Get Your Kicks On Beirut 66
One of the joys of my life is that I am invited to speak in fascinating places all over the world. Last week I was invited to do keynote lectures and trainings in Beirut.
As soon as I mentioned the word ‘Beirut’ to many people in London there was discernable trepidation in their voices. “Are you sure?” “Be careful over there.” “I would never be brave enough to go there.”
One of the keys to a successful life and something that I constantly say to audiences around the world is that, in order to move forward, you have to come out of your comfort zone.
Beirut is like no place I have ever visited. Bombed out buildings sit cheek-by-jowl with new skyscrapers. The traffic ‘system’ has to be seen to be believed. The few remaining traffic lights in the city are assiduously ignored. There is nowhere designated to cross the road so you have to take your life in your hands and wander out into oncoming traffic with your hand raised high indicating that you want the traffic to stop. It is like a heavy metal version of the old school game called ‘British bulldog’. Astonishingly, the drivers do at least slow down so you can make it to the other side alive.
In chaos theory scientists have found that inherent in chaos is order, and Beirut is a living, breathing, seething testament to this fact.
The UK Lebanon Tech Hub who hosted my events were marvelously hospitable and all the people I met were warm and welcoming and wonderfully sanguine yet positive about how the city functioned.
As for the food, I have rarely been anywhere with such a richness of glorious gastronomic delights. I got to try things that I would never have dreamed of eating before including a whole frog. Yep — you guessed — tastes like chicken!
Signs of the war are still everywhere with most streets not having numbers on the houses and some streets not even having names (U2?!).
My favourite story was told to me by Mario who, on the way back from lunch, was talking to me about the lack of street names and numbers and said that Beirut locals would make appointments to meet each other by saying things like, “I’ll meet you by the old fat dog that doesn’t move.”
A hundred yards later, we came across said dog still lying immobile in the sweltering heat outside a shop “See”, he said, “he’s still here!” “Thank goodness” I said, “otherwise, where the hell else would people arrange to meet?!”
As you find new ways to move outside your comfort zone, you will be rewarded with new knowledge and experiences that will lead ultimately to more joy and success.
