Speak for Success: The TOASTMASTERS Way

About two years ago, I joined this Toastmasters club in downtown Chicago. Lots of things happened to me during these two years - my second boy was born a year ago; my job gets more and more pressure since my company decided to go for IPO. With two young boys in the house plus a job with 2-hr commute, my life could not be busier. What is it that keeps me stick with our Toastmasters club meetings? What is it that makes each of us here show up in today's club meeting? (Pause) The reason is that we all want to be successful, and we all understand having good communication skills is one of the major ingredients for success. Why is it so important to have good communication skills for us to succeed in a human society?

At work, good communication is essential to a successful career. It could be pitching a sale in front of your clients, giving a presentation at a workshop, organizing committee meetings, motivating your team to reach a goal and negotiating with your boss on a deadline.

At home, good communication is essential to a successful family life. It could be motivating your spouse to do the laundry on a Saturday morning or change baby diapers in the middle of the night, maintaining the order in a house occupied by toddlers and teenagers, making everyone happy including yourself during a in-laws visit.

At community, good communication is also essential, no matter it is coaching a junior soccer team, voicing your concern in a PTA meeting, organizing a block party, protesting against Metra for a bad schedule, or raising building funds for your church expansion.

Joining Toastmasters club is a great way to improve my communication skills. Toastmasters gives me all the necessary tools, a safe environment to practice and learn from each other by example, a supportive team to encourage me at every step. It reminds me my neighborhood in Chicago suburb. In warm sunny weekends, my block is filled with kids and their parents. Babies crawl around on the green grass, toddlers waddle about with their oversized diapers on, and older kids zoom by with scooters and bikes on the driveways and side walk. It is amazing to see how fast kids learn from each other. My five year old just learned to ride his bike without training wheels. It is a big deal for kids of his age. As Daniel was at first time riding on his own with me running behind, my neighbors cheered him up: “Hey, he is getting it, he is getting it.” It all started with Talen, a four year old down the block. Since he took off the training wheels, in a couple days we have a big turnover among the kids in the block. This is the perfect neighborhood that I don’t want to move out.

Just like my neighborhood has kids of different ages and their parents, Toastmasters club meetings have many roles that you can take on. As you can see on our meeting agenda, you can be a speaker to give a speech, an evaluator to evaluate a speech, a toastmaster to run a meeting, a general evaluator to observe the whole meeting proceeding, a table topic master to give table topics, a joke master to enlighten us, a word master to give the word of the day, an ah so grammarian to count the ahs and ums and do grammar check. You can gain leadership skills by serving as a club officer. You can be the President of the club, VP Education, VP Membership, VP Public Relations, Treasurer, and Sergeant at Arms. Being an officer of the club, you will get club officer training and a manual for the officer position. Beyond your own club, you also can serve at the division level and even the district level, like our Lieutenant Governor, Mike Raffety of Chicago Toastmasters district 30.

Toastmasters offers two proven tracks for communication and leadership. As a new member, you will be challenged with 10-speech program to become Competent Toastmaster (CTM). From there, you can select either communication track or leadership track. Both tracks lead your to the black belt of Toastmaster, Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM). In CTM program manual, you can find the formula preparing you to be a successful speaker, such as how to organize the speech, how to choose right words, how to use your voice and body language. I remember in my ICE Breaker speech I was frozen like a statue and didn’t look at my audience at all. Now here I am to give my last CTM speech.

Toastmasters provides everything you need to be a good communicator like a safe neighborhood, the green to try your baby steps on, the scooter you can learn how to balance, the bike with or without training wheels, and lots of help from club members and Toastmasters International. However, to be successful, we can need two extra major ingredients - determination and persistence. I call for everyone here to set up your goal for this year and take actions. If you are already a member, prepare to give a speech on the next meeting, or take on a role such as a toastmaster or an evaluator. New club officer election is coming. You can serve the club by becoming a club officer. If you are not a member yet, join a Toastmasters club today. Speak for success, and Toastmasters is the way.

Metra NCS expansion: so much for so little

Metra first introduced North Central Service(NCS) in 1996 between Chicago and Antioch. Trains leave Chicago heading west 12 miles to Franklin Park on Milwaukee District West line, then turn north to finish the rest 40 miles on Wisconsin Central line.The initial cost was only 61 million dollars, about 1 million per mile. It serves 10 northwest suburban communities - Prospect Heights, Wheeling, Buffalo Grove, Praire View, Venon Hills, Mundelein, Prairie Crossing, Round Lake Beach, Lake Villa and Antioch. NCS service was limited to 10 trains on weekdays only, due to the fact that Wisconsin Central line was on a single track and used heavily by freight trains.

The NCS expansion is the answer to the demand for better services and rapid residential growth along local communities. In 2006, Metra's 216 millon dollar NCS expansion was finished, about 4 million per mile. Wisconsin Central line now has double tracks. Trains are doubled to 20 on weekdays and four more stations Grayslake, Rosemont, Schiller Park and Franklin Park are added. However, NCS commuters are not happy about the result of NCS expansion. Here are 3 main reasons why we are not happy.

What is promised us is 22 trains on weekdays. After NCS expansion, we only get 20 trains instead of 22 on weekdays. Out of 20 trains, only 19 are actually useful. The last Inbound train 118 leaves Grayslake at 7:16 pm, making no stop until West Avenue. It skips the majority of suburban stations and serves the only purpose to reposition the train. Furthermore, weekend service is still not available.

What is promised is expanded morning peak hours and evening peak hours service. After NCS expansion, we get a more limited peak hour service. The window of morning rush hour remains the same. Trains arrive at downtown Chicago from 6:50 am to 8:30 am. It is nice to have an extra peak hour train. However, the last morning rush hour train 108 now departs about 10 minutes earlier along the stations on Wisconsin Central line. Working parents used to drop off their kids at school at 7 am and still got 30 minutes or so to catch the train. 1o minutes in the morning make a big difference. With the next morning train leaving for Chicago 2 hrs later, it makes a impossible task for some parents. The window of evening rush hour actually is reduced by 17 minutes, and there is no additional train in evening rush hour. Anyone who misses 6:00 pm outbound train now has to wait for a full hour until 7:00 pm.

What is promised is reduced travel times and improved service. However, travel times are increased for all communities along Wisconsin Central line after doubling the tracks. Let us take Prairie View for example, a commuter could see daiy round trip travel time increased for 15 minutes. Over average 48 working weeks for a year, this will result about extra 60 hours on the train.

So much is promised for Metra NCS expansion, and so little is delivered. We deserve a better service for our 216 million dollar investment.Contact Metra Board Of Directors today at 547 West Jackson Street, Chicago, IL 60601 or call them directly at 312-322-67777.

For Sell By Owner (FSBO)

U.S. home owners paid over $60 billion in real-estate commissions last year. Despite new technologies to make it a lot cheaper to do business, the cost of selling a house remains high at about 5 percent. Commission rate only dropped about 15 percent in twelve years. If you sell your house at $200,000, you have to pay $10,000 at 5 percent commission. Nowdays computers become more powerful and cheaper every 6 months, and you can pay $20 per month for unlimited domestic and international long distance calls. $10,000 sound a lot. Does it really cost so much to sell your house?

Let me briefly explain how realtors get invovled in residential transactions. The seller of a house finds a listing agent to sell the house. They define the term and commission rate in the listing agreement. The listing agent then helps to set a market price for the house and market it to potentials buyers. The major marketing mechanism is to publish the sale information in local multiple listing service (MLS). MLS is simply the realtors' private database to list all the houses for sale. For example, you can find most houses listed for sale in Chicago area in mlsni.com. Buyer's agents find this house through MLS listing and bring in potential buyers. If the house is sold, the seller will pay the agreed commission at the closing.

About 2 year ago, my wife and I decided to sell our first house and relocate to somewhere closer to her job. We talked with 4 listing agents from big firms such as Re/Max and Coldwell Banker. We discovered 3 truths about real-estate bussiness before we sold our house.

Truth Number One, it is hard to determine the true value of a house even for the realtors. The 4 listing agents suggested us 4 different market prices for the house. The biggest difference is almost $20,000. Yes, the final sale price for a house largerly depends on its location, marketing timing, supply and demand on the market. However, the individuals, i.e., the seller and the buyers have substantial impact on the price. If we have two almost idential houses for sale in the same block, Sir "Patient" might get a lot more dollars for his house than Sir "Speedy" if he is willing to stay on the market longer. If we have two couples living in the apartment bidding at the same house, Mr. and Mrs. "Would-be parents in two months" might be willing to pay more than Mr. and Mrs. "Double Incomes No Kids".

Truth Number Two, realtors are more interested in making the deal than getting their clients a better price. In most cases, the buyer's agent and the list agent will get 2.5 percent each for 5 percent commission. However, each agent has to split with his or her broker on the commission. In the end, each agent might only get 1.5 percent commission. If the sale price goes up or down $10,000, that just means only $150 to each agent. Moreover, some agents have to pay a flat fee such as $2,000 per month to their brokers, so they don't have to split the commission with their brokers. They have a lot more pressure to push the deal through.

Truth Number Three, listing agents might do nothing to market your house other than publishing your house information into MLS. In a hot market, a house sells itself in a week, maybe even within two or three days. Broker firms normally pay a flat fee to list in MLS, and they don't have to put any money up front on advertising your house in the newspapers or magazines. I remember in one episode of Seinfeld, postman Newman revealed the truth: when you control the mail, you control information. The truth about MLS in real-estate bussiness is, when the realtors control MLS, they contro the entry of the housing market. The sellers are forced to pay commission to access the market.

So is there any way to lower the cost of selling a house? There are at least two alternatives. One is to list the house in MLS through discount brokers. Thanks to the fierce competition among brokers, a seller only needs to pay a flat fee like a few hundred dollars to these discount brokers, and they will list the house in MLS. The seller will save at least half the commission by becoming his or her own listing agent. The other is through FSBO (for sale by owner) web sites on the internet. They offer their own local listing other than MLS for a flat fee. Just like E-Bay to provide a public market place, the seller can directly negotiate with the buyer without paying any commission at all. In fact, we decided to choose the third way - marketing our house directly through Chicago Tribune and Daily Herald. Without paying any commission, we sold our house for more than the highest suggested retail price. So if you are willing to put down some effort to save yourself a lot of money in selling a house, FSBO is the way to go.

Magic 1-2-3

Children are the gift from God. However, this gift from God doesn't come with a How-To-Grow-Me-Up manual. Now more and more families have both parents working while their kids are growing up. For those families, parenting is not a easy task.

When children are just babies, they are adorable and lovely. They don't talk too much, and they don't talk back to you. They go where ever you want them to go. The only thing you need to do it to feed them, keep them warm and safe. When they grow older, they can be annoying and nasty. However, we often mistakenly assume that they are little adults who are reasonable and repect the authority. We try to talk them out, and we often end up with one of the two scenarios: talk-persuade-argue-yell or in addition hit-run.

Sometimes do you wish that children would come with a shut-off switch so you just turn it off? If your kids sometimes drive you crazy like my 4-year old son, Dr. Thomas Phelan's "1-2-3 Magic" comes handy to save the day. The 1-2-3 Magic technique is very effective to dealing to stop behaviors for children from 2 to 12. Stop behavior is about what the kid is doing, such as whinning, arguing, yelling, cursing ,etc.

How does the 1-2-3 Magic work? The instruction is very simple. Once the kid is misbehaving, you hold up one finger, look down at the little insurgent, and calmly say, "That's 1." He doesn't stop. You let five seconds go by, then you hold up two fingers and say "That's 2." After another five seconds, your kid doesn't stop. You hold up three fingers and say "That's 3, take 5." The little guy will end up with a 5-minute time-out.

Let me go over a weekday pre-dinner scenario at 6:15 pm between me and my 4-year old son Daniel in the kitchen:
"Daddy, can I have a peanutbutter Chewy?"
"Nope."
"Why not?"
"Cause we are having dinner in 15 minutes."
"But I want one."
"I just told you that you couldn't have one."
"I am really,really, really hungry, daddy."
"If I give you one, you'll never finish your dinner."
"I promise I'll eat my dinner after the Chewy."
"You promised to finish your bread at the breakfast, but you never did."
"I am not hungry. I don't want to eat dinner any more."

Here is what happened whe I started practising 1-2-3 Magic:
"Daddy, can I have a peanutbutter Chewy?"
"Nope."
"Why not?"
"Cause we are having dinner in 15 minutes."
"But I want one."
"That's 1."
"I am really,really, really hungry, daddy."
"That's 2."
"I promise I'll eat my dinner after the Chewy."
"That's 3, take 5."

Here is what happened after a few days' practice of 1-2-3 Magic:
"Daddy, can I have a peanutbutter Chewy?"
"Nope."
"Why not?"
"Cause we are having dinner in 15 minutes."
"But I want one."
"That's 1."
(Pause) "OKey." Daniel then left for the sun room for a quiet playing.

There are two critical rules to make the 1-2-3 Magic work: no-talking and no-emotion. Children are quick at finding out what upset us the most on regular basis. And for sure, they will repeat it for you again and again.

There are many benefits for using 1-2-3 Magic. First is saving your energy. There is no extra talking and no extra emotion. Second is that 1-2-3 Magic is a control both to the children and their parents. You will stay calm instead of getting into an emotional explosion. The last is that you will have more time for fun and affection with your children.

A cure for USA healthcare crisis

Recently I got my finger cut by a rusted nail, so I went to the emergency room for a tenus shot and a blood test. A few weeks later, I received the bill from the hospital. This was about $650. I almost fell to the ground when I saw the bill. $650, that is two weeks salary at minimum wage. Why does it cost so much here for healthcare? What happens if I don't have health insurance and have something really serious? I did some research and found US healthcare system is already in trouble.

Here are some facts about the healthcare system. First, let us look at healthcare cost. Comparing with any other industrialized nations, Americans pay much more to healthcare. In 2001, American spent about 14% of GDP on healthcare, nations like Canada, France and Germany spent just about 10%. Americans also pay a lot more for prescription drugs. That is why state governments want to save money by importing drug from Canada. Second, let us look at health insurance coverage. Most Americans get health insurance through their employers, but employment is no longer a guarantee for health insurance. Due to rising insurance premiums, many small employers cannot afford to offer health insurance. Companies that do offer health insurance often reduce coverage or require employees to contribute a lot more out of their own pocket. In 2003, about 15.6% Americans had no health insurance. The number could reach over 50 million in 2006.

United States is the richest nation in the world, but its healthcare performance is not even in top 30 ranking according to World Health Organization (WHO). To solve the healthcare crisis, politicians up on the hill have to fight a long and nasty battle. So what can you do if you have no health insurance and need a bypass heart surgery? Or could you wait for another two years if you are a Canadian or European who has national health coverage?

I came across a story in Chicago Public Radio about medical tourism. Patients, from Europe and North America, flock to Bumrungrad Hospital in Thailand. They come for big-ticket medical treatments, from heart surgery to plastic surgery, for just a fraction of the cost in their own countries. The hospital is the Mayo clinic in the East with 5 star hotel services at a reasonable price. It is under American led management and approved by US based Joint Commission International Accreditation. The hospital has 200 US board certified physicians. Every year, it serves over 300,000 international patients from more than 150 countries. The American CEO Mr. Schroeder suggested a two-tier healthcare system in the states. Those who can afford stay in the states, the rest can pay a much lower premium to go aboard for high value added medical services.

This two-tier healthcare system might be a cure for US healthcare crisis. I'd like to push this idea further to save social security. The rich can still live in their condos in Florida or Arizona. The rest have another choice. They can take much smaller social security check and live aboard for a few years. They can enjoy the same life style with quality health care at much reasonable costs. They can teach English to the locals in their bible study, and bring American values such as Freedom and Liberty across the world. Hey, President Bush might like to the idea.

Communication At Home: part 1

We live a much busier life than our parents' generation. Nowdays more and more families have double incomes and send their young kids to daycares and schools. Emails, instant messages, pagers and cell phones keep us inter-connected all time. Are we really connected as we think?

Here is the daily ritual for many families. In the morning, wake up the kids and get them ready, rush to work after dropping them at the school. Keep busy all day at work. In the evening, pick up the kids and hurry back home, cook and have dinner together; spend some time with the kids since the parents have seen them for a long day, and then tug them to bed after the shower.

After going through all the activities, I found myself exhausted and just wanted to sit in front of TV before going to sleep. There was not much time for talk between me and my wife. Recently, my wife suggested me to give up wathing TV. Instead, we sit down and talk about what happened to each other during the day. This really helps us get more connected.

Winter: The Chicago Experience

"This was no time for play.
This was no time for fun.
This was no time for games.
There was work to be done."
Digging yourself out of that deep snow is a serious business in Chicago winters. Expect nothing from Dr. Seuss. Yes, the cat in the hat comes back every winter, but not here in Chicago.

I am no big fan of the Chicago winter. It just sucks the life out of you and the city like a giant vacuum machine. We are only left with heavy cloudy skies, gusty winds, 20 to 40 degrees below zero wind chills, snow, sleet, freezing rain, ice, slush and pot holes on the road.

Foot deep snow is no stranger to Chicago. Here are top three snow storm on record: 23" on Jan 26-27 1967, 21.6" on Jan 1-3 1999 and 18.8" on Jan 13-14 1979. Flights got cancelled in O'Hare airport. Passengers sit in their planes on the runway for hours, or camped out in the terminals. Railway switches got frozen. Trains came to a halt. Schools and stores were closed. Snow blowers and shovels were sold out. Roofs collapsed due to the weight of snow. Many families were snow-bound to their homes. A handful men died of heart attack while shoveling the snow. In some part of the city, residents put out garbage bins and chairs to guard their parking spaces.

January snow storm is usually followed by a heavy dose of stiff cold. However, if the weather warms up after like these days, snow melts into water and ice. Floods may follow. As the temperature dances up and down, flu and cold run wild. Daycares and schools become major staging grounds for flu attack. Working parents are called back home to take care of sick children. A few days later, they find themselves too get knocked out. People start to have headaches, sore throats and muscle pains. Cold medicine and pain relievers become hot items in drug stores.

I grew wiser after the great snow storm in January 1999. I upgraded the snow shovel with a 5HP Honda snow blower. After each snow, I just fired it up and cleaned out the driveway and side walk in 25 minutes. No more shoveling, no more sweat. In the long cold nights, I enjoy sipping hot barley tea with my family in front of the warm fireplace. This year is more interesting. My three year old son Daniel just loves to see the snow. There was no snow for Christmas. He waited and waited. There was no snow for New Year 2005. He waited and waited. Finally we got about 10" snow last week. "Hey, there is enough snow for everybody.", my son was nothing but excited. We put on heavy coats, snow pants, snow boots and bomber hats. Off we went snow sledding in that evening. The air was very cold, but the park was full of life, filled with kids and their noise. We had a great time sledding. On the way back home, we saw a guy stepping out the front door of his house, just wearing a T-shirt and a pair of short. He lit a cigarette and started smoking. What a spirit in Chicago winter!

Chicago winter is long, cold and harsh. It is not my favorite season in Chicago. Though I still struggle a little bit every winter, I finally learned to enjoy it.

Notes:
This is my ToastMaster Speech #4 on Jan, 13, 2005.