps of bikinis, ladies wear, make ups, and girls accessories… and this made her mad. So she started digging onto my telephone bills, letters and emails and found one particular number whom she traces to one of my favorite model named Gracie Estakbianan.
My wife was so displeased, she never talk to me for over a week. I tried to explain that all we have was professional relation and there was nothing romantic. But she didn’t believe. She thought that I was lying and I was cheating on her. She was so upset that one time, she threatened to jump in the window.
I was afraid and I remember me saying “I am sorry, it was a lapse of judgment on my part”. “I will not call Gracie again”. “That is a promise and I will not lie”! “If you don’t believe, let’s jump together”.
She looked at me sharply and said “Hah! You go first”. “If you survive, then you’re not lying”. Oh by the way, we were living on the ground floor!
Fellow Toastmasters, my wife didn’t believe me because I was living in world of lying and cheating. Only with a heartfelt admission that I was once a part of that sinful world, that she gave me the greatest gift I could ever wanted – forgiveness. My loving wife gave me a chance to change, to revert from my ways and be a good boy again.
I went to Saudi Arabia to take my sabbatical away from that glittering world. Mommy and my kids followed later and we are now spending our happy lives with good friends from PRTC.
I am sharing this personal story of lying and cheating because I want to you see that we are all human and we all make mistakes. I am sharing you the message of forgiveness because after all the failing that we make, there is always a chance for us to change.
<<back to you evening master>>
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