{"id":9103,"date":"2011-10-05T12:42:30","date_gmt":"2011-10-05T16:42:30","guid":{"rendered":"\/news_blogs\/john\/?p=9103"},"modified":"2024-04-04T09:24:54","modified_gmt":"2024-04-04T13:24:54","slug":"it-couldnt-be-done","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.cccc.org\/news_blogs\/john\/2011\/10\/05\/it-couldnt-be-done\/","title":{"rendered":"It Couldn’t Be Done"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Leaders<\/strong> are change agents, and change agents always attract naysayers<\/strong>. How do you know when to persevere and when to give up?<\/strong> I have some ideas, but first here’s a little inspirational encouragement. On July 28th, 1980, Bob Farrow read this poem on CFCA radio and I was so impressed by it I had him send me a copy. It surfaced again on the weekend as I excavated the dark recesses of my basement!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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It Couldn\u2019t Be Done <\/strong>by Edgar A.  Guest<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Somebody said that it couldn\u2019t be done,
But he with a chuckle replied
That “maybe it couldn\u2019t,” but he would be one
Who wouldn\u2019t say so until he\u2019d tried.
So he buckled right in with the trace of a grin
On his face. If he worried he hid it.
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn’t be done, and he did it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Somebody scoffed: “Oh, you\u2019ll never do that;
At least no one ever has done it.”
But he took off his coat and he took off his hat,
And the first thing we knew he’d begun it.
With a lift of his chin and a bit of a grin,
Without any doubting or quiddit,
He started to sing as he tackled the thing
That couldn\u2019t be done, and he did it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are thousands to tell you it cannot be done,
There are thousands to prophesy failure;
There are thousands to point out to you, one by one,
The dangers that wait to assail you.
But just buckle in with a bit of a grin,
Just take off your coat and go to it;
Just start to sing as you tackle the thing
That “cannot be done,” and you\u2019ll do it.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

Now, I must say I am no Pollyanna looking through rose-coloured glasses, but research does show that people often give up too soon and don’t press hard enough to find a solution. I do recognize that there are things that, in reality, are impossible to do.  However, and it is a huge ‘however’, when pessimists try to stop me <\/a>or when the challenge seems too big to overcome, if it is truly a worthy goal, I will:<\/p>\n\n\n\n