Week 2 - Creating a Life of Meaning

This week I watched a video by Randy Pausch. He was a professor at Carnegie Mellon University who was diagnosed with metastatic pancreatic cancer and told he probably had 3-6 months of good health left. He was asked to give his "last lecture" where he would try to sum up the most important lessons he'd learned during his lifetime.

He listed several childhood dreams on a PowerPoint slide including work as a Disney imagineer, play in the NFL, as well as several others. He went through each dream and was able to accomplish virtually all of them. Some of them were quite lofty.

One of the big reasons Randy was able to accomplish so many of his dreams was because he smartly pursued his dreams, he was persistent, and he approached obstacles with an attitude of overcoming obstacles. His quote is that brick walls are not there to keep you out, they're there to let you prove you want it badly enough. He put that principle into action when he applied to be an imagineer. His employment application was rejected. Years later he was a college professor and reached out to see if he may take a sabbatical year with the imagineers. Again, there were multiple brick walls to overcome however he was able to fulfill his childhood dream. It was every bit as magical as I thought it would be.

Dreaming is an important part of realizing potential. A person who never dreams anything greater than their current situation will not have the motivation or the vision to try and improve. Dreams and ideas are at the heart of the inventions, advancements and innovations throughout human history.

One of my childhood dreams was to be able to take my own family boating. I grew up with my father taking us to Lake Powell, Pineview, Delta reservoir, and many other places. I learned to waterski when I was 6 years old. To this day I absolutely love the feeling of getting to a lake early, smelling the odd combination of the boat's vinyl, sunscreen, and the lake. Feeling the crisp morning air and the anticipation of getting out on the water. My father taught me to waterski when I was 6. I remember watching him hitch up the boat, launch and trailer the boat, tow the boat and back the boat down the ramp. I remember watching him slalom ski behind the boat making it look so effortless and fun. These were some of my absolute best memories growing up. I always wondered if I would ever get to the point where I'd be able to do all the things that he did. Would I be able to know enough to tow, launch and drive a boat safely? I watched him intently for years trying to prepare myself for the day I'd take the boat out by myself. I dreamed of giving my own wife and kids similar wonderful memories.

This past summer I fulfilled that childhood dream. Our family hit some brick walls these past 10-15 years. My dad lost his job and was forced to sell the boat and for years I was hundreds of miles away attending medical school and residency. Nobody in the family owned a boat for many years. This past year we saved our money, we were able to pay cash for a truck to tow the boat and a we were able to buy an old ski boat very similar to the boat I learned to ski on. I took my own family waterskiing. I taught my wife to slalom ski, I gave my kids tube rides. The kids got to ride on a ski trainer, I suspect they'll get up next summer on skis when we have more time to practice. Looking forward to many more fun summers!