He Who Knows When He Can Fight and When He cannot, Will Be Victorious

“He who knows when he can fight and when he cannot, will be victorious.”
~ Sun Tzu

When the enemy (forces within or with out) is closing in and the battle seems un-winnable, when the odds are good but slightly stacked against you, when giving up the fight seems like the only course of action to take—this is the time to ask for help, a help that will help you hold onto or win a crucial victory.

Conversely the idea to strike the proverbial iron when it’s hot is always a good idea.

I’m using this post to do something I’ve never done before in the 1.5 years of this blog's existence—ask for help. 

This battle I write to you about seems winnable, but the odds are heavily stacked against me. I can’t be the single flag bearer on this battlefield. I need your help.  I need a regiment, a brigade, an army, YOU. 

If you know me, then by now you know I’m a huge advocate for mental health and suicide prevention. I lost my grandfather (1966), my father (2009), and nearly made an attempt on my own life (2011) before getting help (More on my personal story HERE). On a global scale, 1,000,000 (one million) people die each year by suicide— it’s a deadly, yet preventable public health issue (In the US, the number is 38,000 deaths by suicide). 

This particular battle I speak of is one where I’m putting on a benefit (funding and awareness) for suicide prevention May 16-18... and I’m using theatre to do it. I’m bringing back to New York City my very own one-man play The Gospel According to Josh: A 28-Year Gentile Bar Mitzvah, Off Broadway, and with a new script. 

Why? The iron is hot. The Gospel... has been on an international tour for several years and it’s been helping save lives (A sample list of testimonials HERE). But we can do MORE. It’s time to bring it back to the biggest stage in the world—New York City—and it’s time to bring suicide prevention and the emotional wellbeing of humans into the public conscience. I... no WE can do this together. 

How can you help?  Simply, you can tell someone you know about The Gospel’s ... return to New York City in May... and of course I’d love to have you there as well. We’re also working on an IndieGoGo fundraising campaign to raise funding so we can stay open for longer than one weekend in New York City. With your help we can stay open for eight more weeks!! Theater rent along with marketing and advertising costs are quite large but we can do it together. Check out our IndieGoGo campaign to learn a little more about what we’re trying to do (and to get tickets to the show!!). If you can drop in a couple of bucks, or if you know of someone else in your world who can help—it truly makes all the difference in the world. We only have till April 1, to complete funding on this. 

No celebrity will lend their name to the cause of suicide prevention, no organization outside of the non-profit or government arena will do this work, and so it’s up to me, no US to do this work in such a unique way using the power of theatre.

I know when I can fight and I know when I can’t. And I can’t do this one alone. I need your spirit and your voice—to help me honor those who we’ve lost and to help those people speak who need an extra helping hand to stay alive. 

With humble thanks,

Josh

Once again, check out the link to our campaign here: http://www.indiegogo.com/projects/the-gospel-according-to-josh-back-in-nyc-a-benefit-for-suicide-prevention/x/1909340

:)

PS. in bounds of good taste, I promise not to continually ask for help with this nor will I spam you about it either. Small, brief reminders will be at the bottom of blog posts only through April 1.