How was the experience a deep meaning for Douglas

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According to The Book of Lists, the fear of public speaking ranks number one in the minds of the majority of people, Jar above the fear of death and disease. So was it with me. I had always wanted to be applauded but was terrified of the spotlight. My first public humiliation came when, as a top-heavy mushroom in the second grade, I Jell off the stage while acting in a play. I could not face people for weeks. Kids are more cruel than any other species since they are truthful. I wished I might as well have died. Two days later, all others had for gotten but I could not.   My next ordeal was in the fifth grade, when my teacher announced my name on the stage assembly. I blanked out. I did not even hear the topic and I again felt humiliated. The words were propelled from me by some supernatural force. Yet, I couldn't say what I wanted. Finally, I had a temper tantrum and was made to write I must not yell at the teacher, 500 times. But strangely, I had earned a new respect among my peers as an instigator!   Yet, I knew it was not the end of the world. Soon, I realized that as long as I believed in what I was saying, I could say it! The more passionately I believed it, the more passionately I talked about it. I realized how seldom people think about anyone but themselves. There is no real trick in public speaking, there is only confidence. If you don't have confidence in yourself, you must begin by having confidence in your message.   Once I went to talk, expecting eight or ten people. In a quiet little conference room, I began rehearsing my speech, focusing on how I was going to concentrate on only one person at a time, and talk personally to every one. But, much to my horror, I was led into this grand auditorium, filled with more people than I felt ever existed in one space. The lights were up, and I could see all of their faces. Worse yet, they could see me. Is my tie straight, is my shirt stained, oh my God what was I to do?...   Soon I heard my voice say 'Good morning ladies and gentlemen. I'm here to ...' Then I waited and anticipated—No tomatoes, or eggs but cheers! That was pretty easy; I'll go for it,' I thought.   I stepped out of the character of a timid wimp into the character of a confident public speaker, an expert and slayer of dragons. I have little memory of my performance, only that when it was over, there was applause. I was at once exhilarated and exhausted. I had done well, and was booked for a repeat performance. Since that trial by fire, I would never again find myself terrified of a live audience.   Coming to a minor revelation, I realized that the 'rules' for speaking that I had heard for years were true. Know your subject, prepare both intellectually and emotionally, speak with confidence, and be sincere. However, audiences at times, continue to make my toes curl. 

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 She could easily be called the Helen Keller of our times. The darkness that surrounds her life has not prevented Bibi Mohammadi from spreading the light of education. At twenty six, Bibi, whose lower limbs are paralysed teaches more than 300 students at her school in Nathnagar, Bhagalpur.   Born in a poor weaver family, Bibi cleared her intermediate examination—an achievement, considering that her six other normal siblings failed. But, her achievement has not come easy. At school, she was the laughing stock and when other childrenJumped and ran about she simply watched them.   In 1983, while she was still studying, she decided to start a school of her own with around 50 students. Now she teaches over 300 children in three shifts.   Keeping in view the poor economic condition of her locality, she charges a nominal fee of only Rs 10 from each student. Interestingly, she is the lone teacher and manages all the classes single- handedly. With slippers in her hands, she crawls from one corner to the other of the dingy, thatched-roof classroom. What keeps her going are words of inspiration from Qari Saheb, the Imam of the Nath nagar mosque. He told her to continue with her education so that by teaching children she could become financially independent and not feel handicapped.   Many such stories are Gandhi's freedom struggle; Martin Luther King; and various everyday examples. 

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At last I felt released—free to walk the trails and climb the peaks and to brush aside fear. Over time, I got over a paralysing fear of flying to actually enjoy the experience.   My first flight was in 1999, when myJamily and I travelled to Egypt. I don't remember much about the flight, but for the fact that I hated it. I didn't fly again until 2003, and since then I've made over 15 flights of varying lengths. My most recent flight was over nine hours, and it was the most relaxed travel experience I've had in a long time.   It was a common problem—I had nightmares about planes crashing that often led to me waking up in a cold sweat. My rationale told me that there is a much larger chance of being killed in a car accident, but the fear of being killed on a flight seems to be much greater. It might be because plane crashes are always given a high media profile, or because they're often much larger than a road accident. I think the main fear comes from the lack of control people have when they're flying.   I used a technique I learnt from lucid dreaming, called a 'reality check'. The idea is that whenever you perform a common action, you consciously ask yourself if you're dreaming. So, every time I saw a plane, I would perform a reality check. This enabled me to change the outcome to something more pleasant. It takes practice and discipline, but this really helped with the bad dreams.               I made a conscious effort to stop myself whenever those thoughts came up, and to think about a more peaceful situation. For example, I changed these visions so that instead of the plane plummeting into the ground, it would crash land and everyone would make off it unharmed. Instead of seeing myself paralysed with terror, I transformed the image of myself into someone calm who offered help to the other passengers. It sounds simple, but it made a big difference to my general attitude about flying.   To put my mind at ease, I looked around to learn about the safety checks that are performed, and how safe various airliners are. These pieces of information made a huge impact, because they appealed to the logical side of my brain. Flying is safe. I've found that getting a window seat makes the flight much more enjoyable. Some of the views can be absolutely breathtaking, especially around takeoff and landing. Take some time to reflect on how amazing it is, and it will help you relax.