How often do we identify a problem, on a personal, local, national, or even global scale, and simply ignore it? We often accept the story of: that’s the way it is. Fortunately (for us and for our planet), there is a whole generation of young people today waking up to the potential within themselves to slow down and rewrite history. “Hey, wait a minute!” they are beginning to say “There is something I can do about it.”

Have you ever been sunburned, for example? For some people, it’s a minor irritation. For others, it can lead to serious medical problems, such as skin cancer.

For 20-year-old Rachel Pautler and four of her friends, all nanotechnology engineering students, the sunburn problem was one they had to solve! What started as a brainstorming session for his fourth-year design project soon became a new venture. Suncayr was born.

These students discovered that the problem for most people was not forgetting to use sunscreen, but that the effect would wear off during the day without users realizing it, so they would not reapply it. His solution? Use a marker they’ve created (like a regular magic marker) to draw something (anything, which is part of the fun) somewhere on your skin that will be exposed to the sun’s rays. It will remain clear. Then apply your sunscreen. Get outside and have fun! Later in the day, as your sunscreen dissolves, it begins to lose its effectiveness and your drawing will begin to show: purple, red, orange, or yellow, depending on which marker you choose. When you see it, you’ll know it’s time to reapply your sun protection!

It’s a great idea. And apparently many other people think so too. Every time I’ve contacted them since our first interview, the product seems to have won another award or competition. This is serving the group well as they are in the process of getting approval from North American regulatory agencies.

In my mind, every one of them is already a winner. They dreamed of what could be and they acted. Along the way, they have gained valuable knowledge and experience that will be very useful to them in any future projects they decide to participate in.

Aside from the scientific side of things, running a start-up requires a whole different set of expertise. But that didn’t stop them. “A big challenge has been learning how to build a business,” Rachel admits. “We are all engineers, we have great technology backgrounds, but we had no idea how to do sales, marketing or accounting, we had to learn a lot in a very short period of time.”

Most likely, you are not an expert in all the areas necessary to achieve your goal. But that’s okay, because you will attract what and who you need! The key is that you don’t let not knowing how to do something stop you from pursuing a dream. Rachel and the rest of the team didn’t know how to create the score. It has never been done before! At least not until they arrived. What would you like to create that does not exist today?

Consider this. The ability to create anything, for example, the smartphone, the iWatch or a sunscreen dialer, for example, has always been around. Similarly, we didn’t know about air travel in the last century because it somehow changed the laws of nature. However, what is required, what gives it life, is that someone develops a conscience; someone has to come up with, acknowledge and firmly believe in an idea for it to come true. They must believe so strongly that despite how often they are told it can’t be done, or that it’s a silly waste of time, they keep going.

Around 1977, Bill Gates and his Microsoft co-founder shared their vision of seeing a computer on every desk and in every home, running Microsoft software. That was a great idea at the time. Gates has since pointed out that a lot of very smart people at the time just didn’t get it. “Why would anyone need a computer?” they would ask. “That’s a bit of a silly idea!” Yes… that’s what they actually said. Today, it’s hard to imagine not having one in your pocket, let alone on your desk!

If, in your mind’s eye, you can see yourself already in possession of your goal, I think that’s proof enough that you can achieve it. Will you know how? In most cases…absolutely not! Consider the real reason for a goal. The purpose of having goals is not to get things. Ultimately, the purpose of goals is to grow. Pursuing goals makes you dig deep and discover the resources of talent and ability that you have within you, waiting to be expressed.

While we all have the same inherent ability to tap into an infinite source of supply, the ways we express that in our lives and the gifts we bring to the world are unique to each of us. No one else can make the contribution that you can. Now is your time to shine. You got this! Decided. Believe. Begin.