Wednesday, August 17, 2005

Impossible Is Nothing

"Never doubt that a small, group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed, it is the only thing that ever has."


I stole this image from Michael. At first I thought it was really funny and then I became kinda annoyed at it - annoyed because there is this prevailing attitude that we can't change anything and that really annoys me because we can't change anything unless we try and no one will try if they believe they cannot succeed.

What do you think drives change? Committed people, that is what drives change, so get up and do something. Don't just sit there lamenting the fact that nothing will ever change, because if you do, nothing will ever change.


"Do you hear the people sing?
When the beating of your heart
Echoes the beating of the drums
There is a life about to start
When tomorrow comes!"

7 Comments:

At 8/17/05, 4:32 PM, Blogger Michael said...

Elisheva,

First, thanks so much for your comment on my blog, it was so inspirational! Where do you get all these great quotes from!?! The one you left about 'impossible' is one that I will definitely print out and put up in my office next year. (Do you know who said it, by any chance?)

I, actually, took that image from another blog without attribution-bad blogging, I know. The original author thought it was funny, too, but it isn't. As I'm sure you know all too well after your summer internship, it's so easy, especially in politics where there's so much institutional gridlock, inertia, and bureaucracy to get through, to just give up and feel that your efforts are meaningless. But if everyone thought that way, nothing would ever change. I believe that the world depends on motivated people swimming against the tide and trying their best to make the world a better place. Some people may never succeed but many do and it's worth the considerable effort expended.

One class I took college in which I learned close to nothing did teach me one very important lesson: all progress in society is incremental. We can only hope that our individual efforts will amount to something significant enough that it will affect some small positive change. And, hopefully, we can raise families and children that will carry on our values and make the world still better. But hope isn't enough; we need to stay motivated and inspired and block out the "prevailing attitude" because we can and will make a difference.

"Im ein ani li, mi li?"

 
At 8/18/05, 6:21 AM, Blogger Michael said...

Hey! That's the same garbage that appeared on my blog that somehow replaced my post on graduating! Looks like they got you, too :(

There's gotta be someway to stop this, if only I could figure out how.

 
At 8/18/05, 3:26 PM, Blogger Eli7 said...

Michael, believe it or not that specific quote is from a Reebok ad campaign. The whole quote is below, I generally get my quotes from all over - it's a good mode of procrastination. And thanks Bleemy!

"Impossible is just a big word thrown around by small men who find it easier to live in the world they’ve been given than to explore the power they have to change it. Impossible is not a fact. It’s an opinion. Impossible is not a declaration. It’s a dare. Impossible is potential. Impossible is temporary. Impossible is nothing."

 
At 8/18/05, 4:00 PM, Blogger Michael said...

Elisheva,
I'm not sure if you checked my blog today but that quote was my 'quote of the day' because I liked it so much!

As I wrote there, I did a little research online and the consensus seemed to be that those sentences were uttered by none other than Muhammad Ali. Google the whole thing and see what comes up; most websites that I saw attributed it to him.

 
At 8/21/05, 10:09 AM, Blogger Eli7 said...

Awesome! Muhammad Ali is way cooler than a Reebok ad campaign!

 
At 9/1/07, 6:57 PM, Anonymous Anonymous said...

It was an Adidas ad..not reebok

 
At 9/19/08, 8:01 AM, Blogger waxingpoetic said...

It is NOW an Adidas ad. The original thinker is Laila Ali, NOT her famous father

 

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