After living through the 2020 Beirut Port explosion, I returned to Montreal with a quiet but firm decision: I needed to address what fifty years of recurring wars had accumulated inside me.

I sought the help of a psychologist specialized in trauma and EMDR. At the time, I felt internally destabilized. Not dysfunctional — but deeply shaken.

As part of the assessment, she asked me to complete a detailed “Stressful or Difficult Life Events” checklist, along with a standardized depression scale. The document was clinical, almost cold in its structure. A list of life-threatening events. Boxes to check. As I went through it, I realized how exhaustive my exposure had been. And yet — I had survived it all. I called it my “Trauma List”.

When I handed it back, she paused.

Her conclusion surprised us both: I did not meet the criteria for depression. Nor did I present signs of clinical trauma. I was in shock, and my heart was heavy with sorrow — yes. But not traumatized in the diagnostic sense.

My case intrigued her. How could someone exposed repeatedly to terrorism, explosions, combat zones, captivity, and systemic instability not exhibit deep trauma patterns?

The answer, I believe, lies less in psychology and more in culture.

I am Lebanese. And I have rarely encountered Lebanese who primarily identify as victims of war. We grieve. We rebuild. We adapt. We mobilize. We move on. We hold on to gratitude — often punctuated by a reflexive “Thank you, God” at the end of a sentence.

In times where the world feels increasingly unstable, many of my clients have asked me:
How do you live through war without collapsing internally — and how do you lead through it?

I wrote down what I have learned, through 50 years.
Not as theory. As practice.

This is not a political reflection. It is not a trauma narrative. It is a practical framework developed from living in repeated conflict environments while running businesses, raising a family, and advising leaders.

Whether the crisis is military, economic, or organizational, the underlying principles remain surprisingly similar.

I.       Physical Survival — The Immediate Response

1. Seek shelter immediately. Do not go to the window. Do not go to the rooftop to “see what is happening.” Stay within four solid walls. Bathrooms and internal corridors are safer. An underground garage is ideal.
2. Slightly open glass doors and windows. This reduces internal pressure and limits glass shattering in case of nearby explosions.
3. Keep your vehicles fueled. Your car(s) may become your only evacuation option. Keep the tanks full.
4. Stock long-shelf food and basic supplies. Electricity may be cut. Refrigerated food will not last. Keep non-perishable food and essentials ready at all times. In quantities — something fellow Lebanese understand well.
5. Keep your phone fully charged. Communication becomes critical. A charged phone can be the difference between isolation and coordination.

II.      Personal Safety — Be Ready to Move

1. Keep accessible cash (not credit cards) Enough to sustain you for several days if you must travel or relocate unexpectedly.
2. Prepare a ready-to-go bag. Passports, IDs, credit cards, essential medications, and key personal items. If you need to leave in five minutes, you should be able to.
3. Maintain a written emergency list. Banks, insurance contacts, key account numbers, passwords, relatives, friends and family. If your phone dies, you still need access to information.
4. Review safe deposit boxes and valuables. Know what is where. Take pictures of important documents and assets. Prepare an inventory.
5. Accept mobility. Be mentally prepared to leave quickly. Attachment delays decision-making.

III.     Business Survival — Leadership Under Fire

1. Emerge as a stabilizing leader. Panic spreads fast. So does calm. Your emotional regulation becomes organizational infrastructure.
2. Form a Leadership War Team. Clarify priorities. Re-anchor the organization in its Purpose and Values. Alignment reduces chaos.
3. Cash is king. Model worst-case scenarios. Identify the three most likely crisis scenarios. Define immediate cash-preservation actions. Maintain at least three to six months of operating cash whenever possible.
4. Segment and manage stakeholders deliberately. Shareholders, employees, clients, suppliers, partners — each group requires a tailored communication and strategy.
5. Care for your people first. Employees’ safety and dignity are the priority. Create flexible policies. Support displaced or redundant employees creatively and humanely.

IV.     Pivot — Crisis as Strategic Inflection Point

1. Recognize that shrinking economies create rare opportunities. Attention is higher. Openness to partnerships, mergers, and new models increases.
2. Reinvent your strategy. Crisis does not mean stop. Adjust offerings, pricing, margins. Ask: What alternative products or services can serve our clients and community now?
3. Re-evaluate paused projects. Some innovations or transformations that seemed secondary may become essential.
4. Stop selling — start serving. Become a resource platform for your ecosystem. People remember how you treated them in crisis.
5. Be ready to pull the plug. No emotional attachment to sunk costs. Survival sometimes requires decisive exits.

V.      Learn & Evolve — The Psychological Edge

1. Control what you can control. Emotional resilience grows when attention shifts from external chaos to internal agency and coordination.
2. Adopt a generous mindset. In times of instability, extend help where you can. Giving does not deplete you — it recenters and heals.
3. Use idle time strategically. Invest in training and long-postponed development. Crisis creates unexpected space — use it intentionally.
4. Communicate relentlessly. Do not internalize your pain. Share. Explain. Debate. Repeat. Talking is not weakness — it is medicine. Treat it as collective therapy.
5. Lean into your community. Spend time with your neighbors. Strengthen bonds. One day, you will look back at these moments of solidarity with unexpected gratitude.

“The optimist sees opportunity in every difficulty. The pessimist sees difficulty in every opportunity.” — Winston Churchill