Chabad Intown Presents Jewish Biz Network Speakers

Chabad Intown’s Jewish Business Network (JBN) Lunch & Learn Series kicked off on Nov. 12 with Rafi Kohen – storyteller, author, and journalist, who came out charging with practical and motivational advice on how to manage stress to arrive at a higher level of productivity and goal achievement.

Chabad Intown Rabbi Eliyahu Schusterman introduced the lunch by explaining how Kohen’s tenants combine with his own philosophy of living life to the fullest by getting a window into recognizing how we communicate in any given framework and avoid being reactive. His D’Var Torah Parshat Sarah (Genesis 23-25) delved into Eliezar, a non-Jew, who is trusted to find a wife for Isaac after Sarah dies. He said, “Eliezar finds a good fit for Isaac with Rivkeh, who has kindness qualities like offering water to others (and camels).” He elaborated twice,

“I left and arrived today. This is more than a miracle as it shows that Eliezar, an average guy, has a place, a more business-like space, vs. just those [worshipping and learning] in synagogues, thus bringing the greatness of Abraham into a more common space.”

Kohen began by illustrating the five principles of mental toughness. Many of his analogies were told through the challenges of athletes who suffer a variety of setbacks yet perform well under stress. He said, “No one wants to be a choker.”

His first book, “Trash Talk,” explored those under adversity, then psychologically stabbing at opponents (think of Muhammed Ali needling his opponents before a fight). “From the ball field to the board room, respond in the right way to what’s happening.”

He shared that athlete Kevin Garnett “messes with other players by barking like a dog and calculating the easy-going player to target.”

He explained how there are individual zones of optimal functioning … on the edge or with more self-awareness as a foundation for mental toughness.

“The challenge state vs. stress state is more useful, like before a presentation, you might have a flight or fight (the body’s automatic built-in response to danger that prepares either a fight combating the stress or running away) or freeze response which will work against you.”

He showed a quote from Lisa Feldman Barnett, “Get your butterflies in formation, lined up like fighter pilots in formation: embrace stress and challenge, not as threats.”

Leaving the athletic field, Kohen jumped to a military story from Fort Bragg where an entire troop was performing an underwater exercise when their lines got tangled. In the dark with no air, no one knew what was happening. With military training, there was no chaos and panic. They controlled their fear, and inch by inch, and in rhythmic counting, untangled the line to get air flowing.

“Fear lives in the future, regret lives in the past. Focus on the now, have the next play in mind,” he said,

Kohen’s control levers are preparation, attitude, effort, and attention. “It’s not about what happened, but how you choose to respond. Press on, build daily habits of resilience. We don’t rise to the level of our expectations. We fall to the level of our training.”

In addition to “Trash Talk,” Kohen more recently published, “The Arena,” which goes inside the ticket scalping, mascot racing, dubiously funded, and possibly haunted monuments of American sport.

The remaining JBN Wednesday schedule is:
Dec. 10: George Kushner, CEO and founder of H2cryptO
Jan. 14: Brian Steele, high-profile Atlanta defense attorney
Feb. 11: Julia Immerman, owner of Daily Chew
March 11: Leslie Zinn, CEO of Arden’s Garden