Dick Rutan, adventurer, pilot, and international lecturer, has achieved success more than just a few times in his life. His most notable success was when he piloted the "Voyager" — the first airplane to circumnavigate the globe without refueling. The successful completion of this trip earned him and his crew world records, international fame, financial gain, and aplace in the Smithsonian Institute.

Dick’s philosophy, "If you can dream it, you can do it" has led to his remarkable accomplishments. Dick remembers when he was a boy and the speed of sound was an impossible barrier to break. "Before Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier, half of the scientists predicted he would die the day that he did it. But he had the courage and did what he said he could do." Dick now dreams of breaking the speed of light barrier–thought by many to be the ultimate barrier. He encourages people to explore and be more adventurous in their lives in order to find their own success. "You have to find your own pathway, even if it involves taking risks, and don’t accept limitations."

Detractors and critics aren’t a problem, according to Dick. Rather, he sees them as a motivational tool. Not only do they add to the challenge, but they enhance the reward of achieving the goal. Dick is now involved in the around-the-world balloon race where he hope to be the first balloon pilot to circle the world. Although he and his crew experienced a failure during their first launch earlier in the year, Dick saw it as the first day for their next attempt. "Once you enhance the right and eliminate the wrong, you have to launch your next effort."

Dick finds that accepting the responsibility for your own growth is critical for success. Be honest about your limitiations, but make the most of your opportunities. Find courage when you need it and enjoy the moments in your lives for what they are.

1. Be adventurous and willing to take risks. You have to lead an exciting life in order to have a reason to get out of bed. If you play it safe and follow the blazed path, you probably won’t get lost or hurt. But, what you’ll be totally denied of is adventure and exploration.
2. Decide on a talent or skill you do well. Everybody has certain aptitudes or capabilties, whether mechanical, artistic or mathematical, etc. You have to discover these qualities and do something within that discipline
3. Have interest and excitement. Choose a path that elicits your fascination. You have to be interested in it and believe in it.
4. Select a goal. Decide what you want to accomplish. Make your goal clear and always concentrate on that. Be very careful about setting a goal to low. Remember, if you can dream it, you can do it.
5. Look at the long-term outcome. Don’t look at what it’s going to take to acheive your goal, you might talk yourself out of it. Imagine sitting in a parking lot and seeing all the street signals down the street. If you wait for all of the signals to turn green, you’ll never get out of the parking lot. Don’t worry about road blocks or red lights, deal with them as they come.
6. Manage your motivation. Have confidence to keep the motivation alive each day.
7. Don’t ever give up. Do whatever it takes to accomplish your goal — even if it takes an inordinant amount of effort. One way to surely fail is to quit. The tougher the climb, the better the view.
8. Be competitive. It’s a challenge that keeps your motivation alive. Competition is the catalyst that spurs mankind to greater things.
9. Don’t accept limitations. Always question limitations. Have the courage to do what some people say can’t be done.
10. See failure as an opportunity. You can learn a lot from failures, so expect to learn. See it as the first day of your next effort. Enhance what you do right and eliminate the wrong. Then, rebuild, re-evaluate, and learn the lessons.