I am amazed by the number of people that I hear from who apologize for only being able to volunteer one or two hours a week. Some of them don’t feel like the time they have to contribute can make a difference. Some even avoid volunteering because they consider their potential contribution a waste of time. Does this describe you?

This way of thinking couldn’t be further from the truth! Let me prove it to you by walking you through a short exercise. It will only take you a few minutes to do this exercise, but it will be worth it.

* Think back over your life and make a list of every person that had a positive impact on you.

* Once your list is complete, write down the amount of time it took them to make that contribution.

* Review your list for at least one person that helped or encouraged you in a short amount of time.

Most people that do this exercise will uncover memories of several individuals that contributed to their life in a positive way. Many of those did it through something they said or a small gesture they made. If they could do it for you, you can do it for others!

There is someone in this world that is waiting for you to donate whatever time you can afford to make their life and the world around them a little bit better. Don’t let your thoughts of wanting to have more time keep you from giving to that person today.

We all get to the point in life where it seems like something is missing, something small that could help you get to the point in your life where you could attain true happiness, whether it be in the area of work, family, relationships, or anything else.

Motivational speakers are people who are professionally trained to address an audience with a specific purpose in mind, and that is to provide motivation for various circumstances that occur during the natural course of life. If you need a little motivation in any area of your life, perhaps you should consider attending a seminar or looking up events that feature motivational speakers in your local area.

It is okay to need a little bit of help sometimes; motivational speakers are excellent aids in self improvement as they design their speeches and arrange their words in a way that is supposed to engage the listener, and allow the listener put themselves in the speaker’s position allowing both of them to identify with each other. This way, it is easier for the listener to see the way out of their current problem, to see how to fix the problem or correct whatever it is about the situation that isn’t right. It is often something small and minute that hinders people in life, and self improvement is often a matter of finding what it is that needs to be fixed, no matter the size or severity of the problem.

Some of the areas in which motivational speakers can aid in self improvement are:

*Parenting
– Step Parenting

*Careers
– Transitioning Careers
– Changing Careers
– Career Advancement

*Relationships
– Marriage

*And More!

For all of life’s situations, there is at least one motivational speaker out there who is trained to deal in that; many different people choose to attend motivational speaker events, whether it is for work or pleasure. You might not think that motivational speakers and events like that are not your cup of tea, but if you try attending at least one event, chances are that your mind will change. True, motivational speakers are not for everybody. Their style is to motivate and stimulate the brain and not everybody is into that. However, if you are at all into self improvement and you are looking to make a change in your life, consider taking the advice of a motivational speaker, or at least being open to the idea. You might be surprised with the results!

My heart was as shattered as the broken glass I was sitting in. Oh, the ache inside. The emotional pain was persistent and unyielding. At times, it was simply deafening. Sleepless nights filled with anxiety left me in a fetal position as I lay in the floor and would rock back and forward, back and forward hour after hour. I mustered the last bit of energy I had, and faintly whispered, “Jesus, Jesus” as I rocked. I had no other words. Just raw pain and open wounds of multiple losses and rejection. I did not know how to make the pain stop. I was angry. I was hurt. I was sad. I was depressed.

Consequently, chronic pain began in my neck. I could not turn my head from side to side. The physical and emotional pain overwhelmed me to the point of absolute hopelessness and despair.

Soon, I was bombarded with thoughts of suicide day and night. I did not really want to die. But, I did want the pain to end. I wanted those who treated me unjustly to suffer the pain of loss and rejection I had experienced. I wanted them to feel indescribable anguish and guilt for conditional love. I wanted them to forever grieve the day they rejected me. I wanted them to pay for the pain and emotional distress they caused me. I wanted justice and suicide was the way I chose to seek it.

At 26 years of age, an unsuccessful suicide attempt landed me in a hospital psychiatric ward for seven dreadfully long days. What a scary place! These people are really crazy, I thought. I don’t belong here. I called my therapist and psychiatrist and pleaded to be released immediately – to no avail.

The collective pain and shared stories of the patients in the psychiatric ward overwhelmed me My pain and problems seemed to pale in comparison. With support, I made a commitment to stay alive and to learn healthy ways to reconcile my painful crisis of loss, rejection, and conditional love.

I wish I could say, “We lived happily ever after”. But, that would not be true. Two years later my daddy, 57, died by suicide. The horror and emotional wreckage was endless and affected and continues to affect so many people – wife, children, grand-children, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, nieces, nephews, church family, community, co-workers, friends, and generations to come.

A year after my daddy died I was sexually abused. I did not find justice in the judicial system. Consequently, I was tormented with anger, despair, disillusionment, depression, and thoughts of suicide. The pain was unbearable, the grief inconsolable, and the torment unrelenting.

During this time, I was counseled by a psychotherapist, a sexual abuse expert, and a psychiatrist who had me on antidepressants. I was in the blackest hole of my life with almost no hope of coming out. I wanted justice, but there was none to be found. I didn’t think I could face five more minutes of this pain. My daddy didn’t, why should I?

Wisely, a counselor insisted that I sign a letter that said “I will not commit suicide. If I feel like I want to die I must call my counselor and tell someone immediately”.

I remembered when my dad died by suicide. It was a nightmare! Investigators treated the situation like a crime scene – homicide until proven suicide. Nightmare’s followed with profound and gut-wrenching pain. The question “why” remained unanswered. Feelings of abandonment, and rejection nearly pushed several of my family members over the edge. How could I do this to my family again?

Questions screamed in my head. Where is the one who will fight for me? Where is the one who will protect me? Who will make the wrong things right? Where is the hope to go on living? In my mind, I lived in a hopeless prison.

Then, I began to hear about a righteous Judge who would fight on my behalf and on behalf of all the afflicted, the abused, the weak, the sick, the widow, the orphan, the abandoned, the rejected, the outcast, the poor, and the needy. And when I asked Him, He said He would take my case! Why? I asked. Because, you’re worth it, He responded. I have come with good news, He said. I have come to heal your broken heart! I have come to free you from your hopeless prison! I have come to give you beauty in exchange for the ash heap of your life! I have come to give you joy in exchange for your grief! He said I have come to put a song in your mouth in exchange for your tired spirit. Instead of your shame you will have double for your trouble. Instead of humiliation, you will have joy. Why? Because, I love justice! (Isaiah 61)

He cried with me! In fact, He bottled every tear I ever cried. He listened to my stories! He believed me! He gave me back my dignity and worth. I have heard your cry, He said. I heard your distress call. He took me from the raging waters of life that threatened to drown me. He rescued me, He said, because He delights in me. Then He said, take courage! Do not be afraid. I will go after your enemies with vengeance. I will save you. I will deliver you. (Psalm 18)

I believed Him! Jesus, the righteous Judge, gave me renewed strength. I got my life back seven years ago. I laugh again. I smile again. I no longer swing back and forth on the pendulum of suicidal despair. I’m not depressed. I’m fully alive on the inside. Do I still have painful circumstances in my life? Yes! But, now I have enduring HOPE. And you can too!

The righteous Judge loves you and wants you to know He sees everything! Vengeance is mine, I will repay declares the Lord. Believe again. Trust again. Live again. Hope again.