Week 3 Post

The biggest takeaway I got from this week was reading Magdalena Yesil’s case study. She was a very driven person who knew what she wanted and proved that if you allow that to drive you then it’s possible to achieve your goals. What she proved was that it doesn’t mean you have to have a pedigree of wealth in order to make it in the world, but rather that it takes determination to succeed. Her attitude and desire to succeed stood out to her peers and showed in her work everywhere she went. It’s not easy jumping from job to job and maintaining a positive reputation but obviously that wasn’t an issue for her as she was highly sought after and jumped from start up to start up because of her accomplishments at each job.

How this impressed me personally is that it has led me to wonder what my peers or others would say about me. Do others see me as a driven and knowledgeable leader that is capable of performing at a high level all the time? Whether I choose to be an entrepreneur or not I can still carry a reputation that others want to work for or with me. 

Week 2 Post

I had the opportunity to hear the speech by Randy Pausch a few years ago and it is just as inspiring to me now as it was then. You can tell that what he had to share was truly coming from the heart and was a way of life for him. The fire in his heart is very real and you get the feeling that he is out to make the world a better place and leave his parting thoughts as positive seeds for others to take and grow.

Why I think Randy w as able to achieve his childhood dreams is because of how he was raised and how he chose to take advantage of those lessons. To me I get the feeling that he never really had to make a choice to be the light he was but rather it was instilled in him by his parents that his dreams truly can come true. I loved the pictures of his room and how they allowed him to develop his imagination by posting  things all over the walls. He was allowed to express his imagination and dreams freely which helped open his mind and expand his possibilities.

I do feel that dreaming is important. I think it’s important to not be the one who squashes others dreams either. I think about the part of the Will Smith movie “The Pursuit of Happyness” where he catches himself shooting down his sons dreams and goals. Instead of allowing it to go he turns to his son and tells him to never let anyone put him down and take away his dreams because they are his and only he can choose whether or not he wants to fulfill his dreams. Dreams drive us to achieve our goals and passions in life.

A dream of mine from my childhood was to play football at BYU. Unfortunately as I grew older and develop some health issues I wasn’t able to fulfill them but I’m okay with that. I was allowed to do all I could in high school and although I didn’t play football at BYU I realized that I have a lot to be grateful for because so many others with my disease aren’t able to.