Impossible is Nothing
If I believed anyone who told me it was impossible to go from being a single mother of four children under seven-years-old on welfare to getting hired as a CEO it might have dragged me down. So I didn’t ask anybody if they thought I'd succeed. I just went about my work and goals as if I could not fail.
Over the last 20 years I have led organization with up to $26 million in assets. I increased trade show attendance 150% my first year as executive director of a trade association. I led a campaign to add a patient pavilion and healing garden when people said, “That will never happen.” And I led a $10.4 million capital campaign for a heart center, new ER and Women’s and Infants' Center on the heels of the largest hospital bankruptcy in U.S. history.
“Impossible” is just a lofty word thrown around by people who play it safe. It is a notion to believe that just because something isn’t mainstream or the norm it cannot be done. More significantly - it is a trigger message laid down from previous experience by well-meaning people who wanted to protect you from disappointment. “Don’t take risk because you will fail and be hurt.” Impossible is not a fact. It is an opinion. It's nothing.
I never saw being successful as impossible. I didn’t even see it as a dare. I saw it as inevitable. I was mindful of my goal which was to be successful in the shortest time possible. I had four children who were hungry and needed an education. Failure was not an option.
Disappointment is the result of unmet expectations. I focus on outcomes in everything I do. I do not expect to control the process of how I get there. I do plan and set goals – then let the way to success unfold and trust the process along the way.
I got over the fear of rejection early as I processed the realities of divorce. I learned to lean in to vulnerability when I was afraid because leaning out left me detached from even the good feelings such as joy, love and fulfillment. And I realized the value of living in the moment as I became an observer of life as opposed to being the conductor of it. There is magic in silence.
So when anyone tells you your goals are impossible, I suggest that you ask them what they would do if they knew they could not fail. If they can’t answer, you’ll know where they’ll be in three years. Where do you plan to be in three years?
Mary Lee Gannon, ACC, CAE is an executive coach who helps leaders get off the treadmill to nowhere with confidence, candor and calm so they can be more effective leaders and have better relationships with the people who matter. Get her Career and Life Planning Tool here.
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