Business, Darren Hardy - Wednesday, June 15, 2011 15:00 - 51073 Commentshttp%3A%2F%2Fblog.success.com%2Fsustainable-success%2FAre+You+Building+SUSTAINABLE+Success%3F2011-06-15+20%3A00%3A41Darren+Hardyhttp%3A%2F%2Fblog.success.com%2F%3Fp%3D5107

Are You Building SUSTAINABLE Success?

This past week my wife Georgia and I spent some time touring the 116-year-old Biltmore Estate in Asheville, N.C. This 175,000-square-foot home on 8,000 acres still emanates its founder’s–George Washington Vanderbilt’s–illustrious grandeur… and it remains (remarkably) privately owned.

Of course my inquiring SUCCESS mind wanted to figure out how. Although much of the robber-baron wealth of his grandfather Cornelius Vanderbilt (earned through shipping and railroads in early 1800s) has dissipated through his heirs, Biltmore Estate continues to thrive because it was founded on a vision of sustainability. While many of the Gilded Age estates have been reduced to rubble, taken over by the state or sold to nonprofit entities, Biltmore remains a privately owned, for-profit working estate.

Sustainability is the capacity to endure; to be diverse and productive over time; exhibiting the potential for long-term maintenance and well-being.

George Vanderbilt’s vision wasn’t only to build the largest private home in America (which it is still today 100+ years later) but to also have it be self-supporting.

In addition to the grand estate, George also had built Continue…