What would you do if you had a goal that you could almost reach, but not quite. It's something that sits in front of you like a carrot on a stick. What steps would you take to reach it and how committed are you till the end?

This one goal has been a dream of mine, but I haven't achieved it; I'm just not strong enough. Since my freshmen year of college I've worked at it, yet never succeeded.

Now you might be wondering what that goal is, and I'll tell you. There are some things that I have a passion for in life, and it's goals like this one that really drive me. I can't explain it entirely, but I set my sights on it and I really give it my all. It's this same mentality that I want to carry into other areas in my life. And I do, but it's something I need to actively work at.

Brilliant people inspire me to set goals and to reach them. Recently I've adopted Steve Wozniak as my first hero. I really didn't know anything about him at the beginning of the quarter beyond being involved with Apple. I've never really had a hero or anyone that I really looked up to in life. After seeing him talk and reading his book, iWoz, I'm compelled to push myself. It's just amazing to get inside his head to see what he was thinking. He had the drive and the skills to go places. I want to be like him, while still being Paul Solt.

RIT's a challenging place and I've learned a lot. I've learned about leadership, time management, fitness, and communication. I've had amazing opportunities and I've had the chance to meet some very intelligent people. What I do with these skills and the connections will take me places; maybe some day I'll be able to inspire others like Steve Wozniak has done for me. It's important to give back to others, that's why I do a lot of what I do. I help people program computers, lift weights, fix things, cook, and the list goes on. It just comes natural. I have talent and I try to share it with the people I care about.

My problem is that it's sometimes hard to see where I'm going when I'm so busy at RIT. It really takes the end of the quarter to give me a shock and actually think about something bigger than projects and tests. Why am I doing what I'm doing? The reason is simple. I do it because I enjoy it. By becoming a better person and by striving for excellence I leave a path behind me. I'm not sure how pronounced that path is, but I know it has effected some people along the way. By making a difference in other peoples lives I reach goals that I didn't know I had.

When it comes down to the wire, whether it's academics or just a goal. I know I'll reach it and that's why I push myself. To do the impossible and to succeed makes the impossible possible. There wouldn't have been a Mission Impossible II if Ethan Hunt had failed. While I'm not ready for everything that's thrown at me, I'm ready to get ready. To push my limits and overcome barriers.

My goal is simple, yet so hard. 100 push-ups in 2 minutes. You might ask yourself "that's it?" And to that I'd reply "yes." It's been 4 years and I still haven't been able to do it. It's a commitment that many people aren't willing to make. It takes time, it takes discipline, and most importantly it takes motivation.

This brings back a memory from freshmen year when I was considering the Marines. After PT on a Saturday morning, the Sergeant talked to me in his office. He brought out cards with words on them like "Money", "Education", "Leadership", "Fitness", "Honor", "Courage", "Commitment", and many others. He asked me to pick out a few words and to tell him why they were important to me and how they would affect me in the Marines. At the time I wasn't quite sure, so I picked out a few and talked about them. I feel like I had to lie about my reasons. There was a drive I had that couldn't be expressed with these keywords and I felt like I didn't fit in. He told me that the Marines would allow me to accomplish those keywords, yet I've done that and more at RIT.

Maybe it's deeper than just reaching a goal, because once you get to the goal it's over. I might reach the goal this month, or I might reach it next year. I'm driving to reach it and it's the drive that is what I'm looking for. Picking a goal sets the mentality and it's something I need to do more often. It's a physical drive, but it's also a mental drive. I'm at 80 right now and it's a new quarter. I'm ready to learn new things and to do things that I've never done before.