Angle of Lean

With 360 degrees to choose from, we all have differing angles of lean on everything from child rearing, to acceptable investment risk. Does red work with pink? Is peanut butter and jam the most complete food ever made?

Since learning that the brain, only 2% of the body mass, uses 20% of the blood flow, I’ve stopped trying to control all these thoughts running madly through my life. The silent judgements of myself and others, the shoulds and musts and wants. I’ve just tossed it all up and said, “I surrender”.

In the Driver’s Seat

In his book, The Power of Story, Jim Loehr writes, “you are the principal architect of your story.  If you have any hope of living out your best story, you need to have a maximum amount of high-quality energy.”

Nothing is more important for that high quality energy to flow than a healthy, vibrant body.  It is the car we climb into every morning when we awake that loyally carries us through our day.  It needs tune ups, oil changes, regular maintenance and, of course, the occasional lube job.  All kidding aside, it is our vehicle of choice for this lifetime and it deserves our care and respect.

Small is Beautiful

In 1973, E.F. Schumacher wrote Small is Beautiful – required reading for anyone interested in a sustainable, localized approach to economic wellbeing and the concept of ‘people matter’.  Before sustainability and reduced footprint became the norm, Schumacher made the case for economics as if people matter.  The game is about the evolution of character, not the capacity to consume.

In business, this philosophy has meant an embracing of  smallness. Not smallness of vision, of change, of boldness.  Smallness of the burden of debt. As a result of more modest cash, decisions are more modest.  Growth is slower.  Risk is also reduced because bad times can be easily weathered.

At Grandma Emily’s Granola, ‘small is beautiful’ has been part of our mission.  Slow growth, no debt, building the business one client at a time.  Small also means that staff can have a great quality of life, have time and energy to pursue other passions beside their work.

Laura Heino, our administrator par excellence who really runs this company, is also a professional musician.  Not only does she oversee the administration as well as production, she does the buying and customer service as well.  Laura is also going to perform in 8 concerts between Sept 1st, 2010 and Dec 15th, 2010.  She plays french horn with several local orchestras and also donates her playing time to the Salvation Army for their fundraising campaign.  A big heart handling big responsibilities.  Now that’s no small feat.