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How big are your dreams?

In my Mortality Manifesto, I encourage you to be constantly moving in the direction of your dreams. But how big are those dreams and what limits have you placed on them?

I read a news item last week and between the story and the associated photos, I haven’t been able to stop smiling. It’s a story about dreaming BIG and I want to tell you about it.

Have you ever thought about becoming an astronaut? What about simply a space tourist? Now let’s think about this for a moment… when you travel as a tourist, what are you left with when your journey is over? Yes, you have memories that last a lifetime. Yes, you have fun travel stories to tell. But for many people, the real legacy of a trip are the photos they take along the way. Imagine being able to amaze and amuse your friends with the photos that you took on your trip to outer space!

Well, that’s the kind of big dreams I’m talking about!

On August 11, 2007, a group of regular guys from Canada (southern Alberta, to be exact) launched a high altitude helium balloon from one of their backyards. Attached to the balloon was a box containing an ordinary digital camera which was set to take photos every 60 seconds. The box also contained a special tracking device to allow them to follow the balloon’s progress and retrieve it when it landed. Just above the box was a parachute (to slow down the descent when the balloon burst at high altitude) and just below the box was an antenna for the tracking device.

Sound crazy? I thought so. After all – how far up would something like that realistically go?

But guess what? This homemade contraption rose to an incredible 117,597 feet above the earth before the balloon burst! When it did burst, the parachute worked perfectly, ensuring the safe return of the camera. And the tracker enabled the men to chart the balloon’s progress and safely retrieve it.

So what does Alberta, Canada look like from space? (or at least 117,597 feet above ground)

(http://www.sbszoo.com/bear/sable/images/sbl3/117597ft.jpg)

For me, this incredible photo is many things. Of course it is a beautiful and awe-inspiring piece of photography. But more than that, it is a testament to the fact that we all need to dream bigger and reach higher. The fact that this was the third attempt by these men to accomplish this feat, serves to remind us that we need to persevere in the face of setbacks and learn from what didn’t work in order to improve for the next time. Ultimately, it proves that any one of us can have a photo album from “space” if we want it enough and are willing to work for it!

Ever since I saw this photo and read the story, I have been using this image as my background for both my notebook and my BlackBerry. And every time I see it – I smile and I dream a little bigger!

(Read all about the story and see more photos at: http://www.sbszoo.com/bear/sable/sable3.htm)

Christopher McAuliffe is the host of an Internet radio show called The Coaching Show. I am honored to be his guest on the August 29th, show.

The show airs live at 08h00 Pacific on Wednesday August 29th.  In case you miss the live broadcast, you can listen to the archives at: http://www.wsradio.com/

Earlier this week Steven D. Levitt, one of the co-authors of Freakonomics, posted a blog article titled: “If You Were A Terrorist, How Would You Attack?“. As you might imagine, this topic generated a tremendous amount of passionate responses. Later in the week, Levitt addressed some of these responses in a follow-up article titled: “Terrorism, Part II“. I was one of the people who commented on his follow-up (I’m #18) and I’d like to take a moment here to expand on my comments.

I feel that there is a link between Osama Bin Laden, bird flu and gang violence. I have done a number of radio interviews where I’ve discussed this point. In fact, the subject even came up during my hour on Oprah & Friends Radio. I maintain that all of these things have two things in common: FEAR and CONTROL. Inherently we fear anything we cannot control.

That’s why terrorism “works”. I don’t believe that terrorists use roadside bombs simply to kill people (there are far more efficient ways to do that). Terrorists use roadside bombs to instill uncertainty and fear. We fear the actions of terrorists precisely because: a) we can’t predict what they will do next; and b) we can’t control their actions – there is just no way to have a contingency for every possibility.

It’s the same with the threats of bird flu and gang violence – we can’t control them and we fear that we will be affected by them.

But at the root of it all, is our fear of death.

We can’t control the fact that we are going to die. There is nothing we can do to change the fact that one day our bodies will stop working. And for people in the Western world – that lack of control terrifies us. So we externalize the fear. We obsess about the things we feel we can control. For some it is their health. For others it is their safety. And increasingly for the USA, it is the idea of “national security”.

But how big is the threat of terrorism? In his second blog post, Levitt says: “The actual cost of … terrorism in terms of human lives is relatively small, compared to other causes of death like motor-vehicle crashes, heart attacks, homicide, and suicide. It is the fear that imposes the real cost.“

And that’s where the Power of Mortality™ comes in.

Once you’ve embraced your mortality and accepted the fact that you have a limited and uncertain amount of time on this earth – the fear melts away. After all – what are you going to fear if you no longer fear death? Oh – and as an added bonus, embracing your mortality allows you to live a life filled with vitality! I tell people that I can help them live lives that are “FEARLESS, FOCUSED and FREE FROM REGRETS”

Interested? Start with the Mortality Manifesto.