From a Rookie to a Veteran
Yo-Da Lin 2012-10-01
After this shocking experience, I was despondent for a long while. But this also turned out to be a turning point in my life. At the time I was all alone studying in the Great Lakes region, which is far away from my hometown in California. However, I frequently got phone calls from dizi of Tai Ji Men Qigong Academy in Los Angeles. They called to show their concern and offer encouraging words, which often helped me transform my negative emotions into positive ones. Then I began to look at my unsatisfactory presentation from a different angle. I started to think that the presentation was only a kind of learning experience in my education and I would improve my public speaking skills if I keep working on them.
This setback also made me recall my childhood. I was a solitary child and would avoid having a conversation with others. When I did speak with someone, I would often talk very slowly and quietly. Some Tai Ji Men dizi had lovingly reminded me, " Yo-Da, you could sound more energetic if you talk faster and with more strength." I did not pay much attention to their suggestion until this disappointing presentation. Tai Ji Men dizi in Los Angles learned about my unsuccessful presentation, but none of them blamed me for not taking their advice. Instead, they kept encouraging me, "It is all right. Just keep practicing and you will do better!"
After earning my master’s degree, I came back to Los Angeles and resumed my regular practice at Tai Ji Men Qigong Academy . This allowed me to frequently share my thoughts with other dizi. I was determined to make a change and had been practicing expressing myself clearly in speech. I always asked other dizi to give me advice about how to improve my public speaking skills. "How could I make my speech energetic? " "How could I delivery a talk that is lively and emotional?" Not only did I receive good suggestions, but I was also invited to participate in many events where I could practice the skills. These had inspired my strong desire to do better.
I wanted to be a better speaker because I saw my Shifu, Dr. Hong Tao-Tze, always share his wisdom with those he met. He has also unconditionally shared his life wisdom with world leaders, such as Pope Benedict XVI, Dalai Lama, heads of state, and leaders in all circles. Shifu also takes every opportunity to teach us kung fu and show his love for dizi as well as our families and friends. I was inspired by his actions and words, and hope one day in the future, I can help others with my communication skills.
Now I’ve been working as a salesperson in a small company for over two years. At the beginning, when I was assigned to take charge of a new market, I worried that I wasn’t knowledagable enough for the job because I was a new, inexperienced employee. Then, I remembered that I had always wanted to put into practice what I had learned from Shifu, so I changed my mind. Shifu taught us, "Never give up." In the past few years, I had the chance to travel aroud the world with Shifu, his wife, and other Tai Ji Men dizi to conduct cultural exchanges and promote love and peace, and I had never seen Shifu give up on anyone. Whoever he met, Shifu interacted with that person with powerful, positive, and happy energy. So I tried to apply this to my job. One time my manger and I were exhibiting at a trade show. I found the booth next to ours was a potential customer, so I told my manager and we went to chat with him. Luckily we came up with topics that interested him, and that opened the door to a successful business relationship, and he has become one of our major clients.
Looking back, I found that I had made a big change. I used to stammer and feel stressed out in public speaking, and a presentation of ten minutes felt like ten hours to me. Now I had a breakthrough and was able to talk confidently in front of a crowd. My boss has since sent me to many trade shows and to present to our VIP customers.
I must have done a good job with my presentations to earn these opportunities.
Our company is small, and has not many employees. This gives me opportunities to participate in many things, big or small, in the company. I also have many opportunities to join in various activities at Tai Ji Men Qigong Academy in Los Angeles, where we practice qigong together, share the responsibility of keeping the academy clean, and work together for our involvement in community events. At Tai Ji Men, we share our thoughts, learn to face everything with happy and positive energy, and actively take part in meaningful events. I applied the same positive attitude at work. One day, my boss asked me how long I had been with the company. I answered, " I joined the company only a little over one year ago." My boss was surprised and said, "It seems to me that you have been working here for 4 or 5 years." My boss thought that I was a veteran, as I did not work like an inexperienced rookie.
In the past half year, I have represented the company in many big and small trade shows and business trips, and visited many customers. I tried to learn from every opportunity. This week, I was busy attending meetings and discussing things with my coworkers. At one of the meetings, my supervisor surprised me with a certification of recommendation, and promoted me to "senior sales." I was surprised that I became a senior worker after only two years with the company. Although this will be a new challenge, I am confident because practicing qigong at Tai Ji Men has enabled me to interact with dizi of all ages and from different backgrounds. Planning and participating with other dizi in various community events have also helped me grow as a person and allowed me to share with others what I have learned at Tai Ji Men. I hope to continue to apply the spirit of teamwork that I have learned at Tai Ji Men to my work and grow together with my coworkers.
