The Year of the Impossible

39,447,360.

Thirty-nine million, four hundred and forty-seven thousand, three hundred and sixty.

That sounds like a pretty big number, right?

However, if you live to the age of 75, this is approximately the number of minutes that you will breathe air for. Maybe it isn’t such a huge number after all.

In 2018, you will have 525,600 minutes to spend, if you live for the entire year. As I write this post, more than 6,000 have already passed for me. Time, indeed, waits for no one.

Time is life. How you spend your time, then, is how you spend your life. There are no refunds, either.

2018 is upon us, and the clock is ticking inexorably by.

How will you spend the 525,600 precious minutes of 2018?

I have an idea for you – why not spend 2018 attempting the impossible?

Too many people fritter away the opportunities and challenges of life by settling for mediocrity, exchanging the incredible for the ordinary, the exciting for the uninspiring, and the fantastic for the mundane. They live an average life.

Why?

It is the easy way. An ordinary 2018 requires no risk. It doesn’t demand that you leave your comfort zone and embrace your fears. An average life requires only a modicum of effort, agony, risk, failure, learning, and persistence. Mediocrity is the well-worn path, traversed by most pilgrims, and embraced by the unadventurous. It is safe – and dull.

Why would you settle for anything less than a life that involves great work?

For those of you that know my rather unusual story, the last 18 months have been a crazy, terrifying and amazing roller-coaster ride. There truly has never been a dull moment, and I think I’ve forgotten what a comfort zone is! How did it begin? It began with what had to be done. Our vision of innovation required some pretty difficult things to be done, and necessity is the mother of invention:

Every day I had to face my fears and dive into the unknown. Boy, did I need courage! Thankfully, my Salesforce org home page gave me constant inspiration to attempt the impossible:

Has it been difficult? Yes. Tiring? Absolutely. Stressful? At times. But, the gain has been worth the pain. Boy, am I glad that I didn’t quit!

So, what’s on my agenda for 2018? Oh, nothing much – just transitioning into the role of CIO and co-founder of a new BI startup, building advanced analytics solutions on the Salesforce Einstein platform. 😱 Eighteen months ago, I had no idea what Salesforce was, never mind Pardot or Einstein Analytics, and now I’m preparing to become a Salesforce Consulting partner, Chief Information Officer, and business owner. Wow…

Agggghhhh! It isn’t scary – it’s terrifying. It’s also very exciting. You see,

How about you, friend? What’s on your agenda? What giant are you hoping to take down with just a sling and a few stones? How do you plan to jump out of your comfort zone and launch into the deep? What drives you and inspires you? Hopefully you’re going somewhere exciting! You may not have the opportunities or resources that some others have, but will you do the very best with what you do have? Are you going to make 2018 the year of the impossible? If so, here are a few thoughts that might be of some help.

What does it take to achieve the impossible in 2018?

Vision. King Solomon said, “Where there is no vision, the people perish.” If you aim at nothing, you will surely hit it. Think big! Make sure, though, that your dreams are worthy of your time and sacrifice – it has to be about much more than making money and being thought of as “successful”. Dream well and do good.
Faith. No one ever succeeded without belief. Henry Ford said, “Whether you think you can, or you think you can’t – you’re right.” Nothing kills dreams quicker than giving in to fear and doubt.
Risk. What great accomplishment was performed without significant risk? None! At the very minimum, you must risk failure and embarrassment. Some dreams require far greater risk, even to the point of risking all that is near and dear. However, it is far better to embrace risk than to endure regret.
Courage. Being courageous is simply doing it afraid. Everything you want in life is on the other side of fear, so press on through the fear barrier.
Labour. Thomas Edison said that there is no substitute for hard work. If you’re lazy and unmotivated, stick to mediocrity.
Learning. If you’re too “big” to learn, you’re too small to succeed.
Partnership. No man is an island. You cannot do this on your own! Personally, I have a great relationship with my friend, CEO, and business partner, Neil, and we strengthen and challenge each other on the journey.
Persistence. Never give up. Just keep trying! Remember why you started, and continue pressing on.