Off-Topic Thursday: Being Obi Wan Kenobi and Following Your Dream

Posted on June 14, 2012 by Randy Crane

The video below is the last few minutes of James Arnold Taylor’s last “Obi Wan and Beyond” show at Star Wars Weekends 2011. He does a similar, but longer, one-man show outside of Star wars Weekends called “Talking to Myself’”, and if you haven’t seen it—or even if you’ve never heard of him—I encourage you to watch the promo video linked in the show’s title, or all of the video below.

James Arnold Taylor is one of the most gifted and prolific voice actors around, and you’ll see why in that promo. He is probably best known for voicing Obi Wan Kenobi in The Clone Wars animated series (hence the name of his show at Star Wars Weekends).

As I said, this is just the last few minutes of the show, and it was recorded by someone in the audience. But I’m sharing it with you today because there’s something very important here. It’s not just an entertaining show (though it is certainly that), he has something very important to share with the audience, too. Watch and listen closely.

“Each one of you, whether you know it or not, has a dream inside of you…I want you to pursue it with all you’ve got.…Every time somebody says you can’t do it—every time you say you can’t do it—you’ve gotta look yourself in the mirror and say, ‘I can.’”

“…This was not part of the plan. And that’s the point. That’s the thing about dreams. That’s the thing about life. It’s not always in the plan. But you gotta press through. For me, I get on my knees, that’s what I do. If you do that, great. If you don’t, find something that’s going to get you through…. Pursue that dream, and change the world that you live in.”

James encountered a crushing blow to his dream, a dream he’d had since he was a small child, but he got on his knees and he pushed through. It would have been easy to give up. I’m sure people he truly cared about told him to give up. To just let his dream go. I’m sure there were many times he wanted to. But he couldn’t. He wouldn’t. It was too important to him; it was what he knew he was put here to do.

So he fought, and pushed, and prayed, and worked. And now here he is, on this stage, living his dream and reminding us that we can do the same, if we want it badly enough and we have someone (or Someone) to rely on for the strength to press on.

I hope I get to meet James one day and tell him this in person, but since I haven’t (yet), I will say it here and now. Thank you, James, for pursuing your dreams, for making us laugh and amazing us, and for encouraging me to pursue my dreams—even when it’s hard, when I want to give up, ad when I face challenges that seem insurmountable. I am, and I will, and I thank you for helping to push me along when I needed it.

Questions: What is your dream? Do you know? What’s stopping you from living that dream? If you were living it, what would your life look like? Talk about it in the comments below, or on our Facebook page.

Now, go back and watch the whole 33 minute show. You won’t be disappointed.

Randy Crane is passionate about helping Christians, especially those with a Disney affinity, to discover and connect to their GOD-GIVEN PURPOSE AND VALUE, to build their lives to achieve TRUE SUCCESS AND MEANING, and to POSITIVELY IMPACT their world. For more than two decades, Randy has been leading individuals and teams into a greater joy and child-like appreciation of the world around them, equipping them to reach beyond what they have previously experienced and build a God-given identity and purpose. Ready to experience that for yourself? Tell us where to send SIX free videos all created to help answer the 3 questions you need to experience PEACE, FREEDOM, and PURPOSE!