WORLDS FASTEST TALKING FEMALE INSPIRE US (603.32 WORDS IN 54.2 SECONDS)

The article you're about to read is one of the best I have read in recent times. Modupe Ogundare Phoebe, the analyzer, did a very wonderful breakdown of the lessons and I really got inspired. It’s kind of long though, but you won’t regret reading this. Enjoy!

WORLDS FASTEST TALKING FEMALE INSPIRE US (603.32 WORDS IN 54.2 SECONDS)

“A native New Yorker, Fran Capo was always a fast talker, but she never planned on breaking the record…” Now, this did it for me, to think that you can break a world record without so much as planning to do so, do I hear a spur of the moment kind of person say “YEA! Things actually do come out right sometimes without making plans”. Not here to dispute that but I got to know from her story that even the quickies we have sometimes require some “careful calculation” if you are the type that don't like the word "planning”; “Sorry to bust your bubble, YES! They do". Her story practically lifted my spirit, and I thought it nice to share with you. So we’ll just take a journey into her triumph experience and pick up some lessons on our way. The next voice you’ll hear will be Fran’s.

Enjoy!!!

 "One day, Dinah Prince from the Daily News called and said she wanted to do an article on me. When she had finished interviewing me for the article, she asked, “What are you planning to do next?’ Next? Well at the time there was nothing I was planning on doing next, so I asked her what she meant, stalling for time. She said she really wanted to follow my career. Here was a woman from The Daily News telling me she was interested in me! So I thought I’d better tell her something. What came out was, “I’m thinking about breaking the Guinness Book of World Records for the Fastest Talking Female.” The newspaper article came out the next day, and she included my parting remarks about trying to break the world’s Fastest-Talking Female record.

At about 5:00 P.M. that afternoon, I got a call from CNN asking me to go on the Larry King Live Show. They wanted me to try to break the record. They told me they would send a limo to pick me up at 8:00. That was only three hours. They insisted because they wanted me to do it that same night! Talk about pressure".

MODUPE’S NOTE: Sometimes you just have to say it as it comes, truth is: if it's not there it won't surface. I want to believe she had at one time or the other toyed with the idea of doing it, or had been told she could but didn't think much of it. Letting the overly meticulous side of us go at times and letting in the slapdash side could place us on the right track to achieving some our dreams.

“Now, I had never heard of Larry King Live, and when I heard the woman say she was from the Manhattan Channel, I thought, “Hmmm that’s a porn channel, right?” She patiently assured me that it was a respectable national television show and that this was a one-time offer and opportunity – it was either that night or not at all. I stared at the phone. I had a gig that night in New Jersey, but it didn’t take a rocket scientist to figure out which of the two engagements I should do. I told her I had to find a replacement for my 7:00 p.m. show. I started calling every comic I knew. By the grace of God, I finally found one who would fill in for me. With five minutes before the deadline, I told the producer of the Larry King Live Show I could make it. Then I sat down to figure out what on earth I was going to do on the show. I called Guinness to find out what the rules were to break a fast-talking record. They told me I would have to recite something from either Shakespeare or the Bible. Since Shakespeare and I never really got along, I figured my best bet was the bible. I started reciting the ninety-first Psalm, a prayer for protection that my mom had taught me. I began practicing, over and over again, timing myself with a stopwatch to see how fast I could do it. As my speed increased, a rush of emotions came over me. I think I can do this! I was both nervous and excited at the same

time”.

MODUPE’S NOTE: Ok, so there you have it; she actually did her home work, mindless of the fact that she had just few minutes to prepare, for some of us always coming up with that old and tired line, "there's just no time", "the deadline's just too close for comfort". Only a detailed and determined person could spin that in that time. And this reiterates the part where I said you need to have something in you that prepares you for days like this. Imagine if she just had to learn the Shakespeare line or Bible verse, learn the words perfectly and commit it to memory first, then go ahead to try reciting it at a fast pace, well maybe we wouldn’t be discussing her today. She sounds like a sweet person, plus I just love that she loves God.

“At 8:00 p.m. the limousine picked me up. I practiced the whole way there, and by the time I reached the New York studio I felt as if my tongue was going to fall off. Just in case, I asked the producer, “What if I don’t break the record?’ She smiled and said, “Larry doesn’t care if you break it or not. He just cares that you try it on his show first.” So I asked myself, “Okay, Capo. What’s the worst thing that can happen? I’ll look like a fool on national television! I could live through that. Then I asked, “And what if I break the record?” Now that would be great. So I decided to give it my best shot, and I did. I broke the record, becoming the World’s Fastest Talking Female by speaking 585 words in one minute in front of a national television audience. (I broke it again two years later, with 603 words per minute.) My career took off. People often ask me how I did that or how I’ve managed to do many of the things I’ve done, like lecturing for the first time, or going on stage or bungee jumping. I tell them I live my life by this simple philosophy: I always say yes first, and then ask myself,” Now, what do I have to do to accomplish that?” If I get the slightest bit nervous I think, “What is the worst thing that can happen if I don’t succeed? The answer is simply, I don’t succeed! And what’s the best thing that can happen? I succeed. What more can life ask of you? Be yourself, and have a good time!

MODUPE’S NOTE: Do I hear someone say goodbye to that part of them that’s quick to show them the things they haven’t gotten a hold of leaving out the ones they do extremely well, it’s a pessimistic stratagem, and it’s called focusing so much on your faults that you lose sight of your strong points. Are you doing something you love? But, you don’t feel there yet, my advice will be to keep at it; she kept practicing the whole time there. Also, for those that have set limits for themselves, I think it’s time to raise the bar. If she could go back to break her own record by a whooping difference of 18 words, even you can surpass yourself (that height you’ve got erected in your head has to go). Conclusively, never fear failure. By my count a large number of our fears don’t raise their heads when disregarded, and ensure you stay buoyant through it all.

photo credit: http://mariashriver.com

Story source: [francapo.com]

Live! Love!! Inspire!!!

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