Nothing is Impossible

What in your world do you define as impossible, that you wish weren't? To make a living as a painter? To run your own business? To travel 100 million light-years to another galaxy?

Don’t believe in impossible. Nothing is impossible… nothing. When given enough time.

Let me define “impossible” as I see it. If someone tells me an act or idea is impossible, I take that to mean impossible altogether, that there is no chance it will ever happen, from now until the universe collapses in on itself. I can’t buy that line of thinking. Nothing is impossible altogether, only impossible at a given moment in time and space. It’s a much different idea to say something is impossible altogether than to say it’s not doable at this moment, or this particular spot on earth where we stand right now

If I asked strangers on the street, “Is it possible or impossible to travel to a distant galaxy?” many will answer, “Impossible.” But if I rephrase the question to, “In 1000 years from now, do you think it will be possible or impossible to travel to a distant galaxy?” many who said it was impossible, will change their answer. And for those who believe the earth is not the only place where life exists in the universe, they may say it’s possible that intergalactic travel is occurring already.

But let’s scale this down to activities we can get our heads around better. How many people dream of owning a multi-million dollar business, but think it’s impossible for them to achieve? What may really be impossible, is owning that business right now. It’s easy to believe that impossibility because we don’t have the experience, the know-how, the capital, at this moment. But over time, those items can be acquired. We simply need enough faith to move forward and begin to accumulate those critical pieces.

Every day I witness too many individuals placing limits on themselves, believing whatever dream they sequester deep inside, is impossible to achieve. It doesn’t help that friends, family, and strangers often reinforce those limitations. But what’s important to take away from this is, when most of us declare something impossible, often we really mean that it isn’t possible at this moment.

The next time you tell yourself that something you want is impossible, pause for a moment, then tell yourself that tomorrow may make it possible. Then figure out one simple activity you can do today to move your formerly “impossible” dream, closer to reality.

As you digest this, I’ll leave you with a favorite quote of mine that is often attributed to Goethe:

Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it.