Dare to Dream
December 18, 2009
“What makes me unique? That was the question I felt compelled to address…What alone do I have to offer? – It came to me in a flash: Whatever my accomplishments, all the things I loved were rooted in the dreams and goals I had as a child…My uniqueness, I realized, came in the specifics of all the dreams…that defined my forty-six years of life. Sitting there, I knew despite the cancer, I truly believed I was a lucky man because I had lived out these dreams. And I had lived out my dreams, in great measure, because of the things I was taught by all sorts of extraordinary people along the way.”
– The Last Lecture, Randy Pausch, Professor, Carnegie Mellon University
Leadership is about daring to dream. It is about the proper use of vision and applied imagination. In leadership jargon the words “dream” and “vision” are used interchangeably. They both speak about our ability to think about, envision and creatively imagine what our future will be, or what we would like it to be.
My friend Richard Montanez was a dreamer. Ever since he was a child, his creative mind was at work; dreaming and imagining he could do and have more than what others were limiting him to. He tells the “cookie story” of how in grammar school (back in the day) there used to be two lines after school – one for the white kids and another for the brown kids. The difference was that the white kids’ line went into a bungalow where they received cookies and milk for a snack. While in the other line there were no cookies or milk but only homework to do before going home. One day Richard got “hungry” and wondered if he could get away with standing in the white line and not be noticed. “Hunger will cause you to dream big”, as he likes to say. The other kids told him he was crazy, but somehow he still hoped that the teachers wouldn’t notice him even though his skin was dark brown and he had jet black hair. Closer and closer he got to the door. He began to sweat and get nervous, but his hunger was stronger than his nervousness. When he finally got to the front of the line the teacher looked at him and asked him what he was doing. In his shaky, but hungry voice, he asked if he could go in and get some cookies, to which the teacher replied, “Yes you can”! What a difference Richard made that day, not only for himself, but for the entire school and all the other Latino kids watching this “hungry dreamer”. But the story does not end there.
As he grew older, Richard got a job one day as a janitor for the corporation, Frito-Lay, the maker of many different food products and snacks, amongst which are two of my favorites – Fritos and Cheetos. One day he noticed that his co-workers were taking the leftover Cheetos and putting salsa on them and eating them as snacks during break times. Being the dreamer that he was, all of a sudden he had a great idea and approached his boss to ask if he could share the idea with him. “Richard”, his boss said, “what idea do you have that you want to meet with all the executives?” Richard replied, “I think I have an idea that could make a lot of money and I would like a chance to present it.” His boss gave him a funny look but agreed and told him to let him know when he was ready to make his presentation. Excited about the opportunity he went all out. He bought a suit and tie, which he had never done before. He bought a book on marketing and making presentations, and read and studied the best he could, but he really did not know what he was doing, he later admitted. All he had was an idea, a dream, and knew if he could get it across it would be big. The day finally came and there he was up on the executive floor of the corporate building in the executive meeting room with all the executives sitting around the table listening to him struggle to explain himself. “I made a complete fool of myself” he said. Then during the presentation, one of the Vice Presidents, whose job it was to come up with creative ideas, asked him; “OK Richard, so how much of the market are we going to get if we do this idea of yours”? Richard said; “I don’t know, I haven’t read that chapter yet.” As they all sat there and looked at him, all of a sudden a picture of the chip racks in the store came into his mind and he quickly added; “but, I think if we do this we will get this much of the market” – stretching out his arms from side to side. At that they all began to laugh at him, except the CEO and President of the Corporation. Who proceeded to stand up and said; “Gentlemen, this man has just told us that if we go with his idea, we are going to make millions of dollars”, and the rest, as they say, is history. You see, Richard Montanez is the creator of what you and I today know as “Hot Cheetos” that has become one of the biggest selling products for Frito-Lay, making them literally millions of dollars each year and took Richard from the corporate janitor to one of the Regional Corporate Vice Presidents all because he dared to dream.
This former gang banger from East Los Angeles tells how he knows what it is like to bang in the barrio and ride in the back of the lawn mower truck, and also knows what it’s like to ride on the corporate jet! Richard says; “the corporate jet is much better”. Richard is a prime example of a Latino leader who applied his creative abilities to dream and moved from the margins to the mainstream of the corporate world and today he shares his story every chance he gets to inspire young Latino leaders that you too can “make it” – you can become more successful – if you dare to dream.
A lot of professors are asked to give talks titled, “The Last Lecture”. Professors are asked to pretend that if they knew this was really going to be the last lecture they could give – what message, wisdom, advice, information, or knowledge would they want to deliver to their audience that would sum up their life’s legacy. In the case of Professor Randy Pausch, of Carnegie Mellon University, he did not have to pretend it would be his last lecture, as he had actually been diagnosed with terminal cancer. As he began to search his soul about what he wanted to say, he knew he did not want to talk about death, but rather about what it meant to really live your life and that’s when his subject clearly came to him – “Really Achieving Your Childhood Dreams” – that he delivered to a packed hall of 400 students and colleagues a few months before he died.
I think it is very instructive that a professor, who knew he only had a short time to live, would choose the topic of fulfilling one’s life dreams as his last message and legacy. If you think about it, there were so many other things he could have talked about; dealing with death, what it’s like to have cancer, his career as a University professor, the lessons he has learned from having to leave his wife and small children behind, his fears, questions, hopes and beliefs about life after death, and so many other topics. Instead, he chose the topic of fulfilling your childhood dreams.
But sometimes we don’t always achieve our childhood dreams. My childhood dream was to play for the Los Angeles Dodgers, and although I did not fulfill that dream, I am happy that my career went beyond high school and into college and semi-pro leagues that allowed me the experience to play alongside others who eventually did make it to the big leagues. So, what did I do? I had to change my dream and reinvent myself according to the other talents I had in addition to my athletic abilities. Of course the process took awhile, but eventually a new vision unfolded. People reinvent themselves all the time, or change careers, as others would put it. There is nothing wrong with starting out doing one thing, and if it doesn’t work out, trying another road that is still in line with who you are and what you are talented and passionate about. They key however, to reinventing yourself, is vision. It is applying your ability to imagine, dream, and create in your heart and mind a life that rings true within you about your unique mission and role in life, a sense of your own destiny, a sense of purpose and meaning.
In his “Last Lecture”, Professor Pausch talks about achieving one of his boyhood dreams of becoming a Disney “Imagineer”. This division of the Walt Disney Company is described as, “Walt Disney Imagineering is the master planning, creative development, design, engineering, production, project management, and research and development arm of The Walt Disney Company and its affiliates. Its talented corps of Imagineers is responsible for the creation of Disney resorts, theme parks and attractions, hotels, water parks, real estate developments, regional entertainment venues, cruise ships and new media technology projects. Walt Disney Imagineering has produced some of the world’s most distinctive experiential storytelling”. While you may not aspire to work for the Disney Company as an Imagineer, I am encouraging you to work as an Imagineer for yourself – to master plan, creatively develop; design and project manage your own life!
“Imagination is more important than knowledge. For knowledge is limited to all we now know and understand, while imagination embraces the entire world, and all there ever will be to know and understand.” Albert Einstein
So, what about it? - What was your childhood dream? Do you still have it? Are you still pursuing it? Has it changed? What are you dreaming about doing or becoming? For some, you have definitely known for years exactly what you want to do for your professional career. For others, you’re still not quite sure and that’s OK too. Don’t worry. It will come to you. And hopefully by reading this article, it has helped you get on track to at least begin to discover the real you, develop your unique gifts and talents and then to dream your way to your definite purpose in life.
