Loser

My dad passed me a toastmasters magazine containing articles about losing in contests. One of the stories related was about a championship finalist in the Toastmasters International Speech Contest. He, the championship finalist, competed at club level, district level and so on and was 10 out of 2500 participants at the finals. And he didn't win. And what did he say about that? It was a blast.

He said: If 25000 people enter every year, 24999 of us will fall short of the championship trophy. Thus, for the vast majority, the competition will fall into that nebulous area we often call "learning experiences". In all honesty, that phrase can sometimes fell a little hollow, a euphenism used as consolation when we don't achieve our goals.

I mean, what's so great about winning? When you win, what comes next? You've won and that's that. But when you lose, you have the drive to keep on going and competing and striving for that champion trophy!

And as related by the magazine, here's ten good reasons to lose a speech contest:

1. If you wait til you definitely win, you'll never enter
2. the best way to get better is by being bad
3. you'll be more popular. People won't resent the fact that you won
4. You don't have to waste time being nice to the judges
5. Your friends will tell you, "You were cheated! You should have won." That's what friends are for.
6. The contestant interview is fun enough.
7. Being a loser develops character
8. Trophies collect dust
9. When you win there will be nothing more to look forward to
10. You can do your best Arnold Schwarzenegger impersonation: "I'll be back!"
    

Comfort words for myself to lay a soft foundation when I fall many many times over before I become world-class speaker:)