You can turn mission impossible into mission possible.
“It can’t be done.” How many times have you heard that line? And I’m guessing you’ve heard it your entire. But here’s the real tragedy: After all these years you’ve accepted the myth as truth.
Have you ever made any of these statements:
- I’m a failure?
- It’s too late to change?
- I’ll never amount to anything?
- My dreams will never be realized?
When you start to think like this, you start to believe it can’t be done. You will never:
- write a book.
- complete your bucket list.
- be happy.
- have a successful marriage.
- become debt free.
Can I be honest? A couple of years ago I was down for the count and unsure of the future. But things have turned around and they are getting better.
Let me share with you my most recent victory and then show you how I turned mission impossible into mission impossible.
On Monday I wrote about my upcoming book Tom’s List: 50 Commandments to Transform Your Life. I promised it would be available soon. And it is now available for purchase on Amazon. (The Amazon link on the right sidebar will take you to it.)
Two years ago, I almost gave up on writing a book. I told myself it was too late. I wallowed in the fact I was getting older and hadn’t published a book so far, why would I think it’s possible? Publishing a book was high on my bucket list and it almost died a premature death.
According to quora.com most books published today sell less than 250 copies in a year and under 3,000 copies in it lifetime. In 72 hours it has sold 85 copies. This is not going to get me on the New York Times bestsellers list but it’s not bad for a guy who was ready to give up.
Now, what about you? What lies are you believing that are holding you back? What special dream is on life-support? If you knew you would going to die next week what would be your biggest regret?
Listen closely. You are not a failure. It isn’t too late. You will amount to something. Your dreams can be realized.
Here’s how I turned my mission impossible into mission possible:
1. I turned mission impossible into mission possible by embracing my power to decide.
Too often when we get down it’s easy to feel as though we are victims of our circumstances. And if we are victims then we start making excuses. I realized no matter how hard things were in my life I still had the power to choose.
Reject the victim mindset. OK. Life has treated you like a fourth-class citizen. I get it. But you can still choose. You can choose to work harder to get better to go further. Embrace your power to choose. In a previous article I wrote about this amazing power. Review it HERE if you missed it.
2. I turned mission impossible into mission possible by choosing myself. (I’ve written previously on this subject. If you want more information on this topic read THIS.)
This is the single greatest decision that pulled me out of despair. I decided to pick myself. Tired of waiting to be chosen I looked in the mirror and gave myself permission. I stopped waiting for gate-keepers to give me a nod of approval. I decided to self-publish. The fat cat publishers had to get out of my way. I would succeed without their help.
Just before hitting the publish button I got a note from my niece Holly who is a grade school teacher. A couple of years ago she started teaching her students the “pick yourself” principle. She posted the picture below from a student in her class.
The two most powerful words I can tell you are: CHOOSE YOURSELF. That means you move forward without permission or approval. You can do it. Choose to believe in yourself.
3. I turned mission impossible into mission possible by giving myself time to succeed.
One of the frustrations about being a pastor was those moments when someone came in for counseling because they had screwed up their life. It took decades of bad decisions for them to knot up their life. But they expected me to fix it in under 60 minutes.
Success takes time. I’ve lost track of how many hours I invested in writing Tom’s List. I started writing it more than two years ago and almost gave up. But I kept at it, word by word, and thought by thought. Give yourself time to succeed by developing realistic goals.
4. I turned mission impossible into mission possible by not quitting.
Quitting is an ever-present temptation for me. To quit means to dump the load off of your back. When the going gets tough the quitter quits. And I was tempted to give up on my dreams. But I kept going. Quitting was not an option.
Don’t quit. Quitting is the unforgivable sin from which you cannot recover. Pulling the plug is fatal. Force yourself to keep going.
What dream do you have that’s on life-support? What have you convinced yourself can’t be done? When you think of turning mission impossible into mission possible, what comes to your mind?