Many people have quoted Muhammed Ali since his recent passing. There have been lots of great quotes repeated. Some people even wrote and published long eulogies on their blogs. Something that Muhammed Ali once said really resonates with me. It comes to me when my clients tell me they cannot do something.
Too often, I hear the words “we can’t do that,” “we have never done that before,” or “that’s not the way we do it around here.” At the Partnership Group – Sponsorship Specialists®, we work with our clients to try to move them to be “can do” organizations rather than “can’t do” organizations. Sure there are challenges. Sure there are hurdles. But they can be overcome. Yes, we can change when change is right. Yes, we can do things differently. We just have to discover how. Recently, I have been so proud of three of our clients that have truly made the transition from “can’t do” to “CAN DO.” They weren’t overnight changes. They were transitions, and for some, transformational. They overcame the “impossible” and made things work to make their sponsorship programs and their organizations winners.
What does this have to do with Muhammed Ali?—a lot. He was an inspiration to many, but most of all, he called things as they were. I love his quote on “impossible.” I often recite it to myself when I am working on our own business and when with clients. You may have read this before. If so, great! Here is a chance to read it again. If you have not seen it before, read on and ponder yourself, your organization, and your future.
Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they have been given than to explore the power they have to change it.
Impossible is not a fact. It is an opinion.
Impossible is not a declaration. It is a dare.
Impossible is potential.
Impossible is temporary.
Impossible is nothing.
—Muhammad Ali
Thanks for reading and helping me to reach my potential while helping those around me.
© 2016. All rights reserved.
Just a little heads-up: I’ve seen that quote attributed to Ali a few times but he never said a word of it. It’s copy from an adidas ad campaign in the early 2000s created by TBWA. His daughter actually does the voiceover of that quote but neither one of them wrote it. “Impossible is nothing” was adidas’ tagline for a number of years before they changed it to something else.
Hey thanks for that! And to think all those years I thought it was Ali! I still think the entire quote is meaningful and has been helpful to me, even if it was an Adidas tag line. But thanks for setting the record straight! And thanks for reading! Brent
The quote I use often to inspire my team as it relates to a “can do” attitude is one I read a few years ago by Nelson Mandela – “It always seem impossible until it is done”.
Thanks for the inspiration Brent.