Jeremy's Entrepreneurial Journal

  Why do you think Randy Pausch was able to achieve so many of his childhood dreams? This speech impressed me very much for a several reasons.  First, his calm composure while undergoing an end of life illness was remarkable.  Second, it is clear that he was very intentional about his life and pursued goals with a high level of persistence.  The imagineering example was particularly interesting to me as it didn't happen in a traditional way.  He created an opportunity for a second ask, and then spent significant time preparing for the meeting.  Very impressive.    Do you feel that dreaming is important? Why or why not?  Yes, I do feel dreaming is important, but it must be accompanied by the realities of work and sacrifice.  The zookeepers in the other talk are a great example to me of following a dream and persisting with it even though there is no glamour and lots of grime so to speak.  Daydreams, however, are not usually the thing...

For a few years now, I've known that starting a business of my own is something I would like to do. I've learned a fairly specialized aspect of insurance; self-funding and how to help small businesses take advantage of risk management strategies that are typically only offered to larger businesses. As our company's sales rep, I currently utilize retail entities like agencies, GA's and TPA's to distribute our products. I believe this knowledge gives me a potential competitive retail advantage if I started my own brokerage focused on helping small businesses. Last year, the President of the company I work for retired, and the new presidents (the company was split by brothers who will not speak to each other) have taken the now two companies in a direction that leaves me without growth opportunities. As such, last fall I was determined to leave and start a practice of my own. As I began to prepare for this, I felt strong promptings on several occasions that I should st...