What Lou Holtz and I Have in Common: Three Reasons You Should Dream Big

At age 28, Notre Dame college football coaching legend Lou Holtz was jobless and almost penniless. 

To make matters worse, his wife was expecting the couple's third child. 


 
To help lift him out of a funk, his wife gave him a copy of David J. Schwartz's book The Magic of Thinking Big. Holtz began to make a list of 107 things he wanted to do before he died; a list that included things such as winning a national football championship, meeting the president of the United States and other outrageous ideas.  (Read Holtz article here.)

For a man who wasn't sure how that month's bills were getting paid, that was thinking big.

Now, many decades later, that once unemployed 28-year-old coaching hopeful has crossed off over 100 things on his life's to-do list. 

I'm finding myself in the same place as Lou Holtz. Not the championship-winning coach but the 28-year-old unemployed Lou Holtz. My life is full of ambition. And it's full of obstacles and challenging circumstances.

I'm working on my life's to-do list now. It includes things such as:

• Spend my whole life investing in a gospel-proclaiming, multiracial,  missional church. 
• Create a nationally syndicated podcast talking sports, culture, music and theology.
• Lead chapel for the student-athletes at my alma mater, Shenandoah University.
•  Install a pond at my house for salamanders.
•  Read 500 books.
• To give away $100,000.00 in my lifetime.
•  Debt free by age 50.
•  Sell a combined one million books in my lifetime and have a NYT bestseller.
• Spend part of every day praying for friends and family.

My list is still in its early stages, but I will see it through to completion, Lord willing. Here are three reasons I would encourage you to create a similar list. 

• Goals are better than regrets. Even though Lou Holtz hasn't crossed off everything yet, he knows what he's aiming for. Creating that list and then going all out after it has led to one incredible adventure for the coach.

• There is no such thing as "Must See TV." Americans reportedly watch an average of 38 hours of television a week. Is this the alternative to chasing our dreams? I'm not anti-TV, but I doubt the season finale of any show could be as exciting as Lou Holtz putting a check mark beside the goal that read "Win a national football championship." 

• This life is a gift. There's not a single material possession a man would willingly exchange for his life. That's because we all realize that our life is the most important thing we have. Not only is it a gift, it's the best gift. Drifting through life aimlessly is sort of like getting the present you always wanted and then never using it. 

I write these blogs as a way to encourage discussion. I would love to hear some of your life goals. I'd also love to see your life goals list when you finish.

 Chris Lassiter is a Christ-follower, a husband to Emily (read her powerful blog about forgiveness here), and a father to five wonderful kids. Chris leads Young Life in his hometown on Staunton, VA, and he has written for The News Leader, VIBE, SOUL M.A.G., Rapzilla.com, HipHopDX.com and several other publications. Moody Publishers recently published his first book, You're Grounded, which you can read about here.