Dare to do the impossible

Arthur Marara Motivation for Success
We choose to go to the moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard”. (John F. Kennedy, 1962). John F. Kennedy will go down history as the man who enabled the first person to

leave footprints on the moon.

His secret is aptly summarised in the adage he bequeathed to us on the 12th September 1962; doing the seemingly impossible. Well the reason why most people do what they do, it is because it’s easy, but great people choose to do what is hard. Once you do that thing, it will cease to be hard anymore.

In 1962, the thought of landing on the moon could have been treated as a fallacy, but the determination of John F. Kennedy left the legacy of moon landing. After Neil Armstrong, more manned missions to the moon have been done. Everything always seems impossible until you do it. During a time when technology was not that advanced, the first manned mission to the moon succeeded.

We all have goals, dreams and at times it is not unusual to find ourselves impeaching the possibility of realising them because they appear hard. This might be true at times, but the fact that something is hard does not mean it is impossible.

If you are going to do exploits, you need to stand out and dare to do the impossible. I want you to think of your goals, how badly you want to achieve them. If you really thought that it was impossible to achieve your goals, wait until you read some thoughts below.

The story or Diana Nyad

The name Diana Nyad might be new to many people, but the name is no longer new to the Guinness Book of World records. The thought of a person swimming from Cuba to Florida without protective clothing is one which inspires fear and terror in the minds of many people. This is no longer the case for Diana Nyad. On September 2, 2013,

Diana achieved her goal, swimming 110 miles (177.028 kilometres) between Havana and Florida. She had the aid of a support team and was in the water for more than two days. Nyad became the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida without a shark cage or fins, doing so at 64 years of age. She did not just achieve her dream in one goal.

Her success came after some four other previous attempts. She nevertheless rekindled the dream and vision when she was 64years to fulfill her dream. The rest of what happened is clearly history, but what is not in dispute is the fact that she is now in the books of history as the first person to swim from Cuba to Florida.

Diana also serves as a motivational speaker, and author. She said something which is worth sharing, “I have three messages: One is we should never, ever give up. Two is you never are too old to chase your dreams. Three is it looks like a solitary sport, but it takes a team.”

Put your mind to the task

“One very important aspect of motivation is the willingness to stop and to look at things that no one else has bothered to look at. This simple process of focusing on things that are normally taken for granted is a powerful source of creativity.” (Edward de Bono).

A divided mind divides the potential to accomplish the task at hand. You can choose to take the easy way out and do what is easy, or you can do to the difficult and seemingly impossible and attain the unforgettable. Identify what you want to do, and put your mind to the goal.

A number or ideas are being starved of confidence from people who are supposed to be fanning them. If you do not have confidence in the dream, no one will have confidence in it. The approach you have towards your goals, determines the type of people you attract in your life.

People are confident to support people who have confidence in their dreams. Diana did not swim alone; she was accompanied by a team of medical practitioners who continuously monitored her along the journey. She was able to do this because she was so focused on the task at hand and she inspired people to partner with her.

Why not?

Most people fail in life by asking the wrong questions. The question that most people would ask is, “Can a 64 year old spend days in water, and swim a journey of over 110 miles.” The answer clearly is WHY NOT? George Bernard Shaw once said that, “Some look at things that are, and ask why. I dream of things that never were and ask why not?” You need to look at your goals and starting telling yourself “Why not”.

Gender is nothing, at least history as demonstrated that to us, Dr. Eunor Guti as the first female Marriage Officer in Zimbabwe, Sarah Kachingwe as the first female student at the then University of Rhodesia, Jane Chifamba as the first female author in Zimbabwe.

The cases are too many. In all these instances, it was always easy to entertain the question, “why”, but these people challenged the odds, and demonstrated to all of us that gender is not an issue to the accomplishment of your dreams.

Many people look at their ages, and wonder whether it’s still possible to attain their dreams. Diana demonstrated that age is just a number. Our own Elizabeth Magaya demonstrated that even at over 50years of age you can still do your “O” Level, and even proceed to do a University degree.

Colonel Harland Sanders proved that at a time when most people want to retire, you can rise and pursue a dream. History has indeed proved that KFC owed it’s birth to a 65 year old. You can look at your age, and get discouraged or you can look it and ask yourself, “why not”.

Dreams can be achieved regardless of your age, race. Les Brown once said, “You are never too old to set another goal”. As long as you are alive you can do something with your life. Do not rule yourself out, count yourself in and take ownership of your dream.

Ignore the negative voices

There are people who are always ready to speak negativity into your dreams. They can speak, but you can choose to ignore them. Some people are consistently negative such that it only takes a darkroom for them to develop. Do not allow them to inspire fear into your life.

Surround yourself with people who tell you that, “it is possible, you can do it, you are more than able.” By consistently allowing positive voices in your life, you will see that you build confidence which allows you to go for your goals. I do not know who has been speaking into your life, and what they have been speaking, but what I know is that you have the power to quarantine negative voices, and take in the positive ones that add value to your dream.

Regroup and re-engage

We fail the moment we decide to stop trying. Diana could not attain her goal the first time she attempted it. She had an option to give up, but she chose not to exercise it, but rather chose to keep the dream aflame. She went back to retrace her steps, and came back renewed and reinvigorated. You might have tried something and it did not succeed, you can still go back and revisit your steps.

Take time to objectively view your business model, your marketing strategy, and your product relevance and ask yourself how you can do better than you are doing now. You do not attain success by changing the mirror, but by addressing the person on the mirror. Going back to the drawing board is not a sign of weakness, but a sign of wisdom. It might be embarrassing to start all over again, but sooner or later, you will realise that the efforts were an investment well made.

Join me on Star FM on Wednesdays (09:30am-10:00am) for some moments of inspiration on the Breeze with Tariro and Iyati.

• Arthur Marara is an Attorney, Author and Speaker. He is also the author of the Personal Development Toolkit, Keys to Financial Freedom, The Power Within, and Keys to Effective Time Management. Send your feedback to [email protected] or Like his page on Facebook, or Whatsapp: +263 772 467 255 or visit www.arthurmarara.com <http://www.arthurmarara.com>.