Life Blueprint

I finished an amazing two-day leadership conference last October. In a gathering like this, I became both motivated and mad.

- Ariel B. Driz

I was motivated by the stories of struggle and triumph I heard from individuals whom we highlighted in the event, who had to overcome tremendous odds to reach different levels of achievement. What was amazing was the fact that I knew these people—they were either acquaintances, colleagues or friends who took the “narrow road” and refused to succumb to challenges. Those inspiring stories reinforced what my mentor, J. Michael Wilson, once said: “You succeed in spite of your circumstances, not because of them!”

I was mad because their stories made me look back at recent history and come to the conclusion that I could have done more to achieve more, to help more. The stories I heard were like a mirror that asked the glaring question: “So what am I doing?”

It made me realize the following: