Challenges worth striving for

Sometimes we come across books that remind us that we can be greater than who we normally are on a day to day basis, and that our dreams are worth fighting for. A year or two ago, I had that experience when reading Melissa Everett's 'Making a Living While Making a Difference.' Packed filled with stories about people who had done internal and external work that 'made a difference' and structured to provide support for the livelihood-seeker, I was both comforted and thrilled with the mix of practicality and idealism.
And then, just recently, I discovered that for the past six years Melissa has been working on 'Sustainable Hudson Valley', which has been incrediable work with businesses, local and national governments, community groups and other essential groups to enable green livelihoods in the Hudson Valley in New York. Figuring that their work would appeal to many of you, I snagged Melissa for a skype-interview this week. Tune in next week for a fuller report on their work. In the process, I asked Melissa about she saw the connections and the threads in her own life from her origins as a computer programmer to writing several diverse books to running Sustainable Hudson Valley. She spoke of the capacity of the human spirit in a way that I feel isn't discussed enough - anywhere.

"I did computer work to prove to my dad I wasn't flaky. Turns out he was right. I didn't last long. I then thought long and hard about what I could do for the world, and came out with communication.' In the process, she came to believe in the importance and value of expanding human potential as a way of expanding economic growth.

Not enough people appreciate how much one can draw out of people, if you give them goals worth aspiring to. To often, public policy and even business try to get people to be engaged by dumming the issues or the challenges down. They assume people don't want to be challenged. But I take the opposite approach. I believe we want to be challenged, and we want to live up to all that we can be."

I couldn't agree more - I know that personally, I thrive on challenges that ask me to be more than I have been before - not to overwhelm myself, but to explore what I am capable of and make a creative contribution. I think we all do. So let us not be afraid of challenging one another. Sustainable Development is one such challenge.