- Why do you think Randy Pausch was able to achieve so many of his childhood dreams?
- Do you feel that dreaming is important? Why or why not?
- Discuss at least one of your childhood dreams. Explain why you believe you can or cannot achieve this dream.
Randy Pausch was a PHD in computer science and created a university software program as well as created a ride at Disney World. He was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer in 2007 and died in 2008. Ironically, after diagnosed with cancer, he was chosen to give a lecture as a part of a series of lectures titled "Last Lectures". During his lecture he talks about his achievements and how they came from childhood aspirations and that it was because of dreaming and working hard that he was able to do what he did. He talks about how he would write his goals as well as math problems on the wall of his room growing up and how that helped him stay committed even as an adult. I think there is much power in this idea. Like in Rocky 4, Rocky has a picture of his opponent on his mirror and he would have to look at it before he would train. I think that by writing down your goals but also putting them somewhere you would have to see them constantly, is a way to stay motivated to work hard to achieve your goals. From that motivation came hard work and that hard work birthed skill and talent. At that point you just need to refine your abilities to where you can succeed at anything. He also said that "Experience is the thing you get when you dont get what you want.". I think this is powerful also because we need experience in order to learn and grow. I think the key to this is learning how to handle failure and short comings to drive you harder and realize that you are progressing as long as you dont quit. We are not always going to get what we want right away and we have to be ok with that and learn what to do in order to get whatever it is we want.
I think dreaming is the most worthless, yet powerful thing anyone can do. What determines if dreaming is worthless or powerful is how we use our dreams. I think men have different types of dreams but it is the dreams we constantly think on that shows us who we are. Lawrence the Arabian said "All men dream, but not equally. Those who dream by night in the dusty recesses of their minds, wake in the day to find that it was vanity: but the dreamers of the day are dangerous men, for they may act on their dreams with open eyes, to make them possible". I think this quote sums up everything that I stated earlier and then some. I think dreams are what make men create wonders of the world because they felt at one point in time that the dream was worth having. But dreams are only dreams if they are not acted upon. I think people forget that their dreams do not have to stay dreams but can be a reality if they only worked on them. I think that we should have many dreams, some more important than others, but dreams to achieve, as well as dreams to expand our limits just to see if it could be done. Ultimately, dreams should be our deepest desire that should test the reality we live in order to see if we are worthy of having our dreams come true.
My dreams are many but all are significant in order to achieve one another. I will only pick one dream to share that is the main focus that also is the most improbable. I love riddles and puzzles or anything to test the human mind to see if one can solve something. I feel that challenges are the reason I exist. What good would life be worth living if there was nothing to test or push our limits? I love to think and struggle in order to find a solution. Life would be so boring if we just sat around all day eating grapes off the vines. The ultimate question, I feel, that mankind has yet to answer is "How can we create unlimited energy"? Perpetual energy to be exact. This question has been asked thousands of years ago and still has yet to be answered. Up till now this question is considered impossible because of the laws of thermodynamics that states energy is lost in any form or resistance. But mankind has made huge strides in technology and inventions in just the past 10 years let alone past 1000! Did you know that scuba diving was only invented in 1943? We had airplanes before we have scuba tanks. The first nuclear reactor was invented in 1942! Can you imagine what some of the greatest mind in the history of the human race could do with this technology? My goal is to create a better way to obtain energy. Even if I fall short of reaching my ultimate goal of solving perpetual energy, I can hopefully pave the path for someone else to do so.