The possible impossible

William James - American philosopher and psychologist

Act as if what you do makes a difference. It does. 

Paulo Coelho - Brazilian lyricist and novelist

Impossible is just an opinion.

R. Kennedy - American politician and lawyer

Some men see things as they are and say why? I dream things that never were and say why not?

Ralph Waldo Emerson - American essayist, lecturer, philosopher

Do not follow where the path may lead. Go instead where there is no path and leave a trail.

Chris Guillebeau - American author

Not everyone needs to believe in your dream, but You do.

Dr. Bob Rotella - Sports psychologist

If you want to be exceptional, you've got to separate yourself from everyone else who does what you do. Look at possibilities instead of probabilities. Create your own reality. 

Andy Warhol - American artist, film director, and producer

They always say time changes things, but you actually have to change them yourself.

Ellen J. Langer - American professor of psychology at Harvard University; in 1981, she became the first woman ever to be tenured in psychology at Harvard

We should open ourselves to the impossible and embrace a psychology of possibility.

Marcus Aurelius - Roman emperor and Philosopher

Our life is what our thoughts make it.

Orison Swett Marden - American inspirational author who wrote about achieving success in life and founded SUCCESS magazine in 1897

All who have accomplished great things have had a great aim, have fixed their gaze on a goal which was high, one which sometimes seemed impossible.

Ernest Holmes - American writer

The universal Mind contains all knowledge. It is the potential ultimate of all things. To it, all things are possible. 

Rumi - 13th-century Persian poet

Stop acting so small. You are the universe in ecstatic motion.

Eric Butterworth - Best-selling author of 16 books and a prominent leader in the Unity and New Thought movements

...why be an average person? All the great achievements of history have been made by strong individuals who refused to consult statistics or to listen to those who could prove convincingly that what they wanted to do, and in fact ultimately did do, was completely impossible.

Mahatma Gandhi - Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethicist

The first thing you have to learn about history is that because something has not taken place in the past, that does not mean it cannot take place in the future.

Richard Wiseman - Professor of the Public Understanding of Psychology at the University of Hertfordshire in the United Kingdom

Luck is not a magical ability or a gift from the gods. Instead, it is a way of thinking and behaving.

William James - American philosopher and psychologist, and the "Father of American psychology"

Be not afraid of life. Believe that life is worth living, and your belief will help create the fact.

Robert Fritz - American author, management consultant, composer, and filmmaker

If you limit your choice only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left is a compromise.

David Emerald Womeldorff - Celebrated creator of leadership frameworks proven to powerfully boost teamwork and productivity

To limit yourself to only what you know or think is possible can greatly reduce your creativity.

David Joseph Schwartz, Jr. - American motivational writer and coach, best known for authoring The Magic of Thinking Big in 1959

Look at things not as they are, but as they can be. Visualization adds value to everything. A big thinker always visualizes what can be done in the future. He isn't stuck with the present.

Napoleon Hill - American self-help author. He is known best for his book Think and Grow Rich which is among the 10 best selling self-help books of all time

Whatever the mind of man can conceive and believe, it can achieve.

James Allen - British philosophical writer known for his inspirational books and poetry and as a pioneer of the self-help movement

A person is limited only by the thoughts that he chooses.

Gay Hendricks - Psychologist, writer, and teacher in the field of personal growth, relationships, and body intelligence

You are the absolute creator of what happens to you. This means now. [...] There is awesome power in knowing this fact. As long as there is even one tiny part of you that thinks the world is doing it to you, the world is going to do it to you. When you know 100% that you create it, you will start influencing the world around you in a much bigger and more positive way.

Gay Hendricks - Psychologist, writer, and teacher in the field of personal growth, relationships, and body intelligence

In my life I’ve discovered that if I cling to the notion that something’s not possible, I’m arguing in favor of limitation. And if I argue for my limitations, I get to keep them.

Alberto Villoldo - Cuban-born psychologist, medical anthropologist and author, writing primarily in the field of neo-shamanism

The Earthkeepers believe that the world is real, but only because we've dreamed it into being. But dreaming requires an act of courage, for when we lack it, we have to settle for the world that's being created by our culture or by our genes - we feel we have to settle for the nightmare. To dream courageously, we must be willing to use our hearts.

John Eliot - Decorated professor of management and performance psychology

As soon as anyone starts telling you to be “realistic,” cross that person off your invitation list.

John Eliot - Decorated professor of management and performance psychology

If you really want to find out what you're capable of, you cannot put limits on yourself, and you definitely cannot be cautious.

Paulo Coelho - Brazilian lyricist and novelist, best known for his novel The Alchemist

And, when you want something, all the universe conspires in helping you to achieve it.

Jack Canfield - American author, motivational speaker, corporate trainer, and entrepreneur

When you think you can't, revisit a previous triumph.

Debbie Ford - American self-help author, coach, lecturer and teacher, most known for The New York Times best-selling book, The Dark Side of the Light Chasers, which aimed to help readers overcome their shadow side with the help of modern psychology and spiritual practices

If you ask the Universe to be your partner and guide you on the path to wholeness, it will oblige.

Esther Hicks - American channeler, inspirational speaker, and author. She has co-written nine books with her late husband Jerry Hicks, presented numerous workshops on the law of attraction with Abraham-Hicks Publications and appeared in the original version of the 2006 film The Secret

Once you make a conscious connection between your physical personality (what you know as you here in this body) and the Eternal Non-Physical Consciousness (what is really You), you can then get on with the reason you were born into this physical life experience.

Anna Eleanor Roosevelt - American political figure, diplomat and activist. She served as the First Lady of the United States

The future belongs to those who believe in the beauty of their dreams.

Dale Carnegie - American writer and lecturer, and the developer of courses in self-improvement, salesmanship, corporate training, public speaking, and interpersonal skills

Most of the important things in the world have been accomplished by people who have kept on trying when there seemed to be no hope at all.

Peter Drucker - Austrian management consultant, educator, and author, whose writings contributed to the philosophical and practical foundations of the modern business corporation

The best way to predict your future is to create it.

Phil Knight - American billionaire businessman. He is the co-founder and chairman emeritus of Nike, Inc., and was previously chairman and CEO of the company

You are remembered, he said, prophetically, for the rules you break.

John Calvin Maxwell - American author, speaker, and pastor who has written many books, primarily focusing on leadership. Titles include The 21 Irrefutable Laws of Leadership and The 21 Indispensable Qualities of a Leader. His books have sold millions of copies, with some on the New York Times Best Seller List

Creativity requires a willingness to look stupid.

Barbara Oakley - American professor of engineering at Oakland University and McMaster University whose online courses on learning are some of the most popular MOOC classes in the world. She is involved in multiple areas of research, ranging from STEM education, to learning practices

The Law of Serendipity: Lady Luck favors the one who tries.

Tony Robbins - American author, coach, speaker, and philanthropist. Robbins is known for his infomercials, seminars, and self-help books including the books Unlimited Power and Awaken the Giant Within

Belief in limits creates limited people.

Michael Phelps - American former competitive swimmer and the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time, with a total of 28 medals. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold medals, Olympic gold medals in individual events, and Olympic medals in individual events

You can't put a limit on anything. The more you dream, the farther you get.

Michael Phelps - American former competitive swimmer and the most successful and most decorated Olympian of all time, with a total of 28 medals. Phelps also holds the all-time records for Olympic gold medals, Olympic gold medals in individual events, and Olympic medals in individual events

If you say "can't" you're restricting what you can do or ever will do.

Ken Robinson - British author, speaker and international advisor on education in the arts to government, non-profits, education and arts bodies

If you're not prepared to be wrong, you'll never come up with anything original.

Mahatma Gandhi - Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist and political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful campaign for India's independence from British rule and in turn inspired movements for civil rights and freedom across the world

If I have the belief that I can do it, I shall surely acquire the capacity to do it even if I may not have it at the beginning.

Ellen J. Langer - American professor of psychology at Harvard University; in 1981, she became the first woman ever to be tenured in psychology at Harvard

The hefty price for accepting information uncritically is that we go through life unaware that what we’ve accepted as impossible may in fact be quite possible.

Ellen J. Langer - American professor of psychology at Harvard University; in 1981, she became the first woman ever to be tenured in psychology at Harvard

It is not primarily our physical selves that limit us but rather our mindset about our physical limits.

John McDonald - Editor and writer for Fortune magazine for three decades

Believe me, you can have anything you want—and in abundance—when you learn to tune into the power within, an infinitely greater power than electricity, a power you have had from the beginning.

Kenneth Baum - Author, professional speaker, and the creator of the #1 Performance Psychology System in the World. A recognized authority on mental strategies that gets results in sports, business, and life, his teachings are often the missing link to success 

Great achievements don’t start with reality. They start with desire. 

Michael Hyatt - American author, podcaster, blogger, speaker, and the CEO and founder of Michael Hyatt & Company. He has written several books about leadership, productivity, and goal setting 

So many of us have settled for what is, rather than what could be. 

Malcolm Gladwell - English-born Canadian journalist, author, and public speaker. He has been a staff writer for The New Yorker since 1996

As the playwright George Bernard Shaw once put it: “The reasonable man adapts himself to the world: the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man.

William H. McRaven - Retired United States Navy four-star admiral who served as the ninth commander of the United States Special Operations Command from August 8, 2011 to August 28, 2014

Without daring greatly, you will never know what is truly possible in your life.

David Goggins - American ultramarathon runner, ultra-distance cyclist, triathlete, public speaker, and author. He is a retired United States Navy SEAL and former United States Air Force Tactical Air Control Party member who served in the Iraq War. His memoir, Can't Hurt Me, was released in 2018

Only you can master your mind, which is what it takes to live a bold life filled with accomplishments most people consider beyond their capability.

Robert Fritz - American author, management consultant, composer, and filmmaker. He is known for his development of structural dynamics, the study of how structural relationships impact behavior from individuals to organizations

Faith was the excuse you used if you didn't have a good argument.