A Dream made of Cardboard - A Caine Monroy Story

He is 9 years old. Yet he already knows exactly what he wants to do and just keeps working on it. His dream - to have paying customers visit his Cardboard Arcade. And that dream came true when an independent film maker happened to by pass his Arcade and became his first paying customer. The rest is history. Today, he has a multi-million fan base and a growing scholarship donation of more than $160,000.

This is a story about Hope. About Dreams. No matter how small you are or how limited your resources, in an America built on the founding principles of its forefathers, Dreams do come true for those who believe.

Everyone who heard this story is moved by the innocence and perseverance of this little boy named Caine Monroy. He comes from very humble background. He might not have the latest technology, toys or even go to the best schools. But he has a self. Somewhere along raising this boy, his parents have enabled him to build a Self. A self he can therefore esteem by. Our children are a lot more resilient than we think. When we raise our bar, they do live up to it. When Caine told his father he wanted to build an arcade with his own resources, he did not laugh at him. He did not buy toys that would help him build a plastic arcade. When his son was rejected by many many prospective customers, his father did not yell at the people or bring him to see a therapist for fear that his self esteem is destroyed. His father let him experience the rejections, the fear and all the complaints that helped him improved every one of his creations. And the most heart warming part of the video that makes it American is the number of people that actually showed up at his Arcade who genuinely wanted him to succeed. They did not punish him for his creativity nor his desire to make money. They supported him.

This is a very heart warming, funny and inspiring film. Everyone should watch it. It can happen anywhere  in the world with internet. If we want it to.
Watch the film (Click here) and look at what Caine did with the push button calculators. It is absolutely hilarious.