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I’m on The Back Nine of My Life, What’s The Legacy I Want to Leave Behind?

Craig Stanland
3 min readSep 14, 2022
The actual “keeping up with the Joneses” home.

“Keeping up with the Joneses.”

The term conjures up images of people displaying their prosperity through their homes, their cars, their clothes, their country club, and parties.

It’s a code term for materialism and flaunting your wealth, but underneath it lies a desperate need to fit in.

Keeping up with the Joneses is a constant comparison; it’s a race where the finish line moves further away with every step you take.

Enough is never enough if someone has more.

And if enough is never enough, how will we ever feel like we’re enough?

Externals will never fill the inner void; that’s like expecting snow in the Sahara.

Fun fact:

The Joneses were real people, and the house in the image is what created the popular saying.

In 1853, Elizabeth Schermerhorn Jones built a 24-room mansion for herself in Rhinebeck, NY, in the picturesque Hudson Valley.

The Gothic mansion had towers, gables, and arched windows; it was straight out of a fairy tale.

Even its name, Wyndclyffe, has a magical air about it.

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Craig Stanland
Craig Stanland

Written by Craig Stanland

From corporate success to federal prison, I share my journey to rediscover joy, meaning, and purpose. Join me in reinventing your extraordinary second act!

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