This content was created by Haritosh Srivastav. This content was uploaded by Haritosh Srivastav. This is a YouTube video titled "TIC - Division International Speech Contest Toastmasters [Apr 2020]" (uploaded April 20, 2020) containing a Toastmasters speech delivered by Haritosh Srivastav and introduced by the contest chair. The talk is a motivational personal story in which Haritosh presents his "TIC" mantra—Trust, Initiative, Companion—using anecdotes about learning to ride a bicycle, a motorbike, and to drive, and encourages listeners to seek trust, take initiative, and find a companion when starting something new.
Chapters
over to you once I have done that. So our next speaker is Haritosh Srivastav with the speech entitled TIC. Haritosh Srivastav with TIC.
Haritosh, have you ever struggled to start a new thing? Maybe a new business, writing a new book, finding a new girlfriend. Would you like to know my mantra TIC to help on that? Contest chair, friends, since childhood I wanted to learn to ride bike or bicycle. I failed. My friends who tried helping me also failed. I was a daily customer of a bike rental shop where I used to rent, fail, and repeat. This went on for a few years until year 2000 when I graduated with flying colors My happy father took me for a surprise. It was a bike store. You could see all sizes, colors, and brands of bikes. Red, green, black, small, medium, extra large. You could smell new tires. You could hear salespeople talking to customers. And that's when he handed me over The perfect one, a blue Hercules MTB. As they say, the king of the road. There you go, have fun. Thank you so much, Papa. You earned it. And then he dropped a bomb. I need to go somewhere, you take the bike home. What? Don't worry, you'll be all right. You have my trust. Can you imagine a kid who doesn't know how to ride taking a bike 3 kilometers from shop to home? That was the longest 30 minutes of my life. After failing to ride, I had to push, pull, and drag the bike home. I then struggled for a few days, but then I eventually learned by discovering the T of the TIC— Trust. At times, to start a new thing, you need to seek someone's trust. You see, it was my father's trust on that day that I'll reach home safe, that I finally learn to ride bike. So T stands for trust. Years moved on and my next fantasy was a motorbike. Inspired by friends, I also wanted to have liberty, lightning speed, and look cool. Maybe the girls will follow now. I failed again. My biggest problem was the kickstart, where if you kick slow, motorbike won't start. If you kick hard, it will take off without you. 3 years into my first job, I took my roommate to a motorbike agency and bought the motorbike of the year. A black Honda 125, the one with the self-start. My roommate drove the motorbike home. Thank you so much, Shivam, in helping this bring home. Could you also teach me how to ride this? Sure, cheers, mate. Poor Shivam did not know what was in store for him. Now Shivam was a workaholic IT geek, leaving home at 9 AM and coming back by 11 PM. And I would be waiting at the gate, all excited and pumped up to learn to ride motorbike. Day 1, Shivam was all excited to teach. Day 2, you could sense the tension on Shivam's face. Day 3. Sorry, mate, this I can't teach you anymore. This is exhausting. What? No! Dejected, disappointed, and annoyed, I took the motorbike on my own and started learning in a deserted place. After 3 flat tires, 2 minor bruises, and 1 headlight replaced, I was riding all over Bangalore. So I learned the I of the TIC initiative. You see, at times to start a new thing, you need to take the first step and initiative. So I is initiative. Bike, motorbike. I hope you can guess my next venture— a car. 2012, I wanted to take my wife on a long drive in a green valley with Bollywood music in background. So I enrolled in the driving class twice. I was still struggling, especially with reverse and parallel parking. After weeks of frustration, I said to my wife, Roli, with the way things are going, I'll be able to take you on that long drive on our anniversary, the Silver Jubilee anniversary. She smiled and said, it's all right, dear, let's practice from tomorrow. And from that next day onwards, she tenaciously accompanied me in my driving practice and helped me perfect my driving skills. After a few weeks, I did take her to that long drive, and she loved it. So C stands for a companion. At times, you just need a companion to start a new thing. My dear friends, amid this world turmoil that's happening, If you also struggle to do a new thing, joining Zoom meeting, doing online business, or acquiring a new skill, remember to seek someone's trust, take an initiative, and find a true companion. Trust, initiative, companion. Seek to discover your D.I.C. Contest chair.
