“I don’t mean to throw shade, but isn’t he a little old for that?” My friend Matt meant no harm. He was just asking a question about another friend who has a pretty ambitious midlife goal — to become a pilot.
This got me thinking. Is there an expiration date on hopes and dreams? When we become women and men of a certain age, are we supposed to throw in the towel and head straight for the zero gravity chair on the front porch? Or can we instead throw caution and health insurance to the wind and go for it? By “it,” I mean a bold challenge — or as I like to think of it, a big, hairy, audacious goal.
The term “big, hairy, audacious goal” was coined in the book “Built to Last: Successful Habits of Visionary Companies” by Jim Collins and Jerry Porras. The BHAG (pronounced “bee-hag”) as it’s known, is an objective that’s compelling enough to inspire people to take action. Originally intended to help investment types identify winning companies, I think it’s also a great litmus test for a life well lived — at any age.
To see if your own personal aspiration is BHAG-worthy, ask yourself a few questions, adapted from Collins and Porras’s book. Does it create forward momentum? Do you consider it exciting and adventurous? Are you willing to do whatever it takes in terms of your talent, time and energy to get after it? Did you answer yes to all of the above? Congratulations. You’ve got yourself a big, hairy, audacious goal.
For further inspiration, I turned to Parkite Jeff Previte. In his day job, Jeff is the vice chairman of an environmental and engineering consulting company. In 2021, he founded his side hustle, an organization called the Big Belt Buckle Challenge. Participants pledge to complete up to six major athletic goals in a year. We’re talking goals that are as big and hairy and audacious as they come. It doesn’t matter if you win; just complete one challenge and Jeff’s organization will award a donation to the charity of your choice. Complete all six for an even bigger donation — and a big, shiny belt buckle to rival any rodeo cowboy’s.
The most ambitious of these challenges Jeff simply calls “The Big.” This is a multi-disciplinary challenge inspired by Jackson, Wyoming’s Teton Grand Picnic — an event that is anything but. Participants kick off with a 23-mile bike ride from Jackson Town Square to Jenny Lake, swim 1.3 miles across, hike and climb to the top of the 13,775-foot Grand Teton, then turn around and climb down, swim back across the lake and bike back to where they started. Jeff, a long-time, multidisciplinary endurance athlete, completed the Picnic on August 3 in under 20 hours. Not too shabby for a dude who’s staring down the barrel of age 50.
While Jeff is no stranger to big, hairy, audacious athletic goals, none has been as challenging as sobriety. “The Big Belt Buckle Challenge is just one step at a time and see how it goes and see if I can get to where I need to be physically and mentally to succeed. You can quit if you need to. But sobriety has to be forever.”
For Jeff, getting sober and helping others do the same is motivating. “I’ve benefitted from making conscious decisions that have improved my life and health and career.”
Hey, a bunch of small wins can add up to something really, really big.
“Sharing those wins not only helps others, but it also helps me stay accountable. Seeing others grow and change inspires me to find the next game-changer in my own life.”
In the meantime, Jeff’s patience and persistence continue to pay off. Whether it’s a six-mile solo, open-water swim; climbing and skinning up and skiing down two peaks back to back, or mountain biking the grueling 164-mile La Ruta in Costa Rica, Jeff says “the give-up part rarely registers with me. If I start dragging, I repeat my mantra, This is exactly where I want to be.”
With the Big Belt Buckle Challenge, he wants to “level up every aspect of endurance sports — geography, altitude, weather, distance, disciplines. And I want to add in new dimensions in philanthropy and community-building.”
He says, “I am doing this because I like to do it. I live for both sides of the spectrum — like when I can pedal 100 miles to see Post Malone. Or, crush myself in the Tetons and sleep in a nice bed afterwards. Heart rate mayhem at a race event to a different kind of mayhem at a live concert. It’s all good,” he says, flashing a smile, his ice-blue eyes twinkling at the thought of it all.
For Jeff, a big, hairy, audacious goal is more than an athletic endeavor. It’s a way of life.
Not to throw shade, but try to keep up with that, young whippersnappers.