Living, Leading and Succeeding to Purpose in a World of Unreason

http://justcoachit.blogware.com  by Irene Rivka Becker, Chief Success Officer, www.justcoachit.com

I have achieved success that most people only dream of, and yet I am also a survivor and a thriver whose journey has never been easy.  I would like to share a quotation that remains the anchor in my life, the chain that holds together the values I cherish, the vision I seek to create, the good work I am dedicated to achieving…

“Thou shalt not be a victim. Thou shalt not be a perpetrator. Above all, thou shalt not be a bystander.” The Holocaust Museum, Washington, D.C.

I step totally out of the comfort zone to share with you the punctuations points between my successes and achievements.  I have been emotionally, financially and physically abused, raped, beaten, buried alive and left to die, cheated, left for dead in a heap of gravel watching my blood flow, betrayed, de-frauded and wounded.  I have survived physical maladies that threatened my life. And, I have also ached with the simple but profound pains and disappointments that punctuate every human life and career.

And, yet I awaken each day with a prayer of thanks for the gift of life, and I go to bed with the same prayer.  I know that for all I have suffered, I have been given the greatest gift of all because I have learned to use every tear, every difficult experience to make the commitment that I will never be a victim again, I will not be a perpetrator, and I refuse to be a bystander living a life of quiet desperation in which I have forsaken my ability to truly live, lead and succeed to purpose in order to simply exist.

I refuse to draw up my heart into a tight fist so that I cannot feel for the pain of the brothers and sisters of all races, creeds and religions with whom I share this planet.  I refuse to use others to simply achieve my selfish goals and desires because I seek not simply to exist, but to live.  And, truly living cannot be defined by what we command, control or acquire, but rather by stretching boldly and often courageously to make a positive difference in our life and the lives of others.  How we choose to make this difference, the magnitude of our contribution differs  but there is not one human being who cannot make a positive difference through his or her life and work if they so choose.

And, I believe that there are more and more people in the world who are realizing that we are at a critical juncture, a different place in time, space and history.  A time where the world if flat, and it is getting flatter.  The sheer velocity of changes, challenges, competition, crises and opportunities we face is accelerating faster than ever before.  We stand individually and collectively on a glass cliff where we will either see the greatest renaissance humanity has ever known or plunge into the dark abyss of chaos, greed, discord, destruction.

Too many of us spend the short life we are given never questioning our purpose, never trying to find greater meaning in our lives.  Meaning that does not make us a victim, a perpetrator or a bystander in this journey of life, but an active and co-active participant in creating and re-creating a better present and future in which ever way speaks to the unique purpose that we each have.

As a Jewish woman, a member of a people who have been the most continuously persecuted group of human beings in history, a people whose sheer existence and positive contribution to the world defies logic, I believe in the power of G-d, the power of miracles.  And, as a woman who remains here to tell my story, I can see the hand of G-d in my life.

G-d is a verb, and that verb is love.  If we cannot understand it, if we cannot use what we experience even the most difficult, gut-wrenching and painful of experiences to engage this verb our lives remain devoid of true meaning and purpose.  We struggle with a sense of profound frustration that remains. We acquire, but we never truly command, we aspire but we never inspire the best in ourselves and others. We exist, but we never truly live.

Today I am starting a new blog, in addition to the blog that speaks to my work as a transformational leadership coach, speaker and writer.  A blog that speaks to my journey, your journey, our journey to truly live, lead and succeed to purpose in a world of unreason.  Just Coach It-The 3Q Edge™ will remain, but this blog will speak to the challenges, the pain, the frustration, the human hurdles that we each face in this life of unreason.

Yours in service, Irene