It Ain’t Impossible Once Somebody Gets It Done

Posted by Madd_Fictional on

“To believe a thing impossible is to make it so.” – French Proverb

Everyone talks about the writer’s toolkit and all the utensils it should contain, but writers also need to have a storehouse equipped with a shelf that holds just one thing:

The belief that anything is possible.

I’m sure you’ve already figured out that if someone has already done a thing, you can do it, too, once you’ve set your mind to it. But have you ever stopped to consider that even if no one has done this writing task that’s swimming around in your brain, you still can do it? All you need to do is cut out the middleman. You really don’t need anyone else to prove that your project is possible. You can just go on out there and do it for yourself.

Don’t worry, I’m not gonna sell you a load of universal law nonsense like “everything in life is possible because you’ve been gifted with all the necessary tools, skills, drive, and connections you need to make it happen.” If your aim is to do the impossible, you’re gonna have to work at it. Hard. And that’s a fact, Jack.

Now, you’re no doubt saying. “Okay, I get that it takes drive, dedication, passion, and the right mindset, but let’s get to the meat of the nutshell. Just how do I do the impossible?”

Well, my friend, I’m glad you asked.

1. Find the cost of your impossible.

You know very well I’m not talking about money (you can cross that financial bridge when you come to it). Failure (as discussed in a previous post) is the coin of the realm if you don’t reach your seemingly impossible goal, and you pay by taking in the pitying glances from the mundanes that use you as an example of why the impossible must never be strived for. You pay by watching your dreams burn to ash before being scattered by the winds of harsh reality. You pay by having your creative center scooped out of you with a melon baller. Or, you might pay in some other way, but make no mistake about it…

You. Will. Pay.

As stated previously, very few things in this world are truly impossible. Most times the price is just too high. You need to take a moment and truthfully examine what the personal costs to you will be (time, relationships with friends, family, etc.) and if you’ll make the commitment to remit payment should the ferryman demand a toll for crossing impossible waters.

2. Take baby steps towards the impossible.

Once you’ve zeroed in on that impossible writing endeavor, start small. Slip on your water wings, dip your big toe in the shallow end of the pool and learn the basics. The impossible isn’t one gigantic thing, it’s a series of things that increase in difficulty or complexity. Splash around in the kiddie end of the pool and get yourself acclimated to the waters before you decide to breaststroke your way into the deep end.

3. Handcuff yourself to inspiration.

Some people create a vision board with images, inspirational sayings, and the like. I know, these received a bad rap after Rhonda Byrnes’ book, The Secret, came under critical fire, but having a visual reminder of your ultimate goal is akin to keeping your eyes on the prize.

Others surround themselves with like-minded people or people who have achieved some level of success in the same or similar fields. Buddy up to them, pick their brains—politely and tactfully, of course—and find out what motivated them. Learning from someone else’s experiences, though your own will undoubtedly be completely different, can help you avoid potential pitfalls up ahead.

4. Stop gabbing about it and start doing it.

It’s great having a goal to achieve and having done all your knowledge-gathering groundwork and psyching yourself up to the point where you become a one-person cheerleading squad, but a lot of people get stuck in that complacency gap between research and action. You’ll know you’re there if you spend more time talking about conquering your impossible task than you are acting on conquering your impossible task.

Making it happen is the point where your inspiration gets put to the test because it’s where you’ll begin running into obstacles and roadblocks, where excuses for why you can’t take action start springing up like daisies.

The workaround? Micro-goals. Remember when we talked about baby steps? Get used to them because you’ll be taking a lot of them. Inch by inch, everything’s a cinch. Set daily tasks, give yourself deadlines and milestones, and keep in mind that you will have bad days, encounter setbacks, and missteps along the way. It’s all part of the process when conquering the impossible.

And get out of the habit of beating yourself up when things don’t go your way. Things will change as you begin to work towards something new, but the great thing is that your plans are not set in stone. If something doesn’t work, switch things up until it does. You’re a shark from this point on, always moving forward.

5. Celebrate the completion of micro-goals.

Why shouldn’t you? You’ve just taken a chunk out of the impossible. You’ve pressed your nose to the grindstone, torn down mental barriers, plotted courses around obstacles. Take a moment to pat yourself on the back.

6. Do it again with the next plateau.

Sure, get into the habit of doling out self-attaboys (“boys” being gender-neutral) but don’t get too full of yourself because you’ve still got a long, long way to go. The good news is, you now know the impossible is possible, so Go get ’em, tiger!

Side Note: There is one circumstance in which I will advocate for the impossible. In your attempt to pull off your Herculean task, you will encounter people who will try to hold you back—strangers, acquaintances, friends, family members, and fellow writers—out of fear, envy, spitefulness, or even a misguided sense of love. They will make you doubt yourself, keep reminding you of your faults, constantly criticize your ideas, discount your strengths, and generally make you feel unimportant.

In order to see your way through to the finish line, you must make it impossible for these people, regardless of who the hell they are or what they mean to you, to stand in your way. Kick their obstacle-shaped backsides straight to the nearest curb. And if they happen to be a friend, family, or someone you really care about, have no fear, you can always swing back and pick them up upon your return from Successville (and allow them to gnaw on a slice of told-you-I-could-do-it pie).

I do have one request for you: After you’ve accomplished your mission, do me a favor and drop me a line to let me know about the sweet taste of breathing the rarified air atop your lofty perch. If I must live vicariously through your success, so be it! I accept my fate!

Sally forth and be impossibly writeful, my friend.

31 responses to “It Ain’t Impossible Once Somebody Gets It Done”

  2. I couldn’t agree with this message more! Just talking about doing something doesn’t accomplish anything. The world doesn’t change because of your thoughts it changes because of you actions. There isn’t a pleasant way through making your dreams a reality. The only way to get to the other side of impossible is *THROUGH*. Great post, Rhyan!

    Liked by 2 people

    Reply

    • There’s a saying, it might be Greek (I really should look these things up before I type) that goes something like “with persistence, a drop of water hollows out the stone.” And that’s what it’s like with anything you want to learn or achieve. You have to put in the time and effort. Cheers for the read and comment, Cuca!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  3. I flat-out love your motivational posts! They’re like condensed masterpieces filled with common sense truth bombs and reading them I start feeling the itch to immediately get to work on the stuff I’m procrastinating on! Nice going, Rhyan, thanks for this!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

  4. I needed to hear this so bad. I am surrounded by so many negative people and I easily get discouraged and stuck in the mindset of being just a mom and nothing else. But I’m not only doing this for myself, but I’m also doing it for my kids so I can help them get a headstart in life and learn to work on their goals when they’re older & for them to be proud of their mama!
    Loved this!

    Liked by 3 people

    Reply

    • Suranne, first I want to thank you for sharing a bit of your situation, I imagine that can’t be easy. You didn’t ask for advice so I’m not going to offer any. I know that I’ve mentioned this somewhere before and if it was to you, then I apologize for repeating myself, but I’m not a teacher, or a self-help guru, or somebody trying to rope you into buying a How-To book or enroll in his Masterclass.

      I’m just a guy with a blog who sometimes shares his thoughts, which you are free to cherry-pick what works for you or ignore completely (I’m cool with either choice). I’m a guy who is by no means perfect but who knows what it feels like to struggle at honing his craft. A guy slowly chipping away at the wall in his path. So, while I don’t know the particulars of your situation, I know what it feels like to have no one believe in you, to be surrounded by people yet feel as if you’re all alone, to strive for something no one else gives a damn about, to have people tell you you’re living your life the wrong way.

      And that’s the funny thing about people. Everyone thinks there’s only one way to accomplish a goal, one single, solitary right way, and it’s usually their way, the path they’ve chosen, the thing that works for them, even though they aren’t standing at the top of the success ladder themselves. But when your viewpoint doesn’t align with theirs, they become defensive and sometimes go on the attack. That’s because they’re operating from a weak belief system. And that’s not your problem or concern, it’s theirs.

      Staying on course and true to your goals and committed to your path isn’t an easy thing but if you do it long enough it builds character and helps you develop the rhino hide you need to press on. Above my monitor is an index card with the aphorism “illegitimi non carborundum” which is mock-Latin for “don’t let the bastards grind you down” no matter who they are. That’s the motto I choose to live by.

      I said I wasn’t going to dole out advice and here I am standing on my soapbox once more. Apologies. Stepping down now.

      As always, cheers for the read and comment, it’s greatly appreciated! Stay strong!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

      • I don’t know you from anything besides this blog but I never got the feeling that you were trying to sell me something or lord yourself over me, so I don’t mind when you stand on your soapbox. My main takeaway from this exchange is that I’m not responsible for taking on other people’s negative vibration even if they’re taking it out on me in that moment. I know I’m reading between the lines here but I get the feeling that you’re telling me I can remain neutral and non reactive! Non affected. And that’s blessing to know and embrace that fact, so thank you!

        Like

  6. This really resonates with me. Success requires all kinds of sacrifices, it’s on us on how bad we want it & if we are willing to sacrifice whatever is necessary in order to achieve it. Tough times don’t last, but tough people do!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • And the truth of the matter is that you can put in the work, do all the right things, and still fall flat on your face. Tough people, like you say, last because they pick themselves up, dust themselves off and try again applying what they’ve learned from their mistakes. Cheers for the read and comment, Grey!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  7. I resonate with every point in this post! I’m working really hard right now because I truly want to be great at my craft. I remember essentially being forced to “hang out with friends” by my parents when I was younger and I remember thinking to myself “WHAT IS THIS ACCOMPLISHING?? This is literally just wasting so much time that could go into me practicing or learning new things!!!!” As they all sat lazily around the TV and playing xbox games for hours on end. I broke that mindset quickly. They were the kind of people that would think “what if I create something that makes us millionaires?” but would never actually do it or would give up after a few days. I stopped hanging out with a lot of people because of them having a mindset like that and in turn, my mindset got better and more focused.

    My social life was essentially dead for a while. I’d go to class, go back to my dorm and work on different projects that have helped my career GREATLY! I have opportunities today that are the result of those endless weeks without talking to anybody, but instead, focusing on creating and learning stuff outside of the classroom.

    I never attended any parties. I just love working so much that I wouldn’t have time to do all the relationship stuff like go on dates or just hang out. For me to get into a relationship, the person would need to really understand that I spend almost all day working on various different things and that I do it so that I’ll both be set in the future.

    Most people don’t want to make the sacrifices necessary to become successful. They glamorize success and want an above-average lifestyle while having a below-average work ethic. There’s a quote that I read in a book once: “Many people don’t truly want to be successful, they’re just fascinated with the idea of success.”

    Great advice as always, Rhyan! Thank you so much. You inspire me to try to change and better use my free time. It is work in progress, any helpful advice I can get is appreciated!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • The truth is we live in a world where delayed gratification is experiencing the slow fade of an endangered species. We want everything and we want it right now. And most of those things are fleeting, filled with no nutritional calories and are forgotten almost as soon as they’re over because it’s on to the next fix. The great thing is all those things will still be around after you’ve accomplished what you’ve set out to do.

      Cheers for the read and for sharing, Peri, and I wish you nothing but the best in all your endeavors!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  10. I stopped listening to other people a long time ago. And it got me into trouble which made me realize that I shouldn’t listen to anyone no matter what. My mistakes, my suffering, my learning, my strength. And writing is something so sacred to me that anyone’s damn opinion makes no difference. If I had to quit, it would’ve happened a long time ago. So cheers to new ideas and the impossible can go to hell.
    Cheers Rhyan!

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

    • “Impossible can go to hell” is the perfect takeaway from this post (leave it to an all-star Editora to be that succinct).

      People often mistake this message because they think I should tell them how to achieve the impossible, lay out step-by-step instructions on what to do…which, I think, is impossible. Everyone’s “impossible” is different because everyone’s end goal is different, which means that everyone’s path and obstacles they face will be different.

      Write on. Sure, study your craft and learn the rules, but the rules don’t mean a blessed thing if you’re not writing in the first place. Make it impossible not to write. First get it written, then get it right.

      Okay, I’m off on a tangent now, so I’ll just save it for a future post. Cheers for the read and comment, Terveen!

      Liked by 1 person

      Reply

  12. Successville…I like the sound of that. Ironically, baby steps are huge. I sort of accomplished one this week that surprised and delighted me, but on anyone else’s list it might not be that big a deal. Still, it made me rethink a few things, sort of a reset of my compass. If a little thing can be accomplished, then a thing a little bit bigger can be achieved. You’re wise beyond your years, young fellow ( 🙂 ) and your advice is solid and your encouragement is so appreciated. 🙂

    Liked by 1 person

    Reply

Leave a Reply to Madd_Fictional Cancel reply

Fill in your details below or click an icon to log in:

Gravatar
WordPress.com Logo

You are commenting using your WordPress.com account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Facebook photo

You are commenting using your Facebook account. ( Log Out /  Change )

Cancel

Connecting to %s