Failure to Follow Your Dreams
Have you ever wanted to follow your dreams? I did, and this is my story.

Three things I love: people, laughter, and all things innovative. For the past 20 years (I started at a young age) I’ve been building tech companies throughout North America, Europe, and Asia. I’ve produced a number of patents. I’m a serial entrepreneur. I’ve traveled all over the world. I’ve lived in Puerto Vallarta, Austria, and Slovakia. I volunteer a portion of my time with Search and Rescue. I’ve saved lives. And, I am proud to be gay.
So, how did I get here?
Big dreams start from small beginnings
I grew up in a small southern Minnesota town — part of the heartland of America. My parents did their best to care for all of us kids. I remember playing in corn fields, riding my bike around like a bat out of hell, and always getting into some sort of mischief or another with friends.
I was just like any other kid growing up in our small town, and, just like every other kid, I had dreams. My dream was to become a police officer and follow in my father’s footsteps. Yeah, that didn’t happen.
What happened instead was that I was introduced to the Internet around the age of fourteen. Back then, the Internet wasn’t widely available and you had to use dial-up modems. Slow. Painfully slow. It was also incredibly expensive… in the first month I managed to rack up a long distance phone bill that surpassed $800 USD. Let’s just say my dad was pissed.
My insatiable appetite for knowledge and my newfound cravings for the Internet needed to be resolved. If Homer Simpson can have all the donuts in the world, surely I can have the Internet.

Getting the Internet. Sounds funny when I say it now, but this is where my life literally changed forever.
There was a woman who opened up a coffee shop in our small town. I remember reading about Internet coffee shops gaining in popularity, so, naturally, I hopped on my bicycle, rode to the coffee shop, introduced myself to the owner, and asked her if I could bring the Internet into town using her coffee shop. I had no plan yet. I just knew I wanted the Internet, for free.
With the help of some awesome people I went from bringing the Internet into our small town — to expanding into five neighboring towns and cities! I was making so much money that by the time I could drive, my glove box was literally stashed with cash. Needless to say, I was hooked.

Dreams are just dreams if you aren’t willing to do the work
I started my second venture, Linux Radio, around the age of nineteen. (Linux, Windows, and macOS are operating systems. Google Android is built on top of the Linux kernel. If you’re curious you can learn more about Linux here)
Linux Radio was an idea I had when Linux’s growth was exploding and people wanted to know what all the buzz was about. Articles were being published daily about all of the latest and greatest happenings in the world of Linux, but I felt the articles were geared toward more of a tech audience. The general public needed an easier way to digest the information. I was already consuming the latest happenings around Linux, so I knew I could consolidate the info, package it up as an easy-to-listen-to audio piece (before there were podcasts!), and share it with the world.
If you want to pursue your dreams, you have to do the work. There are no excuses. There are no shortcuts.
I went out and bought a cheap $10 microphone, put a paper towel in front of it to act as a pop filter, and recorded my first Linux Radio show.
I think the show was maybe eight minutes long. I recorded a few more shows and in one month I had thousands of listeners tuning in from around the world. In three months I was invited to attend Linux Expo held in Raleigh, North Carolina. That’s where I met and interviewed Linus Torvalds (the creator of Linux), John “maddog” Hall (open source advocate), Bob Young (co-founder of Red Hat, serial entrepreneur), and many other amazing business leaders and innovators who helped shape the person I am today.
At the expo, Linux Radio was rockin’ it so well that we were offered to be acquired by another company. I’ll write about that in a future post.
All we have to decide is what to do with the time that is given us. (J.R.R. Tolkien)
The point that I’m making is… prior to starting Linux Radio I had zero knowledge or experience running a talk show. I just did it because I wanted to, and I did it starting with $10 and putting in the work (and it was fun and rewarding work!).
I went on to start three more companies.

You WILL fail, over and over, and over again
Pursuing a dream isn’t easy. There are good days and there are weeks/months/years of why-the-hell-am-I-doing-this!? I’m here to tell you that YOU ARE GOING TO FAIL. Did you catch that? You are going to fail, and that’s OK. Failure is a required process toward achieving successful outcomes.
I started rock climbing back in 2005 and quickly fell in love with the sport. One of the best pieces of advice I give to people wanting to get better at rock climbing is LEARN TO FALL. Yes, let go of the hold. Feel your heart pumping just as you’re about to let go. Then, drop.
There’s one thing going on inside most people’s mind when they’re climbing and clinging on for dear life: they’re afraid to fall. Logically when you climb, you start from the bottom, get to the top, tell your climbing partner you’re ready to come down, and then you are safely lowered back to the ground. Throughout the entire climb there’s always this lingering feeling — a fear — of falling. But if you and your climbing partner safely train to intentionally fall, over and over again, you re-wire your brain to understand it’s ok to fall. And once you’ve mastered the art of falling, you’ll notice a drastic improvement in your climbing. Why? Because you trained your mind to learn to FAIL, and by doing so, FAILURE is no longer a distraction. You become laser focused getting to the top without even breaking a sweat.
Change is the only constant. Fear is an illusion. Attitude is everything. (Sonnie Trotter)
Take a leap of faith
I can’t stress enough this may be the only life you have to live. Don’t take it for granted — at any age — and certainly don’t let someone get in the way of your happiness. Go for that career advancement. Build a new home or business. Improve your relationships. Unleash your inner artist.
No matter what your dreams are, or when you decide it’s time to pursue your dreams, if you want it bad enough then go for it. Write down what you want to accomplish, figure out your game plan, execute, then buckle your seatbelt because it’s about to get real.
Have you pursued your dreams? Looking to take a leap of faith? Share your response below… other readers and myself would love to know!
I, too, am taking a leap of faith. This is the first personal story I’ve ever published. My goal is to produce thought-provoking stories that may help you on your journey in life. I promised myself I will begin writing and to share my stories on Medium, Facebook, and Twitter. (at the time of this writing I’m starting with zero Medium and Twitter followers so we’ll see where things go!)
Found this story useful? Kindly give a round of applause, comment, and share with others — it lets me know you want me to keep writing! :)
About the Author
Lukas Dickie is the CEO and Founder of Changefly. You can connect with him on Medium, Facebook, and Twitter.

This story is published in The Startup, Medium’s largest entrepreneurship publication followed by +365,763 people.
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