Set sail for the impossible

The secret of life is to have a task, something you bring everything to, every minute of the day for your whole life. And the most important thing is: It must be something you cannot possibly do.

~ Henry Moore

I posted a while ago on the Worthwhile blog about putting your favorite quote to work. When I ran across this quote on Jennifer Warwick's blog, it got me thinking how it applies to where we go in our careers, and our lives in general.

I think most of us have a tendency to take the coastal sailing approach to dreams. It's hard for us to believe that there really is land across the water, so we stick to the coastlines, only letting ourselves dream as far as we can "realistically" see. When our dreams start to drift out past our immediate line of sight, we start telling ourselves how wildly unrealistic, improbable, and impractical that is.

What we don't take into account is what I call The Horizon Effect. What we can see changes as we move forward. What was out of sight and unlikely yesterday becomes distantly possible today, and solidly achievable tomorrow.

By sticking to the coastline, we limit what the future can become.

So here's a question to ponder as you put this quote to work. Where are you sticking to the coastline in your own life? What would your dreams look like if you set your sights on the impossible?

--

Curt Rosengren, Passion Catalyst (sm)

Time for a career change? Launch it with...
The Occupational Adventure Guide:
A Travel Guide to the Career of Your Dreams

Comments

[Marc Sirkin]

I love this quote and love the challenge it poses... thanks for making me think before I get caught up in the day.

[Tim]

Curt, I like your "Horizon Effect"--it is so true. I will keep this in mind as I think toward my future goals and dreams. Great work!

[Tim]

Curt, I like your "Horizon Effect"--it is so true. I will keep this in mind as I think toward my future goals and dreams. Great work!

[Tim]

Curt, I like your "Horizon Effect"--it is so true. I will keep this in mind as I think toward my future goals and dreams. Great work!

[Hiren Shah]

"Man cannot discover new oceans unless he has the courage to lose sight with the shore".- Andre Gide . Some of the greatest achievements have been made with lateral thinking or thinking out of the box but that should be done with circumspection as every occupation's market profile is different and it may even be futile to expect any level of success in certain occupations. Barring that, going for the impossible may turn out to be a profitable adventure. India's greatest Entrepreneur, the late Dhirubhai Ambani is a lving testimonial- from next to nothing and being a pertol pump attendent he created a mega empire and India's largest private sector company by continously dreaming and achieving the impossible in all areas of management. He genunely had a passion for business.

[Josh Hinds]

Well said :-) I particularly liked how you said, "The Horizon Effect. What we can see changes as we move forward. What was out of sight and unlikely yesterday becomes distantly possible today, and solidly achievable tomorrow."

It really is true how what we believe we are capable of expands as we move in new directions. I think there's a lot to be said about stretching ones self past their comfort zone... All the best, Josh :-)