NOTE FROM THE CEO

Let’s be honest. The pandemic put all of us on our heels. It was unexpected, unprecedented and unequaled in terms of disrupting our lives. And that’s for the fortunate ones who didn’t lose their lives or the life of a loved one.

The pandemic is an important reminder that there are no guarantees in life. Despite all of our best efforts, we can’t shield ourselves from the unexpected. While our inclination might be never to leave the house again, the answer is not wrapping ourselves in surplus safety and being afraid to live. Yes, we have to take precautions, but we can’t stop living life on our own terms. We can’t stop pursuing our passions. We can’t wait for the perfect time or the perfect conditions to try something new, to start a relationship, launch a business or give back to our community. We have to keep moving forward with the understanding that continual course corrections are part of an active and successful life.

Like Eugene Snowden, who is featured in this issue of “Growing Bolder,” we have to be ready and willing to pivot whenever necessary. We have to understand that not only is it never too late to make our move, it’s also never too early.

At Growing Bolder we have a human-scale “DEFY” sign wrapped around the curved wall of our circular conference room, our collaboration command center. It’s there to remind our team of the grit required, not just for successful aging but successful living. We have to learn to defy the never-ending challenges that life throws at us. It’s also there to remind us, as a business, that our success is dependent, to a large extent, on our ability not just to endure difficult times but to grow stronger and better because of them.

Life is for living boldly; and defy, in a word, sums up what Growing Bolder is about – the philosophy, the company and the stories we tell of Ordinary People Doing Extraordinary Things.

We have to understand that not only is it never too late to make our move, it’s also never too early.