My childhood was not exactly typical. As a result, the circumstances of my formative years instilled in me the practice of never taking anything for granted and of trying to appreciate everything in life—no matter how small. I was born and raised in the eastern suburbs of Beirut with a majority-Christian population, where right-wing political parties and militias dominated on the ground. ...

We sometimes struggle with the pressure to lead, perform and excel.Living a meaningful life can also be a challenge.“Energize Your Leadership” was written by 16 authors for one common goal: to inspire people to rethink their personal and professional attitudes. Here you have 16 real stories for people who want to do even better in life, and who want to make a difference. The stories were ...

We all must handle tests—academic and otherwise—and make timely decisions. From a very early age, I learned to make fast decisions because of the uneasy living conditions in which I was raised during the Lebanese civil war. One such test I recall is when I had an oral exam in Mathematics at the university. All was quiet and normal that day. One after another, my fellow students solved ...

Another year has gone by. I would like to say it was a wonderful year, full of nothing but blue skies and sunshine, joy and laughter. In fact, 2014 was loaded with both good and bad events. But the fact that I am now sitting at the keyboard writing this post is evidence that I have survived my problems—at least most of them! You may already know how passionate I am about paintings and ...