The Storm

As I sit here, the world is in a pandemic. A storm has come in the name of COVID-19. This storm, at least here in Nashville was preceded by a devastating tornado that caused major damage and loss of life. Two weeks later the US and the world are being griped by COVID-19. Whole countries are on lockdown, states are going on lockdown, cities are going on lockdown, mass layoffs are happening in the hospitality industry as businesses are shutting down to help flatten the curve. Social distancing, shelter-in-place, quarantine, epidemic, pandemic, shortages, essential movement, and so many other words have become top in daily conversations.

We are living in a time that many things are being exposed from businesses that truly used their Corporate Social Responsibility as a smoke screen, our selfishness, our depravity, our loneliness, our facades. All have come crumbling down. What is coming back is a realignment of who we are as individuals, nations, businesses, leaders, friends, spouses, family members, parents, grandparents, and children. We are working to protect the most vulnerable. Human decency is coming back. The facade that organizations that we thought were there to protect are incapable of protecting due to red tape. Now don’t get me wrong I believe during this time a more leaner government may come about that can react faster and more decisive during a time like this. Organizations will redevelop CSR principles to make sure that their number one assets are protected (their people).

This storm called COVID-19 will have major impact on everyday life for the foreseeable future. On top of this other natural disasters are happening; earthquakes, locusts, natural disasters, and so much more. During this time many that are sheltering-in-place are thinking of ways to improve life, create new content, chefs creating new foods, bartenders/mixologist creating new libations, distillers creating new alcohols, brewers creating new booze, new ways to create a more sustainable energy supply, playwrights creating new live theater experiences, musicians creating new music, authors creating new stories, and the list can go on and on and on. We are seeing a reset and I will cover that in another post this coming week.

Right now we are in a storm and the other day, once the fog of all that has transpired in March for me personally, an image came to mind and story. As you know I am a man of faith and a follower of the Way. I believe right now we are in a storm and we are panicking and afraid, yet I see the world on a boat in the midst of a major storm and we are afraid of what is going on. In the back of the boat peacefully asleep is a man unfazed by all that is going on. He is awoken by the noise of not the storm but those cry out in fear and pain. He stands up and goes to the front of the boat; passing all those that are busy doing work to calm their fears in great dismay. Each person, country, nation, language, ethnic group He passes a peace comes over them. As He approaches the front of the boat He turns to all the nations and says “I am Greater than this storm. I am Greater than your fears, I am Greater than any nation, leader, and I am working with the healers for I am the Great Healer, the Great Physician. I am the Lord of lords, King of kings, and the Prince of Peace. I am Adonai, I am YHWH.” He turns to the storm and rebukes the storm and a great calm comes across the ocean and a peace permeates over the world.

If this vision I had reminds you of anything then you would be right. It is similar to the story in Scriptures of Jesus and the disciples. If you want to look it up here is the story is found in Matthew 8:23-27; Mark 4:35-41; and Luke 8:22-25.

I know many that will read this post do not have faith in God or anything else; however, I do and I am just sharing what I have felt in the past few weeks. So those that don’t believe I ask you two things, one allow people that do have faith to have their faith; and two in what you do believe good vibes or what not send them out. This is an all out effort by all humanity.

There is hope during this storm. There is peace during this storm. “Fear not for I am with you always” Isaiah 41:10. “Even though I walk through the valley of shadow of death, I fear no evil, for You are with me; Your rod and Your staff, they comfort me.” Psalm 23.4.

As I mentioned there is hope. There are millions around the world working to control this pandemic. They are scientist, doctors, nurses, pharmaceutical companies, other medical staff. I have seen videos from Switzerland that at nine pm they all open their windows and begin to applaud and cheer on these exhausted healthcare workers. I have seen videos of those in Italy singing to help lift the spirits. Here in the US musicians are doing live shows from their living rooms and broadcasting across the globe. There is hope. We will survive.

During this time remember, those that are on the frontlines of this pandemic. Pray for them daily. Send good vibes their way. Be gracious to others. Love others. If you see one on your necessary run’s to the stores tell them from six feet away thank you. If you have the means pay for what they are buying. Help the first responders get food as their transportation cannot make it through the drive-thru. Prepare masks for the medical staffs. Help those impacted due to the shutdowns monetarily, with food, necessities or whatever you can. Reach out to people you care about. Care for each other from a distance. Love each other. We will get through this. We will overcome. We will come out stronger. We will love harder. We will be more balanced. We will be okay.

THANK YOU TO ALL THAT ARE FIGHTING THIS PANDEMIC AND THOSE THAT WORKING FOR A VACCINE! THANK YOU TO THE DOCTORS AND NURSES, CNA’S, MA’s, HOSPICE, NURSING HOME, FIRST RESPONDERS! YOU GOT THIS AND WE GOT YOU!

BE BOLD! BE COURAGEOUS! BE FEARLESS!

Joel

PS: As my source of income has been affected during the tornado and COVID-19 and you would like to help to make sure this blog stays up and help with the launch of a podcast and vlogging. Please email me at joel@pathofone.com and I will give you ways to help. I am not a 501(c) or a for profit organization. I am an individual just trying to bring hope and share what I have learned. Thank you.

Path of Perseverance

One of my favorite historical figures is Winston Churchill. Prime Minister Churchill was not a very popular member of parliament; however, he found his way into become the Prime Minister of England during a very tumultuous time as Germany was looking to invade England and make it a conquered land. Members of Parliament wanted to talk peace with Adolf Hitler; however, Churchill stood his ground and during those dark days fought to make sure that England would remain free from the grip of Nazi Germany and the Reich.

Churchill became Prime Minister 10 May 1940 a short eight months after the start of World War II. Shortly after the King of England made him Prime Minister, parliament wanted to cast a vote of no confidence as he would not tow the party line, nor bow to Hitler. However, with his bullish attitude and passion for the people of England and England in general, Churchill would not back down from protecting his country and not making peace with Hitler. This by far is one of the greatest aspects of World War II and contained the threat of the Reich from reaching further across the globe. If you have not watched it already, go watch Darkest Hour and it details the tumultuous time that Churchill came to power and how he stood up to his own party to stop Hitler.

On 29 October 1941, a short year after becoming Prime Minister, Churchill went to his alma mater Harrow School. Now this is one of the most misquoted speeches of our time as most believe that Churchill just stood up repeated the phrase Never give up, never, never, never; however, this is not the case. Towards the end of the speech which is magnificent, Churchill says these words:

“Never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never-in nothing, great or small, large or petty - never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy. “ (Churchill, 1941)

The next lines after this infamous portion of the speech are just profound as Churchill speaks on how other countries thought England would not survive the threat of Nazi Germany and Adolf Hitler.

We stood all alone a year ago, and to many countries it seemed that our account was closed, we were finished. All this tradition of ours, our songs, our School history, this part of the history of this country, were gone and finished and liquidated.
Very different is the mood today. Britain, other nations thought, had drawn a sponge across her slate. But instead our country stood in the gap. There was no flinching and no thought of giving in; and by what seemed almost a miracle to those outside these Islands, though we ourselves never doubted it, we now find ourselves in a position where I say that we can be sure that we have only to persevere to conquer.” (Churchill, 1941).

Churchill whole life was filled with adversity and he overcame so much from a father who thought Winston would not amount to anything and other mistakes and hurdles; however, despite all of this Churchill in his own words never gave in. There are several great books to read about Churchill here are two of them: Churchill: Walking with Destiny by Andrew Roberts (also made into a movie Churchill: Walking with Destiny) and the three part book series The Last Lion by William Manchester and Paul Reid.

Just like Churchill we all face adversity in life, most likely not on a grand scale as he did; however, we all can learn from his “never surrender” and “never give in” mantra. Life is difficult and leadership is just the same. There are times that the people who “know better” will be giving you bad advice and you just have to go with your gut. There are seasons in life that just are difficult and you are unable able to find a clear path. Persevering is a key to any type of success.

Often times you will have to go at things alone and contrary to popular belief in leadership. This isn’t because you are crazy or don’t know what you are doing; however, it is because you know what is right. The masses, media, career politicians, business professionals, entertainment, and talking heads say that things should be one way and in truth they should be another way. The status quo is not always the best option. Sometimes the best option is to go against the flow and move forward and making a new path. These times get hard and they are often met with resistance, anger, hatred, confusion, challenges, and so many other obstacles. Learn from Churchill and blaze your own trail. If Churchill listened to other countries and his own party the world very well may look extremely different than it does to do. Churchill persevered and forged his path forward even during the darkest of days.

So I ask you! Who is the Churchill of today? Who will go against the grain and create a better tomorrow? Where is the Martin Luther Kings? Who will persevere when all the world is against them? When those want to take you down will you persevere?

Never give in! Never surrender!

Be Bold! Be Fearless! Be Courageous!

Joel

Churchill, W. (1941). Address to Harrow School 29 October 1941. http://www.eng.uwaterloo.ca/~jcslee/poetry/churchill_nevergivein.html

Photo Credit: Yousuf Karish

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Path of Hope

This particular blog has taken me a while to write. There seemed to be something always blocking me from writing it, as well as, not really knowing how to write this particular blog. For starters I am not a trained psychological professional. Yes I have had classes in the past and I encourage anyone that reads this blog and is struggling with what I am about to discuss is to reach out to a trained professional. Always remember there is hope!

Robin Williams stated “I think the saddest people always try their hardest to make people happy because they know what it’s like to feel absolutely worthless and they don’t want anyone else to feel like that.” Tragically, we lost Robin to this what I call the silent killer depression. A well respected pastor committed suicide over depression as well. The list can go on and on. WE ALL HAVE BEEN IMPACTED BY DEPRESSION.

Hope for Depression (Hope for Depression, 2019) stated that depression is the most prevalent mental-illness, or as they prefer to say mind-brain illness, in the United States at a staggering 99% of all diagnosed. This includes PTSD, postpartum depression, bipolar disorder, anxiety, and suicide (Hope for Depression, 2019). Depression is such an epidemic that the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), the World Health Organization (WHO), and many other international bodies closely watch and try to find solutions for the growing problem.

The CDC stated that the 50% of all Americans will have been diagnosed with a mental health issue at some point in their lives (CDC, 2018). The CDC further found that depression is the third most common cause of hospitalization in the United States and that those that suffer from severe mental health issues shortens their life span by 25 years (CDC, 2018). Staggering if you ask me. However, I am not done with the data just yet.

Hope for Depression compiled data from several sources for the this next round of data I am going to share. HFD quoted R.C. Kesslers data from 2005 that over 18 million adults in the United States or one in ten face depression at anytime in a given year (HFD, 2019). Depression is the leading cause of disability for ages 15-44, and is the primary reason someone dies from suicide roughly every 12 minutes (HFD, 2019)! According to the CDC that equates to 41,000 lives lost due to depression just in the United States which is more than homicides in 2013 with an estimated 13,000 lives lost due to homicide (HFD, 2019).

Worldwide the epidemic affects over 300 million people according to the WHO (HFD, 2019). WHO stated that depression is one of the most debilitating condition in the world and is in the same category of terminal cancer (as stated in HFD, 2019). Furthermore, the WHO stated that epidemic of depression “is the leading cause of disability worldwide, and is a major contributor to the overall global burden of disease” (HFD, 2019). Depression knows now prejudice, it affects all genders, ages, nationalities, sexualities, and income levels around that globe.

Sobering statistics if you ask me. Statistics stated by Merikangas and Greenberg in HFD (2019) the economic impact on businesses in the United States is estimated to be over $100 billion (USD) a year. Depression accounts for 490 million disability days a year and a lost of $23 billion (USD) in lost workdays a year (HFD, 2019).

Okay, now that I think I have got your attention. You maybe sitting here wondering how does all this relate to Path of Hope as the title suggests of this topic. How does this impact leadership capabilities? And I am sure there is a plethora of other questions you all may have. Well first and foremost, as the human species we must fight against the ridiculous taboo of discussing mental health. We have all seen the outcomes of what can happen play out on the news and breaking news cycles. We are not comfortable to speak about it even though as the WHO stated depression is listed in the same category as terminal cancer. Suicide according to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH, 2019) is one of the leading causes of death in the United States (NIMH, 2019). NIMH (2019) stated according to the CDC 47,000 lives were lost due to suicide in 2017. BeFrienders Worldwide a volunteer action to prevent suicide stated that the data that is given may be higher than what is reported due to the stigma of suicide and mental health issues (2018). BeFrienders stated WHO statistics that 16 people per 100,000 will commit suicide a year which equates to 1 every 40 seconds; however, by 2020 it is predicted that this rate will increase to 1 every 20 seconds (BeFrienders, 2018). Suicide is the 11th cause of death in the United States and the rate is increasing amongst adolescents and the elderly (BeFrienders, 2018).

All this to say we need to drop the taboo of talking about mental health. It impacts every aspect of life and knows no boundary. Though rates drop in those in higher incomes and a difference between men and women, it still needs to be discussed. So much can trigger depression. A traumatic episode, financial concerns, giving birth, abuse, sexual assault, lost of a loved one, loss of hope, loneliness, despair, anxiety, medical issues, our age taking a toll on our bodies, loss of job, and the list goes on. We are compassionate people and if we can come together as one voice and help prevent people from taking their lives then it is a good day. There is much work that does need to be done; however, as I stated in prior posts we most create a ripple effect. Many of us do not have a megaphone that can cause major ripples; however, we do have an impact on those in our direct circle. Be open with others. If you sense that something is wrong ask. Don’t pressure but ask. Encourage those that are suffering. Be there is they need to talk. Let them know you love them. Bring back hope of decent human beings. Love yourself and love people. I personally go by the stance Love God, Love People and I do my best to live that throughout my life.

We have all had days that we have felt like hope was lost. That the darkness of life comes crashing in and you don’t know what to do or what tomorrow will look like, heck you may not even know what today will look like. But remember, you have had a day like this before and the morning still came, you are still breathing, you have conquered issues in the past and you can and will do it again. The key is taking the right steps forward. One step at a time. No one has conquered anything in one day. Be patient with yourself. Learn to love yourself in a healthy way. Seek help from the many trained professionals out there. Reach out to the nonprofits that are there to help free of charge.

To those right now that are struggling with depression and suicidal thoughts. First and foremost, reach out to someone you trust. Pick up the phone and call them or text them. Just let them know you need help. To the person on the other side. This is not a time to give opinions or solutions let them talk and let them know you are there and that you care. If they ask come over if at all possible. If they ask go with them to a session and wait patiently as they begin their road to healing. We are all on a path. It may seem that the Path of One is an individual journey; however, the beauty in the English language, one is not a lonely number is can mean so many different things and a unit, or team, are part of being a Path of One.

As I wrap this post up. I want to encourage each one of you that read this. You are precious. You have a purpose. There is a hope for a brighter tomorrow even if it does not look like there is today. Life is difficult and none of us got a road map and we make the best of it everyday. Be true to yourself and don’t listen to the nay sayers. Those people need to be cut out of our lives. I pray that each person that reads this post and all my posts will feel love, acceptance, hope, peace, joy, and happiness. I believe that our today and tomorrow will be greater than what we are seeing today. You all are here to make an impact! Never forget that! And if no one has told you today you are beautiful, you are handsome, you are smart, you are wise, you are passionate, you are amazing!

One last quote from Robin Williams, “If you’re that depressed, reach out to someone. And remember, suicide is a permanent solution to a temporary problem.”

Be Bold! Be Courageous! Be Fearless!

Joel

If you are contemplating suicide please reach out to the National Suicide Prevention Hotline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255).

Also if you have healthcare coverage a majority of providers and organizations have mental health as part of your benefits. Reach out to your provider and they can connect you to a licensed professional. Speak with your benefits coordinator at your job to see if it is covered.

BeFrienders Worldwide (2018). Suicide Statistics. www.befrienders.org

Centers for Disease and Prevention Control (2018). Mental Health. www.cdc.gov/mentalhealth/data_publications

Hope for Depression (2019). Depression Facts. www.hopefordepression.org/depression-facts

National Institute of Mental Health (2019). Suicide. www.nimh.nih.gov/health/statistics/suicide.shtml