Just a few weeks ago, in Hell's Kitchen, in New York City, Irish Arts Center cut the ribbon on a magnificent new state-of-the-art cultural hub.
No doubt, the road to that day was paved with enormous challenges for its current leaders. It's a credit to them that they have brought such a fabulous entity into existence.
And they are the first to acknowledge they were able to stand on the shoulders of those before them, benefitting from the efforts of the many who had led the organization and who kept it vibrant at various legs of a long, and at times humble, journey.
In his seminal self-help work–The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People–the late Simon R. Covey advises us 'to begin with the end in mind', that all our endeavors should have two creations.
The second creation is when we actually bring something into reality. The Physical Creation.
The first creation is when we see in our minds what it is we want to create. The Mental Creation.
Sometimes there are many iterations of these two creations, as they are refined and they reach further. Such could be the case with Irish Arts Center.
Harking back then to the dawn of its universe, in 1972, it is unlikely anyone saw how far it would go in half a century. (And indeed it is hard for us now to see where it will be in another fifty years.)
The current guest, the centerpiece, of this podcast was there at Irish Arts Center's Big Bang moment. Treat yourself to her entire, fascinating story here.
