ABSTRACT
The courage to connect—to meet the necessity of vulnerability—can come and go. We require vulnerability to learn and to grow. That involves connecting with others we trust, and providing reciprocity in terms of feedback, caring, and support. As humans, we need to connect and interact. This requires vulnerability and reciprocity. Thus, the author’ve coined “the lobster principle,” which holds that we can’t grow without sufficient vulnerability. Once we stop seeing “winning” and competing as such important elements for our egos and accept the necessity for vulnerability, we can begin to accept losing. Necessity doesn’t spawn invention from either parental side. Amazon, Apple, Uber, the original Sears Roebuck, the Wright brothers, Gutenberg, and FedEx were really not born of necessity. Despite the fact we live in a highly competitive society—viz.: our addiction to sports and awards for entertainment and so forth—we’re trying to tell our children it really doesn’t matter.
