Les Brown: “It’s Possible.”

Les Brown shares a powerful lesson on belief, persistence, and the two words that can change everything when you’re about to quit. In this stirring talk, he explains why most people operate out of memory instead of imagination, what Roger Bannister and 20,000 runners after him revealed about invisible ceilings, and the difference between two laid-off men in Chicago that determined who got back on top. This episode will challenge you to stop trusting what you see and start trusting what’s possible. Source: UnknownHosted by Sean CroxtonFollow me on InstagramSee Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

• 0:00Speaker 00

  And I'm saying that if you know anybody that had some goal, some dream, something they wanted to do, and they did it, then I'm saying that you know in your heart that if someone has done it, then you can do it. It's possible. And that if someone can make that dream become a reality, that it's possible that you can make your dream become a reality.

• 0:37Speaker 01

  Welcome back to the Quote of the Day Show. I am your host, Shawn Croxton of seancroxton.com. Thank you so much for tuning in. We got Les Brown on the show to kickstart our week. And our cue of the day is two words that Les wants you to live by. It's possible. You gotta say to yourself over and over again, it's possible. You have to think above your circumstances. You have to think about there is something more for your life that things aren't always going to stay the way they are right now if you don't want them to. You gotta use this powerful resource that we all have, which is your imagination and say,

• 1:16Speaker 01

  okay, I'm gonna use my imagination just to decide how I want to live, how I want things to be, and then it's up to you to go out there and create it. And remember, if someone else can do it, you can do it as well. And like Bob Proctor says, if no one else has done it before, then you can be the first. Les Brown's coming up.

• 1:38Speaker 00

  I want you to look at something right now. Think of some major goal you want, or maybe it's one you're already working on, and you have experienced a lot of setbacks, a lot of defeats. You've experienced a lot of disappointment. Maybe you've already given up. And maybe you just need a little fire, a little encouragement to get back in the game again. Here's what I want you to look at. There are winners, there are losers, and there are people who have not discovered how to win. And all they need is some coaching. All they need is some help and assistance, just a little support. All they need is some insight, or a different strategy or plan of action to make some adjustments that will open up the key to a whole new future for them,

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  that will give them access to the unlimited power that they have within themselves. That's all that they need. So what I want you to do is, is think about something you want for you, that's real for you,

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  that's important for you, that will give your life some special meaning and power. And I don't even want you to say, "I can do that." I don't want you to assume that. See, five years ago, when I started out in this area, I would not have been able to make the mental leap that I would be up to where I am right now.

• 2:59Speaker 00

  I don't want you to begin to just psych yourself out. No, no. I want you to be able to say something to yourself that will enable you to maintain a level of integrity with yourself. That when you say this, even when you face tremendous setbacks, it will be a benchmark to keep you in the game, to keep you moving forward and experimenting and readjusting your strategy and your plan of action continuously, looking for ways to win. So what is that something? When you got an idea you want to move on, you might not have the money, you might not have the education, you might not have the support or the resources you need. What is that something

• 3:39Speaker 00

  that can keep us going, that will enable us to act on our dream? What's one of those keys that will begin to help us to discover the secrets to our dream? Here's what I want you to repeat after me, please, with power and conviction. Say, "It's possible."

• 3:56Speaker 00

  That's all I want you to do when you look at your dream. You say to yourself every day, "It's possible." You say that every day to yourself, "It's possible." Because what does that do? See... It begins to change your belief system. See, the way in which we operate, ladies and gentlemen, it's a manifestation of what we believe what's possible for us. Whatever you've done up to this point, all that it really is, is a duplication, is a reproduction of what you believe subconsciously that you deserve and what's possible for your life. Most people operate out of their personal history, out of their memory, things they've done, things they've experienced, things they've seen, things that they have observed.

• 4:40Speaker 00

  What I'm suggesting that you operate out of a larger vision of yourself. I want you to see yourself doing what you want to do, experiencing what you want to experience it, having what you want to have, doing what is that gives your life some meaning and value. Operate out of your imagination, not your memory. Because whatever you look at where you want to go, I'm wanting to warn you, you will have some conversation back here after you go through the data that you've experienced in life, saying you can't do it. And so what you want to begin to do is ignore that inner conversation. Well, most people, ladies and gentlemen, when something happens to them, what they do is, they begin to believe that that's the way it is. That's the way it's always been,

• 5:24Speaker 00

  and they can't see the possibility of it being any different. Example. Before April 1954, the common belief, the universal belief, because it had been tried again and again and again, and people had failed, the belief was that man was not physically capable of breaking the four-minute barrier, that he could not run a mile in less than four minutes. That was the belief on the planet. It had never been done.

• 5:58Speaker 00

  But here's what happened, ladies and gentlemen. Roger Bannister came along, and he broke the four-minute barrier. Now here's what's significant about that. Since that time, up to this day, over 20,000 people have done it, including high school kids.

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  What changed?

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  Twenty thousand people, what changed? Here's what happened when they got on the track. They knew it had been done. And because they knew it had been done, there was a new belief about this barrier, about this goal that was unreachable.

• 6:40Speaker 00

  And those twenty thousand people got in a race believing, knowing in their heart that someone had done it, that it's possible, that they could do it.

• 6:50Speaker 00

  And I'm saying that if you know anybody that had some goal, some dream, something they wanted to do,

• 6:56Speaker 00

  and they did it, then I'm saying that you know in your heart that if someone has done it, then you can do it. It's possible. And that if someone can make that dream become a reality, that it's possible that you can make your dream become reality. And so as you begin to look at where you want to go,

• 7:16Speaker 00

  beginning to embrace that, it's possible. I'm blessed and highly favored. I've got a lot going for me. I've got some good stuff in me. And it's possible that I can bring my greatness out here in the universe. That I can do what I want to do. It's possible. I can write my own book. I can have my own business. I can take the trip and travel around the world. It's possible. I can bounce back from adversity and reinvent my life. It's possible. Regardless of where I am, the things can get better for me. It's possible. And I'm thinking about two men right here in Chicago, who were fairly successful,

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  similar background, educated. They worked for a corporation for many years, and they were among many people that were laid off. Two guys who were very good friends. One went out looking for a job for several weeks along with the other one. And they faced disappointment and rejection again and again and again. They couldn't find any work, which is the story of many people across this country. One guy stopped.

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  He became discouraged. He stopped going. He stayed home looking at television, became very argumentative and toxic with his wife, drinking beer, getting on the phone, talking to his other negative unemployed friends.

• 8:46Speaker 00

  And he just gave up. The other guy kept looking for a job everywhere he could go. Every time he could get an opportunity, kept asking people, networking, checking the newspapers every day. Kept going everywhere he could, trying to find a job. "You have too much education, you're overqualified, you won't be here long enough." He kept going, he kept going. He went to a place and said, "Look here, I'll tell you what, if you can't hire me, and I know you can use my talents, abilities, and skills, I don't want to sit home and do nothing. Just, just let me do some volunteer work. You don't have to give me anything, alright? I just want to work, I want to be busy." Guy said, "Okay, it's on you now, but don't, don't expect me to give you anything, it's okay." This guy came in and worked, he was the first one there.

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  The last one to leave was the best employee there. About four weeks later, one of the top managers quit.

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  They were looking for a replacement, guess who they selected? This other guy. This guy who was volunteering his time. He got the job. What was the difference between the two men? Eyesight and mindsight. Eyesight is judging on what you see.

• 9:59Speaker 00

  Judging according to appearances. But mindsight is how you interpret what you see. One guy said, "It's not possible, it's over, I'm finished. I can't do it. I can't make it." He surrendered. "I've faced rejection again and again, I'm not going anymore. There are no jobs out there." But this other guy, he felt that in spite of the no's and rejections, in spite of how bad the economy is, in spite of what the newspapers are saying, that it's possible that somebody, somewhere, will give me a job. He just kept going, thinking it was possible. And guess what, ladies and gentlemen?

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  That's what we have to do with our dreams.

• 10:46Speaker 01

  That was Les Brown. His website is lesbrown.com. Hey, stay tuned in this week. I've got some good stuff for you. Sally Hogshead is on tomorrow. Jim Cathcart on Wednesday. Tony Robbins on Thursday. Then we wrap things up with Dr. Wayne W. Dyer on Friday. Hey, enjoy your day. I'll see you tomorrow. Peace.