Ithaca

When you set out on your journey to Ithaca,
pray that the road is long,
full of adventure, full of knowledge.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the angry Poseidon -- do not fear them:
You will never find such as these on your path,
if your thoughts remain lofty, if a fine
emotion touches your spirit and your body.
The Lestrygonians and the Cyclops,
the fierce Poseidon you will never encounter,
if you do not carry them within your soul,
if your soul does not set them up before you.

Pray that the road is long.
That the summer mornings are many, when,
with such pleasure, with such joy
you will enter ports seen for the first time;
stop at Phoenician markets,
and purchase fine merchandise,
mother-of-pearl and coral, amber, and ebony,
and sensual perfumes of all kinds,
as many sensual perfumes as you can;
visit many Egyptian cities,
to learn and learn from scholars.

Always keep Ithaca on your mind.
To arrive there is your ultimate goal.
But do not hurry the voyage at all.
It is better to let it last for many years;
and to anchor at the island when you are old,
rich with all you have gained on the way,
not expecting that Ithaca will offer you riches.

Ithaca has given you the beautiful voyage.
Without her you would have never set out on the road.
She has nothing more to give you.

And if you find her poor, Ithaca has not deceived you.
Wise as you have become, with so much experience,
you must already have understood what these Ithacas mean.

~ Constantine P. Cavafy

Childhood, when we were the most powerful

Childhood was the time in our life when we were the most powerful. One of my favorite people who lived, Audrey Hepburn wrote, "There is nothing more determined than a child with a dream." I believe there is also nothing more powerful than such a child, because a child does not know what he or she cannot do, a child does not know what cannot happen. Children live in absolute possibility.
They keep fairy tales alive and some of the greatest things achieved in this world have simply been a relentless pursuit of a treasured fairy tale - Disneyland, aircrafts, space travel and great nations to name a few. Children are powerful in the mind. Their naive faith their weakness, and their greatest power... our greatest power.

~ Doc

Last Lecture - Randy Pausch

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ji5_MqicxSo



37- year old dying professor Randy Pausch from CMU delivers his 'last lecture' about achieving childhood dreams.