Whether you think you can or think you can’t…

I find advertising slogans fascinating - how long it takes ad executives to carefully craft them in order to capture the attention of their ideal customer. The ones which resonate with me, stay with me and two aspirational advert slogans I like from a few years back are Toyota’s Start your impossible and Samsung’s “We’re born to do what can’t be done - Do what you can’t”  

The Toyota advert’s images crossed cultures, faiths, levels of abilities as well as ages and the advert’s ethos was: don’t let anything stop you – go for it. Samsung’s advert was full of instances in life when we might metaphorically and physically fall but by steeling ourselves with a mentality of try and try again, we can achieve. It might be weathering the scuffs and scrapes learning to ride a bike, confronting our nemesis on our first football match, to the more unexpected curve balls life throws at us which we face head-on to overcome.

The cynical part of me knows these slogans are ad execs hitting the touchstone of inclusivity which so much of society is vitally championing and striving for. Advertisers need to be in touch with the zeitgeist of our times and this is an important movement which should be perpetuated. Let’s face it, even if they are adverts, at least the message is being communicated through mainstream media, which hopefully means it’s being recognised and taken on board by the masses. Overlooking that they are slogans selling a product, the message is still a valid and significant one.

Only we can stop ourselves achieving – through self-imposed barriers whether it be inertia, fear of failure, fear of success, low self-esteem, or through listening to the naysayers. Or maybe because of not feeling worthy of having a brilliant life. Yes, there are sometimes the lighthouses – those immovable obstacles which we have no control over – the passage of time, the weather, people whose attitudes we can’t change – but it is possible to reframe the way we think about these hurdles though, to navigate successfully around them. Reframe these perceived difficulties by thinking: if I knew the answer, what would it be? This totally shifts your mindset from one of perhaps fog, anxiety disappointment and frustration, to an open and resourceful one whereby clarity is possible. It’s amazing the difference an altered perspective can have.

Don’t let anyone tell you that something is impossible. History is littered with examples of successes laughing in the face of impossible. To achieve your desired goal may take many attempts. Take Thomas Edison as an example - he successfully produced the first commercially viable light bulb after thousands of attempts: "I've not failed, I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work," the man himself once said.

The narration in Toyota’s advert says: “There’s something impossible out there, waiting for you and it’s telling you, you can’t. But still, you try.”  A Japanese Proverb says: "Fall seven times and stand up eight."

Never give up on your goal. It can be a winding and challenging path to your success but hold your self-belief dear to you and be tenacious. I think this illustration says it all... 

“Nothing is impossible. The word itself says ‘I’m possible’.” Audrey Hepburn