Be Distraction-Free Proof by Olympic Medalist Paul Kingsman
This Meeting’s HighlightsProgram: Be Distraction-Free Proof. Overcome distractions. Maintain focus. Maximize results.Speaker: Paul Kingsman, Speaker, Author, Coach, and Olympic MedalistMeeting for the week of August 8, 2016 to August 14, 2016Is this your first time to visit us? If so, welcome to our weekly online meeting! To complete our meeting, please continue reading from here to the bottom of this page. Each Monday our week’s meeting is posted early in the morning, U.S. Pacific Time. These meetings are designed so that you can read and watch what we post anytime during the week. The entire meeting takes about 60 minutes to complete, with the video conference recording of the program being the bulk of the time.Note that you can easily read this meeting with your favorite device, so feel free to take our meeting on the go with you; read it while on public transit, waiting in line for coffee, or even at the park! Please also make sure to complete the attendance form at the bottom and leave a comment. Enjoy!
Welcome to the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley!
Message from President Mitty
An Olympian mind set.
Hello and welcome to the Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley's meeting for the week of August 8, 2016! My name is Mitty Chang, and I am the president of this Rotary Club!This week we have an incredible program by an author, a speaker, a coach, and an Olympic medalist. This comes just in time as the 2016 Olympic games have just started in Rio. What continues to astound me despite being in the Rotary family for over 12 years already, are the connections you encounter by being in Rotary. Our guest speaker this week for example is an Olympic medalist and a professional speaker, among other things. I believe we are incredibly lucky to have him as our program during the time of the Rio Olympics. In this case, two things worked out in our favor. First, it turns out our speaker is a Rotarian. Amazing. Second, one of our newest members -- Kristi Govertsen -- is friends with our speaker, and was able to make this introduction for our club. It's hard to imagine in what other organization do you find these type of stellar connections as a regular encounter.I am continually reminded that I am surrounded by amazing people.Speaking of amazing people. I am incredibly excited that this week we have made the beneficiary for happy dollars the Interact Vietnam Soccer Ball Project. If you have not yet had a chance to watch the program Oliver Borg recorded with us a couple of weeks ago on the indestructible soccer balls, I would strongly recommend doing so. Any donations this week will go towards funding more indestructible soccer balls that will be donated to children in Vietnam by a joint collaboration between Interactors and Rotarians in our own district here in the Silicon Valley.Rotary is about making a positive impact both in our local communities and internationally in towns and countries we may know little of. It's when we bring together like-minded people who want to share in this goodwill quest with us that we become stronger; making the impossible possible. Thank you for joining us this week. Enjoy the meeting!And for our Guests: So incredibly excited to have you join us! Whether you are a visiting Rotarian, prospective member, friend of a friend, or just someone stopping by -- our goal is to make sure you're getting some inspiration out of this meeting. As you continue scrolling and reading through our meeting, please leave a comment at the bottom of the meeting once you're done. We would love to hear from you! You can tell us things like where you're from and what you thought of the meeting! You can also ask the speaker a question in the comments section.Yours in service,
Mitty Chang, PresidentRotary eClub of Silicon Valleypresident@siliconvalleyrotary.com
Power of Images: Diving in Kosovo
We believe in that saying a photo is worth a thousand words. Great images can inspire people and can conjure a wide range of emotions.
This week we feature a photo from by photographer Armend Nimani who ventured to the town of Gjakova in Kosovo to capture this moment before the plunge.
About this photo: A diver jumps from the 72-foot Ura e Shenjte bridge during an annual high diving competition near the town of Gjakova in Kosovo on July 31. Taken by photographer Armend Nimani with AFP - Getty Images
Just stunning. A visit to Kosovo? Or perhaps to your nearest diving cliff?
Laughing Out Loud with our Lady of LOLs
We believe that laughing a little every day keeps you healthier. Every week we try to share with you something that will make you smile! This section is curated by Rotarian Yvonne Kwan, our club's “Lady of LOLs.”
Hey! This is Yvonne, your Lady of LOLs. This week's funnies are inspired by our guest speaker, former Olympic Medalist Paul Kingsman! And of course the Olympics this year happening right now in Rio!
How did the basketball court get wet?
The players dribbled all over it!
Why did the skydiving club disband?
Because they had a falling out.
Why did the chicken get sent off?
For persistent fowl play! hahaha!
Weekly Inspiration: Make Your Own Epic Flaming Sword
Every week we bring you videos of innovation, inspiration, and entrepreneurship. This week we are featuring a video from The Backyard Scientist on how to make your own epic flaming sword.
https://youtu.be/r3RGO4KyvT0?t=3s
Innovative? ✓Inspiring? ✓Educational? ✓Entrepreneurial? ✓ (in the sense that an entrepreneur literally means to be a risk taker)Safe to try at home? Questionable.Was that fun? Definitely!
Member Spotlight: Steven "Shags" Shagrin
This week we feature a short introduction from one of our charter members, Steven "Shags" Shagrin! Shags is also one of our board members and Membership Chair! He also happens to be an amazing chef.
https://youtu.be/dJSQUk7V2B4
Thanks for sharing, Shags! Want to learn one of Shag's secret recipes?
Then check out his video about his Green Garlic recipe by clicking here!
World of Rotary: A Message from our local Interact District Leaders
The world of Rotary is vast -- spanning over 180 countries in the world with over 1.2 million members. Our club is only one of thousands of Rotary clubs, each one that meets in a different place and at a different time. This segment of our meeting brings to you a little bit about what is going on in the world of Rotary this week.
This week's World of Rotary segment features a video message from our local Interact District Leaders. Interact Club is a service club for young leaders from ages 12 to 18. Interact, which stands for "international action," is one of the official youth programs of Rotary International. Our Rotary club sponsors the Interact Club of KIPP San Jose Collegiate Prep, which is based in San Jose, California. The current Interact Club Presidents for the Interact Club of KIPP San Jose are Scott Nguyen and Steven Luu.
Our video message this week comes from the local Interact district leadership. Similarly to Rotary, Interact in our district goes from the club level to the district level, where Interact leaders from multiple clubs have formed an unified leadership council to unite the Interact clubs in the San Francisco bay area. The top two Interact leaders in charge of leading the district team are called the Interact District Governor and the Interact Lt. Governor. The Interact District is also split up into different areas, to make communication and management easier at a district level. The Interact club we sponsor, KIPP San Jose Collegiate Interact Club, is in Interact Area 6. Each Area has an Area Director assigned to it to be the bridge for communication and unification between the district and the clubs.
Let's hear from the Interact District Governor Marco Siu, the Interact Lt. Governor Victoria Huynh, and the Interact Area 6 Director Annie Dang in the video below!
https://youtu.be/p-EuHQONlIA
Thank you Marco, Victoria, and Annie! We look forward to hearing more about what's going on with Interact in our district!
Our Events & Projects
We hold our meetings online, but we hold regular service projects and social events in the Silicon Valley every month! This section is updated every week with our upcoming events. We welcome guests to all of our events and service projects listed here.
Also be sure to join our Meetup Group for automatic calendar updates and to RSVP for our events! These are open to all guests as well!
https://www.meetup.com/siliconvalleyrotary/All events are marked in Pacific Time and are located in the San Francisco bay area / Silicon Valley.
Recent Events:
Past event: Restore the Veteran's Resource Program Center Service - July 29 in Richmond, CA
Rotarian Stephen Zhou and guest Kenneth Oku went to Richmond, CA on July 29 to do little painting and hammering for the grand reopening of center for the Veteran's Resource Program! The Veteran's Resource Program provides a clean, safe living environment for veterans who may be homeless, formerly incarcerated, or returning home from the military. They also provide services like employment placement and assistance with higher education. Great work gentlemen!
Past event: Happ-E Hour Online Social - August 4th online
Last Thursday we had one of our soon to be regular online happy hour socials! Thanks to members Kristi, Chris, Yvonne, Shags, and Mitty for showing up to hang out! Members and guests, catch one of our future online happy hours to get to know your fellow Rotarians!
Upcoming Events:
Second Harvest Food Bank Service Project – Sat. August 20th in San Jose, CA
On Saturday, August 20, from 9 AM to 12 PM – Come join us for a morning of sorting food at Second Harvest Food Bank! We will be at the Cypress Center in San Jose. This event will be capped at 5 people. Members who went in May said this was an event we absolutely had to do again, so here we are!
RSVP/REGISTER: Members interested can RSVP with Andrew Taw (service@siliconvalleyrotary.com) or on Meetup by clicking here.
Online Happ-E Hour Social - Thu. August 25th online via video conference
On Thursday, August 25 from 6 PM to 7 PM -- Members, guests, and friends are welcome to join us for our regular online happy hour social. Bring your own beverage to your webcam-capable device, and join us for an hour of socializing! You will be able to join us online on August 25 at 6 PM using this Zoom video conference link: https://zoom.us/j/7489282423
Rotary Membership Seminar – Sat. August 27 in Milpitas, CA
On Saturday, August 27 from 9 AM to 12:30 PM – Members and prospective members, if growing Rotary sounds interesting to you, come join Rotary club presidents, Rotary membership chairs, and Rotarians from throughout the district for this free seminar on how to grow Rotary membership. Light breakfast is included. This event is free to attend.
REGISTER: Please register if you are planning on attending! You can register by clicking here on our Rotary District webpage.
Half Moon Bay Habitat Restoration Service Project - Sat. September 10
On Saturday, September 10 from 10 AM - 1 PM - Half Moon Bay It's been a cool summer around here so what better way to enjoy the weather than to go outdoors and help improve the habitat for local birds and plants? We'll be fending off invasive species and planting more native plants. We will also likely grab lunch after and maybe even enjoy the beach while we're there. If you're interested, please contact Andrew at secretary@siliconvalleyrotary.com.
If you'd like more details, you can find it here: https://www.handsonbayarea.org/HOC__Volunteer_Opportunity_Details_Page?id=a0a3200000DEcGtAAL
REGISTER/RSVP: RSVP on our meetup page by clicking here.
Hiking Social at the Alamere Falls – Sun. September 18 in the Point Reyes National Seashore, California
On Saturday, September 18 our club will be making a hiking trip to the Alamere Falls inside the Point Reyes National Seashore! Members and guests are welcome! We will be beginning our hike at 9:30 AM and will be getting lunch together afterwards. Please plan on arriving to the parking lot by 9:15 AM. Driving instructions will be provided a week before this event.
REGISTER/RSVP: RSVP on our meetup page by clicking here.
Ed Fund Gala Service Project - Sat. October 1 at Oakland Scottish Rite Center, Oakland, California
Ed Fund Gala Oct 1, 2016 4:30pm - 10:00pm Oakland Help us volunteer as event staff for a fundraiser for the A-Z Fund, a program that provides resources to schools in Oakland that don't have strong PTAs to fund programs like music or sports. Duties may include help with registration and auction spotting. If you're interested, please email Andrew at secretary@siliconvalleyrotary.com please check out the link: http://www.oaklandedfund.org/gala/
REGISTER/RSVP: RSVP on our meetup page by clicking here.
For Our Members: Reminders & Benefits
This section is dedicated for reminders to our members and for our members to report to us what service projects they have participated in recently. Members, please note this section will CHANGE every week!
New Announcements:
New Section Coming to Feature Member Businesses
Do you own a business? Or would you like the company you're working for featured on this website? Please send me a short description, website address, logo, and description of your position in the company at president@siliconvalleyrotary.com. I am looking for more ways to feature what our members do, and would love to find a way to incorporate a blurb about your career or business.
Summary of Past Announcements
- Dues Past Due! If you have not paid your dues yet, please note they were due June 30th. Please kindly fix this on your own. Questions? Contact our treasurer, Allen Thompson at treasurer@siliconvalleyrotary.com
- Min-E Grants of up to USD$250 per project available for members only. Contact Andrew Taw at service@siliconvalleyrotary.com
- Rotary Rewards: Members, be sure to check out the discounts Rotarians get to Disneyland, hotels, airfare, and so many other businesses. Go check offers, please go to Rotary.org, login, then go to “Rotary Rewards” page
- Club Leadership Opportunities: We still have many committees and committee chair positions that are available for members who want to get more involved with the club leadership. Please contact President Mitty at president@siliconvalleyrotary.com
- NEW! Option to Pay Dues Monthly: All members now have the option of choosing to pay their dues in monthly installments of USD$28 per month instead of every six months. This monthly payment option requires a credit or debit card be used for automatic debits. Please note that the monthly installment option is a little bit more expensive than if you prepay the full six months at a time. Members, if you want to start using the monthly payment option, please complete the Pay Dues page and select monthly option and complete that form. If you have any trouble with the form, please contact President Mitty at president@siliconvalleyrotary.com — All other dues related questions should be addressed to Club Treasurer Allen at treasurer@siliconvalleyrotary.com
- Leadership Development Grants: Our club has a new member benefit we are testing out. We will reimburse up to USD$150 per year per member for the registration fee of a Rotary leadership events or other pre-approved leadership development events. For example, you could use this grant to attend a Rotary District Conference or the Rotary International Convention, and we will cover up to USD$150 of the registration fee. Please note this only covers registration fees and cannot be used for food (that is not pre-included in registration), housing, travel, or other incidentals. For non-Rotary events, please email President Mitty at president@siliconvalleyrotary.com at least 10 days in advance for approval. The leadership team has allocated enough money for 15 members to take part in this grant. After which our club’s Board of Directors will have to vote on whether or not to increase the allocation or not. Our goal is ultimately to see more members engaged! Please take us up on this amazing benefit! (That’s half your dues back! Wow!)
- Rotating Happy Dollars Beneficiaries: Our happy dollars will now have rotating beneficiaries! That means on certain weeks the money collected from our happy dollars will be donated directly to the charity of the week.
- Looking for more Program Speakers: President Mitty is looking for more members to help out with the Programs & Meetings Committee! If you have guest speakers who may be interested in speaking to our Rotary club, please email president@siliconvalleyrotary.com
- Invite a Friend: Members, invite a friend to check out our Rotary eClub meeting! We would love to share our programs with more friends. If they like what they see, consider inviting them to join as well! And if you have reservations about sharing our meetings and our club with your friends, please let President Mitty know why so that we can work on improving the experience!
- Request for more Member Spotlight Videos: Members, we are looking for more spotlight videos. These are short 2 to 3 minute introductions, sharing with the club something you are passionate about! Let our members get to know you better! Please email your video to president@siliconvalleyrotary.com
Tracking Service Hours
Hello awesome member! Have you been up to service lately? Please share what you’ve been up to, as it allows us to get to know each other better in the process!
The Rotary eClub of Silicon Valley Service Survey
Happy Dollars
Each week we ask our members to share news with the club and toss in a few dollars to support our efforts. The primary goal for this section is to provide a fun way of getting to know each other, while giving back to a good cause.
Last week these members and guests made these generous donations and had this to say:
From member Brian Liddicoat ($15):
"Home from three weeks in Austria with the family: great time had by all in the Alps. Friendlier and a lot cheaper than Switzerland. If you're looking for a great place in Europe for a family trip, I give it five stars. Make sure to take a copy of the Sound of Music soundtrack so you can drive the locals crazy in style."
From guest Renee Zimmerman ($10):
"Dedications Thank you for providing a fun and informative way for me to make up a Rotary meeting."
We are excited to announce that the money donated to happy dollars this week will go directly to the Interact Vietnam Soccer Ball Project!
The Interact Vietnam Soccer Ball Project is a Rotary and Interact service project spearheaded by the Interactors of our district, district 5170, with the mission of distributing indestructible soccer balls from the One World Play Project to children in Vietnam. As we learned from our guest speaker during the meeting the week of July 25, 2016, Oliver Borg, there are many children in Vietnam and around the world who create makeshift soccer balls out of trash in order to play soccer. This is because normal soccer balls often don't last very long in these rural areas where the "soccer fields" are often no more than a dirt clearing with jagged rocks.The money raised for the Interact Vietnam Soccer Ball Project goes towards purchasing indestructible soccer balls from One World Play Project to distribute to children in Vietnam. Here are some photos of the Interact Vietnam Soccer Ball Project:
Still curious? Read more about the Interact Vietnam Soccer Ball Project
- Watch our past meeting recording about the Interact Vietnam Soccer Ball Project
- The official website for the Interact Vietnam Soccer Ball Project
- Read more about the Interact Vietnam Soccer Ball Project here
- Learn more about One World Play Project here
So go ahead, tell us about something good that's happen to you this week, and every dollar you donate this week will go towards buying indestructible soccer balls to children in Vietnam! Think of this like a digital karma jar. All happy dollar submissions will be featured in next week's online meeting!
Visiting Rotarians: If you like what you see, this is a really good chance for you to give a digital shoutout to your club in our next week's meeting, while helping fund some of our projects. Perhaps consider donating an amount similar to what you might have paid for the cost of the meal if you attended a brick and mortar club meeting -- or any amount you are comfortable with![wufoo username="mightymitty" formhash="z1axxwbk1v5i25o" autoresize="true" height="598" header="show" ssl="true"]
Selected Six
Every week at the bottom of our meetings, there is a comments section for members and guests to tell us what they enjoyed about the meeting or to ask questions to the speaker. We select six comments every week from last week's meeting to be featured during this week's meeting.
Here are six comments selected from last week's meeting on Rotaract Australia:
From guest Corina Paraschiv (Montreal, Canada):
"Thanks Chris for making me discover the eclub! I had never been to one before! :) And Jake -- you remind me of so many memories ;) It's great to see the leadership that's taking place halfway around the world! :D Your meetings read like a magazine -- I love the format and I love the curiosity and spark I see there :) Great going! I'm also amazed at how much of a community feel we can feel even though it's virtual. I work in IT, often with distributed teams, so to me this virtual team cohesion is a real fascination point. Watch'n learn ;) I had a small question for the Rotarian that was mentioning collaboration with international education -- did you have example of initiatives you guys have undertaken recently in that arena? :)"
From member Paul Mosso (California, USA):
"Thank you Jack for sharing with us about Rotaract Australia. I think the Mosquito project is a great and very valuable program. Mitty, once again it was a great meeting!"
From member Brian Liddicoat (California, USA):
"What a fun presentation! Makes me want to jump on a plane to Perth right now!"
From member Keith Marsh (California, USA):
"Jake, I am very impressed with what you and the other Rotaractors are doing in Australia."
From guest Rory Olsen (Texas, USA):
"Jake, thank you for an informative, entertaining program."
From member Andrew Taw (California, USA):
"Thanks for your presentation Jake! Really cool work! I believe we met back in 2015 at Big West PETS so it's good to see you again! And thank you, Tzviatko, for your update on your club visit. You remind me that I should be visiting some clubs local to me as well!"
Thank you everyone for attending last week's meeting!
Be sure to leave a comment at the end of this week's meeting after you watch the program below, and perhaps you'll see your comment featured next week!
The Program
Every week we bring to you a program on innovation, education, entrepreneurship, and humanitarian service. This week we are featuring a program about being "Distraction-Free Proof."
It only takes a split second to get distracted, but once we do, distractions steal hours of our most valuable time and energy every day.Our guest today, professional speaker, executive coach, author, and Olympic medalist Paul Kingsman, is a sought after expert on how to be distraction-proof.He mostly focuses his expertise in the financial services arena, where he combines his experiences of winning an Olympic medal in swimming (by only four one-hundredths of a second) with his first-hand knowledge as a financial advisor to help other advisors overcome distractions so they can focus on what matters most in their businesses and succeed sooner.Paul also has a long involvement with Rotary, including being a founding member of Rotary Club of San Rafael Harbor and an honorary member of Rotary Club of Marin Sunrise, both located in the Northern San Francisco Bay Area, where Paul lives.Today, Paul is going to help us be distraction-proof in what we do every day, and he may even give us some insider’s insight into what’s going on with the athletes in Rio.
Members, friends, and guests -- Please help me welcome Paul Kingsman!
Related Links:
- Paul Kingsman Official Website
- Olympics New Zealand page on Paul Kingsman
- Wikipedia page on Paul Kingsman
- Distraction-Proof Advisor by Paul Kingsman on Amazon
Reach out to Paul
If you have any questions for Paul, please feel free to leave a comment or question at the bottom of this meeting page. (If this is the week of August 8, 2016 to August 14, 2016 still!) Or you can reach out directly to him by email address at paul@paulkingsman.com
Upcoming Recordings & Meetings
Ever wondered how you can join one of our live recordings to ask our speakers questions live? Well, now our recordings are available to guests as well!
Upcoming Meetings:
- Week of August 15 -Project Vietnam Foundation with Nicole Pham
- Week of August 22 - Mini Grant Success Story with Allen Thompson
- Week of August 29 - The Human Trafficking Film "SOLD" with Director Jeffrey Brown
Upcoming Recordings:
- This Week: On Tuesday, August 9, 2016 at 8 PM Pacific we will be recording Nicole Pham who will be speaking to us about the Project Vietnam Foundation. The connection address for this recording will be: https://zoom.us/j/7489282423
- Next Week: On Wednesday, August 17, 2016 at 7 PM Pacific we will be recording Allen Thompson who will be speaking to us about his success story with mini grants. The connection address for this recording will be: https://zoom.us/j/7489282423
- On Tuesday, August 23, 2016 at 4 PM Pacific we will be recording Director Jeffrey Brown who will be sharing with us about his film on human trafficking, "SOLD." We will also hear insights from him about the making of the film from the book.The connection address for this recording will be: https://zoom.us/j/7489282423
You’re Almost Done! One last thing: The Attendance Survey..
Thanks for reading and watching this week’s meeting. You have two last things to do before you’re done. First, we have a very short attendance survey below for you to fill out to record your attendance.
Visiting Rotarians, this is how you can get an email receipt to pass along to your club’s secretary as proof that you’ve attended our meeting if you need it for makeups.Non-Rotarian Guests, we would love to see who is dropping by our meetings! This part is optional for you though. If you think you may want to join our eClub at some point in the future, we would strongly recommend you fill out the attendance form as it will improve your chances of success for your membership application.More importantly, for all members and guests — we strongly recommend and ask that you leave a comment below in our comments area below. Tell us how you enjoyed the program. Ask this week’s speaker any questions you might have. Or just stop by and say hello and tell us where you’re from![wufoo username="mightymitty" formhash="m1red2vg1kqeo3k" autoresize="true" height="783" header="show" ssl="true"]
