For those of you that know me well, you know that I am a kid at heart. Hopefully that is recognized more in a child-like way, not a childish way. The playful way, not the immature way. And I guess it doesn't hurt that people still think I am 21 years-old (Hey, did you just get back from your mission? Where did you serve?)
Like many people, I always knew what I wanted to be when I grew up.
A soccer player.
A soccer player.
When it was clearly obvious that this dream was not possible, I focused on my second dream.
Being a runner.
Being a runner.
Although I had great success (after many trials) in track--lettering four years in high school, taking second place in California State Finals to the national leader my senior year and becoming an All-American in the Distance Medley, and later earning all-conference honors at BYU--it would have been a tall order to succeed on a professional level. I gave it up to put our new family first and in the end, that has been a wise decision.
So from that point, like many people, I had no idea what I wanted to do. Physical Therapist? Teacher? Sports Broadcaster? Lawyer? Businessman? Communist dictator?
All of them were worthy professions (well, except for becoming a lawyer), but I wanted to be a part of something bigger.
I wanted to do something I love and care about, be a part of a company that I believe in, work with people and help them be better, and most of all, work with a product that makes lives better, and people happier.
I'm not saying to work to bring water to third world countries, I'll leave that to the experts (blatant plug for the experts: see the great work of LDS Philanthropies around the world), although I do enjoy donating money to them (100% goes to those in need, BTW).
Just something that in some way, made the world a little better.
I looked into my other love, soccer. After being the first intern for Real Salt Lake (2009 MLS Cup Champions), I was offered a position to stay on. But in the end, we didn't think Utah was the right fit for us at the time and although I loved it, the field of soccer wasn't the right fit for our family.
So like any logical person would do, I went to work for State Farm Insurance. It was great. The company is honest, trustworthy, I learned a lot, had good benefits, worked close to home, and it is a company that does very good things.
It has complete job security and many opportunities to move up. Just one slight problem, I had no passion for insurance. And when I say no passion, I mean no passion.
Which, is kind of a problem.
So I kept thinking to myself about Disney.
I always wanted to work for Disney. It met all of my career objectives. I tried to get a position with them many times over many years, but had no luck.
It was always, "Wouldn't that be great to work for them? To follow the dream?"
Thinking it would happen one day. But as days passed to months, and months to years, I thought, "Would it ever happen?"
My two biggest fears were:
a) If I didn't pursue it, to regret that I never followed a dream. Better to try and fail miserably than to never try. I didn't want to be just somewhat happy working for the Farm and 20 years from now thinking, "What could've been?"
and
3) If I did pursue it, what effect would this have on our family? Would they be happy with a change of company and home location?
So after much thinking and prayer and fasting, we made the decision to follow the dream.
It took awhile, a long while. Not knowing anyone inside Disney was hard. But after much trial and error, one thing led to another and I caught some breaks and got an interview.
Now truthfully, it wasn't as much catching breaks, as being tremendously blessed. You can't say there were coincidences or luck in how things played out. Things seemingly worked out and it all came together.
Not in the way we planned or in the timeline we had hoped for, but the Lord made it work.
Looking back on this first leg of a long journey, it all happened for the best.
And even as I was in grasp of reaching my goal and earning a role with Disney, there seemed to be additional obstacles.
I kept thinking of how much Walt failed in following his dreams and of former Imagineer Randy Pausch's quote:
"The brick walls are not there to keep us out, the brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something. Because the brick walls are there to stop the people who don't want it badly enough."
I think Blaire would tell you that I wanted it badly enough.
So finally, it all came together. Again, not in the way we planned, but it did.
We were leaving behind great friends, our first home, a great ward, perfect community, stable job, family, and most of all, my Ford Ranger.
As I drove by myself through the middle of nowhere in South Dakota, I thought, "What am I doing?"
And most of all, my family wasn't with me.
But like any journey, it is taken one step at a time. I knew we got an answer from our Heavenly Father and knew this was the right decision.
That didn't mean it would have its speed bumps and failures (we've already had some), but it meant that in the end, we are doing the right thing.
I've been blessed by the tremendous help of so many people here in Florida. The Lord sent them to me as my angels.
And becoming a cast member was everything I'd hoped for and more. There is a lot of tradition in Disney and it is an honor to wear the name tag.
I'm not going to kid myself, we are a huge corporation, and like all others, it is not perfect, but at the heart of it, the essence of Disney is pure and true.
The traditions of Disney are right and just. From providing the finest family entertainment to families and people of all ages, to helping young minds learn and make the world a better place, to perfecting customer service for our millions of guests, to just creating happiness in the largest or smallest ways, Disney is seeking to do this. And now I am a part of that.
It is funny thinking back to when I was a kid and in many ways just now realizing how much I loved what Disney does. This is the place I always wanted to be, but never truly realized it.
So now the long journey begins. Hopefully it will be a great career filled with many happy times, countless learning experiences, and great relationships developed. I hope it will be a place I can learn and grow and adequately support our family so we can be healthy and happy. Hopefully I can bring a little more happiness to people that seek out our product.
And like a lot of companies, I'm starting at the bottom. Taking a large pay cut and moving over 3,000 miles wasn't the most exciting thing I've ever done, but I know this is the first step of many. There are endless possibilities here, so now it is time to take advantage of them.
Work has been great these first few weeks and now months. It's had its ups and downs, but I am excited for the future. The hardest thing is not being with my family. Thankfully that is soon coming to an end.
I have never looked so forward to something in my life (well, if you don't count the release of Nintendo 64 or the opening of The 2010 World Cup). The future is bright (especially since I'm in Florida) and I'm excited for what is to come.
Without sounding too dorky (which I think is kinda impossible at this point for me), I'll forever think back fondly on my first trip to the Parks as a cast member. We took a brief tour of the Magic Kingdom on our first day. As we came out from a backstage entrance, we headed up Main Street, USA. It hit me right then. The parade was in full swing, guests were enjoying the day with their families, and I looked straight ahead as we walked toward Cinderella's Castle.
As I started to tear up in the moment (damn allergies), I thought that this is the beginning of something great.
Now I don't know what that great is, but I guess we'll find out soon. I'm just grateful that I can live in a country to pursue my dreams. That is such an incredible blessing.
And beyond that, I'm happy to take this crazy journey with the family I love. AKA--Blizaire, Chubbs, Chunk, and I'm sure a few others looking down on us.
So whatever you do, follow your dreams. If you do what is right, God will bless you (it just might take a little while to fully see all those blessings in front of you). And as always, make sure to
wish upon a star.
