Carol and Larry

• Larry clearly understood the trade-off. More money, less family. More family, less money.
• The strain of keeping their household afloat discouraged them. There were bills to pay, kids to pick up, deadlines to meet, quotas to beat, but not much time to enjoy anything.
• Words from a Simon and Garfunkle song strike a familiar ring for many people: "Like a rat in a maze, the path before me lies. And the pattern never alters, until the rat dies."

The Problem

• Do you know anyone who has ever won the rat race?
• Why do we compete in an unwinnable race?

The Standard of Living Fallacy

• Our material standard of living which has soared in the last forty years.
• Our spiritual standard of living which has plummeted in the same time span.

The most lasting satisfaction in life is our relationships, so why are we trading them off for careers with companies that will drop us like hot potatoes if we miss our quota?

The Dominant Economic Theory in America

• The dominant economic theory in America for the past forty years or so has been consumerism.
• We are programmed to consume, because the theory holds that a progressively greater consumption of goods is beneficial.

The Influence of the Media

The problem with this life view is that it has no absolutes, everything is relative -- it has no external reference point. Our relativistic culture means that we need to guard our minds, because so many kooky ideas are floating around.

The life portrayed on television loves pleasure, sensuality, doesn't deny itself anything, and has a right to whatever goal it sets.

Contrast the heroes of today with those of the past. A few years ago kids looked up to John Wayne, Superman, Batman and Robin. Today it is Mutant Ninja Turtles, Iced Tea, and John MacEnroe.

The Beautiful, Wrinkle-Free Life

• The desire for things appears to have become more important than having a meaningful life philosophy.
• The result of trying to achieve the beautiful, wrinkle-free life, and failing, produces an excruciating anxiety level. Two components of anxiety are:
  • Media generated standard of living anxiety
  • Anxiety from debt pressure
• We have exchanged our traditional values for a murky sort of prosperity, financed by a remarkable increase in productivity and by a suffocating load of personal, corporate, and public debt.

The Rat Race Defined

• We can define the rat race as the pursuit of the beautiful, wrinkle-free life.
• In pursuit of the good life, many men leave a trail of broken relationships.