Follow Your Dreams

Did you see the recent story of the seven-year-old Chloe Bridgewater from the UK who sent a handwritten letter to the "Google Boss"? She said she wanted to work at Google but also in a chocolate factory and "do swimming in the Olympics." She shared that she's good with computers and is "very good in class and good at spelling and reading and my sums." She thanked him for reading her letter and said the only other letter she'd ever sent was to Father Christmas!

Her letter was amazing for a seven-year-old, but that's not the best part of this story!

Sundar Pichai, CEO of Google, answered her letter, saying in part, "I think if you keep working hard and following your dreams, you can accomplish everything you set your mind to do-from working at Google to swimming at the Olympics." He said he looked forward to receiving her application to work at Google when she's finished with school. How wonderful that Mr. Pichai took the time to encourage this child when he told her "follow your dreams."

This story made me think about the importance of encouraging people, including kids, to dream big. I know a lot of people who had big dreams as children and some who still hold on to those dreams. But what happens to most of our childhood dreams? Reality sets in and we make decisions that take us farther and farther from our dreams.

What if we could do better as a society and help our kids, like Chloe, reach their dreams? What if we not only encouraged our kids to dream big but our grown-up employees as well?

If you haven't seen the Oscar-nominated film Hidden Figures, please see it! I'm delighted that schools across the US are taking kids to see it as a field trip. It is the "incredible untold story of Katherine G. Johnson, Dorothy Vaughan, and Mary Jackson – brilliant African-American women working at NASA, who served as the brains of one of the greatest operations in history – the launch of astronaut John Glenn into orbit." The movie brings to life the story told beautifully by Margot Lee Shetterly in her book Hidden Figures. These women certainly followed their dreams and helped change the world, and look what they accomplished without a lot of support from people around them.

Who works for you or who do you know who could use a word of encouragement today to follow their dreams? Maybe there's something you've always wanted to do yourself, so here's a word of encouragement from me to you! Go for it and let us know what happens!