In 1982 a Californian truck driver fulfilled a life-long ambition. He'd always wanted to go up into the clear blue sky via a weather balloon. And so, one morning he set about fulfilling his dream. Larry collected 42 weather balloons, filled them with helium, and tied them to a silver garden chair. He got some friends to cut the rope holding his chair to the ground, and up he went - up, up and up! In fact Larry reached 16,000 feet, right up into airspace and was reported by airline pilots who saw his crazy stunt from their planes!
Now Larry had not expected to go so high. He issued a mayday call over the radio he'd taken up with him and promptly instituted his strategy for a return to earth. Yes, Larry not only had a plan for getting up into the sky, he also had a plan for getting down - a BB gun with him. Using water bottles as ballast, he shot out enough balloons until he started descending. He eventually made it back to earth, or at least to a set of power lines where he managed to dangle a metre and a half off the ground and create a black out of parts of Long Beach.
When asked about his crazy adventure Larry said "Since I was 13 years old, I've dreamed of going up into the clear blue sky in a weather balloon," he said. "By the grace of God, I fulfilled my dream. But I wouldn't do this again for anything."
Was he scared? "Yes"
Why'd he do it? "Well you just can't sit there!"
Application: Life goals, ambitions, achievements, action. Hopefully our life ambitions are better focused than Larry's, but his crazy story reminds us that if we want to achieve those goals we "just can't sit there!".
Application: planning, preparation. Larry reminds us that all worthy goals, even crazy ones, need good planning, that we need to know how to get there and how to get back!
Source: Reported in the New York Times, July 3, 1982 and Leadership, Summer 1993.