i was given the most unusual request the other day. i was invited by the Assistant Region Commissioner - Cubs for Bays region to speak at the annual grey wolf recognition day. he invited me as it is traditional that they have an "inspirational" speaker. and he wanted me? sure i can talk, but most of it is nonsense. it was one of the toughest speeches i have ever had to write and also make. but i think i will share with you some of what i said. i tired to break it into nuggets to share on twitter but none of it broke down that nicely. i am going to chose to skip over the history and the nice "what i have done" and just get into the key message.
don't be afraid to ask for help
a lot of people think they should be able to do everything straight away. so many times i have been asked to do things that i didn't know i could or think i should do. and so often i took on things that were beyond my experiences. but i knew that every time i could ask for help and advice when i needed it. in scouting and in most things in life you are never left out on your own. the support is there if you decide to take it.
if you can dream it, you can probably do it
now this sounds very much like the cliche of if you can dream it you can do it. it has a small reality check attached to it. linking this idea to the support and knowledge base at your disposal it makes all kinds of things possible.
challenge your self
this was relay important. i spoke about the fact that the cubs had accept a challenge to push them selves and do their best. i encouraged them to not just do this when there was a tangible reward such as an award. the challenge should be seen as the opportunity and not to look for a larger reason to challenge them selves than they can.
be prepared to ignore the doubters
people around you will always tell you what you can and cannot do. now some times you need to listen to those people because they might control the finance, insurance or actually tell you not to do something because of safety and a genuine reason why not. BUT, some of those people will just be telling you that you cant because your too young, that your too inexperienced, the your too **INSERT WORD HERE**. those are the people to be ignored. believe in your own abilities and you will be amazed at what you can do.
have fun & make friends
i think this is the most important lesson that i passed on. i have friends all over Australia and more importantly all over the world. and these are people who i care greatly for. i keep in regular contact with them and we share our lives through keeping in touch and scouting. i have had some amazing experiences but i wouldn't keep coming back for more if it wasn't fun. so if you take one message from all this is that to go out there, make some friends and have fun.
well this was a greatly abridged and paraphrased version of my speech. it was recorded and i have no idea what it looks like. it was probably the hardest audience and i had lots of kids come and talk to me afterwards about what i said.
i hope you enjoyed this brief insight into my brain and some of what makes me tick
Richard "Gonzo" McCoy
