IMPOSSIBLE IS NOTHING

Recently, one of my favourite pastimes ( like millions of others has been to watch documentaries or docu-series on the many streaming channels that we have available to us right now.

Hearing the life stories of famous people (whether they are sportspeople, musicians, business leaders, activists or politicians) it is very clear to me that there are certain things that individuals are born with while other attributes that others are learnt - mostly through tough lessons or incidents these individuals go through.

The stories that I have learnt the most from include sportspeople like Tiger Woods, Michael Jordan, soccer star Pele - to musicians like Freddy Mercury, Tina Turner and Billie Eilish.

If we include Historical figures like Maya Angelou, Emily Dickinson and Thomas Edison, business leaders such as Jack Welsh, Rudi Guilliani and Roman Abromovitsz, there does seem to be a common theme that plays through in the lives of all these people....and countless others.

Throw in some very different outlooks on life than activists such as Greta Thunberg or philosophers like Socrates, Buddha or Confucius had and it is clear (to me at least) that one must NEVER SAY NEVER. Most of the names mentioned above were born with a GOD GIVEN talent that they had identified early on in their lives, but so did countless others. Those that rise to the top are able to fully immerse themselves in the belief that THEY WILL SUCCEED AND NOTHING OR NO ONE WILL STAND IN THEIR WAY.

There are many occasions where I disagree with the manner in which certain people almost force their thinking upon others or walk over others to get to the top but one can only admire the self belief and refusal they all have in the way society says they need to behave or act.

THE title of this blog actually comes from my first visit to China around 15 years ago. I was so excited to visit and my eyes and ears were taking everything in. The moment that sticks out was when I visited a lovely coastal town called XIAMEN, north or HONG KONG. While driving next to the ocean, one could actually see the island of TAIWAN in the distance - an island country that still fascinates me due to their defiance of the Chinese government - their Goliath that they have managed to keep at arms length...anyway - this is probably another blog for the future.

China in the early 21st century was 'WESTERNISING' itself for international trade at an incredible speed. Eating was a greater challenge then than it is now and after a week of consuming rather foreign foods (literally in more ways that one can imagine...) I spotted the GOLDEN ARCH of McDonalds. A BURGER - could this be possible ?

The short answer was - yes, i had a burger but 15 years later I have my own opinion of what the patty was made of - I cant get myself to let you know here....but Alfred Hitchcock (if he was alive today...) would have loved to hear the rest of the story.

My increased walking speed to the ''burger'' shop saw me go past a massive sign on the road that I honestly though was YET ANOTHER horribly translated sign.

IMPOSSIBLE IS NOTHING....that does not make sense ! And it was advertising ADIDAS sports clothing.... MY CHINAS - YOU GOT THIS SIGN HORRIBLY WRONG...or so I thought.

It was only many years later that I discovered that this was one of the great Mohamed Ali's famous quotes when he was at the peak of his career. Getting his thoughts behind this statement does start to make sense when you spend time understanding the way he lived his life.

Ali, Pele, Tiger and Air Jordan - sporting gods in their own rights over the past 50 to 70 years. But I would seriously NOT want to have lived their lives. Ali - outspoken and loathed by his own government,

Tiger turned into something of a machine by his father but we remember his for his famous arrests for substance (and spousal) abuse

Michael Jordan's beloved and caring father murdered. The press blamed MJ for the murder due to his gambling problem. He retired from the sport as a result of the stress. The picture on the right was when he collapsed and sobbed I MISS YOU DAD after winning the 1996 NBA championship

Pele was brought up in extreme poverty and never fully handled the stardom. He was famously forced to play in the 1970 World Cup by the Brazilian autocratic government after having retired a few years earlier.

As humans, we are constantly looking for heros to look up to...people that inspire us and motivate us to attempt to become better individuals. BUT, the dark side of us is disturbing. We truly love to see these earth declared gods fall and when they do, we trample on them because it makes us feel alive and normal. - WTF ( WHAT THE FAKE !)

I love to see these proverbial ''fighters'' overcome the odds and prove to us all that

IMPOSSIBLE IS (INDEED) NOTHING

The Bible is where I now turn my thoughts.

The heroes we find here have similar stories to countless others in history. RAGS TO RICHES and BACK TO RAGS....

ABRAHAM, MOSES, DAVID, JONAH, ELIJAH, DANIEL etc etc etc.

Normal people called to do great things....but they faced the same self doubts, ridicule from those around them and an angered GOD

As I move closer to the point of my message, I feel my ultimate hero is in fact JOB.....go read his story if you dont know it. WOW WOW WOW....it is time for NETFLIX to get this story to us all.

I also want to point out that we have all been placed on this planet to be our best, to thrive and to succeed. The problem is that the measures that society puts on us all to achieve is NOT REALISTIC or SUSTAINABLE How many millions have lived the correct way, obeying the rules NOT set by mortals, and how many have gone to another destination without us ever remembering their names. I hope you agree with me when I declare them the true heroes.

in closing...BE A PERSON OF INTEGRITY

The great King Solomon – a man know for his extraordinary power and wealth once said,

“A good name is worth more than great riches.”