If you find yourself waking up at 2 a.m. with dark thoughts about what might happen in the world, feeling overwhelmed, scared, or helpless, you are not alone. We are living through a time of enormous change — perhaps the most impactful in our lifetime. The good news is that each of us is perfectly designed to be at our best in the world we now find ourselves in. I know it’s hard to imagine. Yet, having worked with thousands of leaders to help them lead from their deeper purpose, I have more than enough evidence to show you — you’ve got what it takes; you just forgot.

And yes, even if some of us have gone through major life-altering events, few of us have experienced the current turbulence firsthand, and none of us truly know what will happen as current markets, AI, climate change, and other factors unfold. What I know is this: each of us has a set of conditions that, when they are true, can shift us from being average to being extraordinary. These conditions call us to step up and lead from purpose.

For many of us, having bosses who deeply trust us, projects that have the necessary resources and funding, all while the world remains constant — has never actually happened. And even if you have experienced this, was it actually calling you to be extraordinary? Probably not (although, it may have been very enjoyable).

The reality is that the most amazing, memorable, and legacy moments in your career and life happened when most of the circumstances above were not in place, yet you got it done… anyway. Others may have seen it as impossible, yet something deep inside you knew it was going to happen — and it did. You made the impossible possible in a world that doesn’t play fair.

We have actually been practicing stepping into a higher level of mastery throughout all our lives. I still remember the story of a senior banker who had an extremely predictable career, telling us a harrowing story about how he received the phone call that his nephew was in a Colombian prison for allegedly trafficking cocaine. We were all in total rapture as he spent the next 20 minutes sharing one of the wildest, scariest, and most compelling stories I have ever heard. The way he handled the situation was masterful — it was as if he put on a Marvel superhero costume. After that, no one saw him the same way — and neither did he. Through that story, he re-remembered who he truly is when it matters most.

When I ask leaders under what conditions they have been at their best and truly made the impossible possible, a common set of characteristics emerges:

  • Uncertainty
  • People are confused
  • No one is making decisions that make sense
  • The future is unclear
  • Our backs are against the wall (no plan B).

You can also add your own items of non-linear reality to this list.

Such circumstances often trigger stress. In these situations, we may have two very different responses to stress: fight / flight or challenge response. The most common response is fight or flight when we either try to kill whatever is stressing us out or run away. Neither tend to be helpful in the real world. We have all been negatively impacted by our bosses in the past when they chose either of these responses.

The other option is the challenge response. This response is what we see in sports during a playoff, Super Bowl, World Cup, Olympics, etc., when someone steps into that magic place where legacies are made…. They go into a state of flow and deliver a performance that makes the impossible possible.

The key difference between the two responses is the story we tell ourselves.

If we believe we have the internal resources to handle the current issue, we deliver the challenge response — or as I like to think of it — the mindset of “Really? Is that all you’ve got? We’re going to get this done.”

On the other hand, when the story we believe is that we lack the necessary resources to address reality, we activate the negative fight or flight response.

The last two minutes of any sports event demonstrate this perfectly — it’s all about which response to stress is running through the players on the field. That determines the outcome of the game.

In order to step more deliberately into the challenge response, we need to strengthen our perception of internal resources. It’s not what exists in the external world that matters, it is the story inside that matters most.

How do you do this, you ask?

It turns out, unlike many of you, I was late to the map making party. I spent the first 45 years of my life following other people’s maps. I really believed that the goal in life was to find someone who had the best map and become the best at getting an A+ at following their map.

Having worked with thousands of leaders and helped them step into their unique gift as a leader — their purpose — the big unlock is as follows:

Recall in vivid detail (writing helps) an example of when you actually helped make the impossible possible at work or at home (or both).

Did you do it by yourself? Probably not. Yet, what you said or did directly contributed to achieving an outcome that truly mattered.

The more details you write about the situation — what others thought, what you said or did and how you helped make the impossible possible — the more you access that part of yourself. It’s like watching a great movie, and in this case, you are in it.

Write until you can feel what it was like to make the impossible possible.

As you reflect on the conditions that were true then, notice how many of these conditions are right there, facing you today.

How does the current challenge in your work or life feel now compared to before you wrote your story?

Notice—does it feel less challenging? And yes, you may realize that you are actually capable of making the impossible possible.

If this is helpful and you want to go much deeper, please join me and others for a half-day online session as we unpack how you will truly make the impossible possible now.

WORKSHOP INFO & REGISTRATION

If you find yourself waking up at 2 a.m. with dark thoughts about what might happen in the world, feeling overwhelmed, scared, or helpless, you are not alone. We are living through a time of enormous change — perhaps the most impactful in our lifetime. The good news is that each of us is perfectly designed to be at our best in the world we now find ourselves in. I know it’s hard to imagine. Yet, having worked with thousands of leaders to help them lead from their deeper purpose, I have more than enough evidence to show you — you’ve got what it takes; you just forgot.

And yes, even if some of us have gone through major life-altering events, few of us have experienced the current turbulence firsthand, and none of us truly know what will happen as current markets, AI, climate change, and other factors unfold. What I know is this: each of us has a set of conditions that, when they are true, can shift us from being average to being extraordinary. These conditions call us to step up and lead from purpose.

For many of us, having bosses who deeply trust us, projects that have the necessary resources and funding, all while the world remains constant — has never actually happened. And even if you have experienced this, was it actually calling you to be extraordinary? Probably not (although, it may have been very enjoyable).

The reality is that the most amazing, memorable, and legacy moments in your career and life happened when most of the circumstances above were not in place, yet you got it done… anyway. Others may have seen it as impossible, yet something deep inside you knew it was going to happen — and it did. You made the impossible possible in a world that doesn’t play fair.

We have actually been practicing stepping into a higher level of mastery throughout all our lives. I still remember the story of a senior banker who had an extremely predictable career, telling us a harrowing story about how he received the phone call that his nephew was in a Colombian prison for allegedly trafficking cocaine. We were all in total rapture as he spent the next 20 minutes sharing one of the wildest, scariest, and most compelling stories I have ever heard. The way he handled the situation was masterful — it was as if he put on a Marvel superhero costume. After that, no one saw him the same way — and neither did he. Through that story, he re-remembered who he truly is when it matters most.

When I ask leaders under what conditions they have been at their best and truly made the impossible possible, a common set of characteristics emerges:

  • Uncertainty
  • People are confused
  • No one is making decisions that make sense
  • The future is unclear
  • Our backs are against the wall (no plan B).

You can also add your own items of non-linear reality to this list.

Such circumstances often trigger stress. In these situations, we may have two very different responses to stress: fight / flight or challenge response. The most common response is fight or flight when we either try to kill whatever is stressing us out or run away. Neither tend to be helpful in the real world. We have all been negatively impacted by our bosses in the past when they chose either of these responses.

The other option is the challenge response. This response is what we see in sports during a playoff, Super Bowl, World Cup, Olympics, etc., when someone steps into that magic place where legacies are made…. They go into a state of flow and deliver a performance that makes the impossible possible.

The key difference between the two responses is the story we tell ourselves.

If we believe we have the internal resources to handle the current issue, we deliver the challenge response — or as I like to think of it — the mindset of “Really? Is that all you’ve got? We’re going to get this done.”

On the other hand, when the story we believe is that we lack the necessary resources to address reality, we activate the negative fight or flight response.

The last two minutes of any sports event demonstrate this perfectly — it’s all about which response to stress is running through the players on the field. That determines the outcome of the game.

In order to step more deliberately into the challenge response, we need to strengthen our perception of internal resources. It’s not what exists in the external world that matters, it is the story inside that matters most.

How do you do this, you ask?

Having worked with thousands of leaders and helped them step into their unique gift as a leader — their purpose — the big unlock is as follows:

Recall in vivid detail (writing helps) an example of when you actually helped make the impossible possible at work or at home (or both).

Did you do it by yourself? Probably not. Yet, what you said or did directly contributed to achieving an outcome that truly mattered.

The more details you write about the situation — what others thought, what you said or did and how you helped make the impossible possible — the more you access that part of yourself. It’s like watching a great movie, and in this case, you are in it.

Write until you can feel what it was like to make the impossible possible.

As you reflect on the conditions that were true then, notice how many of these conditions are right there, facing you today.

How does the current challenge in your work or life feel now compared to before you wrote your story?

Notice—does it feel less challenging? And yes, you may realize that you are actually capable of making the impossible possible.

If this is helpful and you want to go much deeper, please join me and others for a half-day online session as we unpack how you will truly make the impossible possible now.

WORKSHOP INFO & REGISTRATION