Boy Scout Troop 325
Scoutmaster Minute
Advice From An Astronaut
January 18, 2005
George Denise, Scoutmaster
(Adapted from "Success On Line" by Pat Lavelle and Rob Gilbert)

Alan Beam was an astronaut on Apollo 12 and an Eagle Scout. When asked what he learned about success over the years, this was his answer:

The most important quality I have noticed in successful people is that they have a dream . . . and every day they think about that dream, and they work toward it.

I often ask people to tell me their dream. And when they tell me, I ask: "And what did you do today to move yourself closer to that dream?" Eighty-five percent didn't do anything. They're planning to do something soon, next week, or next month; they were just too busy today.

Those 85% will probably never see their dream come true.

Do you have a dream? If not, why not? If you want nothing from life, that may will be all that you get.

If you have a dream, good for you. That is the first step to success in anything.

Now, what have you done today to make your dream come true?

If the answer is "Nothing specific," then you will never make it, unless, of course, you change your ways.

If you want to achieve your dreams, you have to think about them constantly, and you have to act on them. Every decision you make that can possibly affect that dream, must be made with that dream in mind. Only in that way, can you expect to be successful in achieving it.