Category: the New Alt-American Dream

This Must Be The Place

I arrived early to an after-hours event at a library. Able to browse the shelves I checked out three books.

The beauty of working in a public library is that I can wear silver-coated pants and black platform Adidas Gazelles to the job. Plus use neon green eyeliner and lavender lipstick.

“This Must Be the Place” if you want the freedom to clock out on time, get generous paid time off, and possibly receive a pension when you retire.

The pay isn’t always so hot yet you’ll likely be offered a 403(b) you can contribute to for a source of retirement income.

This month I took a burnout quiz that revealed I didn’t have compassion fatigue. In the coming blog carnival I’ll talk about stopping high stress before it starts. Our work doesn’t have to create ill health.

We can S.O.S.–save our sanity and serenity before things get out of hand. That’s why I’ve coined the term The New Alt-American Dream: We can opt out of what used to be called “the rat race” and find the job we like going to.

Not everyone likes living in New York City. That’s OK. I recommend researching jobs in your local public library system. To become a professional librarian you’ll need a master’s degree. A clerk or computer tech person often only needs a H.S. diploma or GED.

Gold Stars: Boon or Boondoggle

I checked the above book out of the library.

What if we took the off ramp on the high-stress mainstream highway?

What if you joined me in living life Left of the Dial?

The New Alt-American Dream is alive and well.

For those of us with the courage to veer off the beaten career path there’s joy, meaning, purpose, and fulfillment in serving others. More on this in the coming blog entry.

Right now the myth to bust:

We should stop inculcating in teenagers that they must get on the freeway to success early in life with high SAT scores and pedigrees from elite colleges.

No young person should have to know by 18 what they want to do with their life. Play and fun is warranted. Not doing community service solely to get into the right university.

In here I reviewed the book Late Bloomers about how those of us who didn’t take this “conveyor belt” ride to early achievement have traits that enable us to succeed in our older years.

Recently I read Project 333. The author of that book wrote that she spent 20 years in a marketing job. Racked up credit card debt buying clothes she never wore with tags still attached.

Courtney Carver stayed in that career because she thought the job was what she had to do to prove her worth in society and get ahead. Along the way she was diagnosed with MS–multiple sclerosis.

Too often we’re afraid to do what we really want. We succumb to chasing fame or fortune so grind away in a “money pit” job.

Or the ideal work would come with a lower salary. That’s why in my career guide Working Assets I talk about getting a second source of income while you clock in during the day at a job you like.

In the next blog entry I’ll talk about a beautiful job for dreamers who want to do what they dream of.