Written by:
Viv Vermaak
The Cape Chapter is a smaller group, so we can gather around one table and make eye contact with everyone and engage freely over a plate of food, in this case, some penne pollo. We are an ecelctic group, with some individual punctuations, including fashion choices ranging from high heels to Crocs.
This month’s speaker was Niel Steinman, ‘the lion guy.’ The title of his speech, and his new book was; ‘Finding your roar.” Niel spent many years studying lions in the bush and brought us a powerful presentation based on his observations. He showed how the lions’ pack behaviour can teach us about ourselves. Specifially, he spoke about his favourite lion Apollo, and how sad it was to see such a powerful creature’s life fade away. It was a reminder to all to savour the time we have available to us. He spokje about a magnificent female, Gama, who adapted the lion’s traditional bush hunting methods to hunting down seal on the skeleton coast – and extraordinary display of adaptability, considering that lions hate water with a passion. It was a reminder to all that we can all learn new skills. He also spoke about family, purpose, the value of setting sustainable goals and the importance of the female in the tribe. All of this can help you find your roar again if you have lost it. In his book, he goes into detail about each element.
At the Cape Chapter, we prefer to extend a speaker’s time and lead us in a workshop afterwards. It helps us understand the message and how it can impact us in real life. In this case, he asked us to take Post-it notes and write down our values and things that are important to us and then consider how much time we spend on each. It was a powerful exercise and had people in tears, inspiration and awe. This is the value and contribution of professional speaking in people’s lives and our own speaking businesses. Everyone learned a life lesson, as well as how to unpack a personal story into a financial success.
[The Cape Chapter meets every third Monday at Vin Boho. No squirrels were spotted this month, but whomever spots one first, gets 10 extra points!]
