3 Lectures from 3 wise men

[ahka]

I have been listening to some lectures in my car and have learned some important life concepts from wise rabbis.  Thanks to repertor  for sharing this wonderful resource.

 One lecture was about “happiness” by Rabbi Jonathan Rietti ,  Personal Growth Vol. 1 - The Secret of Happiness.  

 The main point of this lecture is that

we must open our eyes and see what we already have and be grateful for it.  Our understanding of what is happiness has been impacted by the media and Rav. gave great examples about the commercials that make us shift our understanding of happiness in wrong direction.  For example, commercial makers look at the demographic of targeted audience and see what kind of crisis these people tend to go through at this age.  Then they target the issue by creating an ad that will make people think that this product or this company will make you happy by solving your crisis issue. 

 Rav used to work with his dad in advertising and gave a lot more examples that are really fun to hear.

 Another lecture is by Rabbi Dr. Akiva Tatz Defining One’s Role In Life.   As a career counselor, I am very curious about this question from all possible perspectives.  The main idea that I took from this lecture was that G-d gives us unique tools and life experiences.  In the first 18-25 years (varies for different people) of our life we have to collect and discover these tools.  Once we understand what unique tools each of us has, we need to master doing what these tools are needed for. 

Rav suggested drawing a circle and putting in the circle everything that would describe one’s unique characteristics that nothing else would fit in the circle.  Once you figured out those attributes it will help define what one’s role in life is and eliminate all other possibilities.  There is a purpose and meaning in everything that happens to us in our lives and we should live our own lives and not somebody else life, not waste time on using somebody's tools.

 The third lecture is by Rabbi Lawrence Kelemen Marriage - Defining Love.  The main point of this lecture for me was LOVE is what you give to your loved ones not what you get from them!   Rav explained that we should pay more attention not to WHAT WE WANT but to WHAT WE NEED and WHAT OUR LOVED WANT.  We should provide necessities for ourselves and be free to give more than we can to our loved ones.  

This lecture actually made me think about what do I give to my loved ones?  Do I give all I can or not?  How can I improve this?  Obviously, I have a lot of people that love me and give me their love.  Do I give back?

 These lectures are in English and I would recommend listening to them.  It is pretty entertaining and they teach very important things that can change person’s life perspective and make one truly happy.