Happy Wednesday,

Last week was about being intentional about the weight we carry.  This week we will look at song lyrics and the idea of impossible.

Back in 2000, Kanye West was at the height of his popularity.  During this time, he released a song called “Diamonds are Forever.”  Eventually, he released a remix of that song featuring Jay-Z.  Not only does the song have an awesome beat and some great flows from Kanye and Jay-Z, but it also has lyrics that have been burned into my mind.  On the remix Jay-Z raps,

“This ain’t no tall order, this is nothing to me.

Difficult take a day, impossible takes a week.”

You might be wondering what this has to do with anything.  Think about work for a minute.  How often are you told something is impossible?  How often are we told it can’t be done?  How often do you end up believing that something is impossible?  These lines from Jay-Z are a counter to this thinking.  I love the premise that those short two lines create.  In those two short lines Jay communicates a few things.

1. There is no such thing as impossible.
2. It’s not a question of IF, it’s a matter of WHEN he will accomplish a great task.
3. He has the confidence to lean into the situation.  He believes in himself.

Whenever I face a task that has been described as impossible, I often think of this song and those lines.  I remind myself it’s a matter of time, NOT a matter of possibility.  I then take a deep breath and lean in with confidence to make something amazing happen.  Imagine what would happen if we all embraced this mentality.

The challenge: How will you respond when things are “impossible”?

I stand in solidarity against injustice and in support of humanity.

Have a jolly good day,

Andrew Embry