How To Make the Impossible Possible (a must-see TEDx talk by Scott Dinsmore)

“EVERYTHING wasn’t possible…until someone did it.”

Scott Dinsmore

Roger Bannister breaking the 4 minute mile barrier

Scott Dinsmore recently gave a brilliant TEDx talk in San Francisco about doing work you love.

I don’t want to spoil it because it’s well worth your time to spend 18 minutes watching this today (VIDEO IS BELOW). His passion and wisdom will leave you jumping off the walls trying to figure out how to make your mark in the world.

Scott tells the story about Roger Bannister, who was the first person in the world to run the mile under 4 minutes. Historians said that would never happen. Low and behold, after Bannister broke 4 minutes, 16 others broke it w/in 2 months.

I can’t tell you how much I love hearing this. I’ve heard it many times before but I can hear it every day and it would still have the same impact. It gets me going. It helps me think beyond limits we, or others, place on ourselves. Think about those 16 runners. Before Bannister ran sub 4, they most assuredly had a blockage in their brain telling them they couldn’t do. They believed those that said it was IMPOSSIBLE. It took one courageous athlete to shatter this glass ceiling. The rest is history.

There comes a time in life where you reflect back and then look forward. You ask yourself “How have I been doing?” and “Where am I going?”. Actually, you’ll ask yourself that time and time again, especially if you care about the dent you’re putting in the world. Once you see the riches of the self-evaluation and the “what’s next” thinking, you can’t turn back.

It’s very easy today to get caught up in the status quo. You work a job that you don’t hate, but you don’t love. Your performance is mediocre at best. You look for fulfillment outside of work, but you find that falls short as well. You think about making a change but have no idea where to start. Or, how to go about it.

Scott’s core message in life is to find work that you love and not to settle.

It’s a sometimes tricky message because a lot of people, especially the younger generation (ex. 20 somethings), still have no idea what they’re passionate about or what work they’ll love. The key here is to not settle. To keep trying new things. To keep grinding away at what truly makes time stand still for you.

I’m fortunate to call Scott a good friend. I’ve learned more from him about personal development and building an online community than anyone else. The combination of Scott’s style and substance puts him in the upper echelon. It won’t be long until you see him a lot more and I imagine somewhere in the not too distant future, on the NYT Bestseller list.

What Scott’s TEDx Talk Was About

• Form your Compass – If you don’t know what you’re looking for, you’re not going to find it. It’s on you to figure it out.
• Know and leverage your unique strengths – Question to ponder – What do people thank you for?
• Values – Figure out what stirs your soul
• Experiences – Pay attention and learn
• Definition of Success – Maybe you want to start a non-profit, make more money, spend more time with you family. You need to define what that looks like.
• Connections – You are the avg of the 5 people you spend the most time with – Jim Rohn – surround yourself with people that inspire you and that you inspire.
• Break through the Impossible – Push the limits

A huge congrats to Scott on an awesome talk. Here’s another link to the video.

You can also find Scott at www.liveyourlegend.net and on twitter @_scott_dinsmore

**On a side note, I will be interviewing Scott on Friday (video) and will be publishing that in the near future. Very excited to talk with him.

Don’t forget – if you’re not following me on twitter – you can do that here – @jongiganti

YOUR NEXT ACTION:

Watch Scott’s video and leave a comment on what you can do to start breaking through your barriers (and do the impossible)

Onward,

Jon