Courage and Croissants
A Story Guidebook about family rejuvenation, adventure,
and learning how to reclaim the simple joys of life
by Suzanne Saxe-Roux and Jean-Pierre Roux
In the Pursuit of Happiness
What is behind the book
Growing up at the tail of the baby boomers, everyone told us to follow the American Dream. This concept was discussed at dinner tables, in the workplace, in schools and churches, in government agencies and in bars. The American Dream was code for "the perfect life." The belief was that, with hard work and determination, anyone could prosper and achieve whatever they wanted. There was also a secondary belief that parents should be able to provide more for their children than they themselves ever had.
Much has changed since 1931 when "The American Dream" was first coined by James Turslow Adams in his book, The Epic of America. Today, the American Dream of devoting your life to your work is no longer a sustainable idea. The cost to one’s family, one’s health, and one’s own well-being simply cannot be maintained for 40-50 years. Even the Declaration of Independence references well-being: “We hold these Truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.”
In the late 1970s, as an unprecedented number of women entered the workforce, the notion of work began to change from a job to a career. The notion of work starting at 9 a.m. and ending at 5 p.m. slowly became a thing of the past. Working couples who wanted more income and the ability to buy bigger homes, better cars, private education, and abundant luxury items, built a lifestyle based on the need for two incomes. Working moms became super moms and for the vast majority of the population, two incomes are required to raise a family, own a home and live the American Dream.
The Catalyst organization reported, that by 2005, the family structure had changed dramatically in which 83% of households had two working adults earning income outside the home and approximately half of those households have children under 18, a 63% increase since 1950. This shift in lifestyle alone has drastically changed how Americans spend their time. Developing one's career and taking care of the children and household chores are the priorities.
We continued to believe that jobs would be plentiful, our retirements would be secure, our careers would thrive, and the comfortable American lifestyle would be a given, even as we lived through recessions, layoffs, disappearing retirements and benefits. We trusted the GNP, the finance markets, the stock markets, and our leaders.
By 2001 our future prospects were changing at lightning speed. By 2008, everything was up for grabs. Now we must make a tough reassessment of life (as we want it to be), liberty (the freedom to do what we choose) and the pursuit of happiness (living a happy and healthy life). Nicholas Sarkozy, the President of France, recently proposed that the G-20 world leaders join together in a "revolution" to shift the measurement of economic progress from gross national product (GNP) to factors such as health care availability and leisure time. “The global financial crisis,” reports Sarkozy, “doesn't only make us free to imagine other models, another future, and another world. It obliges us to do so."
As early as 1972, the small Himalayan country of Bhutan announced it was focusing on Gross National Happiness as its measure of development. The premise is that when both material and spiritual developments occur in concert, society develops best. The four pillars measured are: sustainable development, preservation and promotion of cultural values, conserving the natural environment, and establishing good governance. Imagine if these concepts were integrated into our GNP!
The American Dream is being replaced with the New American Lifestyle, with quality of life indicators. In 2005, the Economist developed an index based upon nine such indicators: material well-being, life expectancy, political stability and security, family life, community life, climate and geography, job security, political freedom, and gender quality. The key in the study was to understand the blending of modern expectations with traditional goals in determining life satisfaction
In the past 25 years, quality of life indicators have been severely impacted by the need for two incomes to support one family, long commutes, business travel, layoffs and resizing, staying connected 24/7, and increasing health care costs. Coupling these societal and work changes with the need to take care of our planet and the failure of our financial system; stock market crashes, declining home values, the devaluation of retirement accounts, declining company benefits, and our national debt, it is time to reassess how we live and want to live our lives now and in the future..
Marcus Buckingham's newest book, Find your Strongest Life (2009), reports: “In the past four decades, women have secured better job prospects, greater acknowledgement for achievement, wider influence, more free time, and higher salaries. And yet, recent studies reveal that women have gradually become less happy than they were 40 years ago, and less happy than men—and unlike men, they grow sadder as they get older.” Research shows a trend toward overall anxiety and stress becoming paramount in society. In 2000, The Gallup Poll reported eighty percent of workers stressed on the job, and the Centers for Disease Control reported in Healthy 2000 , 70-80% of all visits to the doctor are for stress-related and stress- induced illnesses.
In some forward-thinking companies, old assumptions, policies, and human resource practices are being rewritten to include quality of life for employees. Deloitte & Touche and other "best companies to work with" for example, have implemented what they call career lattices, which are different from the career ladder. The lattice allows employees to take their careers in many directions. Retaining and hiring good talent means customizing career paths in four domains; pace, workload, location/schedule, and role. Companies are also promoting flexible work arrangements, ranging from part-time hours to telecommuting to compressed schedules. In a survey, 84% of Fortune 500 male executives (Miller and Miller 2005) said they would like to implement flexible hours for themselves and their employees. Thankfully, some of these innovative companies are building programs for career flexibility and encouraging having a more balanced life.
Complementing this movement is the requirement that each employee brand himself or herself, focus on strengths, and determine his or her identity, value, and expertise. Each person is individually responsible for managing their career and their financial retirement needs. When the company no longer needs your services, you will not have a position. This shift is indicative of the American Dream and the new American lifestyle redefining themselves and evolving.
As a result of this shift, many experienced professionals, voluntarily and involuntarily, are moving toward entrepreneurship. Internet technology has enabled anyone to work, market, and compete globally, with low overhead. The attraction of being one’s own boss is similar to the American Dream, but it's more about creating a lifestyle of flexibility and doing work you love. Gone is the (false) sense of security of working for a big corporation.
The illegal business practices of Enron and the risky behavior of Wall Street were only the tip of the iceberg. The American Dream never considered greed, corruption, and the possibility that trusted professionals would be unethical or uncaring about the long-term and global implications of their decisions.
The old rules, expectations and behaviors no longer serve our country, ourselves, and our planet. We are becoming environmentally conscious. Our consumer habits, focusing on instant gratification and a “we deserve it” mentality, have shifted. The “throw-away” society is being closely re-examined, and the simplicity movement is mainstream. We must use our natural resources wisely. We must build not only an environmentally healthy planet, but also a healthy lifestyle for everyone. Our challenge is to define, create, and build the new American lifestyle that incorporates all that life offers.
This new American lifestyle can be defined as having meaningful work that provides a sense of well-being, living in a safe and healthy environment, being with people you care about and living a pace of life that allows you to pursue other interests. The pendulum has moved from materialism to a full, quality life.
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That leads us to our story
This Story Guidebook describes a professional couple and their young daughter who decide to take time out in order to rediscover a new life. We encounter self-discovery, exhaustion, depression, decision making, risk-taking, adventure, rejuvenation, travel, love, family, and re-discovery. We wrote this book to entertain, inspire, teach, and motivate, and to expand your world. Our book is also, we hope, thought-provoking, and a self-help map for manifesting your own dreams. We have seasoned the story throughout with small explanatory inserts on how you can begin to create a healthy, joyful life. You can read the narrative only and skip the inserts, or read them all together.
Whether you are want to adjust your lifestyle in small or big ways, we hope you enjoy our story and our guided tips help you to unearth your dreams.
The story always continues, as does the journey to creating your best life. We wish you good healthy, joy, and much happiness.
Enjoy the reading and please send us your thoughts.
We would love to hear from you.
Taken from forthcoming book, From Rat Race to Change of Pace by Suzanne Saxe-Roux and Jean-Pierre Roux
All Rights Reserved 2009
