Onward in Pursuit
At the beginning of this book, I asked a question that millions of us continue to ask today: What is the American Dream? What is a better, richer, and fuller life?
The question seems simple, yet the answers are often surprisingly difficult to articulate.
I hope the framework outlined in this book makes answering this question a little easier.
Over time, many of us have come to associate the American Dream with visible symbols of success such as a larger home or a successful career. These things certainly matter. Prosperity has always been an important part of the American Dream, and few people would willingly choose hardship and insecurity over abundance. For many Americans, financial hardships are real with persistent challenges.
Yet, as we have seen throughout these pages and through the paradox of achievement (the “obituary” exercise), that prosperity alone cannot fully explain what people are searching for when they speak of a better, richer, and fuller life.
The 3-3-1 framework presented in this book is simply an attempt to restore a more complete understanding of the American Dream, in the form of the three pillars of prosperity, belonging, and purpose, made possible through the unique foundations of freedom, equal opportunity, and dignity of labor, and guided by a very American mindset of rugged individualism, optimism, and agency.
As I reflect on the journey that led me to write this book, I find myself returning to the conversation with my son that started it all. His vision differed from the one that had guided me much of my own life. He certainly valued education and prosperity, but what he aspired to dearly was what I had sacrificed in pursuit of professional advancement.
That realization led me to a simple conclusion. The American Dream is not a financial destination, but the ongoing pursuit of a better, richer, and fuller life. And the mindset of rugged individualism and agency is not about selfishness. Properly understood, it has been, and continues to be, one of the great engines of American charity, volunteerism, and ingenuity.
The American Dream is something we continually shape, experience, and pass on. And America’s greatest gift to us is the freedom, opportunity, and optimism to pursue a better, richer, and fuller life in our own unique way.
The path will look different for each of us, and that is as it should be. But the American Dream is closer than we think. It is not hidden behind extraordinary wealth or the approval of others. It is found in the daily work of building a life that balances prosperity, belonging and purpose.
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