I just got back from a cruise.  While it was great fun, it was a working cruise. It was an Advertising Leadership Conference. (If you ever plan a conference, this is actually more affordable than booking a hotel/convention center.)  Club leadership from the district attend and share information on how to run a successful club.  I love my ad peeps, not only do we work hard, we play hard.  As I reflect back on the past several days, I realize this cruise was the culmination of some small and large personal goals.
I also learned that while it was a great time, my sweetie Steve and I are not cruise people.  Someone accurately described it as a floating Golden Corral.  I always say to support good design, well…let’s just say the boat’s interior would make an interior designer cringe.  I’m sure with cruises you get what you pay for and this was a budget cruise, so I’m not complaining. Just saying, we have no cruise goals in future travel plans.
Goal Setting
One personal goal was to lose some weight for the cruise.  I’ve been in training for the cruise for a few months now.  I lost the weight and now that I’m back, I have to stop eating and drinking things with umbrellas in them!  The larger life goal was that I realized I’ve gotten over my intense fear of public speaking.  I’ve heard that some people fear public speaking more than death.  I was almost in that group. I’m sure I’ll get that nervous feeling again, but being prepared, knowing your subject and continuing to put myself in front of an audience has worked.  I had a plan that I’ve been working on for four years and am still continuing to work on this skill.  It’s like that diet, you just have to stick to the plan. If you stumble and you will, pick yourself up and keep moving forward.
People who know me, found it hard to believe I had this fear.  I am not shy and tend to be loud.  I know I have a laugh that can be heard above a laughing audience in a packed theater. But I had that sick feeling in my gut and I would start to sweat and I could hear myself start to ramble when I stood in front of a large group.  It was at the workshop I gave on the cruise that I discovered that I wasn’t nervous any more in front of a group.
In preparing for that workshop I combined the two things that I’m very proud of and know well; being the president of my professional organization and being a Girl Scout leader—I was my daughter’s scout leader for 13 years. I married those two things in the workshop.
On my honor, here’s what I know.

• Set goals and break it down into bite size pieces

• Award achievement

• If you don’t have a plan, you might get lost.

• If your plan isn’t working, be creative and change it. That’s what being prepared is about.

• Anyone is more likely to succeed if they doing what they’re interested in.

• Use the resources that are available to you. Ask for help when needed, listen to others and trust your gut in making decisions.

• It is often like herding cats and not everyone plays nice in the sandbox.

•It’s not about earning the badge, it’s really about the journey to get there.

• When asked to sing along, say yes and join the fun.
Girl Scout Promise
Goal setting works, not only have I become confident speaking in front of a group, last year my Ad club won Club of the Year and I got President of the Year. And I really did take my Girl Scout troop to Italy.