I have heard this question before and am always happy to answer it.

Dan Rudy, or Daniel “Rudy” Ruettiger, was the inspiration for the true life motivational movie, Rudy. It is my favourite movie by far and the movie itself carries so many powerful messages that I cannot help but watch it every so often and I actively strive to employ the real life lessons in my everyday life. More info about Rudy can be found here:http://www.rudyinternational.com

Every time I watch the movie, I am blown away by the boy with the dream, but every time, my eyes get watery and I get really proud of Rudy and of my own accomplishments because, as I had the real Rudy write on my dvd, “With hard work and a dream, anything is possible.”

And I leave you with some of my favourite lines from the movie:

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Fortune: Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey what are you doing here don’t you have practice?
Rudy: Not anymore I quit.
Fortune: Oh, well since when are you the quitting kind?
Rudy: I don’t know I just don’t see the point anymore.
Fortune: So you didn’t make the dress list, there are greater tragedies in the world.
Rudy: I wanted to run out of that tunnel for my dad to prove to everyone that I worked…
Fortune: PROVE WHAT?
Rudy: That I was somebody.
Fortune: Oh you are so full of crap. Your five foot nothin’, a hundred and nothin’ and you hung in with the best college football team in the land for two years, and you were also going to walk out of here with a degree from the University of Notre Dame in this life time you don’t have to prove nothing to nobody except yourself and after what you gone through if you haven’t done that by now, it ain’t gonna never happen, now go on back.
Rudy: I’m sorry I never got you to see your first game in here.
Fortune: Hell I’ve seen to many games in this Stadium.
Rudy: I thought you said you never saw a game…
Fortune: I’ve never seen a game from the stands.
Rudy: You were a player?
Fortune: I rode the Bench for two years thought I wasn’t being played because of my color I got filled up with a lot of attitude so I quit, still not a week goes by I don’t regret it, and I guarantee a week won’t go by in your life you won’t regret walking out letting them get the best of you. Do you hear me clear enough?

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Father Cavanaugh: Son, in 35 years of religious study, I have only come up with two hard incontrovertible facts: there is a God, and I’m not Him.

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Pete: Well, you know what my dad always said: ‘Having dreams is what makes life tolerable.’

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D-Bob: Who’s the wild man now?!

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So last night, I got home from the Keg Christmas party a bit early. Sarah and Dean were having a great time with their crew and I had to work at 7:30 in the morning, so I busted out. When I got home, I was idly changing channels and found Rudy playing on channel 39. It was at the part where Rudy and D-Bob open the letter to find out whether or not Rudy was accepted. Now, I get very emotional every time I watch Rudy because it’s inspiring, motivational and extremely honest. I love this movie. I had some thoughts as I was watching the movie, as I always do:

1) If you are doing what you love but you’re aren’t putting your heart into it then what you say is bullshit. If you truly love it, you’ll put your heart and soul into it. If you don’t have “time” or if you have other things getting in the way, then stop letting that happen.

2) If you have a dream, as Rudy says, find out what must you do to achieve that dream. Then do everything you can to do it. If you’re sitting back with all these lofty goals and dreams but you keep making excuses, then shut up and don’t talk about it until you’re ready to make a change and do something about it. Don’t let other people do the work and then try to ride their coattails. It’s not fair for them, and you won’t get as much out of it. Yes it’s hard to start something and then follow through and finish it. That’s human nature. But you have 100% control over what you do. Your decisions, your actions, and your activities that you do, that is all up to you.

Now, assuming you have a positive goal/dream, and the time you spend is actually being put to good use, I believe the following applies:

- If you’re with someone that doesn’t appreciate the time it takes to go after a goal/dream, then you’re not with the right person

- If you’re with someone who holds against you the amount of time you spend on your goal/dream, then you’re not with the right person

Why do I say this (and I realize those points may sound a bit harsh)?
It’s because no matter what you do in your life, you cannot do on your own. And to achieve a goal/dream in which your partner supported you in getting there is that much sweeter. My goal/dream is to not only reach my goals and dreams, but to share that with my partner, and to be able to share and support her in her goals and dreams.

Everyone should have a dream and they should have attainable dreams. When you reach your dream, set a new one and go after it. Your whole life should be a series of dreams and goals that you are constantly setting, working towards, achieving and then setting new ones.

If you’ve never watched Rudy, watch it. Incredible true story.

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