Dreams

In some ways, I get to deal with people's dreams often. I know that for some, an Africa Safari is a simple tour just like they do every year. But for others it is a long term dream, something they saved money and time for. It's special. And I love to share those experiences with people.

For me it is a dream come true to run Frantic Naturalist. I left high school saying that I would run my own Safari Company. Frantic Naturalist is still in it's infancy, but it does exist and so as such I have achieved a childhood dream. I did also want to play for the Springbok rugby team and win the world motocross championship...didn't get very far on either. But I hit one of the three major ones that I had, and that is special to me.

I have been thinking about dreams because I have some time coming up towards the end of the year without any tours. I am excited to spend some time with my family, but also would like to really focus on putting Frantic Naturalist out there a little more. I want to re-do the website and tweak at it, as well as some last formalities with regard to the company and Namibian tourism companies.

I also have a dream for what I want the company to do in the long run. I am hoping to achieve many things...money being very low down on the list of priorities. I haven't written about environmental contribution and policies anywhere yet on my blogs and website, because I feel that to claim to do something that we aren't yet doing would be a lie. But I certainly feel that I would like the company, once running smoothly, to contribute in a meaningful way to the environment.

That's an obvious one, I guess, being called "Frantic Naturalist." Naturalist also implies the study of nature, and in my case I am no Professor, but I do hope that in some ways we can contribute to the body of knowledge, so vital for saving the remaining wildlife and natural treasures on our planet.

Then my dreams are about people to. I have always seen in my mind that the company I want to create should be about people. For now I don't employ anyone, but that could change in the next few months, as we really start to operate. My guests, to are important to me in more than just "clients are good, make them happy to make more money" sort of way. I choose to run small private tours (there is some risk to starting from scratch in an "exclusive" market,) but contributing in a meaningful way to someones special experience is important to me.

But beyond that, my little cherished dreams are that I can use the company to take others out in nature. I would love to deal with special needs groups, from physically handicapped people to those who have financial challenges. I would love to work with educational groups. To train guides in a more meaningful way than I have done to date. It's simply a dream that Frantic Naturalist can have a meaningful impact to humanity.

So, why bearing my soul a little? Well, it's certainly what I have been thinking about lately as I have been preparing various papers for Frantic Naturalist. I am one of the few who gets day dreaming over boring paperwork.

In my typical fashion, I study, read about and nowadays, watch youtube videos about whatever is of particular interest to me in my life at the time. With dreams and goal setting as a theme in my life at the moment, I was touched especially when I watched the following video. It is the last speech given by a prof called Randy Pausch. It is 76 minutes long, so make sure you have the time to watch it. I am sure many of you already have. If not and you want to watch something really touching, make some time to watch it. And I hope you too will give yourself the treat of following your dreams. Good luck!

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