Henry Ford decided to produce his now famous V8 engine.  He had, fixed in his mind, the exact image of what he wanted his new engine to look like – all 8 cylinders were to be cast in one block.  He sat down with his engineers to produce a design, but his engineers were unanimous, telling Ford what he wanted was simply impossible to achieve. Ford said, “Produce it anyway.”

“But,” they replied, “it’s impossible."

“Go ahead,” Ford commanded, “and stay on the job until you succeed, no matter how much time is required.”

So the engineers went ahead as instructed – they really had no option if they wanted to keep their jobs.  Six months passed, and nothing happened.  The engineers tried every conceivable plan to meet Ford’s orders, but the thing seemed out of the question: “impossible!”  At the end of the year Ford checked in with his engineers and they still had nothing to show him – they had found no way to build what he wanted.

“Go right ahead,” said Ford. “I want it, and I’ll have it.”  So they kept forging ahead… and achieved it.

If you can conceive of it – you can achieve it.  It’s been proven time and time again.  Thomas Edison imagined a lamp powered by electricity, and despite having over 10,000 failures, we have him to thank for our brightly lit houses, our X-boxes (?!), our refrigerators.

Marconi dreamed a way of to harness the intangible forces of the ether – a way to connect the most humble of homes and most stately of mansions.  His “friends” admitted him for psychiatric evaluation when he announced he’d discovered a way to send messages through the air without the aid of wires, or any other physical means.  His invention?  The radio.

Be as GREAT as you can imagine.  Set your sights on BIG goals, not little ones. Settling for less, or deciding to be small to keep others happy, helps no one.  Be careful whom you listen to and share your dreams with.

And, as Winston Churchill said, “Never, never give up.”

The Vice President of Columbia told this actor that he was never going to make it in the business. The actor went on to enjoy an acting career that so far has spanned 4 decades.  He has been ranked #1 in the Top 100 Movie Stars Of All Time, and today is still the third highest grossing U.S. domestic box-office star.  The actor? - Harrison Ford

This author’s first book was rejected by 12 publishing houses and sixteen agents. The author? John Grisham.

This band was turned down by a recording company that told them "We don't like your sound, and guitar music is on the way out." They were talking about the Beatles.

Told by a music teacher, "As a composer you are hopeless!" - Beethoven

Fired from a newspaper because he "lacked imagination and had no original ideas" - Walt Disney

Were told by Publishers that "anthologies didn't sell" and the book was "too positive."  Rejected a total of 140 times. The book? Chicken Soup for the Soul: it now has 65 different titles and has sold over 80 million copies all over the world.

No matter what challenges you might be facing right now, don’t let anyone push you off your path. 

Within every acorn lies a mighty oak tree.  But remember, the gardener has to actually take action and plant the acorn for it to grow.

So too do you have to put your ideas into action.

The best way forward is always through.  Make something happen.