we overstep

This is my fourth idea submitted on google’s contest. I wrote about it in one of my previous articles.

Your idea’s name
A Special Healthy Day

Category
Health

What one sentence best describes your idea?
Promote an international day without alcohol, cigarette, coffee, soda etc… . Alternatively make it a deep breathing day, fresh water day or a fruit day.

Describe your idea in more depth.
Use your strong position on the internet, put info on your front page and pay for the commercials in other media, commercials that would inspire masses to follow that special healthy day.

What problem or issue does your idea address?
Humanity would evolve faster and perform better without intoxicants. This day is just to point out that it is possible. Current stagnation has the source in social conditioning and that everyone is watching on others. On this special healthy day people would look around see the possibility of healthy life in a healthy society.

If your idea were to become a reality, who would benefit the most and how?
Benefit goes to the current toxin consumers that followed that day and understood that they could live without it.

What are the initial steps required to get this idea off the ground?
Contact people that have made similar actions and ask about advice, contact sociology specialists and health organizations. Prepare very convincing and inspiring ads about this special day then put those ads everywhere as your finances allow. Spread the idea around the internet.

Describe the optimal outcome should your idea be selected and successfully implemented. How would you measure it?
Ideally something would click in many people’s head and they would reduce toxins in their lives. That click can happen even weeks after the special day, the desired outcome is to replace toxin intake with live plant food, fresh water and oxygen. Measurement is easy: the monetary loss of toxic companies and the loss of patients by health care.

This is my third idea submitted on google’s contest. I wrote about it in one of my previous articles.

Your idea’s name
More Projects Like This

Category
Everything else

What one sentence best describes your idea?
Make this project (project10tothe100) at least once each year.

Describe your idea in more depth.
Organize project like this periodically, with some modifications to add variety.

What problem or issue does your idea address?
It makes people think about solutions. It removes excuses for complainers saying that they can do nothing. It transforms pessimists into optimists.

If your idea were to become a reality, who would benefit the most and how?
Everyone, especially those who submit ideas. Google benefits too. I don’t know if Google are willing to spend those money regularly even thou 10 million dollars is just a penny for Google. The return is in increased traffic and respectful status, the more noise around the project and the more helpful are the ideas the more Google earns.

What are the initial steps required to get this idea off the ground?
You already did that with this project.

Describe the optimal outcome should your idea be selected and successfully implemented. How would you measure it?
Ideally it would encourage large masses of people to think constructively on daily basis, not only for the project but also in their lives. It makes people speculate and plan realistically.

This is my second idea submitted on google’s contest. I wrote about it in my previous article.

Your idea’s name
ABC keyboards instead of QWERTY ones.

Category
Everything else

What one sentence best describes your idea?
Effectively promote ABC keyboards to cause worldwide switch from QWERTY to ABC.

Describe your idea in more depth.
Use “mobbing” on companies manufacturing computers and other devices with keyboards to convince them to use ABC type of keyboards.

What problem or issue does your idea address?
There are billions of people using old QWERTY keyboards that are not as efficient as ABC ones. Time is wasted on much longer learning, longer typing and there are more typos. There are more users and more devices each year, the sooner we switch the better. The switching period could take two years.

If your idea were to become a reality, who would benefit the most and how?
All people typing on keyboards because of faster learning to type, faster typing and intuitive usage.

What are the initial steps required to get this idea off the ground?
Contact all major manufacturers of devices with keyboards and ask them to cooperate. New devices should be produced with new ABC keyboards, there would be replacements for existing devices (on most laptops it is fairly easy to replace a keyboard). The second step is to convince consumers. Alternatively convince customers first so that they will demand ABC keyboards.

Describe the optimal outcome should your idea be selected and successfully implemented. How would you measure it?
Success if all new devices will be ABC style and many cheap replacement released, after two years most of the devices will be ABC. For all People even those who are used to QWERTY it is easy to learn ABC.

I am happily surprised. I’ve just received “the most improved speaker award 2008″ from my local Toastmasters club. Toastmasters International is a worldwide network of clubs for developing public speaking skills. Below you will read about how meetings look like, what will happen if you join and at the end you will be able to do a search for a nearby club.
The first step in improving your public speaking skills is breaking the fear of standing in front of an audience. Most people fear it more than death. You can overcome this fear with Toastmasters quite easily in a safe and supportive environment. It doesn’t have to be a speech straight away, there are plenty various roles like introducing a word of the day, saying a short poem or just saying few words in a proper time.

Meetings are very organized and the program is almost identical in all clubs globally. Most clubs meet fortnightly or weekly and duration is usually two hours with a break in the middle. The first part is informal and is mostly filled with impromptu speaking, that means that one specified person - a Topicsmaster - asks a question to someone in the audience or waits for a volunteer which has to give a quick answer off the cuff. For beginners it’s hard, the first few times I was selected I stood up and couldn’t breathe, the heart was pumping loudly, I just kept thinking “Why me? I have nothing to say on that. Couldn’t they ask me another question?”. Now I volunteer on every meeting and I like to say something even if afterwards I have back thoughts like “I forgot to say about the most important thing”, “I could say it without tension” etc. I like it because I know that it’s normal and I see some progress. Usually there are plenty of interesting questions during the first part of the meeting.

The second part is more rigid and timed, those are the prepared speeches and evaluations. That is really cool because in Toastmasters we do evaluation internally - one member to another like a friend to a friend. In some clubs like in mine there are even paper slips that anyone from the audience can fill in with a feedback and comments about what could be improved and what are the strengths of the speech.

Any interested guests are always welcome and it feels good to all members if there are guests. First three meeting a free, then if you decide to join there is a yearly fee of something about $90 and on each meeting about $5 for renting the room, prices vary. You will receive helpful manuals at the beginning and then a not so helpful monthly magazine sent to your address. When you join Toastmasters and decide to give speeches you will get an assigned mentor - advanced member who can guide you or at least give some clues. I have a privilege to have a mentor who was a president of the Toastmasters International several years ago.

Now you should know how to break the fear of public speaking. Do it with small roles, volunteer to answer impromptu especially if the question fits you. When you join you get manuals, a mentor and warm support of other members. I definitely recommend Toastmasters. You can search for clubs right here: www.toastmasters.org/websiteApps
Remember, the first three meetings are free but you will know straight away how much it can help you.