Jonathan Rosenberg Guest Writer
My name is Rosenberg. I did the Sterling Men’s Weekend in October 1996, and it changed my life.
This magazine’s editor asked me to write about “purpose” because of the fortitude I have shown in getting two musicals produced within six months of each other. 33 1/3 – House of Dreams opened at the San Diego Repertory Theater in August and broke box office and attendance records there. Americano, a musical about a DREAMer who came to the United States at age 2 from Mexico, opens at the Phoenix Theater in January. It took a laser-focus to achieve what so many have attempted and few have succeeded in.
But it took something way more important than that – a great team.
I have been married five times, a fact that I am most definitely not proud of. I mention this because my wife, Ilene, has been the one most important reason for all of the success I am having. It took all of my adult life to find the person who I deserve to be with and, for that, during this holiday season, I am incredibly grateful.
Ilene and I have been together for 10 years, and she is my number 1 cheerleader, supporter and defender. She also kicks my ass like no other. Age has taught me that “wisdom” is a commodity that I’m a bit short of. Ilene has it in abundance so, although she’ll tell you that I rarely listen to her, I will tell you that more times than not I do and, when I don’t, I usually have to tell her that she was right.
I mention this because she is the one person in my life who believes in me more than I believe in myself. She wants what’s best for me and for us. Any success that I achieve goes back to this absolute belief my wife has in me.
My advice to help a person find their purpose is to find one person who will do everything that they can to make sure you stay on purpose, because failure and low self-esteem have a way of creeping in and destroying that beautiful and unique core of who you are.
In the Men’s Division, we celebrated our successes. Just today, I called Eric Louie, a man on my old team, to congratulate him on a significant job promotion. Louie and I have been through a lot together. We have pushed each other, we love each other but… it was not enough for me to shake that feeling of low self-esteem that I carried with me.
I am, what we used to call, a “looking good bullshitter.” The mask comes off with my wife. She expects nothing less from me. It’s hard for me to hide from the person I love and sleep next to. She gets pissed at me, angry at me, disappointed in me, and it all hurts because I love her so much. And I absolutely know that she loves me.
For me, finding the right partner has changed my life. It has provided that purpose to achieve excellence and success that has paved the way for the successes of the past six months and beyond.