Well, this course sure has proven to be a journey worth taking. Maybe that’s a little premature, being the second week, but I can tell a good thing when I see it. I’ve especially found a fondness for The Ministry of Business. I’ve read four chapters (I was only supposed to read three this week), but I couldn’t help myself. All the principles and lessons it discusses resonate with me, particularly The Formula in chapter 4. This formula for success is based on three simple components.
1. Get Your Education. We must constantly be on the search for wisdom from all sources, whether it be formal classrooms or informal, real-world experiences. Education is our toolbox companion. It gives us the confidence needed to be successful.
2. Make Your Mark. We need to make a positive difference wherever we live and in every career we pursue.
3. Get Prepared To Be Of Service. Here is the key to eternal success. It’s through service and contributing, not material wealth, that gives us the truest sense of happiness.
These are such simple words to live by, but I feel the truth of it, the power, the strength, the potential that living by them would enable me with. The Formula is one of many paths to achieve happiness and fulfillment, but it seems to be among the better ones. I’m excited to take this knowledge and not only become a better person, but maybe, just maybe, use them in my entrepreneurial endeavors, if that’s what my future holds.
It seems to me that Randy Pausch was able to achieve so many of his childhood dreams because, as a child, he was allowed full-range to explore his talents and make discoveries. He even wrote equations on his bedrooms walls! Instead of grumbling of the resale value of the house, his parents let him find himself through his own means.
Dreams are among the most important things in life. Why? Consider the alternative. Hopelessness. As Charlie Chaplin said, “Despair is a narcotic. It lulls the mind into indifference.” You could say despair is a strong term, too dramatic, too polar opposite of dreams. If so, then consider the middle ground between dreams and despair: the mundane. Yes, it’s livable, but it’s not abundant with life. It doesn’t overflow with vigor or burst with vivaciousness. That may be acceptable to some people, but it isn’t to me. Dreams are the stars that, if bright and powerful enough, form the constellations that define our lives. Yes, dreams are important. They are more important that anyone could ever explain.
There are several childhood dreams I could choose from, but my most precious one is the dream to be a published author. This particular desire first blossomed in my mind at around thirteen years of age, so it’s perched on the edge of childhood, but to me, it still counts. I can achieve this dream. I will achieve this dream. I’m nearly finished with the first draft of a YA novel I’ve been working on for the past several years. I will write its ending soon, and the rewrites will entail soon after, and then, it will be finished. Well, as finished as it can be. There’s still the journey of discovering an agent and navigating the publishing world, but I trust that I can accomplish my dream. It may take months or years, but someday, there it will sit, resting beautifully on the bookshelves of bookstores across the country.
Today’s dream.
Tomorrow’s reality.
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