Mission Impossible

Courtesy of freedigitalphotos.net/ Salvatore Vuono

I’m sure you have things you dream of doing that will change the world… or at least your world. They come to mind often but those genius ideas are overshadowed by the fact that it seems impossible to accomplish.

Well, I’ve studied the impossible for decades. I’ve been in more than my share of impossible situations. The result? I’ve learned impossible isn’t really.

One of the greatest examples of this in American history happened two days after the launch of Apollo 13 NASA space craft. 55 hours and 46 minutes into the mission, one of the two oxygen tanks exploded, rendering the command module, well, dead.

There was no equipment onboard to repair it. NASA did not have the ability to mount any sort of in space rescue. Three men’s lives were at stake and things got worse by the minute. It was absolutely impossible for those astronauts to return safely to Earth.

Yet, NASA took the stance that failure was not an option. They worked around the clock trying to figure a way to bring the spacecraft home. They figured out ways to jerry-rig solutions to each of the life threatening impossibilities that came up.

Six days after Apollo 13 blasted off from Cape Canaveral, it splashed down in the Pacific Ocean, safely bringing the astronauts home. By not accepting failure and bringing their A game, NASA figured out a way to do the impossible… with nothing.

You have the same ability as NASA did. Oh, I know what you’re thinking. They’re brainiac scientists. True enough but they didn’t have any more to work with than you do right now. In fact, you most likely have more. You can do what NASA did, if you take the same steps they took:

DO NOT accept failure. Mission Commander, Gene Kranz, made it clear to everyone that failure was off the table. It was not a matter of whether they would succeed, but rather HOW they would.

Think outside the box. Almost everything they had onboard the crippled spacecraft had to be manipulated to perform another function. That innovative thinking is what kept the astronauts alive.

NEVER, NEVER, NEVER give up! Even when mission control lost radio contact with the spacecraft upon re-entry, NASA continued with the mission. Things looked bleak but they stayed focused. Finally, they heard Jim Lovell’s voice over the radio having splashed down safely in the ocean.

You have the ability, right now, to do the impossible with nothing in your own life. The only question is whether or not you will rise to the challenge. You owe it to yourself and to the world to do it. Will you?

Today’s challenge:Take time to write down those dreams that you’ve felt are impossible. Then jump outside your box and think of specific things you can do that will move you toward living those dreams.

What are your impossible dreams? What makes them seem impossible to you? Why not share here.