joie de vivre

Europeans say that Americans don’t know how to enjoy life…that we live to work instead of work to live. Could the trend towards an experience based economy validate this observation? Are Americans in need of pleasure to such an extent that businesses have stepped in to provide this missing sensory experience? Is our Puritan heritage rearing its ugly head?

If you look at some of the biggest entrepreneurial success stories in the last decade, you can see a trend among these businesses. They differentiate themselves by providing more than just a product or service but an environment.

Starbucks is an excellent example of a company that has led the way in experienced based offerings. If you research the history of this company, you will uncover the concept originated out of Italian coffee bars not out of American diners. Howard Schultz, after experiencing the neighborhood feel of the local Italian coffee bars immediately understood the personal relationship Italians have with coffee and its social aspect. He decided to recreate the authentic Italian coffee bar culture in America by making his coffee bean store into more of an extension of one's own home or porch – a place where people could gather for camaraderie and coffee. In his book, Pour Your Heart Into It, Howard insists he “couldn’t foresee the success Starbucks is today. But I felt the unexpressed demand for romance and community. Italians had turned the drinking of coffee into a symphony, and it felt right.”

Coffee isn’t the only area of the food experience that is revered by Europeans. A book written by Mireille Guiliano, author of the bestseller French Women Don't Get Fat highlights the differences between Americans and the French when it comes to food.

"In America, you look at food as bad and guilty," she says. "In France, we love food and we enjoy food; food is pleasure." Mireille says that she always sets out to truly savor her meals, even during that forgotten midday meal so many of us rush through. "For 20 minutes I don't take calls," she says. "I don't work on my computer. I enjoy my lunch."

Whole Foods is a company that’s showing Americans how to celebrate food. Its newest flagship store is more like an amusement park than a grocery store. For some it’s the chocolate fountain display, but for me having come from the Midwest where bread is NOT a flour tortilla, I nearly cried when I first went to this store and witnessed the “bread ride”. The variety, the presentation, the creativity all makes for a wonderful experience even if you don’t go to buy groceries.

Why do Americans have such a need for experiences?

Ultimately I believe it is a result of our Puritan heritage. The idea that hard work reaps rewards and the notion of delayed gratification has permeated the culture of this country since its founding. We are a country of achievers, but this has come at a cost. Today, in order to maintain that level of success we have been forced to specialize in our careers. While specialization has increased our efficiency, it has limited our exposure to a variety of general activities that we once used to explore. Cooking, a skill that once used to be essential for women to possess is no longer taught to young girls or boys for that matter. No one has time for non-essential tasks. Today if you want a home cooked meal, you hire a personal chef - someone that has chosen to specialize in the culinary arts as a career.

It’s not just that we are highly specialized, but it’s also that we seek to compartmentalize our lives as well. How else would you explain the proliferation of “yogis” in this country? Yoga has become a way for people to exercise and to have spiritual growth and personal time all in one. Poof…now you have freed up time to do something else.

It seems to me that for Americans life isn’t about enjoyment but about accomplishment. While this provides security it doesn’t provide fulfillment, which is why we see the proliferation of personal service companies looking to capitalize on American’s need for pleasure, and enjoyment in their daily lives.

In France they have a saying, joie de vivre, which actually doesn't exist in the English language. It means looking at your life as something that is to be taken with great pleasure and enjoy it. Until we figure out how to live in perfect balance and develop an appreciation for the fine pleasures of daily live… no amount of caff`e lattes will suffice.