He credits his own success to the fact that Alexander and Lorraine Dell expected their three sons to learn and work hard- and draws a lesson. "The reason our schools are failing isn't because classroom sizes are too big. I can show you schools in Thailand where kids study in unbelievably crowded classrooms - and yet they're learning much more than our students. Why? Because they want to learn. Because they want to work hard. Because their parents and their teachers expect that of them. "

 Back when his firm was two people in one room, Dell told his friends his dream was to become the world's largest personal-computer maker. He was unrealistic, they said.

 Why would anyone want to be second or third or tenth?" he replied. His message to us all: why not at least try to realize your dream, what deep down you would truly love to achieve?