At FinCon14, I handed out a lot of business cards. Over and over again I spoke about what Mighty Bargain Hunter is about.
Eventually, my bumper sticker came down to this: Good Deals in Context.
This site is more than just a few more percent off at Kohl's (check rebate). (Though that's not a bad thing, is it?)
It's about all of the bargains and trades we make in life, from big to small.
Self-improvement is a wise bargain to make …
A bit over a year ago, our county got a Toastmasters Club for the first time in a couple of decades. I was one of the charter members of the new club. Toastmasters does require a large time commitment, but financially it's one of the biggest public speaking and leadership bargains out there; the monthly dues are about the cost of a pizza.
Initially, the club meetings were on a night that I didn't have something else going on regularly. Things went well for a while, but then membership started to flag. We moved our location, and also had a harsh (for us) winter that led us to cancel three meetings during the first part of this year.
In a move to attract more people, we changed the meeting night from Wednesday to Thursday. I have a weekly commitment Thursday nights (praise team practice at church), but the Toastmasters meeting ended in time for me to get to that rehearsal. It made for a long Thursday, but it was workable. I told the rest of the officers that I had to leave the meeting immediately at the end, and they were fine with this.
… but not at the expense of your passion
This time change didn't help as much as we had thought it would, so the officers of the club decided to move the meeting time back an hour. Now, I had to make a hard decision, but in the end I knew that it was the correct one to make. I wrote the officers an email that started like this:
I think moving the meeting time back will open new doors and will work for more people, as well as attract more new members.
However, I personally cannot do later than 6:30 on Thursdays. This is the time praise team practice starts up […]
As much as I want to improve my public speaking and leadership, my involvement in music is more important.
That's where my passion lies.
It's often said that if you want to get something done, ask a busy person. But, maybe it's taken me longer than others to realize that I can't be all things to all people. Nor do I have the time to contribute 100% to every organization that I'd like to.
We all have to pick and choose, and we all have to learn to say “no.”
If an activity is taking time away from your passion, cut it out.
