Speaker inspires packed room

By Leia Jobe/reporter2@trcle.com

March 28, 2008 01:39 pm

— Inspirational speaker Bryan Dodge encouraged a packed audience Thursday during the Keene Chamber of Commerce’s monthly luncheon to make 2008 the best year they’ve ever had for themselves, their businesses and their city.
“Reach down and grab the reins of your life,” Dodge said to the 110 people at the meeting. “Decide where you want to go.”
Dodge, speaking at the Senior Center, emphasized personal development and goal setting during his speech to an increasingly enthusiastic audience.
He encouraged audience members to write down their goals and pursue them.
“Goals are a responsibility,” he said. “They’re not an option.”
He pulled five cards out of his pocket, one for each member of his family.
Written on each of the cards were 18 goals for him, his wife and his three children.
He said setting those goals had helped bring him and his family to where they are today.
Dodge said audience members had 48 hours to write their goals down, according to the rule of diminishing intent.
“What you do today, you’ll do,” he said. “What you don’t, you never will.”
Dodge explained his EAT philosophy. To “build a better you,” he said, three areas must be considered: to be an eager learner, to argue and to be thankful.
It’s important to be happy with what one already has but to also always strive for more, Dodge said.
Dodge told the audience members to seek education and stop making excuses that prevent them from reaching their goals.
“Always ask why,” Dodge said. “Those that focus on the how in life always end up working for the ones that focus on the why.”
Dodge’s high energy prevailed throughout the meeting and seemed to bring out excitement in the audience.
His method encouraged audience participation, and he frequently asked the audience to respond with a word or a raised hand.
Audience members said they enjoyed hearing Dodge speak.
“I found it very thought-provoking,” Precinct 4 County Commissioner Don Beeson said.
The audience seemed riveted to Dodge’s animated words throughout the hour-long event.
After the meeting adjourned, some reflected on what they had learned.
Many said they would concentrate on personal goal setting and look for talents to nurture.
“You can’t change anybody else; you have to change yourself,” said Charlotte Holt of Crosier-Pearson Cleburne Funeral Home. “As I examine my own heart, I find there are things that I could be better at. I’m looking for my true talent in life.”
Holt, who has been participating in inspirational and self-improvement programs for 20 years, said she enjoyed Dodge’s program.
Dodge spoke about “talent DNA” and encouraged audience members to find their talent in life.
The closer one comes to their talent, he said, the more energy he or she will find.
“The key is to be thankful for the talents you have and be happy for the talents of others,” he said.
Dodge said competition never destroys true friendships.
Competition between the businesses of Keene could elevate the city’s economic prosperity and benefit the entire community, Dodge said.