Embracing the traditional and rigid model of getting, holding and scaling success lifted our Baby Boomer generation into the middle class - and, yes, beyond.
The first step - college - was universally available. Unlike now, tuition was peanuts. Part-time jobs were plentiful.
The post-War economy caught fire.
And, The Pill allowed for limiting the size of families (previously a distraction from chasing success with everything we got).
But as lawyers, medical doctors, head nurses, public relations experts, information specialists, career military and university professors look back in our 60s and 70s, we are analyzing what the hell that was all about.
For many of us, our careers had peaked. Although more of us are still working, it's more focused on income per se versus Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.
Last night, on a open Zoom discussion (https://zoom.us/j/99892265318) hosted by Tina Squire, minster at the Sky Island Unitarian Universalist Church, Sierra Vista, Arizona (6 p.m. - 7:30 p.m. mountain time) both Baby Boomers and members of Generation X analyzed success. Among the issues were how perspectives on success might shift with aging and how Millennials as well as their parents currently rate its importance.
According to the book "Excellent Sheep," by Yale professor William Deresiewicz, the chase is still going on. And at a feverish pace, at least in the Ivy League. For success, those students are willing to conform as much as Baby Boomers did during the Eisenhower era.
But, come on, there is that old cliche: On deathbeds no one regrets not working harder. But that might not be true. Some of the conversations during the Unitarian Zoom meeting indicated disappointment at not having been more successful. Obviously, that whole enchilada - how far our careers had taken us - remains for too many of us unfinished business. In my career coaching of those over-50, a dominant meme is the assumption that they could have been a lot more successful, if only ...
Of course, what factored in our revisiting our professional past were issues such as the role of failure and our own "human frailty." With aging comes a reaching in, noted Rev. Squire. And, you bet, both Baby Boomers and Xers are doing that. Inner life can no longer go uninspected.
Yes, yes, yes, there is a school of thought, especially among tech entrepreneurs, that professional life is nothing but an experiment. Most of those experiments don't pan out.
However, the tough nut to crack, at all stages of a career, is to accept that reality. Lawyers try strategies and tactics for both litigation and transactional work. The world, from the leadership in law firms to the media, watch. Failure isn't a private matter. Failure usually entails contracting with a top public relations agency for reputation restoration.
Likely the questioning by Baby Boomers and Generation X might have no influence on the value the next generations in America put on success. When some of us finally broke free we created the Generation Gap. That model continues to dominate. The different generations operate in silos.
Actually, unlike Baby Boomers, Millennials are a highly fragmented bunch. Some, reports INC., are impatient for traditional kinds of success. Among them are the majority of law-firm associates who are convinced they will be promoted to partner.
On the other hand, observes The Guardian, there are the Millennials who demand meaning from professional life. That is more important to them than the size of the paycheck. For that reason, in mission statements employers are hammering purpose. The buzzword "vocation" is back. In his LinkedIn posts digital marketing expert Paul Chaney explores how work can be sacred. His musings are influential.
All generations are welcome to join the Unitarian discussions, usually based on a particular book (but, no, you don't have to read it), on Wednesday evenings.
At 10:00 a.m. (mountain time) there are a Zoom meditation sessions and discussions https://zoom.us/j/97417456265
My takeaway from circling back to my experiences as a careerist is that more failure came from following supposed expert advice on success than was necessary. Had I trusted my intuition I likely would have had more success and on my own terms. Success can be a beautiful journey. The financial security which sets in with aging can give us the courage to experiment in very different ways. And not default into regret.
The Future is already underway. Ghostwriting/Marketing Communications and coaching on those issues. Sliding scale fees. Complimentary consultation (janegenova374@gmail.com)
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