Blogging for a Fulfilling Life and Investment

I  gave a short speech to my fellow Toastmasters last night about my new role as a blogger. 

With the limited time allotted (2-3 minutes recommended), I could only introduce the outline of my blog which I started 2 months ago. Still, I enjoyed sharing my story, in my own style, with a room of like-minded friends, of different generations and from different backgrounds.

Elsewhere, I had the opportunity to reflect on the meeting theme: Investment. In answering the theme question, "What's your most impressive investment?", off the top of my head I wrote down "going to the International Trade Institute (ITI)", though it's an investment made 35 years ago.

The other investment that I'm proud of, and still benefit from now, is "cultivating habits for a healthier life, both physical and mental". To this end, before turning 40 I resumed jogging, a hobby that I had abandoned after leaving school. From there, I would progress, train and start participating in numerous races including 10K runs, half-marathons, marathons, duathlons and triathlons.

On the other hand, after my command of English was greatly improved following my graduation from ITI, I was able to maintain my daily habit of extensively reading English articles, in addition to managing my career where English was used more often than Chinese, especially for reading and writing.

 

Now, 25 years on and I don't participate in marathon races any longer, but my earlier investment (in cultivating habits for a healthier life) still pays dividends, with the new hats I wear now, not just as a retiree, but as a literature lover, a blogger, a backpacker, a Ubiker, a Toastmaster, and possibly other roles as my life journey unfolds.

It was another fulfilling night, shared in an uplifting atmosphere with my fellow Toastmasters, as always!

Here's the script of my short speech:

Blogging for a fulfilling life 

Good evening everyone! I'm honored to join you tonight.

First of all, let me introduce myself briefly. My name is Jeffrey Wu. I retired two and a half years ago. 

Out of my love of English that I had used throughout my entire career, I joined toastmasters one and a half years ago, in order that I can continue practicing English. So, following Toastmasters’ Pathways, tonight I'm sharing with you something about my blog that I established 2 months ago. 

To start with, you may be wondering why I chose to start a blog, instead of selecting other projects available on Pathways. It’s simply because of another love of mine: writing. Yes, I love writing. Though I devoted my career to the field of international commerce, fortunately or unfortunately, I’m happy to be a blogger now in my retirement. 

In this connection, my lifetime dream of “being a writer” has now come true, and that’s why I made my speech title as ‘Blogging for a fulfilling life.” And, combining my love of both English and writing, I maintain my blog in English, and have posted 17 posts on my blog to date. Hopefully, I’ll do my 18th post soon after joining you tonight.

Now I use my blog to document, and reflect on, my life as not just a retiree, but also many roles that I newly adopted, including a literature lover, a blogger, a backpacker, a Ubiker, and, not the least, a Toastmaster. Meanwhile, I maintain my blog to achieve what I call 3-Self: Self-actualization, Self-appreciation and Self-entertainment, under my personal vision: Rooted in Taiwan, Connected with the World.

This is the outline of my blog. In the interest of time, I’m not going into further details tonight, but I’ll be more than happy to elaborate it in another speech later, if you’re interested. Thankfully, David created a QR code on the agenda sheet. Please scan it to visit my blog, and feel free to leave a comment. 

That concludes my short speech tonight. Thank you for your attention. TME!