Neil Gaiman is a fantastic person and a fantastic creator of new things. I’d say in that order too. Yes, I’m a fan. Anyways, he was asked a series of questions by the Guardian and he’d posted all of them on his blog. For some reason this link to it doesn’t work. His blog has little (friendly) demons than tinker with it from time to time in order for fans to alert Neil. That’s my guess. Yes yes, I’m getting to the point. So Neil answered one of the questions asked “What is the most important lesson life has taught you?” and he answered:
That the whole “following your dreams” thing may be a cliche but it’s also an excellent way to live a life.
So how many people who read this here blog are following their dreams? Even in a small way? Man, some of you must have some fucked up dreams.
MJ picks this up and adds on to it:
What are the three most important things in your life?
Are you doing something for them right now?
If not, why not?
Here’s a somewhat-related quote I read today. It comes from Douglas Engelbart, inventor of the computer mouse:
‘I confess that I am a dreamer. Someone once called me “just a dreamer.” That offended me, the “just” part; being a real dreamer is hard work. It really gets hard when you start believing in your dreams.’
Love it! Personally, I’m trying to follow my dreams but can’t stop day-dreaming. 😉
Eoghan,
Didn’t Doug take decades before they took the mouse seriously? Isn’t there a lot of UI stuff he did too only getting regonition now too. Still, good quotage from him.
To accomplish great things, we must not only act, but also dream; not only plan, but also believe. – Anatole France
Damien Mulley, who does something-or-other for a living has a great, if succinct, posting about how following your dreams is probably a good thing.
I riposte with an equally pithy quip in the form of a series of questions.
What are the three most…
> Didn’t Doug take decades before they took the mouse seriously?
> Isn’t there a lot of UI stuff he did too only getting regonition now too.
Yep. He (co-)invented the mouse in the early 60s along with a whole lot of “stuff” light-years ahead of his time. Mouses (or mice) weren’t in common use until the 80s, I believe. Now in his 80s, he’s finally seeing some of these things come to life.
What a great dreamer!
We’re living our dream, completely. Ain’t nuthin’ better, and we’re still dreaming on….