“It always seems impossible until it’s done.” – Nelson Mandela
“To believe a thing impossible is to make it so.” – French Proverb
“Never tell a young person that anything cannot be done. God may have been waiting centuries for someone ignorant enough of the impossible to do that very thing.” – G. M. Trevelyan
“So many of our dreams at first seem impossible, then they seem improbable, and then, when we summon the will, they soon become inevitable.” – Christopher Reeve
“Sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” – Lewis Carroll
“It is either easy or impossible.” – Salvador Dali
“To the timid and hesitating everything is impossible because it seems so.” – Sir Walter Scott
“We have more power than will; and it is often by way of excuse to ourselves that we fancy things are impossible.” – Francois Duc De la Rochefoucauld
“Everything is theoretically impossible, until it is done.” – Robert A. Heinlein
“The word impossible is not in my dictionary.” – Napoleon Bonaparte
“Impossible only means that you haven’t found the solution yet.” – Anonymous
“No one gets very far unless he accomplishes the impossible at least once a day.” – Elbert Hubbard
“Because a thing seems difficult for you, do not think it impossible for anyone to accomplish.” – Marcus Aurelius
“What we can or cannot do, what we consider possible or impossible, is rarely a function of our true capability. It is more likely a function of our beliefs about who we are.” – Anthony Robbins
“The impossible often has a kind of integrity which the merely improbable lacks.” – Douglas Adams
“We would accomplish many more things if we did not think of them as impossible.” – Vince Lombardi
“The only place where your dream becomes impossible is in your own thinking.” – Robert Schuller
“The positive thinker sees the invisible, feels the intangible and achieves the impossible.” – Anonymous
“In order to attain the impossible, one must attempt the absurd.” – Miguel de Cervantes
“There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.” – Paulo Coelho
“Women, like men, should try to do the impossible. And when they fail, their failure should be a challenge to others.” – Amelia Earhart
“Believe and act as if it were impossible to fail.” – Charles F. Kettering
“Every noble work is at first impossible.” – Thomas Carlyle
“There is nothing impossible to him who will try.” – Alexander the Great
“It’s kind of fun to do the impossible.” – Walt Disney
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These are great, Joel. My favorite is by far the last one by Disney. 🙂
I love that you continue to challenge people to do what they have believed to be impossible. Keep it up!
I have about 3 favorite ones here, but that’s one of ’em. Thanks David! Keep doing the Impossible at HD. Better see you speak at SXSW this spring 🙂
Joel I have been a professional artist as a bronze sculptor for over 26 years. I specialize in large monumental sculpture. I love it when others tell me I can’t do something. I love it when I prove them wrong. If you want to do something bad enough you will find a way. If not you will find an excuse! You can check out my sculptures at http://www.chrisnavarro.com It is all in the power of belief.
Note to Chris Navarro: I tried to log on to your website but found that your godaddy subscription had ended two days ago. I don’t know whether you’re aware of this, so I thought I’d drop you a note here in case it helps as a reminder for you to renew it if you plan to keep it open. I saw some your work on another site and it’s impressive! Congratulations!
“It is either easy or impossible.” – Salvador Dali
That’s ridiculous ! The Apollo moon landings weren’t easy. Defeating Nazism wasn’t easy. Finding a cure for cancer isn’t easy. Comforting a dying child isn’t easy. The list is endless. Some quotes are just silly.
@Lorcán, I don’t think that quote is meant to be literal. It’s only because if we find it easy, we do it. But when it gets really difficult, we find it impossible. Quoting Paulo Coelho “There is only one thing that makes a dream impossible to achieve: the fear of failure.”
Impossibly incredible post, Joel.
Hard to pick a favorite but,
“It is either easy or impossible.” – Salvador Dali
is a definite contender.
Thanks
Thanks Milt! Dali’s, Mandela & Disney were my favorites 🙂 Glad you liked them!
I love the 3rd! Two others come to mind:
“Do one thing every day that scares you” (unknown)
“I guess I’m not really good at reality” (Ferriss, The Four Hour Workweek)
Love it Joel! Thanks for the inspiration!!
Thank you Josh!
“Do one thing everyday that scares you” – I like that a lot 🙂
I like it also. It’s terrifyingly good advice to bring action to a dull day! 🙂
Terrifying is right! 🙂
Very inspirational quotes! thanks for sharing
No problem Steve! Thanks for stopping by!
This is easily my favorite one:
“We have more power than will; and it is often by way of excuse to ourselves that we fancy things are impossible.”
The word “can’t” is all in our heads. I don’t think of things as impossible on a full term scale. At this point in time, it is not possible for me to do one unassisted pull-up, but at some point in the future, I will be able to do one 🙂
it’s often an excuse, an easy way out. It’s a lot easier to say it’s flat-out impossible than to admit it’s just impossible for you, right now.
That’s why I like Marcus Aurelius’s quote 🙂 . When’s the deadline for the pull-up?
I LOVE THE MIGUEL DE CERVANTES QUOTE!!! Nikola Tesla was “insane” for proposing impossible inventions like “the radio”. Those that thought the world was round and not flat were “insane” and “blasphemous”!!!!!!!
Tesla was a nut! He was also pretty frickin’ brilliant! I’ve read about him on the web, but I need to sit down with his biographer and give it a proper reading. For now, I’m off to attempt the absurd.
Tesla was a genius of extraordinary proportions; and such an enigma. His life story is fascinating.
Here’s a few nuggets from Arthur C. Clarke:
“Every revolutionary idea seems to evoke three stages of reaction. They may be summed up by the phrases: (1) It’s completely impossible. (2) It’s possible, but it’s not worth doing. (3) I said it was a good idea all along.”
Clarke’s three laws:
1. When a distinguished but elderly scientist states that something is possible, he is almost certainly right. When he states that something is impossible, he is probably wrong.
2. The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.
3. Any sufficiently advanced technology is indistinguishable from magic.
Haven’t heard of Arthur C. Clarke before…I’ll have to look him up. So much reading to do!
Nicola Tesla is “the man who invented the 20th century”. More specifically, he invented the 3-phase electric motor. This motor is the one that industry uses to do all the “heavy lifting” in manufacturing. Without the 3-phase electric motor, the 20th century would *not* be the one that you recognize.
Wooo! Very nice, man. My fav:
“The positive thinker sees the invisible, feels the intangible and achieves the impossible.”
If I was smart I would read that every day. Simply thinking positive can go such a long way.
Print it out. Make it your wallpaper. Read it everyday. What’s stopping you 🙂
I really like the Alexander the Great quote – “There is nothing impossible to him who will try”. So true. If you don’t try you’ll never know and it will always seem impossible and out of reach. I also like this quote by Doug Larson:
“Some of the world’s greatest feats were accomplished by people not smart enough to know they were impossible.” This bodes well for me. 🙂
Nice find!
Thanks so much for this post, Joel. They’re all great, but perhaps the ones I most resonate with is Christopher Reeve and Tony Robbins.
One of my favourite Chinese proverbs:
“The person who says it cannot be done, should not interrupt the person who is doing it”
I like it! While some people are busy giving reasons for why something can’t be done, others are busy doing it.
“The word impossible is not in my dictionary.” – Napoleon Bonaparte
How cocky was he? But that’s the kind of mentality we should all have.
Dude, this ended up in spam! Sorry I missed it!
And of course it wasn’t in his dictionary…he spoke French 🙂 Either way, that’s the type of mentality you need to conquer Europe.
“The man who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the one doing it.” – Chinese proverb
I love that one. I might have to include it on the version #2 of this.
Great quotes! I got a few more:
Christopher Morley (1890-1957):
“There is only one success – to be able to spend your life in your own way.”
Anais Nin (1903-1977):
“Life shrinks or expands in proportion to one’s courage.”
Indira Gandhi (1917-1984):
“There are two kinds of people, those who do the work and those who take the credit. Try to be in the first group; there is less competition there.”
John F. Kennedy (1917-1963):
“Conformity is the jailer of freedom and the enemy of growth.”
“Efforts and courage are not enough without purpose and direction.”
“We should not let our fears hold us back from pursuing our hopes.”
ooo, thanks for the additions! I love the Anais Nin one =)
These are great, Joel! Thank you so much for sharing with everyone.
I’m really liking the GM Trevelyan quote. How often does this occur…the dreams & exuberance of youth squelched out by the limitations of adults??!? What else is possible?! How can adults set aside their limitations to allow the dreams of youth to occur?! WOW!
So grateful for your sharing!
Sarah
No problem Sarah! glad you liked ’em. The more & more I read it, the more & more I like the GM quote.
very inspirational all of them 🙂 I always say IMPOSSIBLE IS NOTHING 😉
Thanks Alexandra! I think Adidas says that too =)
Here is my favorite quote on the topic, “The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it.” -Chinese Proverb
That seems to be a favorite around here :).
I’ve got one more, my favorite poem by Shel Silverstein
Listen to the musn’ts child,
Listen to the don’ts,
Listen to the shouldn’ts, the impossibles, the won’ts,
Listen to the neverhaves, then listen close to me.
Anything can happen, child,
Anything can be.
Shel Silverstein is awesome. What collection does this happen to be in?
It’s in Where the Sidewalk Ends. It is one of the few poems I’ve also managed to carry around in my head (aka memorize)
I’ll have to do that.
Brilliant set of quotes there. They’ve given me some important motivation to keep on going when I need to, as has your blog.
Keep on going and keep being awesome. Cheers
Thanks for stopping by Jez :). Hope to see you around!
The Lewis Caroll quote is one of my ultimate favorites. I really like how much emphasis they put on it in the new Alice in Wonderland movie.
I haven’t seen the movie, but I love the quote
These are all great, I really like Paulo Coelho’s. Just thought I’d add on with my favorite quote… “If you believe in the impossible, the incredible can come true”
Thanks Adrian – any idea who that’s from?
Unfortunately I don’t know the author but I first heard it in a movie called Field of Dreams and it’s stuck with me ever since…
Best Movie Ever 🙂
nothing is impossible its just time which take place to make that possible……
Rohit – you are Soooo right. I remember when I was a child, (I am now 72) and there was a Sunday Comic Strip called “Flash Gordon” – about a man who could travel into space – on a regular basis. Now we all knew that was IMPOSSIBLE and that NO ONE could ever travel in space, after all the gravity would prevent it, but it was just FANTASY and made for a good story. And lo and behold, someone DARED to attempt the impossible, and in 1967 when my youngest son was born, the newspaper headlines touted “Men walking on the Moon.”
YES, it truly was TIME that made the IMPOSSIBLE now POSSIBLE! SO instead of giving up on things that just APPEAR impossible, we just need to keep TRYING until such time passes and it becomes POSSIBLE!
I recently went to the State Capital in Austin to ATTEMPT to BLOCK something HORRIBLY wrong in the public schools, and this was after many people stronger than I, insisted it could not be done! But, Little old me, refused to listen, and guess what? I DID IT! I came back from Austin and my feet never touched the ground all the way home! WOW, the feeling of empowerment is unbelievable. I know now I can move ANY mountain that dares to stand my way, for haven’t we all heard, “All things are possible . . with GOD.” And without GOD, I never could have attempted it, let alone achieved it.
I hope that everyone who has read ANY of these comments, will apply what they have learned here, for if they do, they will never regret it, AND they will go far in life. God bless each of you for sharing inspiration with others!
“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t–you’re probably right.” – Henry Ford
Hey Joel,
I normally thought that many things were impossible until I got to see them happening.
I think that’s why I love to watch amazing things happen and now I normally think “I believe it can be possible”.
The right mindset changes everything.
Sergio
Very inspirational Joel! I am starting a website and this was very encouraging for me.
Todd
I like this quote by Fridtjof Hansen:
“The difficult is what takes a little time; the impossible is what takes a little longer.” He was a Norwegian (born 10 October 1861 – 13 May 1930) explorer, scientist, diplomat, humanitarian and Nobel Peace Prize laureate. In his youth he led the team that made the first crossing of the Greenland interior in 1888, and won international fame after reaching a record northern latitude of 86°14′ during his North Pole expedition of 1893–96.
I especially like a commercial (yes… ;)) about “impossible”. This is from Adidas.
“Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live the world they have been given, rather than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It is an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It is a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing.”
(A bit more details here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Adidas#Marketing)
Great collection and very inpiring! I immediately felt that I missed Arthur C. Cark’s quote about the limits of the possible, because I went along with that one for quite some time. But for me it was more like: I really wonder, where the limit is. And when I made a guess and went there — it was not.
But anyway, I like this place and very likely come back. 🙂
How about “Impossible is just an opinion.” by Paulo Coelho
“Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t; you are right.” – Henry Ford
“The difference between the impossible and the possible lies in a person’s determination.” – Tommy Lasorda (Former manager of the LA Dodgers)
Read some of your impossible quotes and though of this one. Your encouraging words are great.
– Graham Page
How about this one: “The person who says it cannot be done should not interrupt the person doing it.” not sure who said it but i like it.
i loved this site and i liked the napoleon bonaparte’s quote:
the word impossible is not in my dictionary
Impossible is not a word. It’s just a reason for someone not to try – Kutless
Great collection! I saw this after I subscribed!
I love this site … here is a few inspirational quotes that I live by …
If you do what you have always done, you will get what you’ve always got
A distraction is only a distraction if you pay attention to it
The man who makes no mistakes does not usually make anything
Fear is something you learn. You are not born with it
Remember, no-one can make you feel inferior without your consent” Eleanor Roosevelt
We cannot discover new oceans until we have the courage
to lose sight of the shore “Muriel Chen”
Success is often achieved by those who don’t know that
failure is inevitable “Coco Chanel”
Every man takes the limits of his own field of vision for the limits of the world “Arthur Schopenhauer”
Thank you so much for this 🙂 and also for “Do the impossible” pdf……. I am making 2014 calender out of it…… My 2014 is going to be awesome!!
So my neighbour has this 2000 Mustang that I really badly want but problem is he’s selling it for 6,200$
And I’m 15 yrs old and the type of jobs I can get are minimal,
My parents say it’s impossible for me to get the mustang at my age. So idk what to do I need some motivation,
When we want to know about the horoscope for love and marriage it is simply
to know about the relationship of two opposite sex people.
Stop making excuses, and take responsibility for your actions.
Mondays, Wednesdays and Sundaysare suitable days for them.
Hi David, Thanks for sharing! These quotes are really amazing. They have power to inspire & motivate anyone. Keep sharing such wonderful quotes.