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There's a vignette making its way around the Internet about a wealthy executive who goes on vacation to a remote seaside village and encounters a poor and slow-paced fellow. The executive is aghast at the man's laziness and immediately sets to preaching on the benefits of being industrious, pointing out that all his years of hard work earned him a home by the beach and time to spend fishing and with his friends. The lazy villager replies his lifestyle also won him a home by the beach and time fishing and with his friends. The difference between them, the tale implies, is that the villager enjoyed his life.
The message of simplifying and slowing down is hardly new, but lately it has become akin to a movement of people who, either because they attained prosperity or decided the price of it was too high, voluntarily downsized their own careers.
Appealing to their values are consumer magazines like Real Simple (down the shelf from its spiritual opposite, Lucky, a magazine devoted to the joys of shopping), a two-year-old title with a circulation approaching 900,000. There's even a group called the Center for a New American Dream, a five-year-old Maryland-based nonprofit that promotes mindful and responsible consumption. From its beginning, it has grown from 100 to 4,000 members. Its brochure, "Simplify the Holidays," reached 50,000 receptive readers.
Retreating into your own Walden Pond sounds great to the weary and the discouraged. In real life, though, such dramatic life changes don't always work out. Then again, sometimes they do.
The publisher who became a writer
Debbie Gissoni was the quintessential corporate soldier. The San Francisco area resident used to spend 80 percent of her time on the road and much of the time home in round-the-clock meetings. By age 31, Gissoni was a magazine publisher, a player in the male-dominated industry, with 50 subordinates and a $30 million publication. Then, between 1990 and 1994, she experienced a series of devastating events, losing both her parents, her sister, and an aunt with whom she'd had a close relationship.
The last death created free time, since she didn't have to shuttle coast-to-coast so regularly. "Instead of taking a deep breath and relaxing, I poured myself into work even more, with more projects and responsibility," Gissoni, 41, recalls. "I lost myself in my work. When you do that, you reach a breaking point where you ask if this is all there is. I began to want to do something more meaningful, something to help other people."
Gissoni shocked colleagues by giving notice. Three months later, she walked out the door to an unknown future. The change was traumatic. "For a long time I felt I'd left my identity behind," Gissoni says. "It was hard to meet new people, because the first thing they ask is what you do. You go through a whole emotional and spiritual process where you don't know who you are. Your definition of success for so many years was tied into one particular formula."
She considered going back but instead began writing a book, Vita's Will, Real Life Lessons About Life, Death & Moving On. That helped pave a path to a new, less hectic career helping other people who sense they're in the same crisis she was, guiding them through the downsizing transition. "I'm not making anything near what I made before, but I get great satisfaction from people who read my book and write an email," Gissoni says. "You have to get over not making as much money. Once you know you can manage with less, and all that doesn't really matter, then life becomes easier, simpler--and happier."
The boss who went solo
For Los Angeles-based Rob Frankel, downsizing was less an emotional revelation than a financial one--and one that put him further ahead while working less. His is the stuff of SPAM email fantasies. As his advertising business entered its fourth year and he got married in 1990, Frankel took stock. The ad business was slumping, computer technology was thriving, and he realized that if he could create a network of independent contractors, he could eliminate staff salaries and overhead, and all the administrative hassle that went with running an office--and come out ahead. He could even dump the notorious L.A. commute.
Voila: a profitable digital office was born. Over time, the core business evolved from advertising to branding. The side benefit was a windfall of time. "I get to see my kids," the 45-year-old says. "I go to help with soccer and baseball practices. Every Wednesday in the summer we do a 'Surprise Wednesday.' At 10 o'clock we all jump in the car and go for a family field day."
Frankel acknowledges that the free form, too-good-be-true lifestyle doesn't work for everyone. Some can't stomach risk or lack discipline. Some don't like being so unconventional. Indeed, Frankel is close to one such person: his wife. "She has trouble with the idea of taking time off in the middle of the week," he says. "When you come from the workaday world, you feel guilty."
The executive who went back
Guilt didn't factor into 39-year-old Connie Fogarty's decision to go back to the corporate world after a year as a stay-at-home mother. As a financial director for a division of a major pharmaceutical company in the western suburbs of Philadelphia, her pre-motherhood life was deeply satisfying. "Money wasn't the driving factor," she says. "I loved the community of the workplace and the people I worked with--bright, motivated, and talented in an energized environment. I loved the sense of building something. The first time I got pregnant, it didn't even occur to me not to come back to work."
Her second baby's arrival coincided with a promotion that put her in a high profile and pressured position. She still loved working but something wasn't clicking. "Here I had a great marriage, a great job, two beautiful children, and no money problems at all--and our quality of life was down the tubes," Fogarty recalls. A third child meant putting her career on a backburner.
This time, with her company's blessing, she took a year off to see if she liked being a stay-at-home mother. "I really enjoyed being home," she says. Still, she missed being in the fray, and when the company came back to her with a generous offer and agreed to her need for flexible part-time hours, Fogarty went back.
"I'm happy working," she says. "I want to be a role model for my daughter so she believes she can be whatever she wants and for my sons to know women belong in the workplace."
Of course, it has challenges. "Sometimes I have to say no to things at work and no to things at home and I'm left feeling I'm making no one happy as opposed to getting the best of both worlds." But she sees it as an open-ended process. "I didn't go back this time thinking this is the end of the decision but a step in the process," she says.
Indeed, the voluntary downsizing movement itself--from the people who reformulated their careers to a few who actually found cabins in the woods--is in some ways a reaction to the view of life as a fixed reality. Whether through crisis or revelation, downsizers have in common a sense that they're seizing the moment--in the full knowledge that the moment is not just fleeting but evolving. Todd Pitock, who last wrote for Juggle on getting older, evolves daily in his office outside Philadelphia, PA.
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Reactions to "Voluntary Downsizing"
The first question to ask is "What do I need all this money for?" Unless you have 6 kids or a huge mortgage, most of us could get by with less. The money is nice, but you must have the TIME if you are ever going to realize your dreams. Therefore, time is far better than money.
Ken Gross
I think what this story illustrates is a new reality to the "American Dream." I worked as a chemical process engineer and maintenance manager before deciding to go back to business school, but still had problems making ends meet. I mean, I was making more than my mother did while raising us, but I couldn't even think about owning a home (let alone consider the impact a family would have). So it begs the question, if I'm going to be struggling for money anyways, why go through the 12 hr/day, 6-day/week work schedule?
On the other hand, though, I really enjoy working in manufacturing and engineering. I worked at home for 4 months when I moved back to L.A. after quitting my process engineering job. Although I enjoyed the freedom I had, I didn't enjoy the work (web/graphic design).
My dream now is to still have my freedom, but make a lot more money doing things that are interesting to me. That might not including engineering & manufacturing, but we'll see. The end result is that I have the freedom (time and money) to enjoy the life that I want.
Doug Williams
Student, Stanford Business School
It's too bad the other 269,999,997 Americans can't afford this lifestyle. It sounds like fun. Unfortunately, the rest of us have to work.
Bob Nance
President, CiT Networks, Inc.
Let me first just say, good job to all of you who have said "no" to unrealistic corporate expectations and taken control of your work life. It's inspiring to hear about people living their dreams.
But let's take a look at the big picture here. Americans are working more than they have in decades, and unemployment is on the rise. Heck, they even discontinued unemployment benefits until the new congress can figure out how to pay for it.
And where I live, where the median income in in the low 20s (no, that's not a typo), couples work two or three or four jobs just to keep a family together. And health insurance? Not usually. Benefits? Nope.
So, to those good people who, like me, are lucky enough to make a choice ONE WAY OR THE OTHER, please remember the huge numbers of people that are on the losing end of this economy.
Oh, and if you really want to simplify your life, cancel your subscription to Real Simple. You can probably get it at the library for free!
Okay, I'll get off my teeny virtual soapbox now...
Rebecca Kilde
Windmill Graphics
In reaction to the survey, why isn't there an option for, "I'm downsizing and now can't pay my bills". That's my situation. We moved out of San Francisco and my wife left her job to raise our family. We still make 60K/year but can't pay the bills. I don't know how people live in Northern California. Even the basics are too expensive. And we can't move because all our family is here.
Jamie
Graphic/Web Designer, Marmot Mountain Ltd.
Do I, who have never wanted to have a high-powered/high-paying job outside the home dare to comment.? Let me use Ms. Fogarty's words to describe my chosen career of homemaker and stay at home mom.
I loved ...the workplace (home) and the people (my two sons) I worked with -- "bright, motivated, and talented in an energized [with two boys - you bet!] environment." I love what I've built: two intelligent, capable, caring, responsible young adult men who know the value of a full-time mom.
Adrianna
Wife and Mother and Grandmother, Our home
This story seems to imply what I've always held in the back of my mind - that there is no "right" way to do your life, as long as it works and you're happy. I'd rather be of lesser means and happy than wealthy and miserable. I think this is also the essence of true freedom.
Michael Eddy
Furniture Installer, Modular Installation Services
Re: downsizing. Do it. You won't regret it.
What I found when I quit my high-paying exhausting job 4 years ago is: what really matters is the so-called small stuff...having time to lovingly prepare a decent meal, to create my own artwork, clean my own house, and, most importantly, spend time with my family and friends.
Rushing down the freeway, spending 3-4 hours a day commuting to do someone else's bidding after only 4 or 5 hours sleep, spending all my energy and money to pay someone else to care for my children, do my yard work and house work, doing it all over again day after day. Does that make any sense? Of course not. I was wasting my life, and it took a long-lasting toll on my health. It wasn't worth it.
Now I do my own chores, clean up my own act, and love every minute of it. The money, somehow, is there when I need it. And I don't need nearly as much as I thought I did.
Marie
Happy Homemaker
As a former production manager, my position with a bought out engineering company was perilous. Engineers and not manufacturing people are highly valued.
I retained my senority and found a position within this company that is less glamorous and less valueable, but also more flexible and less stressful.
I get to spend time with my young children, have time to read and work on home projects, while the engineering staff struggles for time off.
I'm not as proud of my accomplishments as I once might have been, but keeping the lights on and the doors open has as small, warm reward.
Mike
Facilities and Asset Manager, DRS Sensor Systems
As a former production manager, my position with a bought out engineering company was perilous. Engineers and not manufacturing people are highly valued.
I retained my senority and found a position within this company that is less glamorous and less valueable, but also more flexible and less stressful.
I get to spend time with my young children, have time to read and work on home projects, while the engineering staff struggles for time off.
I'm not as proud of my accomplishments as I once might have been, but keeping the lights on and the doors open has as small, warm reward.
Mike
Facilities and Asset Manager, DRS Sensor Systems
As I see it, the biggest problem is health insurance. If you don't get it through an employer, you cannot get and keep good health insurance. The insurance industry has us. How do other people deal with that?
Kay Mooney Cox
Pastor, First United Church of Christ, Marblehead, Ohio
As a young person, the article strikes me as a little strange. It's good to have balance and to set boundaries. It's also difficult to imagine having so much to give away, at this point in my life.
Well actually, downsizing isn't so much about *giving* things things up or away much as redistributing your income. It's buying time and freedom and peace-and-quiet with the wealth and power a middle-aged or very successful person has accumulated. It takes a good pile of accumulated capital to start your own unconventional business or secure an engaging part-time job or retire at 40.
Jessaleo
non-profit lawyer nyc
Julia makes some great comments and asks some good questions.
It is fairly "easy" to downsize when you start from relatively lucrative positions/salaries and continue to make good money from the "downsized" career.
But would people still make the same choices if they couldn't still live in the same house, drive the same cars, and play golf at the same club?
When discussing a more fulfilling and simpler lifestyle we cannot simply look at the supply side (income/career) but need to take a closer look at the demand side (spending) which is so out-of-control in the US.
I would encourage everybody to attack the demand-side of their equation.... for perspective and help check out (in addition to the www.newdream.org):
www.pbs.org/kcts/affluenza/
and
www.adbusters.com
I feel blessed that I could sell my McMansion and move into an 1100 sq ft rental (with my wife and 3 kids) while we stabilize the Supply-side (our careers) of our lives....
Dan
After having gone to a lavishly catered Christmas party, complete with an Elvis impersonator, martini bar and loads of women wearing those dresses that I've only seen on hangers (and wondered "where would anyone wear that?!) at a grand old Kentucky home, I longed. For a moment. I wondered why I was sitting here in my modest, yet comfortable, little bungalow, behind my computer, writing short stories and essays that no one will probably ever read (large scale, that is). Then I remembered. Because I want to. It's not quite Walden Pond, but there is a middle road, even it's very difficult to find. Great article. Thanks.
Patti Edmon
owner (delegato), EdmonDesign
I jumped off the "managment train" a few years ago and my husband made his downsizing move earlier this year. We both now have jobs with constant schedules that require only the 8-5 from us. The benefits: I'm actually know by name at my daughter's school, my daughter does not refer to me as "the traveling and cleaning mommy", and my husband and I actually have time to discuss more topics than schedules and who forgot to take the trash out. Do I miss the money? Sure! Do I regret it? No way!!!
Tina Koch
CAD Specialist, Business Interiors NW/Frank Russell Co.
As someone involved in "workforce development", I have to wonder if these articles about downsizing aren't all just a little too glossy. What about those who have high-pressured low-paying jobs or not so many (marketable) skills or a certain sophistication and savvy about work in the first place - can they downsize too? Perhaps a little more reality or instruction is needed when we talk how people have simplified their lives by downsizing their jobs....
I would have also liked to hear more about the what the actual compromises were from their wildly successful (and income productive) livelihoods to downsizing- did any of them sell their homes and start renting again? How are they saving for retirement? What about health insurance? Is someone else in the family still working a "traditional" job?
Julia
City of Chicago
I achieved my dream - because President of a $70 mil division of a Fortune 500 firm - and lost any balance to my life. Two years ago this week I went to Africa - returned and quit my job. After a year of soul searching and decompressing, I have spent the last year developing a new career that allows me to work from a home office, focus on the product development and marketing that I loved and have the production headaches handled by manufacturers on a license agreement. Whether this will be lucrative is something I am a year away from knowing. What I do know - I have never been happier. My lifestyle now is 'frugal by choice' - far richer than when I was making a huge amount of money.
Sherri Akers
my own boss!, For Women Mostly
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