Wednesday, October 24, 2007

What were your childhood dreams?

Thanks to my friend, Shannon, I was introduced to an incredible man today! Not in person mind you, but rather through the magic of YouTube! I was mesmerized by his words and inspired by his life. His name is Randy Pausch. He is a college professor. He is a husband and a father. He is a Disney Imagineer. He has done some incredible things. But sadly, he is also dying of cancer.
In his Final Lecture at Carnegie Mellon University he gave a remarkable reflection on his teaching, his own life, and the pursuit of dreams. He not only shared what his childhood dreams were, but also how he achieved nearly every one of them! He has an infectious, positive spirit and I strongly urge everyone to watch the condensed version of his speech given on the Oprah show earlier this week.


So after listening to him, I am left wondering if I have had as much success reaching my childhood dreams. First, I have to take a moment to recall what those were....
* Live in a big house. Check. (Yes, materialistic even back then!)
* Eat steak for dinner anytime I want. Check.
* Be an artist. Check. (I have always found myself incorporating art into my life and have been in a very artistic industry for years -scrapbooking- and what kind of artist was really never identified so all is fair.)
* Be a writer. Check (While I never achieved a degree in journalism, I have been true to this dream almost every step of my life. My passion has always landed my thoughts on paper in one form or another.)
* Be a lawyer. (Few people know this about me, but I thought my ability to prove a point and my desire to right the wrongs of the world would lead me in this direction. In the end the artist in me won out. But watch out...I still tend to drive home a point when I have one!)

I guess I've been following my heart for years! Funny how our subconscious drives us even when our mind losses sight of our dreams.
So what are your childhood dreams? Did they true? Can they still?

Best said in one of my all-time favorite quotes....

Go confidently in the direction of your dreams and live the life you've imagined.
-Thoreau

enjoy the fulfillment of your dreams,
-dw.

2 comments:

Amy said...

he was on Oprah yesterday. Amazing story.

Thanks for sharing!

Anonymous said...

I love your list of accomplished dreams already!!