“To dream the impossible dream” is how the opening line of the theme song from The Man of La Mancha begins. While it is true that such impossible dreams may not materialize during sleep, they can indeed become a reality. As someone once remarked, dreams can come true.
During my high school years, I came across a poster in the library that conveyed a message regarding impossibility. It discussed concepts that we often consider self-evident and take for granted, highlighting how these notions were once deemed impossible.
“Success is determined by those who prove the impossible, possible,” James W. Pence once said. Or as another author pointed out, “Every great achievement was once considered impossible.”
Frequently, we find ourselves apprehensive about undertaking actions that we believe may lead to failure. However, life itself is a gamble. From the moment we enter this world, the element of chance is already integrated into our existence. We can never be certain if we will see the next day.
Do not let fear prevent you from pursuing your true desires. Heed the advice of Ralph Waldo Emerson, who once stated “It was a high counsel that I once heard given to a young person, ‘Always do what you are afraid to do.’”
This sentiment resonates with the thoughts of Charles Kettering, who remarked, “I don’t want men of experience working for me. The experienced man is always telling me why something can’t be done. The fellow who has not had any experience is so dumb he doesn’t know a thing can’t be done – and he goes ahead and does it.”
“If it is not broken, do not attempt to repair it.” This age-old adage has faced its share of challenges. Indeed, for every principle, there exists an exception. There are individuals, both men and women, who challenge this notion. They achieve success by addressing issues before they escalate into problems.
One notable example is the British playwright George Bernard Shaw. The majority of people observe situations and inquire, “Why?” Shaw had another idea: “I dream things that never were and I say, ‘Why not?’” Sounds like good advice, indeed.
Robert Millikan was a Nobel Prize winner in physics in 1923. He was quoted as saying, “There is no likelihood man can ever tap the power of the atom.” An associate of David Sarnoff wrote these words in response to his urges for investment in the radio in the 1920s: “The wireless music box has no imaginable commercial value. Who would pay for a message sent to nobody in particular?”
What do these two individuals share in common? Both were entirely mistaken!
History is filled with accounts of individuals who have had to retract their statements. Had they realized that their words would come back to haunt them in the years to follow, they would have refrained from uttering them.
Consider the example of Thomas Watson, the chairman of IBM. In 1943, he remarked: “I believe there is a global market for perhaps five computers.”
Here are additional missteps. Ken Olson, the president, chairman, and founder of Digital Equipment Corporation, stated in 1977: “There is no reason anyone would desire a computer in their home.” Bill Gates proclaimed in 1981: “640K should be sufficient for anyone.”
“Computers in the future may weigh no more than 1.5 tons,” stated Popular Mechanics in 1949. “But what… is it useful for?” inquired an engineer at the Advanced Computing Systems Division of IBM, commenting on the microchip. This was in 1968.
Even in the field of medicine, what was once considered fiction has become reality. Pierre Pachet, a professor of physiology at Toulouse University in France, made this forgettable statement in 1872: “Louis Pasteur’s theory of germs is absurd fiction.”
British surgeon John Eric Ericksen once claimed, “The abdomen, the chest, and the brain will forever be shut from the intrusion of the wise and humane surgeon.” Before saying those words in 1873, he was appointed Surgeon-Extraordinary to Queen Victoria.
Successful men and women have their own methods of going to the top. And should their children ask for formula, one of them would be: “Never say it can’t be done.” I remember the words of Harry Emerson Fosdick. He said, “The world is moving so fast these days that the man who says it can’t be done is generally interrupted by someone doing it.”
Bestselling author and self-made millionaire Harvey Mackay shares this advice to parents: “Tell your kids to take chances. The greatest advantage young people have is that without the financial and family encumbrances of older people, they have so little to lose by taking risks. So encourage them to try something new. Defy the odds.”
Mackay further writes in his book, Swim With the Sharks (Without Being Eaten Alive): “They may fail at times, but to double their success rate you may have to double their failure rate. Just remember: The wheel is tilted in their favor, the system is biased on their side, because it is based on change — on destroying the old. They have a lot less to lose attempting to make a change than attempting to hang on to an old technology, and to the status quo, in a system that rewards change.”
Again, here is a thought from Charles Kettering: “Virtually nothing comes out right the first time. Failures, repeated failures, are finger posts on the road to achievement. The only time you don’t fail is the last time you try something, and it works. One fails forward toward success.”
—###
