Onward in Pursuit

At the beginning of this book, I posed the question of how we can pursue the promise of a “better and richer and fuller” life.

In doing so, we addressed another fundamental question: What is the American Dream?

I hope the 3-3-1 framework outlined in this book provides a useful way to think about both questions.

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 hardship and insecurity remain persistent challenges.

Yet, as we have seen throughout these pages and as the paradox of achievement revealed, 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 an attempt to restore a more complete understanding of the American Dream. It is a merging of the three pillars of prosperity, belonging, and purpose. These pillars rest on the unique foundations of freedom, equal opportunity, and dignity of labor. And they are guided by a distinctly 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 for much of my own life. He certainly valued education and prosperity, but what he desired most were the very things I had sacrificed in pursuit of professional advancement.

That realization brought me back to a simple truth.

The American Dream is not just a destination, financial or otherwise. It is a way of life. Something that we continually shape, experience, and pass on through the three pillars of prosperity, belonging, and purpose.

America’s greatest gift to us is the freedom and opportunity to pursue this better, richer, and fuller life in our own unique ways.

The American mindset inspires us to believe that we have the ability to shape that life ourselves. Just as importantly, this mindset is not about pursuing that life at the expense of others. As Adam Smith recognized two hundred years ago, rugged individualism and agency have been, and continue to be, powerful forces of American charity, volunteerism, and ingenuity.

The path will look different for each of us, and that is how it should be. Once we expand our view of what a fulfilling life can be and look backward from the future we hope to create, the American Dream seems much closer than we think it is.

It is not hidden behind extraordinary wealth or the approval of others.

The American Dream is found in the daily work of building a life that balances prosperity, belonging, and purpose.

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