Achieving the Impossible

Embracing the Journey: Unleashing Your Potential and Achieving the Impossible Through Post-Traumatic Growth

The pursuit of seemingly impossible goals is not only about the end result. It’s also about embracing the journey with passion, emotion, and connections. I recently had the opportunity to hear, meet and draw inspiration from Ben Nemtin's (Make the Impossible Possible ) experiences. This reminded me of the concept of Post-Traumatic Growth, and valuable insights from two articles I read years ago in?Harvard Business Review "Realizing What You're Made Of ” by Glenn E Mangurian and "How the Best of the Best Get Better and Better " by Graham Jones. Today I‘ll explore how we can unleash our potential, the power of overcoming trauma, building meaningful relationships, and achieving the impossible. I will also share how I like to apply these concepts to something big I’m working on. While there is no magic wish that will make “it” happen for any of us, I believe there are some proven ways of thinking and actions that will help along the way. I discuss eight of them herein.

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1. Discovering Your Passion: Ben's story highlights the power of finding and pursuing our passions relentlessly. Embracing our passions and relentlessly pursuing our dreams can be the driving force behind our success.
2. Post-Traumatic Growth: We can turn our hardships into opportunities for growth and self-improvement by embracing the concept of Post-Traumatic Growth. This allows us to see beyond the pain and find meaning in our struggles, fueling our determination to achieve the impossible.
3. Overcoming Fear and Challenges: By embracing our vulnerability and treating setbacks as learning experiences, we can harness our emotions to fuel our determination and drive towards achieving the impossible.
4. Building Connections: The journey towards achieving the impossible often leads to the development of meaningful relationships. These bonds not only provide support and encouragement but also enrich our lives and add depth to our accomplishments.
5. Gratitude and Giving Back: Achieving the impossible is not just about personal success but also about recognizing our opportunities and using our achievements to give back to others.
6. Embracing Vulnerability and Authenticity: By acknowledging our fears, emotions, and challenges, we open ourselves up to growth and transformation, allowing us to reach our full potential.
7. Thriving Under Pressure: By embracing challenges and focusing on our own excellence, we can develop mental toughness and rise to the top of our fields.
8. Setting Long-Term Goals: The path to success is often paved with small, carefully planned achievements. This approach ensures that our performance peaks at critical moments, propelling us towards achieving the impossible.

Discovering Your Passion:

Ben story highlights the power of finding and pursuing your passions relentlessly. His journey began with a list of "100 things to do before you die" and led to a life filled with adventure and inspiration at a still young age (I can’t wait to see where he and his cohorts go next). One remarkable example from his list is playing basketball with President Obama. You really need to hear Ben tell the story, but?those guys just never gave up and put themselves in position to make it happen, even though they really had no control over it.?This controlled their actions and gave themselves maximum opportunity to be in the “right place” at the “right time”, which in this case was the White House basketball court (not an easy place to get mind you). I’ve seen so many people give up before even trying because they think something is unattainable.?The only way you guarantee not achieving the impossible is by not taking the first step. Embracing our passions and relentlessly pursuing our dreams can be the driving force behind our success.

Post-Traumatic Growth:

We hear a lot about PTSD today and the terrible impact it has on so many. Whether from actual military service (I have spent time with many Veterans who shared some of their journeys) or other physical or emotional trauma (accident, violent crime, abuse, homelessness) or from more day to day situations that also clearly can cause it, it’s an epidemic across the nation.?That said, there are positives that can come from traumatic experiences.?Sometimes it takes a while to realize these and be able to heal and benefit from them, but it’s important to realize this is possible. Nothing I’m saying here is to suggest it is easy or automatic, but according to Psychology Today, Post-Traumatic Growth is the positive psychological change that arises as a result of struggling with highly challenging life circumstances. It demonstrates our capacity to adapt and transform, finding strength in adversity. By embracing this concept, we can turn our hardships into opportunities for growth and self-improvement.

As a serial entrepreneur, I have experienced numerous setbacks over the years. Some of these obstacles seemed insurmountable, like business-ending situations that would cause most people to give up and in some cases ended my ventures. But by staying focused on what I controlled and what I did not control, I persevered and ultimately prevailed many more times than I did not. Earlier on in life, I dealt with child abuse first hand in a number of situations that involved friends, family members and me.?While I do not choose to share the details of these traumatic experiences here, I am truly grateful today having lived through them and overcome them peronsally.?I’m also incredible blessed to have had an incredible amount of love and support by others in doing so. I could not have done it alone.?Getting to the point of forgiveness has been difficult, but the strength it has given me is hard to fully describe.?Let’s just say nothing phases me.?This, I have learned, is a superpower.

Going through tough times personally or professionally does indeed make you stronger, but it certainly doesn't feel that way while it's happening. Embracing Post-Traumatic Growth allows us to see beyond the pain and find meaning in our struggles, fueling our determination to achieve the impossible.

Overcoming Fear and Challenges:

Fear and challenges are inevitable parts of our journey to achieve the impossible. Ben's story teaches us to face our fears and push past our limitations. One example from his list includes flying a fighter jet, which required overcoming fears and embracing challenges. Similarly, Graham Jones' article on elite performers demonstrates the importance of resilience, mental toughness, and learning from setbacks.

In the face of adversity, it's essential to remind ourselves of our strengths, our goals, and the support systems we have in place. This mindset allows us to confront challenges head-on and transform seemingly insurmountable obstacles into opportunities for growth. By embracing our vulnerability and treating setbacks as learning experiences, we can harness our emotions to fuel our determination and drive towards achieving the impossible.

Building Connections:

The journey towards achieving the impossible often leads to the development of meaningful relationships. Both Ben’s story and The HBS articles emphasize the importance of forging connections with others who share our passions. These bonds not only provide support and encouragement but also enrich our lives and add depth to our accomplishments. I’ve certainly found that in our?DignityMoves.org ?journey to end unsheltered homelessness. The Passion of the full time team led by Elizabeth Funk and the whole board / advisory board and co-founder group have been nothing but inspiring and motivational in my own journey.

Gratitude and Giving Back:

This brings me to my own attitude of gratitude and how it plays into doing big things. Achieving the impossible is not just about personal success but also about recognizing our opportunities and using our achievements to give back to others. Ben's journey has led him to help others accomplish their dreams, such as helping a stranger deliver a baby in a remote village, helping a young lady get a bionic arm she could not afford and so many other situations he and his “The Hidden Life” team put themselves in, all exemplifying the importance of giving back and fostering a sense of gratitude.?I really love this.

I find the more I appreciate both the good and the bad, the more I’m able to accomplish.?I’m now thankful for difficult situations and I try to learn something from each of them.?Have to wait in a long line to check out at a store or Coffee shop?, I try to enjoy the moment and start thinking about the people around me and their possible challenges or stories. Sometimes it causes a conversation which frankly, in the past I would have avoided, but yesterday I learned about a gentleman who lost his wife two years ago after they had spent the prior five years building their dream home here in Ventura.?He was clearly making the best of it in his retirement, but I could see the sadness in his eyes.?Each of us has a story.?None of us gets out of here alive.?Embrace it.?Here is a “Morning Prayer” shared with me by?Jim Warner ?that I use often:

Morning Prayer

Let me awaken every morning and be thankful for what God has brought me.

Let me awaken every morning knowing things are as they are meant to be.

Let me awaken every morning knowing life is a journey and I am just a part.

Let me awaken every morning knowing the day will bring challenges, opportunities and learning experiences.

Let me awaken every morning with self-love and self-acceptance, so I may be more tolerant of myself and others.

Let me awaken every morning with an open heart, so love may rush in and out like the tide of the mighty ocean.

Embracing Vulnerability and Authenticity:

Glenn E Mangurian’s powerful article, "Realizing What You're Made Of," sheds light on the essential role of vulnerability and authenticity in our quest to achieve the seemingly impossible. Paralyzed at 52, Glenn had a choice to make. Embrace his circumstance and build from it or wallow in it.?

Resilience is not about deflecting challenges but about absorbing them and rebounding stronger than before. - Glenn E Mangurian

Glenn chose to go forward. By courageously acknowledging our fears, emotions, and challenges, we create a space for growth and transformation within ourselves. This journey of self-discovery and self-acceptance empowers us to embrace our true selves and reach our full potential. Overcoming trauma arms us with that superpower I mentioned earlier, but always keeping in mind that we are a work in progress and have more to learn. As we navigate through life's uncertainties, we must remember that vulnerability and authenticity are our guiding lights on the path to achieving the impossible. Now that I do this often, I find others sharing their stores more and more and opening up to their authentic selves (See?Everybody Hurts ).?This is far different and more rewarding than the typical small talk that happens with surface conversations.

Thriving Under Pressure:

In Graham Jones' article "How the Best of the Best Get Better and Better," elite performers in sports and business are described as having the ability to thrive under pressure. The story of English miler Roger Bannister breaking the four-minute mile barrier, once thought to be impossible, illustrates this mindset.

By embracing challenges and focusing on our own excellence, we can develop mental toughness and rise to the top of our fields.?I wrote about this in more detail in 2015:?https://smokewallin.substack.com/p/thrive-under-pressure .?A close to home example of this is when we founded DignityMoves during the height of the Pandemic.?This was an extremely stressful time for all of us personally and many of us had struggling businesses.?That said, we found a higher goal and in the midst of that pressure found a way to give back while under many other pressures.

Setting Long-Term Goals:

The path to success is often paved with small, carefully planned achievements. Graham Jones' article highlights Adrian Moorhouse's Olympic gold medal success in swimming as an example of setting long-term goals and breaking them down into manageable short-term objectives. This approach ensures that our performance peaks at critical moments, propelling us towards achieving the impossible.

That brings me to our next impossible goal: ending unsheltered homelessness.?I will write about this in the days to come but suffice it to say we now know, not only is this possible, we have found a way to make it happen.??

The journey to achieving the impossible is a powerful blend of passion, emotion, and connections, supported by the concept of Post-Traumatic Growth. Drawing inspiration from the experiences of Ben Nemtin, Deborah Merrill Sands, Graham Jones, and my own entrepreneurial and personal journey, we can recognize that setbacks are a natural part of the process. By embracing our vulnerabilities, forging strong connections, and remaining focused on our goals, we can overcome adversity and harness the strength required to achieve the impossible. As we walk this path, we must remember to cherish the journey, appreciate the growth, and give back to those around us, using our triumphs as a catalyst for positive change in the world.