Deborah Brown & Associates

The Happiness of Growth            

Many years ago when my sisters and I were kids, our father got us into the habit of tracking our growth on the door frame of the room in our house known as the den. We would stand, one at a time, with our backs against the frame, he would lay a pencil on top of our heads, and, with the point, draw a line on the painted wood at exactly our heights.

I remember my excitement at that moment just before I pulled away from the frame to see my actual height as an observer. My hope was, of course, that I had grown several inches since the last time my Dad recorded it--usually about 6 months earlier. Sometimes I had; sometimes i hadn't. Pretty normal stuff for a growing kid.

Dad always wrote the date next to the line on the frame, and he must have written our initials next to it, as well, though I don't remember that clearly.

I did the same thing for my daughter as she was growing up, and I recently checked the markings on our "height wall." Next to the top pencil line is written "6/12/09," and it's just a hair under 5'6". Then I looked at the bottom pencil line: 4/28/99 and 3'9". Almost 2 feet in 10 years. Sweet.

These are happy memories. But the idea of growth has its dark side, too. Think about unemployment numbers, the size of one's girth as we get older, or a growth where it doesn't belong.

Fortunately, almost all the photographers went with the positive side of growth.

So grow and be happy!



(c ) Ron Wu (based in Chicago)



(c) Jeff Corwin (based in Seattle)


(c) Amos Chan  (based in NYC)



(c) Neal Wilson (based in the UK)



(c) Jon Love (based in Australia)



(c) Yasu Nakaoka (based in Tokyo)



(c) Bill Gallery (based in New England)



(c) Robin Moyer (based in Hong Kong)



(c) Rosanne Olson (based in Seattle)

To see all the above photos in a larger format, click here .

Here's to continued growth in your businesses for the rest of this year and into next!
   
Stay tuned for next month's word: MILESTONE

All my best,
Debby