W01 Reflection: Entrepreneurial Journal

Randy Pausch Childhood Dreams Reflection

Randy Pausch had six childhood dreams growing up. 

1. Winning the biggest stuffed animal at amusement parks

2. Writing an entry in the World Book Encyclopedia

3. Playing in the NFL

4. Being Captain Kirk of Star Trek

5. Experiencing zero gravity

6. Becoming an "Imagineer" at Disney. 

Although Randy was not able to technically achieve all his childhood dreams, he was able to achieve a lot of them and a life full of meaning. I believe this was possible because of his overall attitude in life. An example of this is in his lecture titled "Randy Pausch’s Last Lecture: Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams". He says "We cannot change the cards we are dealt, just how we play the hand." Randy is a great example of what it means to be optimistic and resilient. He was a master of finding ways to overcome the challenges that got in the way of his dreams. For example, with his zero-gravity experience, he was denied access to the zero-gravity event because he was faculty, and faculty were not allowed. He researched ways he could still go with his students and noticed that they could bring a reporter with them. Instead of giving up on his dream he resigned as a faculty member and became a reporter for them so he could go. He was able to experience zero gravity. Randy was able to achieve his dreams because he never gave up and he found creative ways to overcome the obstacles put in front of him. 

I feel that dreaming is important. It is important to dream because without a dream or something to strive for, we have little to know direction of how to live our lives. Even if the dreams are farfetched, they still help us achieve more than if we didn't dream at all. Dreaming is the key to living a life full of meaning. When we dream, we force ourselves to do things we never would have done otherwise. Dreams help us to grow and learn. They help us reach our full potential. 

One of my childhood dreams was to play professional baseball. I played baseball from the ages of 5 to 18. Although my lack of physical abilities and natural talent led me to not complete this dream, I had several incredible experiences and learned many life lessons playing baseball. Without having that dream I wouldn't have loved baseball the way I did. Without having that dream I wouldn't have been who I am today. Having that dream not only helped me grow in life, but it gave me the desire to pass that dream along to local youth when I became a baseball coach for a local little league baseball team. Like Randy Pausch eludes to in his speech one of the best parts about dreaming is helping others with their dreams.