Dean's watch

[Elgin Clock]

Alright, I've sat by & watched this thread long enough to see how much a simple statement & case of "Dean envy" can take off among this community.

Some have shunned it as him being materialistic, some have stated "who cares what he has, repect him for something other than the cars, house, & watch.

I'd like to think that inspiration can be found anywhere.

If chrisj32r has a little "Dean envy" going on here, & sees the house, cars, & watch as something he wants, then I think he's still being inspired.

What one has to ask themselves though, is how was Dean able to have all the "toys" that a lot of people want.

Most of us would never have it in them (especially while in High School) to buy a Hummer, build their own mansion, or afford a 20k-100k watch. (Heck, even at my age, I don't have the resources to do any of those... yet.)

Money & wealth is a very powerful inspirational tool.

I'm not gonna lie, I feel the same way as chrisj32r feels towards Dean, but towards the Mansion.

The first time I went on a tour of that place, I was awestruck. For a person to be well off enough to go out & build an awesome engineering feat like that does not solve anything in the world when it comes down to it, but when you realize that he can have these toys because he is doing great things like the life-saving medical projects through DEKA that's when it hits you.

If all the speeches at the competitions don't inspire you to enter the world of engineering to help the worlds problems, then maybe, just maybe for some people the promise or hope of a huge amount of wealth from doing something like helping the world's problems can be your inspiration.

I know in some regards this is putting the cart before the horse with all the self-less time we put into FIRST without asking for a reward in return, but when it's not volunteering we are talking about, & your personal life, we all need goals.

I am personally inspired by what Dean does as a person, this is true, but I am sometimes more likely to be driven by the inspiration of the all mighty dollar.

I read an article at one time which briefly mentioned Dean in it.
It said that if the world wants more Engineers in it, all companies need to do is pay them more.

A lot of jobs these days can be & will be outsourced, but when you see someone like Dean who is making something (fame, wealth, becoming an icon) from his smarts, & companies are recognizing that (ie: US. Govt. asking his help in making the artificial arm) then you too will realize that you CAN go far with your brains, & not just with the abilities & talents that rock stars or sports stars have.

Bottom line is, a little "Dean envy" is ok in the end as long as you realize that he got to have the toys he has that you like so much by using his brain over the years, & getting involved in very cutting edge technological & engineering achievments, & that if you want to make it in the world of engineering, the sky's the limit.

It's all just a matter of how driven you are.

If you honestly aren't motivated to pursue engineering by the speeches at competititions, then maybe the promise/potential of stepping up your game face, hitting the engineering world hardcore & redefining the cutting edge of technology, & in the end making some nice green for yourself will inspire you.


Edit: Btw, Libby, if I saw Woodie touting Converse, or Dave touting Hawaiian shirts, or Dean touting anything he was passionate about (in a non-work related way, such as say being a spokesman for a Denim Jeans company) then I would actually say the culture is changing for the best.
I'd much rather see those 3 icons of our time in the front of a nice ad cmpaign, than any bubblegum pop-princess or prince touting some crap they do these days. Ridiculous? Maybe. A little out of place? Maybe. But when the Engineers become the icons of a generation by a huge gap over the Paris Hilton's & other spoiled Hollywood icons these days that kids & even grown adults gossip about, then we (as people who appreciate engineering, technology, & most importantly; smart people) have accomplished something.
And you can't argue with that.