I am joining a club called Six Impossible Things Before Breakfast. It was started by Sandy through her excellent blog, Another Lovely Day. The club has a simple premise:
Focus on things that you have come to believe are impossible or improbable, and start believing in them.
The reference to six impossible things is from Alice in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll.
The Queen has just asked Alice how old she is. Alice answers, “I’m seven and a half exactly.”
“You needn’t say exactly,’” the Queen remarked: “I can believe it without that. Now I’ll give you something to believe. I’m just one hundred and one, five months and a day.”
“I can’t believe that,” said Alice.
“Can’t you?” the Queen said, in a pitying tone. “Try again; draw a long breath, and shut your eyes.”
Alice laughed.
“There is no use trying,” said Alice; “one can’t believe impossible things.”
“I dare say you haven’t had much practice,” said the Queen. “When I was your age, I always did it for half an hour a day. Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” ‘
Step one is a declaration and putting your list of impossible things in writing, and then making sure you look at them every morning, visualising yourself achieving them.
I’m up for it. I believe in setting stretching goals, for sure, and love the idea of going one step further with some “impossible” ones. So here goes, here’s my list:
1. Writing – Get that book written and get it published.
2. Fitness – Do something out of the ordinary requiring you to be fit in order to succeed. Climb Kilimanjaro, complete Wainwright’s Coast to Coast walk, do the Two Moors Way in Devon and Cornwall.
3. Music – play the organ in Notre Dame, Paris, preferably alone in the building, at midnight. Jehan Alain’s “Litanies” would do well. (Watch this through to the end with the volume up full if you are wondering why.)
[youtube=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qPDlhyxnGjg&feature=related]
4. Visibility – Create a training video that goes viral. 1 million hits at least.
5. Legacy – Raise over £1 million for charity by the time I die.
6. Self Fulfilment – Buy a grand piano (preferably a Bosendorfer), rebuild my piano technique from scratch, and accompany my grandchild playing Finzi’s “Five Bagatelles” for clarinet and piano.
Woohoo, feels good writing these down! And of course a little scary. I will report on progress from time to time (probably annually on New Year’s Day). These big hairy goals feel different to the usual ones I set myself, so I am intrigued to find out how effective they are.
Now then, what about you? How about joining up and egging each other on a bit? What do you have to lose? We only get one go in life, after all. If you’re a Blogger, send me a link to the Blog in which you share them, and if not, let me know somehow what you decide on.
“Now then, draw a long breath, and shut your eyes.”
(I took this picture last year in lovely Hampshire. It’s the River Test, and one day I shall pull a 4lb Rainbow Trout from its inky depths. That can be impossible dream number 7.)
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I love this quote, and your goals, Michael!
Lovely to make your acquaintance ☺️
I’ve just knocked one off my list – moving to Portugal.
Now onto the next one, finishing my own three books & publishing them!
I love making lists. Impossible things.
1. Publish and sell my 3 books. (Currently writing first.)
2. Have a positive impact on Ghanaian education by training and inspiring teachers to be the change. I want to inspire someone (or some people) to the point that they join the ministry of education and have an impact on the whole country. I want to be the wind beneath someone’s wings.
3. Meet Oprah and talk about life and learning.
4. Have enough money to travel any where I want every year.
5. Own a villa in Morocco.
6. Be able to sit cross legged and get up without pain in my hip.
6 Impossible things
Mine are
1.Get Dad a Car from my own earned money
2.Make a blog and spread the word.
3.Earn as much as i can from blog and charitize for educating underprivileged people.
4.A Big free Animal hospital-Heartly dream.
Working upon 2
Hi Michael;
I started building my list and haven’t made it to 10 yet . So far includes :
1. As my biggest passion. Finally get me a motorcycle again ( getting there )
2. Run or cycle 3 times a week and a daily 15minutes workout. ( done and still doing it)
3. Cross the Andes on horseback.
4. Drive on motorcycle from N to S in Africa and end at the Cape of good hope for Charity.
5. Brush up my mechanics course and build a motorcycle of my own.
6. working on the next 4 😉
So, I wonder, have you been able to work on your list from time to time ? Would love to hear about your adventures.
Koenraad
Hi Koenraad
Great to hear from you and to read your list. There’s a certain theme in years, involving the outdoors, speed and technical challenges! What a great list. Inspiring.
I have made some small steps towards mine: set up a video website (www.hownottovideos.wordpress.com) and experimenting with creating weird (potentially viral?) videos. We are trying to move house, and the one we have in mind will be near enough to a decent church organ to get me playing again, so I can practice for that Notre Dame gig! We have raised over £110,000 now for charity through Musikscool, so are on our way to that million. I have written a chapter of a book on Leadership which is being published in September.
Fitness? Not so much. (Although unfortunately I had a medical recently in which things like my blood pressure and chloresterol were deemed to be in good shape, so the incentive has reduced a bit!) But we have tackled some of the Two Moors way and if we move house will be on its doorstep.
So on balance – making some progress, but lots more to do!
Love it. Maybe the gig at Notre Dame can raise some money for Charity ? You might end up on French TV 😉 . Yes , mine all evolve around pure sensation and trills. The motorcycle is really getting there 😉 . For building one the research has started , now need to carve time and space as John Cleese says to be creative and brush up mechanics a bit. The horseback ride will be closer to home so I can take my son as well and we’ll do it on the Irish coast line,.. now it needs financing and a timeslot 😉 ;…
Why, sometimes I’ve believed as many as six impossible things before breakfast.” One of my all time favorite quotes! 🙂 Now to work on my list!
Here goes…
1. Learn to speak fluent Italian
2. Learn to speak fluent Spanish
3. Run the Rim to Rim to Rim in the Grand Canyon
4. Live on a sailboat for a year (traveling the world or as much of it as is possible in a year)
5. Control my blood pressure solely by diet
6. Participate in 1000 collaborative divorces/family cases
Whew! That’s terrifying!
Great list, Carolann. Like you say, phew! All utterly impossible, of course. I particularly like number 4.
So when do you start?
That’s a nicer description than the ubiquitous Bucket List. But since we’re sharing, here’ my ten items:
1. Ride my motorbike right around the US, including Yellowstone and Monument Valley
2. See the Himalayas on foot
3. Climb Kilimanjaro for charity
4. Enjoy skiing a black run
5. Get my knee down at the Nurburgring
6. Ride the whole Isle of Man TT circuit
7. Win three photographic competitions
8. Parascend (solo) over the cliffs at Rottingdean
9. Fly in a Tiger Moth
10. Do a solo parachute jump (9 & 10 are NOT to be linked!)
11. Photograph the Seven Wonders of the World
Why crank up the volume to 11? It’s a replacement for when the first 10 are done…
Hi Dave
Great list, buddy! You and I have one in common, number 3. I know someone who organises such things: shall we do it together?
Yours have a lot of life threatening implications, I can’t help but notice. Higher risk than me (mine are wet in comparison). I can see the attraction in all of them.
GOOD LUCK! Keep me posted.
That’s quite a list pal. LIKE IT.