On
the QUAD, UMKC Fall 2009
A life of collaboration and
creativity
Sarah and Paul Edwards are two College alumni who
have made the leap from thought to action many times throughout their lives,
creating a lifestyle that is part reality, part dream.
Their life collaboration began 45 years ago, when
they were students at UMKC. As students, the flexibility of their schedules
allowed them to see each other often, but they experienced a noticeable
shift in their lifestyles after graduation. Sarah worked for the federal
Head Start program, and Paul started his own law firm. Both traveled
extensively and laugh remembering how they sometimes waved to each other at
the airport as they came and went.
"We never saw each other in the daylight," Sarah
said. "We were always trying to figure out how we could see each other more
than in the dark."
In 1974, they realized working from home was
their solution. It didn't take long for friends and acquaintances to become
curious about what appeared to be a perfect situation, which led to
questions about how they too could work from home. Those questions prompted
the writing of the first of 17 books about intertwining career and life
choices.
Soon after writing their first book, Sarah and
Paul moved to Los Angeles to take advantage of publishing, radio, and TV
opportunities. Despite continuing to work primarily from home, they
discovered that their lifestyle was once again drifting away from their
ideals. In fact, what they found they were missing most was the sense of
community they enjoyed in Kansas City and at UMKC.
"I loved UMKC," Sarah said. "I loved it because
the professors were so interesting, so bright, and so engaging with the
students. It was a nice, small campus; it wasn't just this massive body of
people."
Sarah and Paul found that L.A. was just too big.
Again, their solution involved relocating, but this time it was less than
100 miles away to a small community located in the Los Padres National
Forest. Nestled in a picturesque mountain
setting, they established the Pine Mountain
Institute, where they write, provide consulting services, and offer online
continuing education classes. It's also their home, and the nexus for what
Paul calls "localized social activity."
"What we see as a solution to many of the
challenges we face today is `relocalization' — bringing people back to their
local communities where they're earning a living and relating to things that
are going on in their community," says Sarah.
Sarah and Paul say they recognize that multiple
solutions and lifestyles exist, and that creativity and collaboration are
ultimately what will help people negotiate the environmental and economic
challenges they face. These approaches to work and living are the focus of
their latest book, Middle Class Lifeboat: Careers and Life
Choices for Navigating a Changing Economy. In addition to
discussing 50 unique career choices, they also explore nine alternative
lifestyles, such as living on the road or at sea.
Sarah and Paul hosted a long-running show on HGTV
and they have appeared on The Today Show
and The Oprah Winfrey Show. They have more
than 2 million books in print, and the third edition of their book,
Home-based Business for Dummies,