Go Bigger

Go Bigger

Mammoths are bigger.

It's been said that we should take a minute for introspective pause and reflection where we write our obituary...a moment to sum up who we are when we're done.  Warren Buffett flipped it and summed it up, [On living your best life:] “You should write your obituary and then try to figure out how to live up to it.  It’s not that complicated.”  This desired end-state thinking likely means you've got to go bigger.  When you consider your life summed up, your legacy, so to speak, it hopefully is a call to action to do life bigger.  Could be this means bigger travel, bigger family, bigger servant in the community...think about what you want to be known for...then just go do that.  

Superman...big
and little.

Too often in life, we're our own worst enemy or at least our own worst brake pedal.  Much like Roger Bannister going bigger and running the first 4-minute mile unlocked the impossible, we each have our own barriers.  I remember in high school, I "couldn't" pass a particular buddy in running.  In one race, he just wasn't passing another runner...and I passed them both.  Impossible is only impossible until you...or someone does it.  Once I was able to get out of my own head and "go bigger," I was able to work through training to get faster than I thought was possible.  Nothing spectacular but faster than I thought possible.  

Realizing the 
gator is bigger 
enough to eat you.

Let's think about what bigger could look like in your family life.  In each facet of our lives, we can define a "bigger" way of doing life.  Just because someone told you it's impossible doesn't mean you have to believe them.  Let's talk finances for a minute.  You've likely heard or been told directly, "It's impossible to buy a house."  Tune into Dave Ramsey and you'll hear from folks who not only found it possible...but found it possible to buy a house for cash...no mortgage.  Never thought you could become a millionaire?  Again, tune into Dave...there are 22 million millionaires in the US...that's one in fifteen Americans.  Why not you?  The math isn't complicated, actually, the path is relatively simple and although challenging, overall simple in nature.  

NYC is bigger
than life.

Told you have to raise your children on screens as the only way possible.  Turns out generations for millennia successfully got kids to adulthood without tech devices in their hands.  There is an entire movement of 1,000 Hours Outside that helps families get outdoors, away from screens.  The founders of the movement...from the inner city.  It's possible.  We've had folks in our circle who didn't think big enough, and because it was easy, plugged their tiny babies into screens.  Fast forward and now their "adult" children are unable to function in polite society without staring at a screen at the dinner table and barely able to hold down a job.  Going bigger is worth it...you just have to choose to do so.  

Bigger right before blowing
it up to a million bits.

In another facet, we've had folks tell us "It must be nice to be able to home-school, I wish we could do that."  In going bigger, oftentimes it's not a wish...but a series of small decisions, sacrifices, and voila...overnight success, so to speak.  Our homeschooling journey has involved rethinking employment, cutting back on income potential fairly significantly, and changing up how we were planning on doing life.  That said, it's also entailed an incredible journey traveling to 49 of the states and most all of the national parks (among many other incredible sights) in the last eight years.  Along the way, our family has found new friendships, connected deeply to our community, and have kids who seem well-adjusted and on the path to successful adulthood.  

Biggest buffalo.

When we talk about going bigger, we're not talking about the tangible...bigger car, bigger house, bigger mortgage, bigger waistline.  We're talking about the philosophical answer to the Mary Oliver question, "Doesn't everything die at last, and too soon? Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?"  When you're living your best life, the answer becomes a resounding, well-rounded, "bigger."  We'll do life bigger.  That means we'll hit goals that we thought were insurmountable in all the facets of our lives.  We'll live and love our family bigger than what society tells us we should or are capable of.  When we get out of our own way...when we cast off the anchors that we self-imposed...when we live life bigger...we can truly say that we're living our best life and not have it be a pithy bumper sticker slogan.  

Stop doing only the things you know you'll have success on...or know you can accomplish.  Start trying things you're not so sure about.  Look at the benchmarks and do bigger.

With you in the arena, from ours to yours...Happy Trails!

Call to Action: 

• Pick out something you can "go bigger" on this week - write down three actions that you'll go bigger on.
• 1 - ___________________ 
• 2 - ___________________
• 3 - ___________________
• Discussion: Consider what you/your family could/would/should (level of commitment) and start/stop/sustain (action) in terms of doing life in a bigger way.  

Further Reading, Motivation, and References:

- Eric Thomas 

- Thousand Hours Outside