Dream Big
Know What You Want, Why You Want It, and What You're Going to Do About It
byBob Goff
Book Edition Details
Summary
Life is full of possibilities, yet how often do we let fear steal the dreams we once held dear? In "Dream Big," Bob Goff, the celebrated mind behind "Love Does" and "Everybody, Always," invites readers to reclaim those aspirations with renewed vigor. This isn’t just a guide—it's an inspiring manifesto for those ready to overcome self-imposed barriers and embrace a life of boundless potential. Drawing from his renowned Dream Big workshop, Goff shares hard-earned wisdom and actionable strategies for identifying, planning, and pursuing your most audacious goals. With a blend of heartfelt storytelling and practical advice, this book challenges you to rediscover and realize your hidden dreams. If you're ready to trade in a half-lived life for one brimming with passion and purpose, "Dream Big" is your essential companion on the journey to a more fulfilled you.
Introduction
Bob Goff's life reads like an adventure novel that somehow became real. From a struggling law student who couldn't take his own temperature correctly to a man who casually calls the White House, owns an airline in Canada, and starts schools in war zones, Goff embodies what happens when someone refuses to accept ordinary as their ceiling. His journey isn't one of linear success or traditional achievement, but rather a masterclass in turning whimsical dreams into world-changing realities. What makes Goff's story particularly compelling is how he discovered that the most audacious dreams often begin with the smallest acts of love. Whether it's answering every phone call from strangers who read his books, quitting his own law firm to chase a bigger purpose, or literally walking into waterfalls with friends who need encouragement, Goff demonstrates that extraordinary living isn't about grand gestures but about consistent courage in ordinary moments. Through his unconventional path, readers will discover three transformative insights: how to identify and pursue authentic ambitions that align with one's deepest values, why embracing failure and discomfort often leads to the most meaningful breakthroughs, and how genuine service to others becomes the unexpected catalyst for achieving seemingly impossible personal dreams. His story reveals that the gap between dreaming and doing is often just one minute of courage.
Finding Purpose Through Love and Acceptance
Bob Goff's early years were marked by an almost comedic series of mishaps that would have discouraged most people from dreaming big. As a kindergartener desperate to be the "wake-up fairy," he managed to break a classmate's nose in his enthusiastic rush across the classroom. Later, caught buying cigarettes as a seventh-grader by his Boy Scout leader, he compounded his mistake by claiming they were for his sister instead of taking responsibility. These early fumbles revealed a pattern that would define much of his life: good intentions paired with spectacular execution failures. Yet these very failures became the foundation for Goff's most profound insight about purpose. His relationship with Sweet Maria, whom he pursued relentlessly despite her initial reluctance, taught him that authentic love requires persistence without manipulation, confidence without arrogance. When Maria finally agreed to go rock climbing with him and realized she could trust him with her life while dangling from a rope, Goff learned that true purpose isn't found in perfection but in reliability when it matters most. The transformation from a bumbling young man to someone others could depend on didn't happen overnight. Goff's freckled childhood, once a source of shame when bullies called him "Spot," became a source of strength when a caring adult helped him see those same freckles as connect-the-dots possibilities for giraffes and other wonderful creations. This experience planted a seed that would later bloom into his understanding that purpose emerges not from hiding our imperfections but from allowing others to see beauty in what we consider flaws. His grandparents played a crucial role in this foundation-building, creating "launching beliefs" that counteracted the limiting ones he'd accumulated. Their simple acts, like filling his room's drawer with nickels as "rent" and pretending his Disneyland rock candy was actual rocks, taught him that love transforms ordinary moments into magical memories. These experiences became the blueprint for how he would later approach his most ambitious dreams: with childlike wonder, generous assumptions about others, and an understanding that purpose is found in making others feel valued and seen.
From Lawyer to Dream Builder
Goff's transition from practicing law to pursuing seemingly impossible dreams illustrates how careers can serve as stepping stones rather than final destinations. After becoming a successful trial lawyer, he discovered that his legal skills could fund something far more meaningful than his own bank account. The money he earned winning cases became the seed capital for building schools in war-torn countries, transforming his professional success into a vehicle for global impact. The decision to start an airline in Canada perfectly encapsulates Goff's approach to turning constraints into opportunities. When he wanted to learn to fly and needed access to his remote Lodge property, he didn't simply take flying lessons and buy plane tickets. Instead, he and a friend applied to start "Pacific Wings," cobbling together a seaplane from salvaged parts and painting it in Krispy Kreme donut colors. What began as an improbable solution to a transportation problem evolved into a profitable business serving logging camps with newspapers and fresh vegetables. This pattern of wedding multiple ambitions together became Goff's signature approach to dream-building. Rather than pursuing isolated goals, he learned to create synergy between his various interests. His legal expertise helped him navigate the bureaucratic requirements for starting schools internationally, while his love of adventure provided the courage needed to operate in dangerous locations like Somalia and Afghanistan. Perhaps most remarkably, Goff's willingness to quit his own law firm demonstrated that even successful careers must sometimes be abandoned to make room for greater purposes. Walking into his conference room to announce his departure to employees who worked for him required the same kind of courage as his later adventures in conflict zones. This decision revealed his understanding that growth often requires releasing what works in order to embrace what matters most. The transition wasn't just professional but philosophical. Where he once spent time on things that merely worked, he began focusing exclusively on things that would last. This shift in criteria for choosing how to spend his time became the filter through which all his future dreams would be evaluated, ensuring that his ambitions served purposes larger than personal success or financial gain.
Living on the Edge of Faith and Action
Goff's most audacious dreams have consistently required him to operate in the space he calls "living on the edge of yikes" – that uncomfortable zone where faith and action intersect. His work in countries like Somalia, Uganda, and Afghanistan demonstrates how meaningful ambitions often demand moving beyond the safety of comfortable planning into the uncertainty of actual engagement. When he received death threats for building schools that educated both boys and girls in Taliban-controlled areas, he could have retreated to safer forms of service, but instead chose to lean into the discomfort. The incident in Mogadishu, where he found himself cut off from protection in a vehicle surrounded by an angry mob, crystallized his understanding that comfortable people don't need Jesus – desperate people do. This wasn't reckless endangerment but calculated risk-taking in service of something greater than personal safety. His willingness to operate in the "green zone" mentality, where security becomes a trap that prevents meaningful action, reflects his belief that faith must be expressed through love rather than merely proclaimed through words. His approach to obstacles reveals a distinctly unconventional faith perspective. Rather than interpreting setbacks as divine signals to change course, Goff treats them as navigation challenges requiring creative solutions. When the Lodge he spent twenty-five years building burned down in twenty minutes, he and Sweet Maria rebuilt it, viewing the destruction as an opportunity for renewal rather than a reason for despair. This resilience stems from his conviction that God can use both successes and failures to accomplish His purposes. The integration of whimsy and seriousness in Goff's faith journey sets him apart from more traditional approaches to spirituality. Writing letters to the Pope and Queen Elizabeth annually, despite receiving polite rejections, demonstrates his belief that audacious requests honor God more than modest ones. His practice of cutting out his left pockets as a daily reminder to let go of what doesn't serve him shows how faith can be made tangible through simple, symbolic actions. Most importantly, Goff's faith journey reveals that authentic spirituality amplifies rather than diminishes one's dreams. By anchoring his ambitions in love and service to others, he discovered that faith becomes the rocket fuel that makes impossible dreams achievable, turning personal aspirations into vehicles for blessing others.
Landing Your Dreams in Reality
The gap between conception and completion of dreams, what Goff calls the difference between 10:34 and 10:35, represents the moment when dreamers separate themselves from mere daydreamers. His insight comes from the Wright brothers' historic flight, recognizing that Orville Wright didn't know if the plane would fly when he pulled away from the earth at 10:35 AM, but he acted anyway. This willingness to launch despite uncertainty becomes the crucial factor that transforms ambitions from concepts into realities. Goff's practical approach to landing dreams involves what he learned from flying: "pitch, pick, and point." When engines fail, pilots must pitch toward the ground rather than pulling back, pick a landing spot rather than hoping for the best, and point relentlessly at their chosen destination despite distractions. This methodology translates directly to pursuing life ambitions – leaning into discomfort, choosing specific targets, and maintaining unwavering focus on what matters most. The story of his friend who turned five dollars from a conference bowl into a substantial fund for African children illustrates how dreams materialize through consistent small actions rather than grand gestures. Like the Indian pastor's rice jars where people could give or take one handful at a time, meaningful ambitions grow through daily decisions to move forward incrementally rather than waiting for perfect conditions or complete certainty. Goff's emphasis on "ground effect" – that tendency to hover just above one's dreams rather than fully committing to them – addresses the final hesitation that prevents many people from actualizing their ambitions. The safety of planning and preparation can become a prison that prevents actual landing. His advice to stop hovering and get wheels on the ground represents the culmination of his entire philosophy: dreams require not just vision and preparation, but the courage to fully commit. The integration of personal ambition with service to others emerges as Goff's secret to sustainable dream fulfillment. By ensuring that his most audacious goals benefit people beyond himself, he created a form of accountability and motivation that survives setbacks and sustains effort over decades. This approach transforms self-centered dreams into other-centered missions, providing both the energy and the meaning necessary to see impossible things through to completion.
Summary
Bob Goff's extraordinary journey reveals that the most fulfilling life emerges not from playing it safe or pursuing conventional success, but from the courage to act on love-driven dreams that serve others. His transformation from a fumbling young man into someone who starts airlines, builds schools in war zones, and answers phone calls from strangers around the world demonstrates that authentic greatness lies in bridging the gap between intention and action, between dreaming and doing. The most powerful lesson from Goff's life is surprisingly simple: extraordinary accomplishments flow from ordinary people who refuse to let fear, failure, or the opinions of others prevent them from attempting beautiful, audacious things. By anchoring his wildest ambitions in genuine love for others and unwavering faith, he discovered that dreams have a way of organizing themselves around people who are serious enough about them to risk everything in their pursuit. For anyone standing at the threshold of their own impossible dream, Goff's story offers both permission and provocation – permission to fail spectacularly while attempting meaningful things, and provocation to stop waiting for perfect conditions or complete certainty before beginning. His life stands as compelling evidence that one person's willingness to live on the edge of faith and action can indeed change the world, one impossible dream at a time.
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