W02 Reflection: Entrepreneurial Journal

Why do you think Randy Pausch was able to achieve so many of his childhood dreams?
I think that Randy Pausch was able to achieve many of his dreams for many reasons, a big part of that being his childhood. From how he described his own growing up, you can tell Randy had very supportive and encouraging parents. When Randy wrote something he was passionate on his bedroom walls as a child, instead of getting upset and painting over it, his parents left it there. Their reasoning I’m not sure, but that simple act shows how loving and supportive they were to his dreams and aspirations. Having the support from people in your life especially from people who are close to you, I believe can be a tremendous help in all aspects of life. If you are told from a young age that you can do anything you put your mind to, you are smart, and are being supported through everything, why wouldn’t you believe that yourself? This is not to say that the contrary does not exist. Many people have amazing full lives and did not have that. Nonetheless I believe that the people around you play a tremendous role in our lives. If you have people who support you, who are positive, and determined, you too will most likely have the same traits. This is true for the latter as well. When you have people who are constantly negative, lazy, or judgmental, you too will start to subconsciously pick up their own traits.

Do you feel that dreaming is important? Why or why not?
I believe that dreaming is so incredibility important. You can see the importance through history. If Thomas Edison didn’t dream about having light outside of fire we wouldn’t have lightbulbs. If Orville and Wilbur Wright didn’t dream of flying, we would not be where we are with airplanes and other aircraft today. These are big examples but the same can be applied to one’s own life. If you never dream and never have any aspirations through life, you will miss out on so many amazing opportunities. Not to say a simple life cannot be good in itself, but I think that many of us are afraid to dream, afraid to fail, afraid to be disappointed. Pushing outside and through the comfortable box many of us have made for ourselves, can open up a new exciting life with opportunities that you never would have thought were possible otherwise. But to do that, you have to dream.

One of my childhood dreams has always been to travel. When I had no idea what I wanted to do in my future, the only thing that stuck with me was the dream to travel. I have always been accustom to traveling, moving every 3-4 years growing up will do that to you. Nonetheless I do believe it’s possible, having the dream is only the first step in this. This year I have made a big effort to put together a plan on how I’m going to complete this, how I am going to incorporate it with my other life dreams and plans. I am working very hard towards it so seeing my progress and building trust and confidence with myself gives me the faith that I will be able to do this.