1. The
Grand
Tour
in
Paris
(Intro
C)
By
Peter
de
Kuster
A
Hero’s
Journey
Business:
Not
Optional.
Montmartre
–
Amelie
I’m
no
Amelie
Poulain.
I’ve
been
around.
(And
then
around).
The
rose
–
colored
lenses
were
long
ago
ground
to
powder
by
brutal
reality.
Yet
I
am
hopeful.
Not
hopeful
that
human
beings
will
become
more
benign…
or
that
evil
will
evaporate…
or
that
greed
will
be
regulated
out
of
existence.
But
I
am
hopeful
that
in
the
New
Economy
people
will
see
the
power
that
comes
from
taking
responsibility
for
their
professional
lives.
I
am
hopeful
that
they
also
will
find
pleasure
in
unleashing
their
instinctive
curiosity
and
creativity
that
has
been
so
effectivielyquashed
by
schools
and
corporations
alike.
The
hard
news:
This
is
Not
Optional.
The
microchip
will
colonize
all
rote
activities.
And
we
will
have
to
make
a
Grand
Tour
to
re-­‐invent
ourselves.
As
we
did
when
we
came
off
the
farm
to
the
city
Paris
and
went
into
the
factory,
and
then
we
were
ejected
from
the
factory
and
white
collar
offices
into
the
New
Creative
Experience
Economy.
The
exciting
news
(this
is
my
story
anyway)
This
is
Not
Optional.
The
reinvented
you
and
the
reinvented
me
will
have
no
choice
but
to
make
a
Grand
Tour
and
add
value
in
some
meaningful
way.

2.
My
overall
story,
in
brief.
Business
is
a
Hero’s
Journey.
It’s
about
Creativity
and
Invention
and
the
Journey
and
Heroism.
It’s
about
la
Condition
Humaine
and
Le
Temps
Perdu,
La
Divina
Commedia.
At
its
best,
it’s
about
creating
things
that
make
life
less
burdensome
than
the
Middle
Ages,
the
times
since
the
French
Revolution
and
the
cubicle
slavery
of
the
last
three
quarters
of
a
century.
Yes,
business
is
a
Hero’s
Journey
(Or
at
least
it
can
be)