IBSF's First Business Meeting.

For as long as I can remember, I have only had one word on my mind: Independence.  This concept is so near and dear to my heart that I spend most of my days thinking about either how to achieve it or what I want it to look like when I finally do.  I would even say it's not unfair to charge me with being obsessed with it.  I think of all the fears that I have in life, the biggest is that somehow I will end up spending my life creating nothing for myself but instead toiling away to sew the tapestry of success of another person.  This is my biggest fear in all of life.  More than illness, more than public speaking, more than death.

I want to create.  Create.  Create.  Create.

Tomorrow is a pivotal day in my life because it is my first true attempt at Creation (with a capital C).  For so long I didn't know what I wanted to Create, or how I could Create.  I just knew I wanted to Create.  It was a dream; an ideal; a hope.  It had no direction, no purpose.  Formless and raw it meandered through my soul like the soft sound of a stream just waiting for that moment- that chance- when the rains would come and it could have its day as a raging river.  Then, endowed with the swell of opportunity, it would cut its own path through the thicket of forest that before had been its boundaries but henceforth would be a canvas for it to bend and shape- master and to own.

Tomorrow, Creation becomes a reality for me.  And I simply cannot wait.

Chana will tell me that I get too manic and set myself up for a fall.  She, as usual, is not incorrect.  She knows me so well and she knows that I have subconsciously pegged my entire life on the next two weeks of meetings for the IBSF.  It's not healthy.  She knows it; I know it.  I'm entirely helpless to do anything about it though.  Logically, I know it's a ridiculous notion.  If things don't go how I hope they will, then I will just need to pick myself up, dust myself off, and try again.  Also, it is important to note that this is inevitably what will occur.  What should be avoidable however is the equally inevitable anguish in-between.  Unfortunately for me though, passion of doing is inextricably tied up with passion of feeling, and so I am doomed to live on the lynchpin of my successes or failures in the moment until I have an overriding sense of accomplishment in Creation.

To date, although others would disagree, I am still waiting for my "Aha!" moment of fulfillment.

This summer, I created a 501(c)(3) in NY State, "The Israeli Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation, Inc." to fundraise for the team from American Jews.  It's my first true attempt at entrepreneurship, even if it is not for a profit in my pocket.  Tomorrow, I will be meeting with several organizations in my role as Vice President of the 501 and taking the first steps towards building a winning Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation for Israel.  In the last year of competing for Israel and being involved in the Jewish world, I have become much closer to my Judaism, and although I will never be a religious Jew or an ardent Zionist, I now have a sense of the global Jewish family.  It is my joy to do what little I can to be a part of that community and do something truly unique and just plain cool for it.

We are creating a "feel-good" global story, and that excites me.

Tomorrow, I will be meeting with: 1) The Massachusetts Institute of Technology; 2) Combined Jewish Philanthropies; 3) MIT Hillel; 4) BU Students for Israel; 5) Brandeis Hillel

The goal is to begin to get the mission of IBSF, Inc. out there to the Jewish community.  And this, of course, is just the start!  In the future I hope that myself, and other officers of the Corporation will be meeting with Jewish groups all over the country to talk about how we can make the Israeli Bobsleigh and Skeleton Federation the envy of the Bobsled/Skeleton world and a true example of what Jewish people are capable of when they put their collective minds to something.

The meetings are going to focus mostly on how IBSF, Inc. can become more involved in Jewish philanthropy and use its ties to the IBSF (The athletic federation) to bring a unique perspective and enhance the philanthropic work of other Jewish charities here in the United States and around the world.  I don't know what form that will ultimately take, but I'm confident that we have something to bring to the table, that others will recognize that, and that we will be able to work with them towards a common goal.

Can't wait for tomorrow!

-Bradley