What's in a name? BHAG's

I've always dreamed of writing a book.  I probably never will, but I'm looking at this blog as the next best thing, a chance for me to tell a story.  As I mentioned yesterday, the story will unfold in the coming months and years, however I want to take a couple days to outline the overall themes.  When you read a book (a good one, at any rate) you generally get the outline of the plot within the first couple chapters.  A boy finds out he's a wizard (Harry Potter). A hobbit inherits a great weapon (Lord of the Rings). A single man moves into the neighborhood and encounters a fiesty and independent woman (Pride & Prejudice).

In my story, I have a BHAG.  What is a BHAG you may ask?  No, it's not a typo, nor a character in Harry Potter.  A BHAG was coined by author Jim Collins in the book Good to Great.  It's a business book and not necessarily one you might naturally turn to when trying to transform your life. But I have achieved a moderate level of success in my career and organizations that I led by having a BHAG so I figured, what can it hurt to have one (or two) for my personal life?

A BHAG is a Big Hairy Audacious Goal.  In my humble opinion, a BHAG is thinking beyond what you think you can do and figuring out how to accomplish your dream.  It should stretch you to a limit and ultimately take you out of your comfort zone.  It should challenge you to reach to new heights and not accept the status quo.

I have 2 BHAG's on this journey. The first is the promise I made to my mom (which if you've read the description to the blog, you've already figured out).  If I cannot accomplish the first BHAG I have no hope of accomplishing the second one.  So what are they and how do I plan to accomplish them?  Rest assured that I've already taken the first steps on my journey and more will come...the plot begins to unfold and even I as the author can't say for sure which turn it will take.