Gale Connell

Gale is an author and the state director for CEO Space Colorado.

If today were my last day on Earth and I could share 500 words of brilliance with the world, here are the important things I'd want to pass along to others...

Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it. Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

One of the most common documented deathbed regrets is that the soon to be deceased wishes they had taken more risks. They aren't talking about bungee jumping, but rather the dreams that they carried inside for a lifetime that they will never see realized.

There are hundreds of reasons that people pass on their dreams, and they all seem perfectly logical.

Take the American Dream for example: get an education, find a steady job, buy a house, have a family, build a nice retirement fund and then relax until you die. Aside from the fact that the American Dream no longer resembles that model, the folks who followed it achieved most of the perks but remained personally unfulfilled. Having shelved their heart's desire in pursuit of "security" they spend their waning days dreaming of what might have been.

All that sought-after safety and security was a compelling illusion that lured millions of baby-boomers away from their burning desires. Fortunately, dreams are persistent, because they are the seeds of our greatness.

When asked, most people will tell you that they have had basically the same dream all of their life. It's something they contemplate, fantasize about and spend much pleasurable time engaged with. Yet they never act upon it. They just can't seem to muster the necessary resources and encouragement to take the first step toward their passion.

The truth is, taking those first steps serves to marshall the resources and the moral support to take the next steps and the next. Ultimately, the dreamer finds himself with a viable concept and the momentum to attract more resources and the means to bring the dream to fruition.

It is never too late to take that first step. In fact, now is the perfect time to do so. The American economy seems to have run out of ideas, but the dreamers in our midst have not. Those dreams are not only seeds of greatness, they are seeds of a new America led by passion and innovation — a new America jump-started by the burst of courage that propels our first step toward our dream.

Don't just dream it. Do it!