How to Turn Mission Impossible Into Mission Possible

Sometimes, the dreams and aspirations that we have in our lives seem like mission impossible.

They’re so remote and far off that they seem out of reach, so we give up on our dreams and don’t even try.

But your life has a purpose and there’s a mission to be accomplished, if you choose to accept it.

I want to encourage you today to not be afraid of attaining the impossible and hope that the following list helps you to realise that maybe you really can do something remarkable with your life.

You can turn mission impossible into mission possible, if you:

The Wise General – A Story About the Value of Self Belief

Long ago, there was a battle about to take place.

One of the generals was talking about tactics with his team of officers.

An officer interrupted him and explained that he thought that the strategy was a waste of time.

“The gods have already decided who will win.” he proclaimed.

“Are you suggesting that fate has decided the result in advance?”  the general asked.

“Yes, I am.” the officer responded.

The general took a coin out of his pocket and said, “So if I toss this coin and it comes up heads, we win, but if it’s tails we lose.  Is that how fate works?”

6 Job Hunting Tips For Over 50’s

I heard a statistic last week that was both surprising and disturbing.

The average amount of time that it takes for someone over 55 to find a job in Australia is 75 weeks.

Wow!

In our career development business, Karen and I come across a lot of older job seekers, many who are frustrated and at their wit’s end with their attempts to land a job.

Here are the top tips that I share with them to bring that average of 75 weeks down to something more acceptable:

Where Does Inspiration Come From?

As someone who writes and speaks often, I am always on the look out for inspiration.

Everyone’s different, but for me, here’s where my inspiration comes from.

It comes from:

• reading great books and blogs
• sharing ideas and brainstorming with my wife, Karen
• watching my kids growing up
• being outside and feeling the sun shining on my face

You Don’t Have To Be a Back-up Singer Forever

A Sennheiser Microphone (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Some back-up singers have amazing voices.

They are talented vocalists, with just as much ability as those in the front.

But they never seem to make it to the microphone in the spotlight.

It’s never their name headlining the concert, their face on the album cover, their name that everyone’s chanting.

And after a few years of singing back-up, they think that this is all there is.

Their dreams get a little bit smaller, their ambition is diminished.

In this world, there are a lot of back-up singer equivalents.

Are You Excited About Starting or Finishing?

Legendary cellist Jacqueline Du Pre was six years old when she had her first competition.

She was seen running down one of the corridors, holding her cello above her head excitedly with a huge grin on her face.

An adult walking past saw her expression and interpreted it as relief.

“I can see that you’ve had your chance to play.”

Jacqueline answered enthusiastically, “No, no.  I’m about to!”

In Every Acorn is an Oak Tree

A group of acorns. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

One of nature’s great miracles is that from something so small as an acorn, a massive oak tree grows.

It’s not an overnight event, but after years of nourishment and growth, the small seed becomes something large and impressive.

Sometimes, we can feel small and insignificant.

Sometimes, we can believe that we can’t be anything impressive or influential.

Sometimes, we can place limits on our potential to grow into something magnificent.

Let me encourage you today that in every acorn, an oak tree is waiting to grow.

You Don’t Have To Lead

You really don’t have to lead.

You can allow life to float past and watch it go by.

You can choose to let others make decisions for you.

You can choose a life of anonymity.

You can choose to blame those who do choose to lead when things go wrong in your organisation.

Waiting For the Right Time

There was a young man with a dream.

He was a talented singer and he dreamed of using his gift to become a star.

When he was in high school, he had a chance to follow his dream.

But he thought that he was too young and he wanted to focus on his schooling, so he waited for the right time.

Then he went to university and had another chance to follow his dream.

Who Are You Comparing Yourself To?

I met a remarkable person recently in my office.

He has a PhD, has worked on international space programs, has been a noted academic on three continents and is a globally recognised expert in his field all before the age of 40.

Yet for all of his achievements so far, I could see that he had a crisis of confidence.

When I asked him why that was, he explained that he wishes that he had done more with his life.

When he compared himself with other PhD students from his university days, he felt as though they had achieved more.  They had more papers published, more prestigious job titles and had worked on higher profile projects.

What a dangerous place to be!