Some of the core concepts I am working on in articulating the great value of a St. Gregory education include the following:  that we engage students so effectively that they become greatly immersed in and rewarded by the learning they are doing; that we teach the Seven Survival Skills that Wager advocates, one of them being Initiative; and that we educate especially well for innovation– that our students learn to be creative, independent-minded,  and inventive.

But I am always seeking, like the physicists, a Grand Unified Theory for all this.  So it was fun for me this morning to read in Seth Godin‘s book Tribes the following:

Look around.  You’ll see that the marketplace rewards innovation: things that are fresh, stylish, remarkable and new…The fastest-growing churches are the newest ones.  The best-selling books are always the surprise hits that come out of nowhere [not sure this example is accurate]… Products and services like these require initiative to produce.  You can’t manage your way to initiative. Interesting side effect: creating products and services that are remarkable is fun.  Doing work that’s fun is engaging.  So not surprisingly,  making things that are successful is a great way to spend your time.  There you go: initiative=happiness.