We are once again at the beginning of a new Toastmasters year. It is so easy to make New Year’s resolutions; it is not difficult to put together or choose a theme. Keeping those resolutions and living the theme, is not so easy. That is if there is no congruency, if the theme or motto does not ring true.

I was but a teenager (not so long ago, it feels) when Ned Miller’s song hit the charts. Everybody either sang, whistled or hummed it. I can still remember every word:

“He couldn’t move a mountain, not pull down a big old tree

But my Daddy became a mighty big man with a simple philosophy:

DO WHAT YOU DO, DO WELL BOY

DO WHAT YOU DO, DO WELL

GIVE YOUR LOVE AND ALL OF YOUR HEART

AND DO WHAT YOU DO, DO WELL ”

What do these words tell us?

The message is two fold: DO WHAT YOU DO tells us that we are all individuals with each his/her own personality; we are all people in our own right. It tells us that we have the right to do what our hearts tell us; we are all individuals to be reckoned with; we are all worthy of each other’s respect.

DO WELL – and this is the non-negotiable second part of the message. We all owe it to ourselves to DO WELL, to make the best of everything we do. If you do give your love and all of your heart, then you live with no regrets.

As ordinary people we can not move mountains. We can however inspire and empower ourselves if we subscribe to this philosophy, if we make it our own.

Go out there, Find your Voice. Serve Your World.

And DO WHAT YOU DO, DO WELL