Winning on Purpose

CHAPTER 8

Be Persistent

Build Culture-Reinforcing Systems

One of my favorite places, anywhere in the world, is my garden at our house on Cape Cod.

To say that gardening has become an obsession for me is surely an understatement. The computer I am using to write this book is propped up on a stack of Gardens Illustrated magazines, carefully balanced on top of my dog-eared copy of Dirr’s Hardy Trees and Shrubs. My printer is piled high with old seed, bulb, and rare plant catalogs, which rest atop my recent editions of The English Garden.

Let me say quickly that I still have much to learn about gardening, but lack of enthusiasm is not holding me back. We were thrilled when our neighbors (and dear friends) agreed to sell us the vacant lot between ...