Who is Randy Pausch and What Did He Teach?

This week, I had the opportunity to learn from a unique individual by the name of Randy Pausch. He was a professor at Carnegie Mellon University and was an excellent father and example of diligence to personal goals. The reason that he was able to achieve many of his life goals is because he is a positive thinker. Rather than look at failure as a bad thing, he looks at them as stepping stones. Rather than looking at road blocks as an opportunity to quit, he aims to break them to show how badly he wants to reach his goals. As I pondered what some of my life goals and dreams are, I realized that a lot of them get put on the back burner. Goals and dreams are extremely important in this life. They help motivate us to do something, they give us purpose and something to hope for. The problem is that if we don't prepare ourselves for the failures and road blocks, they will get put on the back burner like mine did. Randy learned early on that if you want to be successful at something, just keep going at it until you have achieved it. Don't think that you are ever too old to adopt this thinking, because even as we get older ,we can still achieve our dreams.
 One of my childhood dreams was to become a screenwriter or an actor. I loved the idea of conveying a message on screen for others to learn from and inspire them. I am 28 years old, and at this point in my life it is very possible to achieve both of these dreams. If I wanted to, I could go online and find a class either on YouTube or Groupon to learn how to write a screenplay. There would be roadblocks along the way, but because I already know that and expect them it wouldn't be too hard to overcome. There are professionals all over the world that do what I want to do. I could reach out and find inspiration from others who have achieved my dream and overcome trials to reach it. Heavenly Father gave us brothers and sisters to help us through challenges and to build off one another. With acting and screenwriting it is all about building off of others. Since I consider myself a person that can build rapport with anyone, and because I am a diligent worker, it would be very possible for me to achieve my dreams. It all begins with just starting.