Meaningful Life Skills with Rabbi Simon Jacobson

Life is often fraught with challenges and difficulties. Yes, there are many times where life is thankfully filled with celebrations, joy, happiness, beautiful events and experiences. But there is no person on earth who hasn’t also been affected by the other part of life, the pain and suffering, the distress and anxieties – everybody has dealt with this in their own personal lives. Which brings us to the age-old question: How can a good G-d allow bad things to happen? If G-d is just, how can injustice occur? Why are good people made to suffer?There are those who have rejected G-d for this precise reason. But does a G-dless life make it easier to suffer? The fact is that each of us – no matter who you are – feels pain when we see innocent people senselessly suffer. If we did not have a sense of justice and compassion, why do we expect goodness to be rewarded? Why are we troubled when good people suffer? For many people G-d is actually their only solace and source of hope in difficult times. But the question still looms large: how can a good G-d allow bad things to happen?  Please join Rabbi Simon Jacobson in this engaging class tackling the difficult questions of theodicy, reconciling a good and just G-d with a life where evil and bad things happen. What is the healthy way to face pain and suffering? Can we understand G-d’s ways? How do we remain strong and grow through challenges?

19 Heinä 202323min

When you think of competition, how do you react? What feelings and thoughts does it conjure up?For many the word evokes feelings of failure, losing, or even humiliation. A competitive nature may not tolerate that another person won, leaving them bitter, angry and resentful. For others, the word elicits excitement, overzealousness to take on the challenge and be victorious at all costs, even if it means trampling others in the way. It can be about dominance, power and control. Either extreme doesn't seem positive. But does it have to be that way? Is competition all bad? Are there any benefits to it? Please join Rabbi Simon Jacobson for a dynamic discussion exploring the transformative potential of competition. Delve into the psychology and mechanics of healthy competition, uncovering its ability to drive personal growth, foster resilience, and ignite excellence. Discover how to harness competition as a motivational force, while also learning to navigate its potential pitfalls. In any area you are seeking to grow -- whether in a relationship, as an entrepreneur, an athlete or someone involved in personal development -- this class will equip you with the tools to embrace challenge and competition as a powerful catalyst for achievement and self-improvement. It will teach you how competition - healthy competition - can actually make you the best you can possibly be, drawing out your deepest strengths and helping you reach unprecedented heights.

13 Heinä 202328min

Do you feel alive, truly alive? Is your life filled with enthusiasm, energy, passion and excitement? We all go through ups and downs in life; there are times that we are sluggish and can feel unmotivated, uninspired, apathetic, and even zombie-like. And there are times that we feel like we are burning on all cylinders, making the most of our time and actualizing our potential. What state do you generally find yourself in? Is our energy level simply based on our moods and vicissitudes? Is it dependent on how we are wired: Are some people just more spirited than others? Or are we all able to achieve high octane levels to feel fully alive? And if so, what can one do to stimulate this state of being not only biological alive, not merely surviving, but living life to the fullest -- with spirit, energy and passion? Imagine what it would feel like to wake up each morning and jump out of bed with powerful anticipation, a mindset to seize the day and accomplish great things! And imagine being able to do so day after day, at full speed without burning out. Of course we all need moments of respite to reboot and recharge, but overall how wonderful it would be to generate and initiate that type of energy? Please join Rabbi Simon Jacobson and discover powerful methods to invigorating and electrifying your life, making the most of every moment and unleashing your tremendous potential. Learn the five levels of your soul -- each one brimming with more energy than the next, and how to harness these dimensions to infuse into your life passion, fervor and inspiration and begin living a life that is truly alive.

6 Heinä 202334min

What power and potency do our words carry? Words are everywhere. Books, media, video, marketing, talk radio -- the list goes on. Words inundating us from every direction. And of course, the words we use endlessly. Words we think, speak and write. Do we even know how many words we utter a day? How many words we text? How many words we communicate? Do our words matter? How many of them are meaningful and how many are insignificant, even nonsense? How many of our words are hurtful and destructive? To speak comes so easily that we often take it for granted. Being that we have no quota for how many words we can say in a day we just talk, talk, talk… At the same time words contain tremendous power. Language is the basis of all communication and transmission of knowledge and experience; conversations between people who love each other, between strangers, between spouses, parents and children. Words create relationships, connections and attachments. Kind and loving words bring us together; healthy discourse leads to collaborations; the written word over generations allows us to build on accumulated knowledge, transforming our lives. And hateful language can bring terrible destruction. Please join Rabbi Simon Jacobson for an eye, ear and mouth-opening conversation on the power of our words. Words -- speech, language -- are a gift we have been blessed with. It's time to pause and become more deliberate about the words we use. To step back and ask ourselves: What exactly am I doing with my gift of words? What words am I expressing, to whom and to what end? If you had a quota of words you can say on a given day, what words would you choose?

30 Kesä 202328min

Are there any leaders that you trust?We have a leadership crisis today, where the people in power - our leaders - are simply not leading, and are not trusted. Do we even know what defines a true leader?Interestingly, the question goes deeper and is actually also about each one of us. Do you see yourself as a leader? We often think leaders are somewhere out there, other people who have the proper leadership credentials. But did you ever consider that you - yes, you - may have the potential to be a leader in your own right?It's about time to actually identify what makes a leader. Is it power, is it charisma, is it influence? The answer may surprise you and teach you what to expect in a leader and above all, how to be a leader in your part of the world.Please join Rabbi Simon Jacobson in this important discussion, and discover how the acronym of the word LEADER reveals the very features of what it takes to be one. Explore 6 qualities and ingredients that define a true leader and learn how you can employ these tools to become a leader in your own environment -- with the power to influence, impact and transform everyone and everything you come in contact with.

22 Kesä 202335min

We are now in the graduation season with millions of students celebrating the conclusion of a stage of their schooling.But what exactly is a graduation? What does it signify? Is it just an invisible milestone that comes and goes? Or is there something deeper, something personal and meaningful that we all - not just the graduates but also friends and family - can learn from it?Please join Rabbi Simon Jacobson as we discuss transitions, the right of passage, that takes us from one stage in our lives to another. Discover that this is really the essence of what graduation is; it’s about the journey of life and how we deal with these transitions and junctures in time as we move and metamorphosize from one stage to the next.

15 Kesä 202332min

Is there anyone that you absolutely and entirely trust? Trust with your life, trust with your confidence, trust with everything about yourself; someone you are comfortable being vulnerable with, knowing that you won’t be judged or criticized and the person’s attitude will not change in any way. Is there anyone that you have total transparency with, total honesty with no defenses? Actually you can ask a deeper question. Do you totally trust yourself? Are you completely in sync with yourself, not living in denial? Do you trust your choices and decisions implicitly? Trust is a very big word and it lies at the heart of every important aspect of your life. Trust plays a crucial role in all our relationships and commitments, it affects our connections and our decisions. When you totally trust someone you let yourself be completely invested, sharing and giving of yourself in a very real way. But when you don’t fully trust someone, you’ll put up walls and find excuses and justifications, making it impossible to be totally present. How many masks and defense mechanisms do we have in place in our lives and interactions? How much of your life is driven by fear and insecurity? Is it possible to trust imperfect people who are driven by self interest and ruled by subjective factors? Please join Rabbi Simon Jacobson as he discusses this critical topic, and discover how to build true and lasting trust — fully and wholeheartedly — in yourself and the people around you. Learn how trust in G-d — in an immortal foundation and eternal values — helps us create unwavering security and love that will allow us the confidence to spread our wings and soar.

8 Kesä 202331min

Are you a giver or a taker? The fact is that we live in a world that teaches us how to take, with the justification and argument that life is fundamentally selfish; survival of the fittest is the driving ethos and if you don’t take care of yourself no one else will take care of you. Is that accurate? Is that a healthy attitude? On a short term basis, it may seem that being a taker will benefit you, even if doesn’t help others. But what about the bigger, long-term picture? What about love, virtue, nobility — what happens with these fundamental elements in life when we are in a parasitic state of mind? Please join Rabbi Simon Jacobson in this penetrating talk — digging into the core of what defines us as humans — and discover how giving lays at the heart and soul of a healthy life. When you give you become a creator — defining yourself and your destiny, instead of being defined by those you take from. Giving builds confidence and security, enabling you to actualize your greatest potential.

1 Kesä 202336min