Just as the red heart of E.T. pulsates with love, cinematic genius Steven Spielberg (1946-) has consistently created new dreams to share with the world. 

"Only a generation of readers will span a generation of writers," he once said.

Born on this day in Cincinnati, Ohio, Spielberg made his directorial debut in 1974 with The Sugarland Express. The following year, Jaws emerged from the depths of his imagination to scare moviegoers and rule the world-wide box office.

His technical mastery of film-making continued with with the hugely popular Close Encounters of the Third Kind (1977), Raiders of the Lost Ark (1981, with Harrison Ford), and E.T. The Extra-Terrestrial (1982, with Drew Barrymore).

Spielberg had a remarkable year in 1993. His dino flick, Jurassic Park (filmed in Kauai by the way), was a mega hit. He also released his project of passion, Schindler's List, a haunting masterpiece that finally earned him the Best Director and Best Picture Oscars. The black and white epic was an unforgettable education about the horrors of the Holocaust and reaffirmed the power of the human spirit.

About directing Schindler's List, he said, "I didn't want to do anything that would be disrespectful to the true nature of those events and those times. I had to let the facts tell the story."

In accepting another Best Director Academy Award, this time for his courageous World War II film Saving Private Ryan (1998) he said, "Am I allowed to say I really wanted this?"

Yes, and please keep dreaming!

Dream big. Live big.