mikelally.net

Welcome to the new home of my blog. This will be my first post using WordPress.

Just got done reading a great post from Penelope at Brazen Careerist that is really resonating with me. Penelope refers to a Time magazine article by Kurt Andersen.

Penelope says:

The American Dream is no longer about money and things. Its about self knowledge. The ultimate achievement is not a huge house and an expensive car. Its a solid family life and self-knowledge to steer clear of a quarterlife crisis or a financial meltdown.

She is writing to provide guidance to 20-somethings on what to do for a career. But I am interested in the shifting of the American Dream. I too, subscribed, to the idea of money and things.

And now, almost 41, having gone through the double whammy of the dot-com bust and the fallout of our credit bust, I am thankful that I have a chance to reset. In some sense, I have the opportunity at a do-over.

I am not sure there is anything MORE American than the do-over. When the rules get broken during a game of backyard whiffle ball in a way that wasn’t anticipated by the fair but complex rules you and your friends have drafted over many a refreshing kool-aid there is always a cry of “do-over!”

The do-over is a very powerful tool. Because it gives praise and homage to the law of the universe that everything is pretty much b.s. anyway – so who cares – its a beautiful summer day, mom hasn’t called you home for dinner yet, you’re laughing and teasing you’re best friends, and all infractions are no big deal.

I have been given a gift. I got to step off the Jetsonian treadmill and catch my breath and re-evaluate. And so that is what I am doing.