Thirty years ago my friend Larry Linne showed up the first day of football practice as a walk-on at the University of Texas. Hundreds of others were there as well. One-by-one they dropped like flies until Larry was the only man left standing and got a varsity locker.

When the coach asked who on the team could return a kick, despite having never returned a kick in his life, Larry raised his hand and became the kick returner for the University of Texas. Two weeks later in the first NCAA D1 game of his career the hopes of the Longhorns rested on a kid who’d never received a kick in his life. He caught it and started down the field on a path that led him to the NFL.

Today, Larry is a successful entrepreneur and an endurance cycler. He regularly races through the Colorado mountains 100 miles at a time.

His wife Deborah posted this picture of what Larry has taped to the crotch-bar on his bicycle. It says it all about why Larry Linne is a winner.

Thanks Larry for the inspiration! You’re a stud!

It’s highly likely that you need to think bigger.

Twenty-five years ago when I planted the church, people frequently asked questions like “will you plant daughter churches? What about planting more?” I always demurred because, frankly, I’d bit off more than my 23 year old mind could chew in striking out on my own to start a church from scratch in the face of what felt like intense criticism from the establishment. But today, I know the answer—had I stayed—would have been “Of course we’ll plant churches! We’ll become a church planting movement!” However, at the time I couldn’t think bigger.

Fast forward 15 years and I’m the owner of a successful brokerage firm trading securities on Wall Street. I had an idea to replicate our firm. I wanted to call it Financial Planners of the Ozarks. My vision was to become the defacto go-to organization for all things financial in my part of the world. Besides our headquarters in Springfield I thought we’d plant offices in Branson, Joplin, Carthage, West Plains, Lake of the Ozarks, Rolla, Lebanon, Harrison, Mountain Home, Springdale, Fayetteville, and Bentonville. We’d influence our part of the country and become wealthy in the process. I ran my idea up the flagpole with a few people who responded “meh” and I surrendered it as silly thinking on my part. Eventually I grew bored running my smaller firm doing the same things everyday and I transitioned out of the industry. I’ll never know what the missed opportunity cost, but likely a mid-sized seven figure sum. All because I didn’t think big enough and persist.

With a little gray hair and a lot more wisdom I realize that I was in error when I didn’t think bigger.

If you aren’t thinking bigger, you are in error, too!

Whatever you’ve got, whatever you have, whatever your dream: THINK BIGGER!

My greatest fear was realized as I read an obituary this morning. It wasn’t in the newspaper, but in a history book.  I read in 2 Chronicles 21:20 about King Jehoram who died at age 40. It said “He passed away, to no one’s regret….”

When you die and people write your obit in their minds, what will they say about you? There will be the fact: he passed away. But what about the regret factor? Will they care that you are gone? If not, you’ve still got time to change things.

I don’t want people to be sad when I die, in fact, I want there to be great rejoicing and celebration that Barry has crossed the finish line, ran the race well, and stepped into the gold medal stand of Heaven. But I hope there is a feeling of regret because the difference I was making will be missed.

There are lots of interesting thoughts about life and death. One t-shirt says “Live your life in such a way that the preacher won’t have to lie at your funeral.” A teacher says “stick your finger in a bowel of water and then pull it out quickly and see how big of a hole it makes.”

Since dying isn’t optional, here’s a great way to prepare for it: Take your eyes off of yourself and look for what you can do for others. At the end of your days there will be great wailing that you’re gone, because you were making a difference!

Would you like to know how to get your first job, or how to get noticed and promoted into the job you want. What you’re reading can shed light on what you need to do. Lately I’ve been in 1 Chronicles and buried there in the ancient history of Israel I found an interesting passage “Kenaniah the head Levite was in charge of the singing; that was his responsibility because he was skillful at it.”  (15:22)

Many of us are skilled at wanting. We want a job. We want a promotion to a better position. We want to be a leader. But the Bible says this guy was given the responsibility based on his skill.

What are you skilled at?

How could you improve your skills to better qualify you for what you want to become?

If you already have the skills the task requires, how are your skills of meeting people and positioning yourself so those skills will become obvious to others and land you the gig?

I fulfilled another item on my bucket list. I met Billy Graham.

Billy had come to speak at Campbellsville University, and I found myself alone in a room with him. Often people will say “Where do you pastor?” (I don’t) or “Where do you preach?” (I don’t) but Billy asked an interesting question that you might use in your interaction with people who are serious about their faith. He said “Where do you practice ministry?”

Hmmm. Now that’s a good way to say it. I am in the practice of ministry, as all Christ followers are to be. If we assume that everyone who follows Christ is “in ministry” (they aren’t, but they are supposed to be) then “Where do you practice ministry?” is a creative and memorable way of asking “Where are you from.”

I like it!

Here are some other things that were interesting:

1. Billy has an iPhone. I know because he whipped it out wanting me to listen to a recording of something his son Franklin had said.
2. He was pleased that North Carolina had recently codified marriage as between one man and one woman.
3. He had fairly long hair, and a wispy beard—the hairs of which were twisted into small ponytails and tied with rubber bands.

By now you’ve figured it out. I didn’t REALLY meet Billy Graham—in person. I met him in a dream, just last night. My personal friend and physician, Steve, says that I have a more vivid and technicolor dream life than most people. I’ll take that! It’s important to have dreams.

I can’t tell you why I dreamed I met Billy Graham. I don’t expect that will ever happen. He’s getting on in years and is declining in health, and I no longer travel in circles that would likely put us together. But I think its interesting that I dreamed it, and at one time that really WAS on my bucket list.

What chance is there you’ll achieve something—either awake or asleep—that’s on your bucket list? If you don’t have a list in the first place, there’s a 100% chance you’ll achieve it all. Mark Batterson said in his book The Circle Maker “A litmus test of spiritual maturity is whether your dreams are getting bigger or smaller.” As we get older, its easy to let our dreamer shrink as well. Don’t do it! The older you get the bigger you should dream. I’ve been dreaming and praying about Nicaragua for a while, and suddenly last night I found Sudan in my dreams as well. I don’t know what that means. I’ve never even been to the African continent. But I’ve helped starving people in Sudan—in my dreams. This morning I started praying about it; asking God what He wanted and telling Him what I’d do if he enabled it. Who knows?

What are your dreams? Tell me what is the most God-sized thing on your bucket list?