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One day in 1987, "for some reason unknown to me, even today," as he will tell you, Billy announced to his wife, Martha, that he would lead an effort that would radically alter him, his city and one of the most revered institutions in the world. Martha's response was a lot more polite than those to come from others.

In those days Billy was a relatively unsophisticated, upper-middle-class real estate attorney with only a modest reputation in his city, much less outside of it.

Never mind that he'd undergone one bypass surgery and would need another in the middle of pursuing his dream. Billy had his first bypass at age 34--just after his beloved father had died of heart failure at 53. During the procedure it was discovered that the chest pains Billy had suffered back in 1974, when he was 26, were probably indications of a heart attack.

Then, on the night of April 28, 1993, still more than three years from achieving his dream, as so many huge hurdles and so many naysayers loomed before him, his chest started to hurt again. Another bypass, a triple, was immediately required.

Never mind that his local newspaper called it a "nutty dream" and many people avoided associating with him because of it.

Never mind that he didn't receive a salary for the first three and a half years. To pursue his dream, he sold his law practice and took out a loan to live on.

Even though he'd previously never been on a business trip outside the U.S., his "nutty dream" would take him out of the country an average of twenty days every month.

Before it was over he would work almost 3,500 days and struggle to marshall together more than 70,000 full-time employees and volunteers.

In 1996 when Atlanta hosted the Games of the 26th Olympiad, it was the realization of one person's dream. The Big, Hairy and Audacious Dream of Billy Payne transformed him, but even more, it transformed a city.

How many "nutty dreams" have you cast aside because you didn't have the money, the time, the education, the connections, etc., etc.?

Today take a lesson from Billy Payne: there really is No Dream Too Big!