So I call myself an evangelist for success, an evangelist out to inspire people to make the most of themselves – to Be More, Do More and Have More in life. I want to help those who dare to go on a crusade – to be their best, better than their best. I want to put an end to mediocrity. We may be born average, but let’s leave our mark of excellence behind, that’s my war cry!

Some of you may be trainers already, or simply evangelists for success like I am. The rest of you are probably in a totally different profession – lawyers, doctors, engineers, fresh graduates, it really doesn’t matter. What’s important is that you have decided to read this article because a germ of an idea has entered your mind: Can I be a trainer? Is it something I may want to do?

It’s about giving and receiving
When we stand on a platform, we are giving of ourselves. By sharing our experiences, our knowledge and skills, we are making an impact on our audience. Whether positive or negative, we are leaving an imprint on others.

There is an awesome responsibility attached to that thought. Some may see it as power and they get a real kick out of it. To me, it is a wonderful opportunity to be able to “contribute”, to live a life that is significant and to influence others positively.

I started off on my journey of becoming a trainer/speaker because I wanted to give. But along the way, I have received so much more than I had started out with.
An experience I would never forget was when my husband and I were first invited to be keynote speakers for a business seminar in Sydney. I was a little nervous at the start, but my passion soon put that nervousness far away. At the end of a long day, where we spoke for two sessions, we were amazed when we saw a long stream of people coming up on stage, waiting to shake our hands, to speak to us, some to hug us and some to ask a question. It was a truly humbling experience, one I would not want to exchange for all the money in the world.

As Danny Thomas said, “Success in life has nothing to do with what you gain in life or accomplish for yourself. It’s what you do for others.”

And the most wonderful part is: The more we give, the more we will receive. Even as we give to our audience, likewise they are giving to us too – not only their time, but their attention, their energy, encouragement, and their commitment to following our teaching and advice. The completion of this cycle of reciprocity must be the goal of any trainer or speaker.

It’s about personal growth

As a Japanese proverb says, to teach is to learn. There is no better way to grow than to undertake the task to teach in the area we wish to grow in. We learn, we teach what we learn, we grow and the cycle goes on.

Why is growth important? If we don’t grow, we’re not really living. We’re just existing, what I call, occupying space. If you look at the life of someone who is not growing, it’s very much like watching a soap opera. You may not have watched it for some time, and when you tune in again after a few weeks or even months, much of the same stuff is still going on.

I meet many people who share with me their dream of becoming a trainer. Or perhaps I should say “hope”. They have a hope that they can become a trainer but they do not take that crucial first step of deciding to just be one.

They hesitate because they feel they are not yet good enough to teach. Some gave up on their dreams even before they got started because they judge themselves purely on their current state. They forget that everyone has the capacity to grow. As Zig Ziglar says, “Go as far as you can see and when you get there, you will always be able to see farther.”

It’s about Finding Your Purpose

Many people become trainers and educators because they had made a decision that they wanted to live the rest of their lives with purpose.

My husband Patrick developed a programme called YES Club International (Young Entrepreneurs Success Club International) for young adults aged 18 to 25 because he had a passion of wanting to help them design the lives they want. He sees young people who are so lost as to which direction they should take. He sees people in their 60s who, if they had the chance to live the last 30 years of their life again, would choose a different path and different actions.

For Patrick, it was a new purpose he found that prompted him to become a trainer.  He was already financially free, and established as a business coach and presenter in his existing business. But this was a new passion he discovered, something that would keep his adrenaline pumping – to develop a duplicable system so young people around the world could have mentors to help them design the life they really want.

What is your purpose? What is your dream?

Jessica See, a Certified Professional Trainer and Coach (IPMA UK), conducts programmes on ‘Training as a Profession’ in Singapore, Malaysia, Shanghai and Beijing. She can be contacted at  Jessica@qscasia.com

When I was a little girl – almost too long ago to recall – I remember my teacher asking me what I wanted to be when I grew up. My reply without hesitation was, “Sunday school teacher.” She must have been a little too taken aback to reply as I can’t seem to recall what she had to say to that.

Don’t ask me why I said that, perhaps my naïve mind was thinking, “Cool, I only need to work on Sundays!” Anyway, I never became a Sunday school teacher or even teacher, but instead became an editor for a women’s magazine for nine years and today, I “teach” adults on a variety of topics from image and grooming to how one can design their life – my absolute passion.

I don’t know about you but I’ve never heard a child who’s asked what he or she would like to be when they grow up, answer “Trainer.” They may say: doctor, lawyer or even astronaut but “trainer”? No, never! One is then tempted to engage in a lengthy discussion if a “trainer” is indeed a professional, as well as what exactly qualifies one to be a trainer.

But we shall not go in that direction here. My objective in writing this article is to highlight that training can indeed be a fantastic career alternative that pays well, better than most other professions. In fact some of the more well-known world class speakers and trainers can be ranked in the same pay bracket as world class entertainers!

So what does it take to be a professional trainer? Experience, expertise and, in my opinion, a passion for sharing. You may be an engineer, a doctor, a corporate executive – doesn’t really matter. Question to ask is: Do you have valuable experience/expertise/ideas to share with others? If the answer is yes, then the next question to ask is: Will they benefit from your sharing/teaching?

That would be at the very basic level. What is then needed to elevate one to the next level of being a good teacher/trainer/instructor/coach/motivator Рand indeed a trainer is all of that and more Рis the ability to communicate and present. As well-known speaker and trainer KC See once said, “Brilliance, without the capability to communicate or present it, is worth little in an organization.”

1. Communication skills

This is not so much about how eloquently you speak but rather, how well people understand you and how effectively your message is put across. At the end of the training period, there has to be productive change in the participants otherwise, as far as I’m concerned, the training objectives have not been met.

The highest level of communication which I personally would strive for as a communicator is what is known as persuasive communication. This takes place when the person(s) we are communicating with, 1) understands what we want to say, 2) feels what we are feeling and is then 3) motivated to take action on what we have said.  Effective communication may stop short at (2); the listener may not necessarily want to do something about what he or she has just heard.

There is so much to learn about communication that it’s truly an art, and a most fascinating one as well. There are so many elements to persuasive communication – body language, the art of asking questions…. You can see racks of books on this subject in the library or bookstore! I will certainly not attempt to oversimplify it in this short article. Suffice it to say, if you dedicate yourself to learning how to master this art, you will indeed be able to achieve whatever you set out to do in life.

2. Presentation skills

I’ve known many good communicators who do well one-to-one or in small groups but get tongue-tied when presenting from a stage.  Hence, the term, stage-fright. I also know many who simply bloom when put on a stage. In fact, to some “born” performers, it seems like the world’s their stage and life is but a performance.

So how can one move from the first group to the latter? Is good public speaking really something that’s inborn or can it be developed? Of course the skills can be learned and developed! You can learn how to get the butterflies to fly in formation! You can learn how to captivate and engage your audience. Once you’ve mastered the skills, I promise you, you will enjoy it… tremendously! And along the way, pick up some great income as well.

Jessica See, a Certified Professional Trainer and Coach (IPMA UK), conducts programmes on ‘Training as a Profession’ in Singapore, Malaysia, Shanghai and Beijing. She can be contacted at  Jessica@qscasia.com

Let us not allow another year to pass us by, with our hopes and dreams still far away in the never never-land. Let us today, right now, make the decision that 2010 will indeed be the best year of our lives. Let the coming year be the time that we discover our true passions, the time when we set out to live those passions. No more excuses, no more justifications. Let’s make it a “life and death” priority for indeed it is life and death. For who among you wants to be part of a community of what I call the “walking dead”? People who would wake up each day, go to work at a job they are indifferent to, go to lunch with people they are not excited to be with, go home for dinner with people they love but have lost the passion for, watch TV programs that fail to excite or thrill, and then it’s off to bed and another same old, same old day. People who are just “occupying space”. Sad, but true for so many, if you care to admit it.

So before you heave a big sigh and wish you had not started to read this “depressing” article, let me assure you – there is hope yet! All of us can live our dream lives. It is within our grasp and within our control, and not meant to be left to ‘fate’ or the whims and fancies of some Higher Power out there!

All it takes is the courage to say to yourself, “Yes, I have one life to live and I want to live it the best way I possibly can. 2010 will be the best year of my life!” Shout it out loud, with real conviction, and I promise you, the moment you have put this desire in your heart, doors will open up that you have never seen before. People who can help you will magically come into your path. It will be as if the whole universe has heard your voice and is moving to help you achieve your dreams.

Not convinced? Well, ask yourself, what do you have to lose to believe and to act on your belief?

You can start by learning how to seize each magical moment in 2010. And to do that, you need to put on new “glasses” that are specially designed to help you recognize special moments in your life. It can be good things and blessings that you enjoy currently but have taken for granted. And of course as you start looking for the magic in each event in your life, you learn to create magic moments. And viola, you have the best year of your life!

As the integrative coach and best selling author Debbie Ford says, “When we are committed to claiming the moment, we look upon, create and invent our ordinary experiences as something extraordinary. We become a magnet for the unique and special. The lens through which we view life shifts, and we become seekers of the divine in every moment. To see with new eyes, to become aware of the blessings we hold, to create new intimate moments each day – these constitute a spiritual quest. This is the art of making the ordinary moments of your life extraordinary.”

Jessica See is a life coach and trainer with the Institute of Business Coaches. To find out more about being a coach or if you want to engage a coach, write in to ibc@masteryasia.com.

In recent weeks, I have been getting calls from clients who have lost or are about to lose their jobs. It doesn’t matter that they may not have even liked their job. Now that they are out of work without a job they thought they could count on for a livelihood, most are at a lost about what to do next. Some are in the denial stage while others may have moved on to anger and depression. Many are foreigners and for them, losing their jobs also means that they have to move back to their home country with their family. Some feel they have lost their corporate identity and self-worth.

Are you in the same situation of having been retrenched or are facing some crossroad in your career or professional life? Here are some suggestions on how to get yourself out of it:

1. Acknowledge the Crisis

Losing a job can create as much emotional turmoil as losing a loved one; one may go through the different stages of loss, starting with denial, followed by anger and depression, before acceptance comes.

I know one 45-year old man who went through these stages recently, after losing his high paying job of 15 years. Initially, he refused to accept that he was facing a professional crisis. He dismissed the whole situation as “just a bad patch” that he was going through, blaming it all on an “incompetent boss” and was confident that the ex-boss would soon be begging him to rejoin the company. “Right now,” he said, “all I want is to take a long holiday and worry about it later.”

Two months after this discussion, when it finally dawned on him that his ex-boss was not going to call him back, he then became consumed with anger and hurt. He started bad-mouthing his former employer and told everyone he had resigned because of unethical practices.

When he first came to me, he was already in the depression stage. He could not understand why he, of all the staff in the organization, was fired. Was it because he was too frank and not adept at politicking? Was it some inadequacy on his part?

I told him that the first step towards moving forward is to acknowledge that he is indeed facing a crisis in his life. He was now 45, and it is a fact that many potential employers would prefer younger candidates to fill up job vacancies. No doubt experience counts, but many would-be employers are willing to forego that for they perceive as creativity that is unfettered by past experiences.

Once he has acknowledged he is facing a professional crisis he can then choose how to respond to it.

2. Explore the Options

I have always loved the way the Chinese express the word “crisis”. The Chinese character for “crisis” actually comprises two characters – one means “danger” and the other “opportunity.”

Oxford Dictionary defines “crisis” as “a time of intense difficulty or danger; a turning point for better or worse.” The origin comes from the Greek word krisis which means “decision.”

Whichever way we choose to look at it, one unifying theme defines it: A crisis serves as a wake-up call to alert us to both danger (and turmoil) arising out of non-synchronicity in our lives, as well as to opportunities that can lead to greater things in life. The eventuality depends on the choices and decisions we make.

So take this as a wonderful opportunity to step back and detach yourself from the situation, take a new, fresh look at what you really want for your life and then make the move forward to the life you deserve!

3. Redefine Your Purpose and Passion

How many people really take the time to push the pause button on their lives in order to explore what is their true passion and purpose? Very few, I believe. People just tend to flow along in the path of least resistance – from school to college to job after job, with very little thought given to what they really want to achieve in their lives until it’s probably too late for them to do very much.

So count your blessings now that you have received this wake-up call and been given this opportunity to pause from the auto-drive mode you are in to explore and to discover your purpose and passion.

Reflect on the following questions:
a. Do you feel good about yourself, your life, and where you are going?
b. If time and money are not a problem, what would you be doing on a daily basis?
c. What do you really want for your life? What don’t you want? What have you settled for?
d. Do you feel fulfilled and satisfied with your life choices so far? If not, what would you change if you could?

Whether you are experiencing a professional crisis right now or not, let this article be a reminder for you to step back, re-assess where life is leading you and if you discover that you have been sacrificing meaning, fulfillment, balance and happiness in life for the outward trappings of “career success”, it’s time to regain control of your life and choose a more meaningful path to self-fulfillment.

For many years, evolutionists have tried very hard, often resorting to imaginative concepts, conjecture and assumptions to prove their point.

Let us take a look at the basis of the evolution theory and let the logical thinking person decide if it is even remotely scientific! The theory postulates that billions of years ago, there was a Big Bang and non-living things over a long period of time became living things. Does that sound logical to you – that masses of unaccountable atoms of gases violently “kissed” each other in a Big Bang and non-living things turned into frogs, princes, princesses, kings and queens. It comes across more like a fairy tale than science!

Furthermore, the theory of evolution teaches this: Some 15 billion years ago (actually it ranges from 13.7 to 15 billion years), there was a Big Bang involving hydrogen and helium gases. After this Big Bang, for 400 million years or so, the agitated atoms of these gases expanded in all directions. Galaxies and planets began to form, and that was the beginning of the universe. The cooling period apparently took 200 million years. Then the earth was formed some 4.5 billion years ago.

At the beginning, there was no living thing on earth at all. Then some 3.8 billion years ago, a single living cell emerged and from that one cell, over a long period of time, millions of simple and complex species were generated. Antelopes evolved to become giraffes because of their constant stretching for leaves on tall trees. Bears became whales because they kept jumping into the water for food. Then some 56 million years ago, monkeys emerged and 21 million years later, apes evolved from monkeys and then humans came into the picture 1.64 million years ago.

Does that sound like science to you?

There are many unanswered questions for this theory:

Where did the gases come from?
How on earth do we know there was actually a Big Bang?
What scientific evidence is there to support this theory about a phenomenon which supposedly started billions of years ago?
If antelopes evolved into giraffes, bears into whales, monkeys to apes, apes to humans, why do we still have these animals in their own forms and none in the “intermediate” form? Do you see any half- ape, half- human walking around, apart from on the movie set?

Someone once illustrated it this way. He took a common ball point pen and started breaking it up into its parts – the body, the spring inside, the ink holder, etc. He then put all the parts into an empty box and started shaking the box. After some time, he asked the audience, “What do you think are the chances that, when I opened this box, you will see a perfectly assembled ball point pen?” You and I know the odds are almost nil; how much more unlikely that a perfectly formed human body or any other element of nature – a flower, tree or animal – came about from an accidental Big Bang?

To me, the theory of evolution is the greatest hoax in history and it’s time we stop teaching this fairy tale to our children as science.

Who is God?

If you ask me or any Christian about the origins of the universe, our answer will be, “God created it.” Then you may ask about the origins of God and the answer will be, “Nobody, because God is self-existing simply because He is God.”

Whether you agree with these answers or not is irrelevant, because the point is: the issue is now brought to a conclusion.

Let’s compare this to the evolution theory. If we ask, “How did the universe came into being?” the evolutionist may reply, “There was a Big Bang of the atoms from the hydrogen and helium gases.”

Then we ask, “Who created the hydrogen and helium?” and he may reply, “They were just there.”

But if we pursue the matter further and insist, “How could that be? You are supposed to get to the source or origin. Who created the gases?”

Then the evolutionist may have to say, “I guess they are also self-existing.”

Now we are all on the same level playing field. I believe that God is self-existing because he is God, but you believe that gases are self-existing. So really the choice presented to any seeker is whether it is more logical to believe that God is self-existing or gases are self-existing, whether God created all things or uncreated chemicals evolved into all beings.

The God that I believe in is the God of the Holy Bible. According to Genesis, the first book in the Bible, God spoke, “Let there be light,” and there was light. Now this light is not merely the sunlight which actually came about on the fourth day. This light is pure energy, the life force of God which came from His breath and spoken word. This is the fundamental creative force of all things and only the Bible gives this information. Without this energy force, nothing else can be created. And science supports this as it has been proven that every matter has energy.

The computer you are touching now is not what it appears to be. If you put it under the microscope, you will see numerous atoms rushing around at top speed, not visible to the naked eye. It is so filled with energy that if you can tap into its power, the energy that is locked in this piece of hardware in front of you, can drive a train for many miles. In fact, physicists have discovered that an atom is composed of more elementary subatomic particles (electrons, protons, neutrons, etc) and they are all impregnated with energy. Quantum physics has discovered that matter is 99.9999999% empty!

Our sight and hearing are made possible because of energy waves. These are light and sound waves that come into contact with our sensory faculties.

According to the Bible, it is in God that we move, and live, and have our being. All the energy comes from Him and even a strand of our hair contains energy.

Next, consider the logical process of creation. After light or pure energy was created, God created space. There is no other literature in the world where you can find the origin of space, except in the Bible.

I urge you to read the creation account in the first chapter of Genesis for yourself, and you will no doubt, concur that it is only logical to believe a personal God created everything. You will also conclude that it is indeed absurd to believe that this entire universe, in all its complexity, can come about by pure chance, all by itself and without a Designer!

Answered with help and permission from Pastor Rony Tan’s book on “Questions on Genesis.” www.lighthouse.org.sg

Rather, let’s look at why many people experience a challenge in communicating effectively from the verbal aspect:

1.    Self-consciousness

When I was a magazine editor, I was invited to many red-carpet events and cocktails where I had to rub shoulders with the rich and famous. Initially I dreaded those events, because I was not comfortable at making small talk with these people.

Then a great truth dawned on me – to be a good conversationalist, we simply had to be a great listener. We had to be genuinely interested in what the other person had to say, ask the right questions (because we genuinely wanted to know more) and presto, people will laud us as great communicators!

It’s often our own self-consciousness that makes us tongue-tied and awkward. We are so pre-occupied with what intelligent idea to share next, that we can barely concentrate on listening to and understanding the other party.

2.    Non-empathy

The other block to good communication is non-empathy. We are sometimes so intent on putting our ideas across that we forget to be sensitive or empathic to the other person. Is the person in a rush, or does he or she have other matters on his or her mind?

A good example is when we want to sell an idea to our boss: is he or she rushing for another meeting? Or perhaps he or she has just got some flak from his or her boss or a customer and is simply in a lousy mood.

My personality type tends towards being results-oriented, so this was an area that I was weak in. Now I’ve learnt to be more sensitive and to always ask: Is it a good time to talk? Or: Do you have half an hour to discuss… ?

3.    Lack of clarity

This comes from a lack of clarity in our thoughts as well as our verbal communication. It starts from our thoughts: are we quite clear in our minds what is the message we wish to convey? From there, we move on to effective choice of words. Some people may have a language problem: they may be thinking in their mother language, say Mandarin or Punjabi, and trying to express their ideas in a language they are not comfortable with, say English.

Learn to organize your thoughts. Before making an important presentation, list down the points you want to make in a logical sense. If language is a challenge, then I suggest you write your ideas down in proper sentences and ask a friend to go through for you. I’m not saying you should read from your paper or memorise the “speech” but just writing it down and reading it a few times will help you a great deal in putting your message across.

Many people think as long as they speak fluently, they are good communicators. Not so, as those of you who have had to listen to someone go on and on about themselves, will testify. They may be such eloquent speakers, and even entertaining at times, but there’s only so much we can take in a one-way communication. I’m sure some of you have been in a situation where you just wish you were somewhere else after 20 minutes!

The highest level of communication which I personally would strive for as a communicator is what is known as persuasive communication. This takes place when the person we are communicating with, 1) understands what we want to say, 2) feels what we are feeling and is then 3) motivated to take action on what we have said.  Effective communication may stop short at (2); the listener may not necessarily want to do something about what he or she has just heard.

One skill that can help you move from effective to persuasive communication is that of asking questions. This is a powerful skill that once you have mastered it, will indeed help you see immediate results in your daily communication – be it sales, presentation of ideas, talking to your friends or simply getting your child to do what you want! So the best thing you can do for yourself now is to pop into a bookstore and grab a book on this!

Jessica See, a Certified Professional Trainer and Coach (IPMA UK), conducts programmes on ‘Training as a Profession’ in Singapore, Malaysia, Shanghai and Beijing. She can be contacted at  Jessica@qscasia.com