Last week we went through David Brooks' book On Paradise Drive and discussed the various ideas and classifications of people Brooks outlines in his book. I personally really enjoyed this book and found it to be the type of book I would pick up for leisurely reading. But anytime I read a book that makes me physically nod my head in agreement or actually think about how the ideas tie in to my life is a winner in my mind!
Anywho, although there are a number of ideas in his book that I felt I could connect with, I felt an especially strong connection when I reached the sections on The Achievatron [cue J
ames Earl Jones saying the name, because I envision a very God-like voice saying "The Achievatron"]. I think with many people, especially those who are in the Millenial generation or just a few years older, can relate to this idea of being the best, doing every single activity, giving back to the community every chance you can, and going and going and going much like the Energizer Bunny. There was one line in particular where I had an Ah Ha moment- "When they [students] get together and talk about their futures, it is always in that semiknowing tone that they are involved in a game, and they have to figure out the rules to get to the next level." After reading this line I put the book down and immediately thought of one of my very good friends, Kim. She grew up in a military family which involved travelling the world while she was younger, spent most of her teenage years in the Midwest, went to a very well-respected university in the Midwest, moved to NYC after college to begin a career in publishing. She ended up landing an editorial assistant position with a top publishing house, where she proceeded to get a promotion faster than "the normal" associate, began going to NYU for a master's in publishing part-time, started taking tennis lessons, because you know, no one succeeds in business without Andre Agassi-like tennis skillz, and oh yes, she is the president of one of the student clubs. And breathe. Those are just a top line view of the activities she is involved in. Oh, she is also planning to go to business school, starting Fall 2010 and has started studying for the GMAT.....in the midst of finishing up her current grad school courses! To me, she is an amazing person and it's as if I can see her being pushed through The Achievatron. I sometimes worry about her because she seems to rarely sleep, but it's like a badge of honor to have little sleep, as long as you have a long laundry list of accomplishments to go along with it, which she certainly does. When we talk about all the things going on in life, she does view pieces of it like it is a game (as referenced above by Brooks). She has goals she wants to reach and she is trying to map out the different "plays"she will make to get her to the end of the game as quickly and efficiently as possible. I suppose you could say it's almost like a game of chess, though I would argue no one is truly able to see many moves ahead.
ames Earl Jones saying the name, because I envision a very God-like voice saying "The Achievatron"]. I think with many people, especially those who are in the Millenial generation or just a few years older, can relate to this idea of being the best, doing every single activity, giving back to the community every chance you can, and going and going and going much like the Energizer Bunny. There was one line in particular where I had an Ah Ha moment- "When they [students] get together and talk about their futures, it is always in that semiknowing tone that they are involved in a game, and they have to figure out the rules to get to the next level." After reading this line I put the book down and immediately thought of one of my very good friends, Kim. She grew up in a military family which involved travelling the world while she was younger, spent most of her teenage years in the Midwest, went to a very well-respected university in the Midwest, moved to NYC after college to begin a career in publishing. She ended up landing an editorial assistant position with a top publishing house, where she proceeded to get a promotion faster than "the normal" associate, began going to NYU for a master's in publishing part-time, started taking tennis lessons, because you know, no one succeeds in business without Andre Agassi-like tennis skillz, and oh yes, she is the president of one of the student clubs. And breathe. Those are just a top line view of the activities she is involved in. Oh, she is also planning to go to business school, starting Fall 2010 and has started studying for the GMAT.....in the midst of finishing up her current grad school courses! To me, she is an amazing person and it's as if I can see her being pushed through The Achievatron. I sometimes worry about her because she seems to rarely sleep, but it's like a badge of honor to have little sleep, as long as you have a long laundry list of accomplishments to go along with it, which she certainly does. When we talk about all the things going on in life, she does view pieces of it like it is a game (as referenced above by Brooks). She has goals she wants to reach and she is trying to map out the different "plays"she will make to get her to the end of the game as quickly and efficiently as possible. I suppose you could say it's almost like a game of chess, though I would argue no one is truly able to see many moves ahead.Brooks goes on to say we are creating a culture, especially for the youth, where being ambitious just isn't enough...one must be more ambitious. I think it's great to have lofty goals and be ambitious, I just wonder how this apparent lack of being able to push "stop" will affect our country (and culture) moving forward. When will we stop to smell the roses? When will we reap the benefits of all we have worked so hard to accomplish? During retirement? But who has time to retire when there's so much to be done?
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