by George E. Danis, writer of “Go Far, Give Again, Stay Greek“
I’m not from right here.
I grew up in a village of seventy homes midway up a rocky mountain on an island not removed from Athens. It was, in some ways, a sometimes idyllic Greek location. I might wake within the morning earlier than dawn to run up the mountain to verify on our sheep, spend my days serving to with no matter chores I’d been given, and watch the solar set over the ocean that glistened and gleamed within the distance beneath.
These experiences formed me in so some ways. My work ethic, my view of group, my appreciation for the pure world, all of them have their roots within the early mornings, hardworking afternoons and peaceable moments being awed by the great thing about the world round me.
Life in my little village was about as distant from America as doable, but I used to be impatient to depart. At the same time as a younger youngster I knew that my future lay not within the hills above Karystos or the calm waters between the island of Evia and the mainland. My life was going to be performed out on the opposite aspect of the world. That a lot I used to be sure of.
In some methods I used to be proper — I did depart Greece, and my future was precisely the place I hoped it will be. However Greece didn’t depart me. The teachings I discovered up on the mountainside have been simply as relevant to life in workplaces and manufacturing facility flooring in America.
After all, it took some time to appreciate this. Once I was twelve, I left the village, and by the point I used to be eighteen, I noticed American streets and automobiles and eating places and hi-rises and practice stations for the primary time. It was a marvel to me, like I’d been transported to a different world solely. America was every part my little Greek village was not, and for a time I put dwelling removed from my thoughts.
However as quickly as I made my first steps in enterprise, all that modified. I discovered myself pondering again to my childhood. I began drawing inspiration from it. I returned to the teachings I’d been taught on the market amongst my neighbors and located that they have been simply as vital and relevant to my new life — perhaps much more so.
Years later, I can see three distinct classes discovered from my childhood in rural Greece:
I spotted that getting together with individuals wasn’t an possibility, however a bankable enterprise asset. Again within the village if I noticed somebody’s sheep had wandered off, I might spherical them up and convey them dwelling. If I used to be happening to the city, I might inform my neighbors and provide to deliver something again with me that they wished. If I used to be going to the spring for water, I might count on to deliver again extra in order that my neighbors wouldn’t have to go to the spring themselves, and at harvest time we might unite as a single labor drive.
I did all this as a matter of intuition, and my neighbors did the identical for my household too. It was how we have been wired, how we have been anticipated to behave. We would not have been associated by blood or marriage to our neighbors, however we cared for one another all the identical.
I discovered methods to resolve issues. Up within the village there have been no actual shops and no actual signal of presidency in motion. We have been our personal group, and self-sufficiency was required in all features of life. From drugs to development, farming to disagreements amongst us, we have been raised to determine issues out. If there was an issue, it was on us to unravel it. Certain, there have been instances after we wanted outdoors experience and coaching, however most issues we may repair ourselves. All we needed to do was discover ways to analyze the problem, hearken to the knowledge of others, and work collectively to repair it.
Then there was meals. We ate effectively within the village, and it appeared like virtually each exercise was an excuse to eat collectively. Generally it will be everybody from the village, generally simply our shut neighbors, but when we’d simply labored collectively to efficiently harvest some olive bushes, or been in a position to assist somebody full their development venture, we’d virtually all the time find yourself consuming collectively on the finish. It fed our bellies and our hearts on the similar time.
These classes turned an integral a part of my enterprise mannequin, and are key to the recommendation I provide anybody beginning out in enterprise as we speak:
- Ship the perfect merchandise and pay the perfect wages out there to the perfect workers you could find.
- The way you deal with your staff is the most important consider how what you are promoting performs. What you are promoting will solely actually succeed when everyone seems to be invested in profitable.
- Meals is a good uniter and a straightforward solution to construct a staff. Take each alternative you’ll be able to to eat collectively, and be sure you choose up the verify.
All the pieces I discovered within the village taught me that we’re not made to exist alone and that we’re higher after we’re linked. Counting on one another isn’t an indication of weak point, however a direct path to sustaining good relationships.
George E. Danis is a profitable businessman, organizer, entrepreneur, and philanthropist. Born into poverty in rural Greece, George entered the U.S. as an unlawful immigrant, but a long time later was awarded the Ellis Island Medal of Honor in recognition of his philanthropic endeavors and promotion of democracy. Extremely energetic in politics for 4 a long time, George was a fundraiser, advocate, and advisor to governors, senators, and presidential candidates. His new guide is “Go Far, Give Again, Stay Greek” (Amplify Publishing Group, Aug. 6, 2024).
