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Solving the impossible

The U.S. Government spent billions of dollars attempting to land on the moon. Many people complained that the money should have been spent on poverty.

Randy Pausch once responded,

“When you use money to fight poverty, it can be of great value, but too often, you’re working at the margins. When you’re putting people on the moon, you’re inspiring all of us to achieve the maximum of human potential, which is how our greatest problems will eventually be solved.”

Our greatest breakthroughs happen when we aren’t focusing on the issue at hand, but instead broadcasting our most ambitious goals.

By working on things that fascinate us, we create industries that don’t yet exist and solve problems we never imagined possible.

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Setbacks by the thousand

Edison had 1,000 documented failed designs of the light bulb.

It took the Wright brothers 1,000 trials to increase their distance traveled by a mere 200 feet.

Colonel Sanders’ famous secret chicken recipe was rejected over 1,000 times before KFC accepted it.

It’s easy to be discouraged by failure. Brick walls are being built around us everyday. At first glance they may seem like they are keeping us out, but if you stick around long enough, you’ll find something different.

Brick walls are there to give us a chance to show how badly we want something.

Walt Disney was fired from a newspaper company because he “lacked imagination and had no good ideas.”

When Walt Disney finally made it, he famously said,

“If you can dream it, you can do it.”

… BAM take that brick wall.

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Don’t be afraid to ask for help

In a recent study, participants were asked to go out in NYC and ask random strangers to…

  • Fill out a survey – they estimated that 25% of strangers would do it, but 50% did
  • Borrow a cell phone – they estimated that 30% would say yes, but 48% did
  • Be walked to a nearby gym – they estimated 14%, but 43% did

Sometimes we underestimate others’ willingness to help. We tend to focus on the costs of saying yes, overlooking the costs of saying no.

The whole is greater than the sum of the parts, all you have to do is ask.

Study found in Adam Grant‘s book, “Give and Take, A Revolutionary Guide to Success.”