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Are you an “Essential Worker”?

With the spread of the coronavirus, restrictions are being placed on all but the “essential workers” in the economy. Healthcare workers and first responders clearly are “essential workers.” But the definition doesn’t end there.

The Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency (“CISA”) is responsible for managing risk to critical national infrastructure. This new federal agency – an operational component under the Department of Homeland Security – sprang into existence in November 2018 with the passage of the Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency Act of 2018.

As noted on its webpage, the Agency has identified the sectors of the economy that are critical for “both public health and safety as well as community well-being.” Those sectors include a robust cross-section of American life:

      • Chemical Sector
      • Commercial Facilities Sector
      • Communications Sector
      • Critical Manufacturing Sector
      • Dams Sector
      • Defense Industrial Base Sector
      • Emergency Services Sector
      • Energy Sector
      • Financial Services Sector
      • Food and Agriculture Sector
      • Government Facilities Sector
      • Healthcare and Public Health Sector
      • Information Technology Sector
      • Nuclear Reactors, Materials, and Waste Sector
      • Transportation Systems Sector
      • Water and Wastewater Systems Sector

In short, “essential workers” are those women and men who help keep us alive and safe, especially during times of crisis.

While CISA provides guidance on what constitutes a critical sector of the economy, specific response efforts are “locally executed, State managed, and federally supported,” according to a March 19, 2020 Memorandum. Thus, response efforts will vary from state to state (and possibly from region to region within a state).

It can be a bit humbling to realize that you’re not “essential.” As a lawyer friend of mine observed, “19 years of education, 30 plus years of experience, and I’m still not ‘essential.’” I can relate.

To all the essential workers, thank you for your service.

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Strength Through Adversity

Life is a series of contrasts. Sickness helps us appreciate health, bitter defines sweet, and darkness explains light.

Muscles must be torn down before they can be built up. And so it is with women and men. To be truly happy, we must first experience setbacks and adversity and learn how to find joy in the journey.

Opposition and failure are part of every life. Embrace them as you would a dear friend and learn the lessons that come only after you wrestle with adversity. As Benjamin Disraeli noted, “There is no education like adversity.”

A human heart is a marvel of nature. Without rest, its four chambers work in harmony to pump oxygen-rich blood to the nethermost parts of your body and back again. Your heart does its job so well that you scarcely notice it, until it stops working properly.

Four valves separate the chambers of your heart. A normal heart valve has three flaps that look somewhat like a peace symbol. When your heart contracts, the flaps open to expel blood from the chamber; as your heart relaxes, the flaps quickly close to prevent blood from rushing back in.

I was born with a bicuspid aortic valve, which means that two of the three flaps in my valve were fused together. I was unaware of this condition for more than 55 years. Over time, the valve became stiffer and failed to close completely, leading to a series of physical complications. My heart struggled to keep me alive.

On May 26, 2015, I had open heart surgery to replace the defective valve. The surgeon made an 8-inch incision in my chest, split my rib cage in half through the sternum, and replaced the defective valve with a pig valve.

The surgeon stopped my heart so that he could perform his miracle. While he worked, a bypass machine kept me alive, diverting my blood through its filters, removing carbon dioxide, oxygenating the blood, and returning the life-sustaining blood to my body.

I vaguely remember coming out of anesthesia in the ICU, then spent a week in the hospital. Four weeks after surgery, I returned to the office a few hours each day. Though I felt appreciably better each day, my recovery was slow. Even today, I cannot do many physical activities.

Some six months after surgery, I learned that my heart was shocked 19 times before it started beating regularly on its own. I struggled with arrhythmia for months.

My heart challenges have been significant. It is an experience that I would not have voluntarily chosen for myself. And yet I am profoundly grateful that I could go through this challenge.

Adversity makes you strong because being strong is your only option. It teaches you important lessons that cannot be learned through other means. My heart problems taught me great lessons about life and love and perspective.  Things that once bothered me intensely don’t seem nearly so important. My wife says that I have become “sappier.” (She’s right.) Life is good.

Lou Holtz has observed, “Show me someone who has done something worthwhile, and I’ll show you someone who has overcome adversity.”

Everyone experiences adversity. You can become consumed with your particular version of adversity and let it define your life. Or your adversity can school you, strengthen you, and inspire you to do something worthwhile. Learning how to overcome adversity is a recipe for success.