Elizabeth M. Johnson

I came to read Atlas Shrugged about four years ago. I had read The Fountainhead before but after Atlas, I was hooked. Dismissively, my mother said that “everyone” goes through an Ayn Rand phase. Do they? Well, four years later, Atlas is the only book on my desk and it remains the only fictional book on my Uncommon Confidence reading list. I re-read Atlas for relaxation and inspiration. Does everyone do this?

Ayn Rand was considered in an article by Harriet Rubin in the September 15 issue of the New York Times Business section which you can amazingly still access. Rand has come to light again with the release of Alan Greenspan’s book, The Age of Turbulence. Greenspan, whom everyone knows most familiarly as former chairman of the FED, was earlier in his life a member of the Collective-Ayn Rand’s inner circle who met weekly to discuss Rand’s philosophy of Objectivism.
The heart of Rubin’s article focuses on the impact that Atlas Shrugged has had on business and business leaders since its publication 50 years ago this year. Themes of excellence, quality work, being a hero within one’s life and taking one’s dreams seriously are concepts that drive my business as well as spill into my teaching.

Looking at the world through Atlas-tinted lenses, one can see just how important they are or can be in the “motor of the world” as John Galt says in Atlas. Through Atlas, Rand helps us see the possibility that exists in our life. She helps us understand that everyone counts and the discovery of one’s true purpose is one of the most critical tasks that we can take on. This philosophy is at the core of my own work with clients.

Starting in October, I have an opening for an individual client. So, if discovering your purpose and pursuing it is something that you’d like to take on, contact me. Don’t worry; I won’t make you read Atlas Shrugged. At least, not the whole thing.