The Challenge: Thinking Your Way to Self-Realization
Self-help, Non-fiction, spiritually
Date Published: February 3, 2020
Publisher: Niv Books
What is your preference in life?
To benefit yourselves and others or to live in a reality filled with fear, anger, stagnation, discrimination and negative feelings?
This book offers you a chance to soar, presenting 200 practical suggestions and guidance to a life of self-fulfillment. It may enable you to conduct yourselves in the face of the challenges life presents in the modern world in matters of parenthood, education, gender and more.
Interview
with Dr. Orna Markus Ben-Zvi
What was the hardest scene from your book to write?
My book is a collection of insights I
gained throughout my life, by reflecting on my personal experiences, as well as
on the reality around me.
The book was
written more than 20 years ago over a couple of years, and based on its
content, I created a curriculum of leadership, personal achievement, and
self-empowerment workshops. I delivered these workshops to retirees and young
adults, and came to the conclusion that the takeaways appeal to people of all
ages, and improve their well-being and quality of life.
Every insight in
the book is based either on my own experience or the experiences of the people
who are close to me. The experiences were sometimes painful, sometimes happy,
but they all touched my soul and impacted me in profoundly
Why did you choose to write in your
particular field or genre?
I chose to write
about this topic because I wanted to deliver short, concise, and yet
empowering, humanist messages, which people can relate to at time of crisis and
at important crossroads.
When people
contemplate on how to initiate a life change, they will remember a relevant
sentence from the book, which will become an anchor for them. An anchor of self
confidence and inner strength.
I feel my purpose
in the world is to empower people, make them believe in themselves and in their
ability to make things happen. Publishing this book is my way of pursuing that
purpose.
If you write in more than one genre, how do you balance them?
I’m currently writing a yet-to-be-named
short-story collection. The stories are all inspired or based on real-life
events. As in my first book, the purpose is delivering messages of empowerment.
However in this case, I had to be creative, use my imagination, and put my
storytelling skills to work in order to deliver the messages. The shared
purpose of both books definitely helps balance the differences.
What did you enjoy most about writing this book?
I take a great deal of pride and
satisfaction in my ability to give people strength and self confidence. Using
words, I can help people bring out their inner-self and reach their full
potential. The book was written from a humanist point of view, with love and
compassion towards people. That’s how I would like the readers to feel - first,
love and compassion towards themselves, and then, towards the people around
them.
What book that you have read has most influenced your life?
The book that influenced me the most is
Anne of Green Gables by Lucy Maud Montgomery (and the sequel books). The books
tell the story of an orphan girl named Anne, and how her positive attitude
towards life, pragmatism, sense of humor, moral compass, and self confidence,
push her forward in life and help the people around her.
The book deeply
influenced my life. I believe all people have an inner engine that carries them
upwards, even if they started at places that seem to be lower than others. Each
person owns their own destiny, and has an ability to push themselves from an undesired
reality to a different one.
This is my basic
notion of life, and this is what I try to convey to my readers.
Tell us a little about yourself? Perhaps
something not many people know?
I grew up as the
older child of 3 siblings. My father was a holocost survivor from Romania. His
family was forced to leave their home with a single suitcase, and lost
everything they had. His father and brother were sent to concentration camps,
and he lived under and antisemitic regimn, and throughout the war, had to wear
a yello star on this clothes. As a hungry refugee, Nazi cruelty was constantly
present in his life.
Thankfully, my family was saved, and my dad immigrated to Palestine in 1946
as a lone 14 year old.
Later in his life, he got seriously injured during his military service,
which added a few more mental scars.
This complicated reality I grew up in forced me to take responsibility at
home, and help my family, which had to deal with income issues and life in the
shadows of traumas.
This taught me that everyone is in charge of their own destiny. Each person
has the power to push their life forward, and to influence the people around
them for better or worse.
Can you tell us something
about your book that is not in the summary?
I would like this book to be a compass, an essential little tool, which
people pack in their backpack when they head to a new journey.
It was written so people can live a fulfilling, meaningful life, and I’ll
be happy if the book will be next to each reader’s bed, so they can read a few
sentences every time they feel sad or stressed, and draw some inspiration and
empowerment to move forward and fulfill their full
potential, for their own and for society’s benefit.
About the Author
Dr. Orna Markus Ben-Zvi, who holds a PhD in Gender Studies and Jewish History, has been acting to make a difference in people’s life through workshops and lectures to senior citizens, and workshops for the empowerment of teenage girls for the past 20 years. The above issues were also incorporated in workshops dealing with education and gender, given to education faculties throughout the country. Dr. Ben-Zvi worked as a teacher, homeroom teacher and coordinator in the Israeli education system for many years. She also served as a regional and national counsellor for gender equality matters in the Ministry of Education for six years.
Dr. Ben-Zvi is married, mother of three and grandmother of seven grandchildren (may there be more). As a hobby, Orna swims every day. She has always been and will always be an optimistic person.
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