Saturday, February 28, 2009

Urgency - Part 2

After thinking more about my most recent blog regarding urgency, I realized that it reflects a very introspective mood which I was in at the time and may send an unintended message. So I write this follow up blog with the hopes of clarifying the more important source of urgency which drives my energy behind the MakeCFHistory.com intiative.

As I have set out all along, this initiative has absolutely nothing to do with me and has everything to do with making a difference in the fight to find a cure for CF. The sense of urgency behind the MakeCFHistory.com initiative is much greater and more significant than my own - it is truly a reflection of the immediate need to find a cure for CF and to make a difference in the lives of those who are living with CF each and every day. And as an uncle of two young nieces with CF, it is my intention to not sit on the bench and assume that someone, somewhere, somehow will get this done before it is too late. And perhaps that is where my sense of self-urgency begins - I want to be in this game now and not later.

The fight to find a cure for CF is undoubtedly a team sport, where we each need to do our part to put points on the board against CF. My goal of raising $1,000,000 for CF research is simply what I want my contribution to be to the bigger picture of finding a cure for CF. And, ultimately, what will matter most is that someday soon we can all look up at the scoreboard and see that our team is the victor against CF. Game over.

Cheers!

Thursday, February 26, 2009

A Goal is a Dream with a Deadline

Many years ago I saw a sign in a dugout during a college baseball game that read, "A goal is a dream with a deadline." I've never forgotten it....

I was recently asked "What drives you?" It is a complicated question for me because it drives a myriad of thoughts and ideas - all of which move too fast through my brain to get my head around and connect together in order to formulate a coherent answer. But one sense which is consistently recurring when I contemplate the answer to what drives me - urgency.

Urgency drives me all the time, with a constant need to remind myself to be sure it doesn't instill a self-induced panic, rather create a productive method to my day and life as a whole.

Urgency is the heart and sole behind MakeCFHistory.com. I don't need to try to raise $1,000,000 for CF research. I don't need to build a website and collaborate with the CF foundation. All this entails work - unsolicited work. I could more easily go about attending various fund raising activities and do my part to obtain donations, etc. But I don't want to do that. Why? Without intending to sound critical, that is the easy way out. And I don't want to go down that path. Why? I don't know why - what I do know is that tomorrow is not a guarantee for anyone, and to that end, it is my dream to do something extraordinary with the time I have. Why? I don't know why. All I know is that I better get moving on it now. There it is - urgency.

To that end, it is my dream to be an active member of a generation that finds a cure for CF. In creating MakeCFHistory.com, my dream is now a goal. It's nothing complicated, flashy, or glitsy. It's actually quite simple - people donate to CF, and in turn we recognize them ad infinitum on our site. Simple.

More importantly - we're not looking for a select few to donate millions of dollars - we're looking for millions of people to donate a few dollars.

I am looking forward to seeing this initiative achieve its goal! And my sincere gratitude goes out to everyone who is supporting this initiative and CF research as a whole.

Cheers!