Let’s fake it till we can’t make it. And that’s Okay. — Have you ever felt the awkward air between you and the stranger sitting next to you in an airplane? Imagine you are on a three hours flight. You happen to sit next to an extroverted guy. He fills the three hours with banters and laughter. I admire him to death…

It’s about finding joy in the small things and making the most of the present moment. Like it or not, it’s time to make New Year’s resolutions. It’s also time to make fun of the New Year’s resolutions. Are we still seriously working on them? How long would we stick…

Ernest Hemingway said, “The world is a fine place and worth the fighting for.” …2023, please prove it. — I survived 2022, but never felt so close to death. It was the fifth year since my wife was diagnosed with terminal cancer. I remember her doctor got me out on the day and said, “She has about six months.” Death is the invisible elf in our house ever since…

The hardest ones are those who have no desire. When I was little, I remember feeling envious of my friends who had nice sneakers or new bikes. As much as I tried to suppress these feelings, I couldn’t help but feel a twinge of jealousy. As I grew older, envy…

Life is just a journey …… we end up being left to ourselves…… it’s the last familiar stranger that we can hold onto. — We all have people in our lives who we see and interact with regularly, but with whom we may not have a deep, personal connection. These familiar strangers can be found in many places. Coworkers, neighbors, or even family members. …

Merry Christmas — A AI-generated speech. Still holds the spirit. — My home club of Toastmasters was chartered four years ago. One of its co-founders, Linda, now lives in China. She lost her mother unexpectedly. She missed a couple of meetings. When she returned to her first meeting, she served as the Table Topics Master. She did not pick a heavy…

Looking back on those days, I lived in a sort of double personality. — When we moved to the U.S., my son Jack barely spoke English outside of his middle school classroom. While I used English at work all the time. So I volunteered to teach him English at home. Then I came to think I was better than him at anything about English…

Life is never a one-time blossom. — One day I saw a post in the Toastmasters Facebook group. A new member was making a public announcement: winning his first DTM title in two years. DTM stands for “Distinguished Toastmasters”. It’s given to the outstanding members to appreciate their achievement in the community. I do not know the…

When winning becomes the only thing in your life, you’d better be prepared to lose everything. — One of my speaking clubs asked me to give a presentation about Sun Tzu, the Master of War. I am so excited. 2500 years ago, one night the king of the Wu Empire got a mysterious visitor. He brought the king a book called “The Thirteen Chapters of War”. No…