Heroes Not Zombies

In Charles Handy’s Empty Raincoat he tells a story of speaking to a successful winemaker in California. He asked this man what he hoped for in the future and he said he wanted to grow his business. Handy could see that the valley was already full of vines and couldn’t see how the business (a vineyard) could grow bigger there, so he asked the man, sharing that thought. Oh no, said the winemaker, growth is not making it bigger, it’s making it better.

I like that story.

Growth is an essential principle of life. If we stop growing, we stop living. And I don’t mean just waist size! Growing for a human being should be about growing better – increasing your knowledge, your skills, your wisdom, your pleasure, and your sense of purpose.

Here’s my wish for you in 2008 (I’m writing this on January 1st) –

May you grow this year. May your life grow better in the ways that matter to you.

May you know that you are a hero, not a zombie!