“The Wright brothers flew through the smoke screen of impossibility.” ~ Dorothea Brande
There are a million and one reasons not to be a finisher of things – be it a simple task or a complicated project – but there is one in particular I wish to expose today for it has stopped a great many people from realizing their full potential. You’ve no doubt witnessed this deceitful approach in yourself or others; it is the tendency to do make just enough effort to say that you tried, but not enough to actually follow through to victory in the face of any obstacle.
I came across this remarkable passage from a book authored by Ms. Brande in 1936 on the topic:
Consider, for instance, that if you try for anything just enough to give yourself some justification for saying that you have tried, you can fold your hands for the rest of your days. You can say humbly that you were tried and found wanting in those qualities which make for real success. This is rather a rare remark, but one of those which can be heard now and then from older failures, usually in a humorously deprecating tone. It will sound very honest and touching; and there is no earthly way in which it can be proved against the complainant that his statement is not fully true. He has saved himself a lifetime of effort by some means, nevertheless. If you join this group you can watch the struggles of others with an eye half-amused, half-envious, enjoying the results of their successes, but perhaps even more – human nature being what it is – the spectacle of those who fail, and who take up their onlookers’ positions beside you.
The only way out of this approach is to begin to be honest with yourself. You may fool those around you, but at the end of the day your life will be more of a self-fulfilling prophesy than actually being fulfilling. When you come to terms with this tendency, you find that fear, not actual limitation, is at the root of most failures.
Overcome fear and you overcome the world.
Gregory Hake 
This is something that I have seen before, and it is something that I think that most people have to face if they want to be a person that has a habit of success. They have to face it and say, I will keep going until this problem gets solved, and not a moment before. It is really one of the things that separates the real problem solvers from the pack, and it is an attribute that is needed in the true leaders that really get things done. Thanks for sharing another great author to read, as well!
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What a gem of a quote. Thanks for sharing!
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That is a great description, “smokescreen of impossibility”.
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Great start to my week, thanks.
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Well noted! This is one of a variety of strategies that pit a person against him or herself – a sure recipe for self-justified failure. While it seems clear that no blame could be attached to the double-minded individual, in fact the person has ensured failure from one direction or another. What is the object of the fear? I suppose it is generally a fear of ongoing responsibiity. There are many opportunities to move right through these smokescreens once they are seen for what they are.
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Great stuff, Gregg! Just what I needed this morning with a team to inspire!
Thanks for a great weekend of posts, some real inner momentum being developed by my regular reading of them.
James
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Some make a life’s work out of Monday morning quarterbacking; the spirits of sarcasm and jealousy are what pass for wit. There is more for anyone that wishes to jump into today with enthusiasm for doing whatever is at hand with appreciation for one more opportunity to do it better.
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