Patriarch Rai arrived in Rome on an official visit after his long trip to the United States of America.  The …

By Tom Gallagher, NEW YORK CITY -- Patriarch Bechara Peter Rai, head of the Lebanon-based Maronite Catholic Church, held up Lebanon's government as a model for emerging Arab democracies because Lebanon separates church and state, Rai said at an Oct. 20 news conference.

"In Lebanon, Christians and Muslims made a conviviality, a 'National Pact,'" Rai said. "They incorporated it into the Introduction of the Constitution, where it is stated there is no legitimacy for any authority that contradicts the conviviality."

That "National Pact" was turned into a formula for securing equal participation in government and civil service for Muslims and Christians, he said.

"Thanks to this National Pact, Lebanon became a secular country that separates religion from the state and is governed on the basis of a consensual parliamentary democracy guaranteeing civil liberties and basic human rights, in particular freedom of opinion, speech, religion and conscience, where dialogue and consensus prevail," he said.

"Lebanon is more than a country. It is a message of cooperation to both East and West, and an example of dialogue between Christians and Muslims."

"Moreover, the church in Lebanon is considered a guarantee for the Christian presence for that part of the world," he added.

A PDF copy of his prepared remarks are here.

Rai was elected to lead the Maronite church, the largest Catholic patriarchal church with 13 million members, in March. He is on a tour of Maronite church communities in the United States and met with reporters Oct. 20 in the offices of the Catholic Near East Welfare Association in New York City.

On the topic of the Arab Spring, Rai was hopeful but cautious and denounced violence, especially against Christians. Rai said that Christians were in that part of the world 600 years before the arrival of Islam.

"The so-called 'Arab Spring' sweeping the Middle East holds much promise, yet we must be vigilant," Rai said. "The church abhors the use of violence to meet any goal. Violence can never by justified.

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Steve Jobs' impact on your life cannot be underestimated. His innovations have likely touched nearly every aspect -- computers, movies, music and mobile. As a communications coach, I learned from Jobs that a presentation can, indeed, inspire. For entrepreneurs, Jobs' greatest legacy is the set of principles that drove his success.

Over the years, I've become a student of sorts of Jobs' career and life. Here's my take on the rules and values underpinning his success. Any of us can adopt them to unleash our "inner Steve Jobs."

1. Do what you love. Jobs once said, "People with passion can change the world for the better." Asked about the advice he would offer would-be entrepreneurs, he said, "I'd get a job as a busboy or something until I figured out what I was really passionate about." That's how much it meant to him. Passion is everything.

2. Put a dent in the universe. Jobs believed in the power of vision. He once asked then-Pepsi President, John Sculley, "Do you want to spend your life selling sugar water or do you want to change the world?" Don't lose sight of the big vision.

3. Make connections. Jobs once said creativity is connecting things. He meant that people with a broad set of life experiences can often see things that others miss. He took calligraphy classes that didn't have any practical use in his life -- until he built the Macintosh. Jobs traveled to India and Asia. He studied design and hospitality. Don't live in a bubble. Connect ideas from different fields.

4. Say no to 1,000 things. Jobs was as proud of what Apple chose not to do as he was of what Apple did. When he returned in Apple in 1997, he took a company with 350 products and reduced them to 10 products in a two-year period. Why? So he could put the "A-Team" on each product. What are you saying "no" to?  

5. Create insanely different experiences. Jobs also sought innovation in the customer-service experience. When he first came up with the concept for the Apple Stores, he said they would be different because instead of just moving boxes, the stores would enrich lives. Everything about the experience you have when you walk into an Apple store is intended to enrich your life and to create an emotional connection between you and the Apple brand. What are you doing to enrich the lives of your customers?