Lyrics for a new 1990s national anthem: Be happy, make money

After collecting a salary for 20 years, Steve Yahn woke up one day in his New York City apartment yearning to do what he did best for himself, rather than for some company. His wife, Andrea Rock, was discontented too, primarily because of the noise, filth and tension of city life. They had talked about escaping to a 200-year-old farmhouse they were buying in Maine for vacations and investment. But that’s all the discussions were, just talk.

Then Andrea got pregnant, a month before they closed on the house. “That was the final catalyst for moving immediately,” says Andrea. “We wanted Adam to grow up with fields, woods and the beach as his playground.” So off they went to Maine.

Of course, Steve and Andrea sought much more than open spaces for their son Adam. They wanted to take control of their lives and do what would make them happy, successful and ultimately secure.

This issue is dedicated to all of you who share that goal of personal fulfillment and financial security. Until now, although nearly all of us feel a powerful urge to change our lives at one point or another, relatively few of us act on the impulse. But that may be changing. As more of us pass 40, having spent our lives doing what our parents, teachers, bosses (and often our spouses) expected of us, many will say: “This can’t be all there is!” And then off they’ll go — to new states of mind, at least.

As our cover story beginning on page 74 makes clear, rearranging your life for the better is never easy — but it’s nearly always rewarding financially and emotionally. Each of the six people we profile switched from jobs they tolerated to challenging positions they were motivated to master. For example, a bored attorney in Maryland, Robert M. Parker Jr., started a highly successful wine lovers’ newsletter and produced a string of best-selling guides, some edited by my wife, for Simon & Schuster. And a disillusioned New Jersey college professor, Fred Abbate, found his calling as head of public relations for an electric utility.

What of Steve and Andrea? Well, Steve has made the transition from deskbound financial editor of the New York Daily News to owner of Preview, a local arts and entertainment magazine. And Andrea has gone from being a restless Money staff writer, working out of a nine-foot-by-11 1/2-foot New York City office, to a contented contributor, typing away in that farmhouse on 47 acres on scenic Deer Isle.

As you’ve probably guessed, Andrea wrote the cover story — with very special insight.

Early in February, many of you may have seen CBS- TV’s 60 Minutes piece on Retin-A, which was inspired by Money’s April 1989 article, “The Selling of Retin-A.” Last month, at the American Association for the Advancement of Science annual meeting, our staff writer Leslie N. Vreeland, 30, received the first-ever Evert Clark Award for that article.

Managing Editor