What Makes You Successful?

 This week I read an article about Randy Pausch. He was a successful professor at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Randy was someone who didn't give up. Even if he was told he couldn't, he found a way around that. In this article, Randy had been given a terminal diagnosis with Pancreatic Cancer and had only another 11 months to live. That didn't stop him. Instead of being home and sinking into despair because his life was ending, he was out teaching others how to achieve their dreams. I think this is at the heart of what made Randy achieve so many of his goals. One of my favorite quotes I read from him this week was, "Wait long enough and people will impress you". Most of the time I have found this true. Randy to me was an optimist. He may not have achieved all of his goals, but he didn't let failure stop him. 

I have thought a lot about that this week. I am one who shies away from failure, but I need to learn to embrace it and learn from it. One of my dreams of goals is to own a floral shop. I worked in one when I was younger and loved it. I loved the look on people's faces when they had flowers delivered to them. I also loved helping the loved ones of someone who had passed on. It was an opportunity to help them during their grief. It was a place where I learned about flowers, but also about people. I want to own the floral shop not only to make a living but to also bring happiness into others' lives. 

This class continues to surprise me with how it helps you create the person you want to become, not just the business you want to start. If I am not the person I want to be, I will never have the life I want. I want to be more like Randy. When life gets hard, I want to find the good, the positive, and ways to help those around me. 

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