| May 18th, 2018

Do You Have a BIHAG?

I woke up this morning dreaming. Not a sleeping dream, but the kind that paints a picture of the future. If you google “dream” there is no shortage of quotes from famous people and some not so famous, about dreams.

  • “All our dreams can come true, if we have the courage to pursue them.” Walt Disney
  • “The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.” Eleanor Roosevelt
  • “Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there, wondering, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before.” Edgar Allen Poe

Dreams are powerful. Every great movement, product, or ideal in life starts with one person’s dream or vision of something better, greater, innovative. Everything begins in the heart and the mind.

Ten years ago, a dream was birthed in Connecticut: The vision of a community of men living their lives with purpose, passion and power. This was the dream of one man. He held this dream closely, working to fulfill this dream, to build the vision into others, and a small fledgling community was born. And yet, even as this vision seemed to be a Kingdom-growing dream, the road was long and hard with naysayers along the way.

How long do we hold on to a dream before we see fruit or give up? How many naysayers do you endure or how often must you shake off the name callers who claim you’re “just a dreamer?” When did it become a bad thing to be a dreamer, anyway? Why is it so hard to get others to want to build a better version of themselves, or seek a better way of life?

The dream of a thriving community was almost dead … placed back on the closet shelf. That is, until others caught the same vision of this small group of men, committed to one another, growing to becoming a better version of themselves. Better men. Then, a few more men took notice and wanted “in.”

It wasn’t until this dream was shared with other men whose passion matched the vision, that this dream blossomed and started to bear fruit.

Recently, I had a bit of a health scare. It made me ponder deeply about what I am doing with my life. What my heart’s vision is, my passions, and what I want to accomplish. More succinctly, what is the legacy I want to leave behind? What mark do I want to leave on the world and more importantly, what is God asking me to do for His Kingdom?

“It’s a difficult case, to give a man back his heart,” says the Archangel Michael in the movie Michael where John Travolta plays a very colorful Archangel. To see men recover their heart and grow into the men God wants them to be, living lives of courage, integrity and grace; to come out of the shadows into the light, strong men living with purpose, passion and power – this is a big dream. It is counter intuitive to society and what the media says a man “should be.” It is not something any one man can do alone, we need to do it together.

I think Edgar Allen Poe had it right; when you stand at the edge of your dream and stare into the future, “wondering, longing, fearing, doubting, dreaming dreams no mortal ever dared to dream before…” these are BIHAG Dreams. (Big Incredible Hairy Audacious God-Sized Dreams*) Something you can never imaging yourself doing. Something you can’t do by yourself. A goal you need other people to achieve with you. When you look at this goal do you think this can only be done with the help of the Holy Spirit? This is the place God wants to take you. This is His vision and His dream. Let Him be the one to create and build it and you follow every step of the way. It might take years, but if this is a God-sized dream, it will happen in His time.

“The time is now.”

So, here’s my challenge:

  • What great thing has been placed on your heart to accomplish?
  • When you are quiet, and you think, “it would be great to… (fill in the blank) …”

Your vision, your passion isn’t just a pipe dream. It’s a picture of what can be. Take time to dive into it. Ask your Heavenly Father what His thoughts are on the subject. Most likely these thoughts are from Him.

* Kudos go to Jim Collin and Jerry Porras in their book “Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies.” In that book, they talk about Big Hairy Audacious Goals (BHAG) which is a long-term goal which changes the very nature of the business.

By Peter Aldrich 

Peter completed his initial weekend in March of 2015 and is currently enrolled in our Two-Year Transformational leadership program. He has staffed various Crucible Project weekends in including Kenya in February of 2018. Peter is also a catalyst in bringing The Crucible Project to men in the northeast and building a community of Crucible men there. He part-owner of Cage Data an Information Technology, Managed Service Provider located in Connecticut.

Photo Credit: James Wheeler via Pixabay