Being the sun is a durable and recurring theme in both my life, and my business.

The original post was written late 2011, inspired by a convergence of crazy weather patterns and the usual end-of-year evaluations and recalibrations.

That seemed pretty trivial when I revisited and wrote about it again in 2020 as we went into the terrifying, very sudden, very dark days of COVID shutdown.

Updating it today, late summer 2022, it seems more relevant than ever. 

Aesop was considered a Greek folk hero. Its believed he lived in the 6th century BC.  His stories featured nature and animals but weren’t meant for children. They were metaphors, designed to teach lessons by showing the wise, and the foolish behavior of men.

The story of The North Wind and the Sun has resonated with me since I first heard it in elementary school: The North Wind and the Sun were in disagreement about who was more powerful. Spotting an approaching traveler in the distance, it was decided that whoever could make him remove his cloak would be the most powerful.

So the Wind went first. Forcefully, he blew. Harder and harder, but the traveler only pulled his cloak closer to him. Finally the Wind stepped down, and it was the Sun’s turn.

The Sun was, well, the Sun. Shining brightly, and giving off great warmth, the traveler removed his cloak in no time.

My takeaways are several: one, coercion rarely works in the long term. Another is the importance of actually stepping up, of being the metaphorical Sun to, and for the rest of the world. If you’ve got it in you, embrace it, and share your light.

Its rarely a good idea to mix business and politics. But when your business is rooted in empathy…sometimes in comforting, always in doing things that empower, to help them have their best lives.

Offer warmth and simplicity, demonstrate kindness and respect.  Most will choose to connect with that instead of hype,  A variation of the ‘be the change you wish to see’ mantra, it’s vital so others can find you!