We are inspired by the people that rise to serve a cause. They etch their devotion on history and leave an indelible impression of their courage for those that follow.

We just watched two movies that captured the essence of The Enlightenment and the wave that transformed the world in the 18th century.  It is still very possible that the 21st century will also be a new age of ‘enlightenment’. As we go forward in our time, it is instructive to appreciate the struggles of the 18th century – to be inspired by the spirit that moved these men.

The fascination for me in watching the events unfold in these two movies is studying the point of engagement – the anatomy of the moment of decision, the point at which destiny is set.

Thomas Jefferson, a Movie by Ken Burns follows the story of a Founding Father, the third President of the United States. And the principal author of the Declaration of Independence who etched into history the immortal words about the equality of men being a self evident truth and the unalienable Rights of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness that are endowed by the Creator, but he did not free his own slaves.

We see Jefferson negotiating one crossroads after another. He must endure the crossroads of serving the American Cause, being away from his family and bearing tremendous loss and grief. He is torn between the crossroads of the head and the heart, and the crossroad of the life of public service and then his retreat into the study of science. He embodies the spirit and struggle of America and of the age of Enlightenment.

The second movie, Amazing Grace recounts the story of William Wilberforce who led the movement to abolish slavery in the British Empire and its colonies.

Wilberforce stands at his own crossroads. He too is called in two directions, into a life of solitude and into the life of public service. At this ‘moment of truth’, a decision is made and a destiny is fashioned.  The story of Amazing Grace is a story of being lost and then being found; of people being blind and then seeing.

These two men teach us about courage, about peering into the future and about seeing what must be done here and now. They encourage us to embrace these simple Jeffersonian words: “I like the dreams of the future better than the history of the past” and to find the cause of our own time.

© Aviv Shahar

Aviv Shahar :: May.05.2008 :: Movies :: No Comments »

This Key points to a clear and present danger. There are probably more problems and ailments caused by this blind spot than by any other issue. Your success and well-being can be seriously hampered by this insidious blind spot and freeing yourself from it can amount to finding a new beginning and giving yourself a second life.

This has to make the top of your CIA watch list. It shows up as self-doubt, low self-esteem or insecurity. There is almost nothing more debilitating and dangerous than chronic self-doubt and insecurity. Here is a little inventory of what self-doubt, low self-esteem and insecurity can do to you and to your people:

1. Sap your energy
2. Drain you emotionally
3. Stifle initiatives
4. Dampen creativity
5. Diminish morale
6. Separate you from your strengths and good instincts
7. Produce anxiety
8. Kill collaboration
9. Paralyze action
10. Deplete the immune system and make you susceptible to a variety of health conditions

A wide range of physical and psychological conditions can be traced back to self-doubt and low self-esteem. Major studies have linked the incidence of depression, anxiety, asthma and immune system disorders directly to how a person views themselves and the level of care they take or do not take in areas like exercise, nutrition, sleep, stress relief and cognitive function.

Let’s be clear: there is an important distinction between being unsure in the face of a situation with inherent ambiguity and having self-doubt, insecurity and anxiety. Actually, handling ambiguity effectively and gracefully is a critical competence in today’s rapidly shape-shifting world.

What is the blind spot? Click here to read more about this threat and the three steps you can take to address it.

© Aviv Shahar

Aviv Shahar :: May.02.2008 :: The Key :: No Comments »