THE POWER OF BIG DREAMS!

There is something uniquely human and very important
about looking to the skies. From the beginning of time,
wise men and woman have encouraged us to "look to the
hills, from whence cometh my strength," and we all know the
call of "distant horizons."
Henry Thoreau talked about marching to the beat of our own
drum, "no matter how feint or far away." Humans have always
wondered what's beyond the horizon, over the hill, or
around the bend. We long to see farther, go further and do
more. From the beginning of time, men and women have
insisted on pushing the boundaries to go where no one has
gone before.
And yet in our daily lives, too often we get bogged down in
the trivia of every-day things. Now, of course, life
requires that we do our daily work. Taking care of the
house, running the errands and paying the bills are not
trivial things! They are the routines that make our lives
possible. We rely on each other to be dependable and to
complete our assigned responsibilities.
But, as the old song asks, "is that all there is?" We know
the answer, and it troubles us.
Sometimes, we need to step back and lift our eyes to the
hills and beyond. Sometimes we need to ask the big
questions, and contemplate the big answers.
In 1959, David Schwartz wrote a book called, "The Magic of
Thinking BIG" that has changed thousands of lives. It's
written in an old style and there's no mystery or drama
in it, just the truth that we NEED big dreams. There is
something in us that needs a larger destiny, a greater
purpose.
I think the true heroes have always been people who
balanced three very difficult things:
1.  They did their work and fulfilled the ordinary
responsibilities of life as mature adults. Our heroes are
not irresponsible people!
2.  They also had the ability to hear and honor a big
dream. Amelia Earhart heard the call. John Glenn heard a
similar call. Teddy Roosevelt never stopped exploring the
great American west. Helen Keller could see more clearly
than most.
3.  They took action in the direction of their dreams. They
challenged and dared, tried and tried again. They didn't
just look at the horizon and wonder, they got up and went.

Do you know about B-HAGS? Depending on who you ask, the
acronym stands for Big, Hairy, Audacious Goals. The thing
about B-HAGS is not that we always achieve them, but it is
amazing when we do! More commonly it's that B-HAGS change
us. They force us to learn and try new things. They change
the way we think and how hard we work. They change our
level of optimism, creativity and daring.
I've never known anyone to set a B-HAG and not be
transformed by the process. As long as the Big Hairy
Audacious Goal is something that truly inspires and pulls
you forward, transformation seems inevitable. And that's a
good thing!
A generation ago, we responded to President Kenney's
challenge to go to the moon. Later, we built the Space
Station. And just this week, two different companies made
headlines because of tragic failures in their private space
programs. Obviously, we have decided we're going to space
and even these set-backs will not delay us for long! It’s
in our nature to be part of something meaningful and
significant. We look to the skies and ask "what's next?"
So, what's your BIG idea? What challenges and excites you?
What takes your breath away, keeps you up at night, makes
you smile all day long? What's your B-HAG? Sometimes it's
"distant and far away," but it's in there! Find it, dust it
off, honor it. Pursue it! People will join you and things
will unfold in amazing ways. Dream bigger dreams and take
action. It's what makes life worth the living!
To be specific: Challenge yourself to do something
incredibly big, different, exciting and worthwhile in the
next couple of months. Use the season! Go further, climb
higher, sell more, do something amazing this season. Then,
use 2015 to your advantage. In 2015, set and pursue a
bigger B-HAG than you've ever dared before!