goal oriented

So I am reading 'The Last Lecture' by Randy Pausch on recommendation from a kindly therapist that thought perhaps I needed a little perspective in my life so that these seemingly random bouts of debilitating depression become a little less frequent.

I'd watched through the actual last lecture on YouTube and thought it was pretty slick, as in my desk and keyboard were slick with the tears that I unabashedly shed everywhere during Dr. Pausch's hour long presentation. The book expands on the themes of the lecture, concentrating the tear jerking power of the original into a compact and handy book so that emotion can be wrought forth on trains, in beds, on couches, and at lunch tables all across the world.

I bring all of this up not to launch a discussion about my over-worked nasolacrimal ducts, although that could be an interesting topic, to be sure. I bring this up because Dr. Pausch talks about setting and achieving his childhood dreams and this has prompted me to really think about what my dreams in life are. So, I've thought about them and I think I have three that in some way, shape or form, have been with me since childhood.

The first dream will come as no surprise to anyone who even remotely knows me.
1.) Write a book and get it published.
I've always wanted to be a writer. Due to a lot of reasons, I've sort of run away from writing as a career, but lately I've begun to embrace and explore it a little more.

My second dream is not one that I've discusses with many people but might not seem too far out in left field.
2.) Teach at the University level.

My third dream is something I've never discussed with anyone.
3.) Swim in the Olympics.
This will probably come a total shock to everyone. Consider I never took swimming all that seriously when I did swim competitively and couple that with the fact that I am not swimming now and the chances of achieving this dream are very very very small. Think 10 to the negative a lot of zeros. But, the fact remains, this is a dream that I have had since I was maybe 14 and I never gave voice to it, but it was always there, tucked away in journal entries and day dreams.

So there they are - my childhood dreams. They may seem silly to some, unobtainable to most, but there they are none the less.

I've currently got an idea for a book that I think has some promise and I am organizing my schedule so that I can start swimming with a Master's swim team starting in October. I'm working on a plan regarding the University teaching appointment. Who knows what will happen? But I wanted to publicly state my dreams, and in doing so, perhaps take the first step in making them a reality.