Today's guest on the Transformational Pathways Podcast is Adam Cole, Customer Success Manager at Slipstream IT, a member of the Royal Australian Air Force for 22 years, and a Competent Toastmaster. Adam is one of the most genuine people you'll ever get to hear and hopefully meet. Early on in his life, he had the opportunity to join Toastmasters from his own country, Australia. From sleeping in the presidential palace of Saddam Hussein during the Iraq war to meeting the woman of his dreams during that time. To eventually follow her all the way to New York to start a new life there. Adam then discovered a new Toastmasters club in the Bronx which was 25 minutes away from where he lived regardless of there being a number of clubs closer to him, to be the president of that club during the pandemic. The lessons provided by Adam's life story is heart-warming, to say the least, and can give you not only a reason to love Toastmasters more but the kindness of a human being towards others because of his own transformational pathway.
HIGHLIGHTS
28:05 How Adam ended up with Toastmasters after all of his experience in banking, the Royal Australian Air Force, and being an Intelligence Specialist.
36:03 A Toastmasters club of which he was supposed to be president until the pandemic hit and how it affected the members and himself personally
38:54 Service towards the people in Toastmasters and why it was fundamentally engrained into Adam's life
43:04 Tactics Adam used to rebuild the club from shambles
52:30 Adam's experience to convince young and hungry executives to join Toastmasters and why it's a must
QUOTES
21:35 "I remember going to sleep one night in a pitch-black room and a rocket landed nearby and exploded. And the room went from pitch-black to as bright as the mid-day sun in a flash. As soon as it was over, I rolled over and went back to sleep. That's how you got used to it ... It was normal."
28:36 "I lacked a lot of self-confidence and I really needed to improve my ability to communicate, and my leadership skills. And I remember someone recommending Toastmasters to me. So I joined the Toastmasters club in Wollongong, which sadly no longer exists. Its name was Collieries Toastmasters Club."
37:47 "To give people a break from what was happening with the pandemic, in March, April, and May were particularly dark times here in New York. To give people a reprieve was my objective, to give people that space to grow. To be supported and to discover who they could be, was my plan. It was not easy but it was a lot of fun."
39:00 "If you're in a better position than someone else then help that person to achieve, to succeed, to learn, to grow, and develop. I've always believed in it."
41:45 "I knew the pandemic wasn't gonna last forever, I knew it was gonna finish at some point ... but I wanted to set those people up for success. I wanted to give them that foundation on which they could step forth and become better people before this was all over, or during it."
Connect with Adam in the link below:
Find out more about Toastmasters, visit https://toastmasters46.org/ and follow District 46 on:
Please rate, review and subscribe!
Toastmasters - where leaders are made.