Dead or Alive - The American Dream?

I was reading an article online this morning about the American Dream and if it is alive or dead? It made me pause and wonder if this was really what people thought? In reading the media, there is gloom and doom around every corner with the real estate crash, oil at an all time high and people losing their jobs. Have we lost the American Dream for good?


On the other side of the coin there continues to be growth in new start up small businesses. Entrepreneurs continue to thrive in a down real estate market as they scoop up deals and rehab them. More people are working around the fuel obstacle by using mass transit and trading in their gas guzzlers for mopeds and motorcycles. We continue to adapt and thrive despite the onset of hardship.

Are we destined to live out a more bleak future than the robust years of our parents? Or will we rise above with our high technologies, new inventions and efficient means of communicating at a global scale?

I tend to be a glass half full person and see the possibility for more opportunities in all of this chaos. The great hope that this next generation will grab the bull by the horns and work hard on creating new green space, more efficient ways to work together and better ways to harness the renewable energies of the sun, geo-thermal and bio-fuels. Many new small businesses will be created and many people will benefit from a better standard of life in the decades to come.

We really live in the most exciting time ever in the history of the planet as we can talk to another person across the globe, fly anywhere that we like and experience brilliant medical breakthroughs that prolong life beyond our expectations. Think about it.

The American Dream? I think it continues to live in all of us. By Brad McLeod

Let me know what you think and share your comments and opinions. You can reach Brad McLeod at mbmcleod@mindspring.com

Waking Up

We had a great beach weekend over Memorial Day. We traveled down to the Isle of Palms near Charleston and stayed at Wild Dunes and enjoyed the sand and water with the kids, mother, and my brothers family.

It was a good time to get out of Atlanta traffic and turn off the cell phones and try and relax for a a few days. Ah, the freedom to do nothing and enjoy some time off with the family. It was refreshing to get out on the beach and do a little running on the soft sand and to paddle my kayak and spend some time with my kids in the surf.

One of things that my son and I do are look for sea shells. We collect them and put them in a box with a small peice of paper telling when and where we picked them up. We did this in Mexico and found some awesome shells and put then in a really cool little box we found in downtown Sayulita. One day, it is my hope that he will look back on these boxes and open them up and find the notes and think back to the days of spending time together looking for shells and curious things on the beaches around the world.

Early one morning I greeted my son Dane who is 2 years old. I said "good morning" and asked if he slept well. He replied "woke up". We got a laugh out of that as he did indeed "woke up". Yep, that's a good thing - to be able to "wake up" every morning.

Although my son didnt mean it this way - I took a slightly different meaning from his comeback. My take - I think it is great to wake up every morning and to be grateful for every waking breath. I dont want to sound morbid, but one day I will not wake up. So I want to really be engaged to take advantage of every day as the true gift that it is. Every day is important and we only have so many of them to live and breath and make a difference on this planet. I am grateful for every day that I wake up.

Woke up. Yes; it is great to wake up. By Brad McLeod

You can reach Brad McLeod at mbmcleod@mindspring.com if you have comments or would like to trade notes on travel, family, financial freedom and lifestyle.