John R. Miles

I was hoping we might start there.

As you and I were speaking before we came on, you used that word grow.

And I was telling you that I think I like the word cultivate better.

I think they express similar things.

We can't just expect things to happen to us.

And in my first book, Passion Struck, I wrote about this analogy that I think people use the concept of autopilot too much.

And so I tried to redefine it.

I think the way so many of us are living, getting back to what Barry was saying, is we act out our lives as if we're in the game of pinball, but instead of being the player,

We end up being the ball, bouncing off all the distractions of life instead of defining our path.

And I really think that's what he means when he talks about this cultivation.

So Dan already named it.

The book we're talking about today is his brand new book titled Flourish, The Art of Building Meaning, Joy, and Fulfillment.

It's a masterpiece, just like his previous books.

But I want to go into this garden theme just a little bit more.

I learned servant leadership when I was in the military, and I'm going to talk to you about that here in a second.

And I used that servant leadership really well during my career as a Fortune 50 executive.

Up until a point.

Marshall Goldsmith has this great book, What Got You Here Isn't Going to Get You Where You Need to Go.

And to tie this into the world we are living in today, I really contend that service leadership has served its cause.

But what I really think leaders need to be in the future is something I call gardener leaders.