Speech 4 How To Say It - My First Experience At The Tattoo Parlor

As soon as I felt the needle on my skin I was not sure any longer if this is what I really wanted. Not because I thought it would not look beautiful at the end, not because I have not been dreaming about this moment for years, not because I thought it was morally or religiously wrong but solely because of the excruciating pain I felt on my arm.

It felt like all my nerve endings were receiving 1000volts of electricity all at once while at the same time being burnt with hot iron. It occurred to me that this is what it might feel like during childbirth and if the pain of child birth was remotely close to this I decided there and then that when this was over I would send an appreciation message to my mum.

But as with child birth at the end of the ordeal I took a look at the masterpiece and decided hmmm when I can do this again.

The sign post at the entrance of the studio finally made sense to me not just to my mind but to all my senses.

The sign read - You pay for the Tattoo but the pain is free

Good morning fellow toastmasters and guests this morning I would be telling u about my experience getting my first of my five tattoos.

Many people outside the shores of Nigeria will tell you that once you get your first tattoo, you are also gaining admission into an exclusive club whose members all have one important thing in common and that is the fact that they are all inked. But that’s not the case in Nigeria. In the mind of Nigerians if you have a tattoo that means you are going to hell frequently quoting the bible scripture Leviticus 19:28 which says ye shall not make any cutting in your flesh for the dead nor print any marks upon you what they however seem to forget is that it says we shouldn’t do this for the sake of the dead. Strangely enough the preceding verse says do not cut the corners of your head or shave your beard but they do not feel having a beard would take you to hell. Hmmm. Food for thought! But I digress.

Why did I get a tattoo you may ask? Unfortunately there is no straight forward answer to that question.  It is like asking why you fall in love with someone. There is never a precise answer to that I guess it is just a combination various experiences and emotions you have as a result of both nature and nurture but at the end of the day it all boils down to one thing you love it and you have got to have it.

The next decision I had to make was what symbol would be etched on my body for the rest of eternity. Arriving at this decision was no easy fit but I finally arrived at the decision of having the caduceus emblazoned on the entire surface of my right arm from shoulder to elbow. For those who do not know what the caduceus is – it is the symbol of medicine which is a rod with two snakes wrapped around it which is from the days of Moses when he was told to raise a rod with snakes around it and if any with any infirmity looks upon it they would be healed.  I thought this was a befitting symbol to always remind me and those around of who I am knowing fully well that in my latter days I would surely deviate completely from it but it would always remind me who I was at heart.

Having known I always wanted a tattoo and having decided what symbol I wanted, it still took about 6 years to finally get it done for fear of doing it in the hands of the butchers we have here in Nigeria.  The opportunity finally presented itself when I travelled to Malaysia for my master in business administration and I jumped at it. I arrived in Kuala Lumpur on the 1^st of May 2009 and on the 2^nd of May I was at a tattoo parlor in Time Square KL.

What I learnt from this experience is that pain in all in the mind.

If you’re a normal person, getting a tattoo hurts. By normal person I mean one with a regular nerve and skin structure.  I am a normal person and my skin nerves are performing exactly as they should do.

The moment I felt the needle on my skin I knew it was not going to be a bed of roses but I was not prepared for what followed. After the first minute I had the urge of telling the tattoo artist “OK, got it, enough”. After the second minute I had the urge of just running away. And after the first 5 minutes I really wanted to punch the guy in his face. Repeatedly. Until he fell to the ground and then kick him in his face repeatedly for subjecting me to such pain. But none of these actions were available at the moment.

I just wanted to have my tattoo done and if that meant I had to go through that pain, well, I had to just stay there. So I just stayed there. And started to shift my focus from my pain and the needle to my breathe. I do this all the time when I want to calm down or just take a break and refuel with energy. Inhale. Exhale.

To make a long story short, after the first half an hour I had my pain under control but after detaching myself from it, I really ok. When I got down from the chair about 4 hours later, with a caduceus on my arm, I could barely stand and I was really, really sore. But not in pain anymore.

It brought a new meaning to the statement it is a mind thing. As with many things in life at the outset we feel we cannot do, the pain is too much, it is too difficult. But what we must remember is that it is a mind thing.

In conclusion I would like us to live us with the phrase made popular by Nike which is JUST DO IT.  This is not a technical lesson by rather a reinforcement. If you really want to do something do it while you got the chance to. Do it when you want to and because you want to because if you postpone you may lose it entirely. Bill Cosby once said he does not know the formula to success but he knows the formula to failure which is trying to please everybody. 

To me having tattoos have been a great experience because once my sleeves go up people realize they really do not know me the way they thought they did.

 

Thank you.

Speech 3 Get To The Point - Blue Ocean Strategy: The Key To Business Success In This Age

Who amongst us knows the best way to boil a frog?

It has been said that the best way to boil a frog is slowly because if you put in a pot of boiling water it would immediately jump out but i you put it in a pot of cold water and boil slowly before the frog realizes what it happening it would be dead because it was comfortable not realizing what was going on around it.

That is the state many businesses find themselves today they are frogs being boiled slowly and have no idea the heat would soon be too much for the business to survive with imminent failure at hand.

Good morning fellow toastmasters and distinguished guests. The title of my speech is BLUE OCEAN STRATEGY: The Key to Business Success in This Age.

After hearing my speech everyone here would agree with me that the way business is being at the moment is not sustainable and anyone interested in owning a sustainable, viable and profitable business would take the next logical step in getting trained in the art and science of application of the blue ocean strategy.

It is common knowledge that the key to business success is a situation whereby demand for a product or service far exceeds the supply but in our current business environment the reverse is the case for 3 basic reasons:

1.      Technological Advancement

2.      Increased Globalization

3.      Customer Evolution.

First we would talk about technological advancement.  Accelerated technological advancements have made ordinarily specialized processes simple enough for any tom dick and harry to carry out.  For instance to promote a seminar or product using a brochure or pamphlet in the past would have required the expertise of a printer but now anyone with a computer and a basic knowledge of Microsoft office could come up with a standard brochure in the comfort of his own office.  In such a situation it is obvious that the supply has increased by the demand remains the same.   Another example is website design which in the past required well trained programmers and web designers but now require no skill at all as anyone using the basic templates available can create a website in less than a day. Here also it is clear that the supply has increased but the demand basically remains the same. This results in competition solely on the basis of price because with increased supply the customer has a lot more choices available to him so the only way to woo them is by slashing prices which is not a sustainable way to run a business as to what extent can prices be slashed.

Secondly we talk about increased Globalization. We hear constantly that the world is a global village and now more interconnected than ever before as such your competition is not necessarily the shop next you but can be the shop in china who produce and sell the same product you do at a cheaper price. It reminds of a cousin in Lagos He is a bank manager and has a phone shop next to him. Off recent he wanted change his phone and instead of going to the shop beside his office decided to buy online. Why? For the simple fact that it was cheaper. So this shop who thinks his competitors are other shops around him and might be comparing his prices to them has no idea that his competitor is somewhere on the internet. This also reinforces the fact that supply has again far outweighed demand ensuring the only competitive factor again remains price.

Thirdly we talk about customer evolution.  In the 1980s the customer mindset was give me what I want, how I want it, or I’ll buy from someone who will not really bothering about the price as long as it was what they wanted they were willing to buy at any price but in this new millennium  their mindset is give me what i want, how i want it, when i want it at the lowest possible price because they know that are a lot of people doing what you do already and if you don’t offer a low price they would go to someone who will. Again the supply far exceeds demand.

The question then is what is the solution? How can you ensure you stand out from the crowd? How can you ensure competition has no effect on your business?

The answer is innovation but not just innovation as you know it innovation in the sense that you come up with a product that simultaneously increases value and reduce cost by a process known as value innovation which is the corner stone of blue ocean strategy which if applied correctly ensures you come up with a product not in existence and the moment hence a reduction in supply and in addition to creating demand which restore the balance of demand exceeding supply which as noted earlier is the key to a sustainable, viable and profitable business.

Finally Blue Ocean Strategy is defined as a planned sequence of events or processes specifically designed to create uncontested markets where you are the only supplier thereby making the competition irrelevant.

To conclude if you are in business already or would like to be in business someday you need to know that with technological advancements, increased globalization and customer evolution to succeed you need to learn and apply Blue Ocean Strategy.

Fortunately i am one of the only people trained in Nigeria in the art and science of blue ocean strategy at the Blue Ocean Region Center in Asia, Malaysia and my DVD trainings are currently available. Those that are interested can get a copy at the back of the Hall for an investment of N1, 000 only.

Thank you.

Speech 2 Organizing Your Speech - Delivering Massive Value

 

 

How many of you would like to make a lot of money?

How many would like to make a lot of money quickly?

If I told you there was an exact law that determined how or if you made money would you believe me?

Well there is and it has been in existence for a very very long time. For those that did economics in secondary school you would have come across it but might not have taken much notice of it.

No matter where you go or how much you read making money all boils done to this one law and it is called the law of income.  It reminds me of the saying simple but not easy.

This law says “You would be paid in direct proportion to the value you deliver according to the market place.  I do not mean to over simplify things but the reason must people do not make a lot of money is simply because they not deliver a lot of value in the eyes of the market place.” The important issue to note here is delivering.

I am sure many of us have a lot of great ideas. It has even been noted that the place with the greatest number of great ideas is the cemetery as many people are buried with this ideas. Having an idea is one thing, converting the idea in to a product or business is another but actually delivering this product in enough quantity to make a substantial profit if the main thing.

So if you do not deliver a lot of value you just don’t get paid a lot. It is that simple.

To put this principle or law to work i.e. to be able to deliver value we must first understand what constitute value to the market place.

Value is made up of four components we are all very familiar with; we have heard it mentioned lots of times even though must have never given thought to them.

They are:

·        Demand

·        Supply

·        Quality

·        Quantity

 

DEMAND

This simply is how much do people want the service you provide or the product you sell. To make money first and foremost people have to want what you have to deliver. Again this might sound logical but many people fall prey to the notion that because they think there is a need for the service or because they believe in it people want it. No matter how beautiful or perfect and idea is to you, you have to understand that that is simply your own opinion and no one else may agree with you. That is why it is essential to embark on some sort of market research to ascertain people actually need or wants what you make before you delve into that field.  Some say there is no such thing as a bad product only bad marketers but I beg to differ. If the demand is not there you might sell a few but you would never become wealthy.

So first and foremost people must want the service your provide or the product you sell.

SUPPLY

This reflects how much of your product or service is already available in the market place and how readily available it is. Why does a brain surgeon earn as much in one day as a petrol attendant earns in one year. Simply because he or she has a rare and specialized skill and there are millions of people who can sell petrol. When supply is limited, the value increases.

To increase your value you must provide something few others have or do something in a way that no one else does.

QUALITY           

This refers to how good your products or services are. The higher the quality in relation to the price the higher the value. I have adopted a motto in business which is “do it well or don’t do it at all. Make it great or don’t make it at all”

Does quality affect your income? You bet it does. Do you return to a business if you receive shoddy  service the first time? Neither do others.

Once an artist who believed himself to be quite good in his craft objected to this because he felt he had quality products but was still broke. He didn’t realize that it meant he was bad at business.

The mistake most people make though is that when it comes to quality they focus only on the quality on the product and not on how good they are at business. Because no matter how good your product is, if you are not a quality business man there is a limit to how much you can grow. Though your product is good you still have to know how to market, understand financial management and operational management to get ahead.

QUANTITY

This is how much of your product or service that you actually deliver. Of all the four factors most people have the greatest challenge with this. They have a good product, people want the product, supply in limited to the extent that they can make a huge profit but they do not deliver in enough quantity to make a killing.

If you want to get paid you must deliver your value to people, if you want to get rich you must deliver your value to a lot of people. That is why regardless of the business you are in part of your revenue must come from product sales.

A product enhances your ability to deliver massive quantities as there are no limits on how much you can produce and deliver therefore there is no limit to your income which is the case in a service because it depends sole on people.

 

CONCLUSION

Demand, supply, quality and quantity are the cornerstones of value and delivering massive value is an essential part of making money and making it quickly.

Remember you would be paid in direct proportion to the value you deliver according to the market place. 

 

Speech 1 ICE BREAKER - What Does Not Kill You Makes You Stronger

Good morning fellow toast masters and distinguished guests. My name is TM Ebi Ofrey M.D, MBA. I am both a medical doctor and a business man sort of a superman /Clark Kent dual personality. More of a doctor in Bayelsa and more of a business/management consultant in Port-Harcourt though with my new business venture - Visiting Physicians Services I am trying to merge both.

It is with great pleasure that I stand before you this morning to deliver my ice-breaker speech.  On the surface the ice breaker speech as they say is the simplest of the speeches you give as a toastmaster because it just pertains to what has happened in your life. This sentiment is deceptive in the sense that it alludes to the fact that your life can be summarized in 6 minutes. Up till date I haven’t found any man that can easily do that not to mention women as we all know for the female species that would be close to impossible.

After researching on the best way to go about making the best use of my 6 minutes which is already less by two minutes right now I arrived at the conclusion that in reality my life can be summarized in to the adage – WHAT DOES NOT KILL YOU MAKES YOU STRONGER.

From as far back as I can remember I have always been quite shy. My mum fondly tells the story of how on my one year old birthday while we were in the United States my uncle and his wife threw me a big birthday party. And true to form in the middle of the birthday party while all the children were having fun I took some toys and went behind the house sat down on my own and was playing by myself. It was not till they wanted to cut the cake that they searched the entire house only to find me very content on my own.   Today she wonders in amazement when she sees me socializing as she cannot connect this person to the shy little boy she knew.

However this change was not of its own accord. An incident in medical school in my fifth year jolted me to the reality that success only comes to the bold and outgoing because in medical school we usually had oral exams which could make the difference between a fail and a pass. In my paediatrics oral exams because of my shyness and inability to speak properly in public I made a mess of the entire process stuttering through my presentations with bouts of silence in-between. Suffice to say I failed that year and had to repeat the year. I thought it was the end of the world. How would I fit in to the set below me? How much more humiliating could it be? But after a hard talk with myself I decided this would only make me stronger. Over the next year I made sure I participated in all presentations, I sat in front of every class so I would be the first person that was asked questions; I also stood in front in every ward round making myself vulnerable to what we termed percussion – which meant receive a barrage of questions from the consultant during the round. Naturally I had to do a lot of reading and it paid of beautifully as that year I scored the highest marks in my exams and also scoring the highest mark in all courses even in my final year. That was the beginning of my life as a high achiever and I have not looked back since then also continuing to be the best student in my Masters in Business Administration Set.

What does not kill you makes you stronger.

If I am asked what I can say is my biggest strength, I would say even without thinking about it that my biggest strength is the fact that no matter the situation I face I never ever ever seem fazed or disoriented or confused.  Let me tell you why –

Many people think it is because of my medical training but they cannot be farther from the truth. Many do not know this but for years my wife was fighting a battle with chronic kidney disease. For those that do not know what it is – This is when both kidneys totally shut down leading to an inability to produce urine and as such the waste products in the body accumulates.  For her to be able to perform this otherwise natural act she needed to be connected to a machine for 3-4hrs thrice a week. Each session costing N30, 000 leading to a sum of N120, 000 per week (drugs inclusive). That is why when I see those pleas for kidney patients on TV I know exactly how they feel. This went on for three years many times with me not having an idea of where I would get the money for the next dialysis.  That is when the statement there is a solution to every problem was burnt into my mind and remains there till today. 

Fortunately after three years of dialysis, one chest surgery, a trip to India and finally a kidney transplant 4 years ago. I came to the conclusion that If I can go through that successfully and come out on the other side successfully without being bankrupt and wrecked. Then no problem is worth my concern.

Again it showed me that what does not kill you makes you stronger.

These are two events that had a huge impact on the person I am today and is a glimpse into whom and why I am the way I am today.

If this is not breaking the ice with regards who I am then I do not know what is.

Thank you.