I know I’ve said this before: pop culture is awesome.  Over the years, I’ve written about The A-Team, Muppets, Vanilla Ice and Smurfs.  I may be dating myself, but I’m going to go somewhere I’ve never gone before with this week’s blog post.  I’m going to the neighborhood….Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood, to be exact.  Growing up, Fred Rogers was part of daily programming, next to Sesame Street.  Yep – we watched a lot of PBS and you know what?  I think it really helped me develop as an individual.  Everything from classic children’s programming like Sesame Street to more advanced (yet SO intriguing) shows like NOVA helped spark my imagination and curiosity.  I learned a very important lesson.

Last week, Mister Rogers remixed by Symphony of Science’s John D. Boswell for PBS Digital Studios was released on YouTube.  It went VIRAL.  If you like the video, please support your local PBS station: http://www.pbs.org/donate.

Here’s the full video: 

The video reminded me that one should never stop learning in life.  Like Mister Rogers said, “there are so many things to learn about in this world.  It’s good to be curious.”

Here’s my challenge to you:  think BIG.  Never stop learning.  It all starts with an idea – small ideas turn into small things.  BIG ideas, no matter how audacious, keep us motivated.  Those ideas may evolve over time, but the bigger they are, the better.  Think about your future, not just the next week, month or even year.  What are the long term goals that you can achieve simply by moving a little closer each day?  Jim Collins called it the 20 Mile March in his recent book, Great by Choice (if you haven’t read it, I highly recommend that you do.)  Each day, keep consistently moving toward your goal.

Oh, and keep watching PBS.  I guarantee you’ll learn something new.  🙂

“Did you ever grow anything in the garden of your mind?” – Fred Rogers

Note: This post is simply a reflection of my personal opinion.  No compensation has been or will be received in return for a review or endorsement of product or programming.