DTM

This year member of Optima Forma (Moscow Area 🇷🇺) Maxim Silin received highest award in toastmasters - Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM). Maxim became a toastmaster in 2012. During for years he performed and won in various speech contests. Also he was active leader who created the club and he was Moscow Area Director.

Below you can read a post written by Maxim that can inspire and motivate you in toastmasters journey.

On November 28th, 2018 I have been officially recognized as a Distinguished Toastmaster - the 4th time such an honorable award was given in the 30-year history of the Toastmasters movement in Russia! This journey took me 6 years, 6 months and 26 days from the very first Toastmasters club meeting I attended back in May 2012 in Toronto, Canada.

"...Distinguished Toastmaster (DTM) award is given only to those who have demonstrated outstanding leadership and communication skills and who used these skills to HELP OTHERS in their self-development efforts..." - this was what the the DTM award acknowledgement letter, which I had received along with the DTM plaque, read.

In 2016 I took a public pledge to accomplish my DTM by the year of 2018, having mentioned that in two posts on Facebook (follow the link attached). Since then I have virtually forgotten about those posts, and the promise I gave to myself, and my virtual supporters. And yet, as it turns out, the pledge was not forgotten by my inner self, which has been pushing me towards the announced goal. Imagine my surprise, when upon finishing the last Toastmasters project I have come to realize that I did it just on time for the deadline I had committed to over 2 years ago. 

In my opinion, taking a public pledge serves an important purpose, aside from serving a stimulus for the person taking it. That is, to MOTIVATE OTHERS, serve as a ROLE MODEL in a way by LEADING BY EXAMPLE. Personally, through out my journey I have found it super helpful and reassuring when I was seeing someone fighting their battles, and achieving their goals ahead of me, and publicly committing to nailing their goals. Seeing their successes, which were the result of the skills they have been developing along the way, and the efforts they have been putting in, caused me to keep on going. With that said, I came to believe when we strive to help others to be successful, we inevitably reach the greatest achievements in our own lives.

By clearly declaring our intentions, by publicly committing to our targets, and by pursuing our goals we ILLUMINATE THE PATH for those behind us, EMPOWERING them to achieve the greatest successes of their lives. Remembering the excerpt from the DTM acknowledgement letter that I quoted at the very beginning of this post, thе DTM award for me is yet another proof of the notion that in order to be successful one must help others to be at their best!

Obviously, there were many-many individuals whom I would love to appreciate for all of their support, energy, and inherited awesomeness - I am talking about the members of the Toastmasters Moscow Area (Toastmasters.ru). It is the continuous growing strength of this vibrant Toastmasters community that enabled me to grow to where I am today. Thank you!