From the Editor
Luis Ayala
This month I am very thrilled to share a follow-up interview with a notable figure in the US craft spirits industry. I’m referring to Eric Olson, from Central Coast Distillery in California, who’s already earned more medals and awards than most distillers do in an entire lifetime. What is most impressive about Eric, however, is the wholesomeness and generosity with which he approaches his business endeavors: always respecting nature, people and processes.
It is no surprise that this approach has earned Eric the respect of his peers and consumers, but what really fills me with joy, is the fact that he is willing and able to pass on his life experiences to others, “planting the seeds of success,” so to speak, for future generations to harvest.
For an individual to be successful, he or she has only to achieve personal goals. For an industry to be successful, however, a great deal of experiences and information must be shared, to build a higher starting point, so that true greatness can be reached. What this means to me, is that true leadership should be measured by its ability to increase the number of future leaders, rather than by its ability to increase the number of its current followers. I invite you to turn to page 46 to read this inspiring article.
Are you an inspired person who is on the path of success? If so, have you also found a way to inspire those around you, so that they too can succeed and mentor others in the future?
American writer, William Arthur Ward, wrote that:
“The mediocre teacher tells.
The good teacher explains.
The superior teacher demonstrates.
The great teacher inspires.”
I believe, like Eric Olson, that wholesomeness and generosity are two human resources that actually become more abundant, the more they are used. Do you agree?
Cheers!