“Anything is possible” is supposed to be inspirational. But it’s not really, is it? Because what happens when you can’t do that thing you really want to do? That ‘anything’ that was supposed to be possible. You feel like shit. You feel like a failure. Like you’re not good enough. “If it’s possible, and I can’t do it, I must be a bit shit” is the logical conclusion. Well Fuck. That.
You’re not shit, you’re fucking awesome. Even if you’re shit at that particular thing.
Let’s be honest, there’s a massive bunch of stuff that plain and simple ain’t possible for most of us. I can’t speak for you, and if you’re any of these things, good for you, but astronaut, race car driver, professional footballer, ballerina, concert pianist, supermodel… for me, the list goes on. And on. And on. Not fucking possible. If I want to do those things, and some fucker fist pumps and tells me “anything is possible”, but it’s not for me, what then? It’s a bit tempting to feel like shit. So to ‘Anything is possible’, I say Fuck. That.
Which is where my ‘Awesome is possible’ ethos comes from. It originated from a presentation I gave to a group of kids a few years back. They were from the rough end of town, and didn’t have access to the same level of opportunity as others. And I thought some smug old guy turning up and telling them ‘anything is possible’ would go down like Trump at a gathering of… well, just about any gathering actually. And if I tried that clichéd shit, I’d possibly end up with a part of art scissors in my neck.
So I thought long and hard about my presentation, and created a slide that replaced the word ‘anything’ in ‘anything is possible’, with ‘cool stuff’ instead. My core message? Anything may not be possible, but that doesn’t mean you can’t do some pretty fucking cool stuff. Although I didn’t say ‘fucking’ that day because I was at a school and they were kids and it probably would have been frowned upon. Although probably not by the kids who wouldn’t have given a fuck.
The ‘Cool stuff is possible’ message seemed a lot more real and a lot more achievable to me though, and it went down pretty well. I walked out that day without any sharp objects protruding from any part of my body which was nice too. A fairly sold endorsement.
After that, I pondered that thought quite a bit. And I’m not gonna lie, I was pretty fucking proud of myself. Because it seemed like quite an original twist on a very well known phrase, and coming up with original stuff really isn’t that easy. I used it in several more presentations before finally refining it to ‘Awesome is possible’ which has since become one of my core philosophies.
And now, here I am sharing it with you. Because if like me, you’ll never be a supermodel, an astronaut or a race car driver, I don’t want you to feel down about it. I want you to say ‘Fuck. That.’ and find something else awesome you can do. And I guarantee you, there’ll definitely be a long list of awesome shit you can do. Probably not as long as the list of shit that won’t be possible, but long enough to guarantee you can fill your life with plenty of awesome stuff.
Got your own Fuck. That.? Let’s hear it. You can share it with me any time here. And if you want to be part of The Fuck. That. Gang and hear more when I write them, you can click here to sign up.
