Our speaker for October 4 - Dana LaMon

Dana LaMon is a professional speaker who has been motivating and inspiring audiences around the world for over twenty years.  He is a graduate of Yale University and USC Law School.  Mr. LaMon is a retired administrative law judge who has authored four books.  In addition, he was Toastmasters International’s 1992 World Champion of Public Speaking.  Mr. LaMon’s presentation to our Club was titled “Making the Moment Meaningful.”

When Mr. LaMon was only four years old, he fell backward while running.  As a result, he lost most of his eyesight.  His eyesight continued to decline until he became completely blind at age 24. 

Growing up with 11 brothers and sisters, Mr. LaMon often heard them say, “You can’t do that, you’re blind.”  However, Mr. LaMon never let this stop him.  As you can see from his accomplishments, he never took the “Why Me?” attitude.  Instead, he embraced life fully.

Mr. LaMon has four pillars to determine meaningfulness.  Those are:  Growth, Connection, Purpose, and Self Definition. 

As children, our growth is continually monitored by our parents, teachers, and others.  Then, after college, many people get stuck in the daily routine of going to work, coming home, watching television, and doing it all over again the next day.  These people stop growing and start dying.  We can avoid this by welcoming change, experiencing new things, continually learning, and letting go of the past.

There are seven billion people in the world.  How many do you know?  One of the most valuable things in life is forming relationships with others or connection.  Find common interests with others, develop mutually beneficial relationships, and deal with each other fairly and equitably. 

All people and things have a purpose.  The purpose of an apple trees is to produce apples.  Everything it does is toward that purpose, it has no choice.  People are slightly different in that we have the ability to choose whether or not to pursue our purpose.  Find your unique purpose by looking at your talents and skills.  Pursue your purpose by being your own person.  Maintain the balance by serving and giving to others.  Don’t let people and things distract you from your purpose.

Everything that you do defines who you are.  Define yourself on purpose.  For example, Mr. LaMon has identified three concepts that define him.  1)  He is a person that says yes to all possibilities.  2)  He has gratitude for what he has and for what he has done.  3)  He always performs to the best of his ability.  Define yourself instead of letting others define who you are.

You may learn more about Dana LaMon and the books he has published at his website danalamon.com.  Thank you Mr. LaMon for inspiring us!

Deborah A. Perkins