I wouldn't say anything is impossible. I think that everything

Hear, O children of perseverance, the words of Michael Phelps, who declared: “I wouldn’t say anything is impossible. I think that everything is possible as long as you put your mind to it and put the work and time into it.” In these words, forged in the waters of struggle and triumph, lies the creed of champions and the eternal law of human endeavor: that the limits we see are not the boundaries of the world, but the boundaries of our will.

The meaning is radiant and mighty. Phelps does not claim that the road is easy, nor that dreams fall freely into the lap of the dreamer. He proclaims instead that through mind, through work, and through time, the seemingly impossible may be brought within reach. The key lies not in wishing, but in discipline; not in fleeting desire, but in unwavering persistence. For mountains are not moved by hope alone, but by the hands that chip away at stone day after day.

The origin of this wisdom is Phelps’ own life. Born with challenges that might have discouraged others—struggles with attention, doubt, and the rigors of training—he turned his weaknesses into fuel. In the swimming pool he became a legend, winning more Olympic medals than any athlete before him. Yet behind every triumph stood countless hours of work, endless early mornings, ceaseless discipline, and a mind sharpened by purpose. Thus his words carry the weight of lived truth: the possible belongs to those who endure.

History offers us mirrors of this truth. Consider Thomas Edison, who failed hundreds of times before bringing forth the electric light. He did not cry out that invention was impossible; he declared instead that each failure brought him closer to success. Or think of Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay, who climbed to the peak of Everest when others declared it unconquerable. Their victory was not sudden—it was carved by time, by work, and by the refusal to believe in the word “impossible.”

The lesson is luminous: the barriers you face are not immovable walls but thresholds that demand endurance. When you surrender to doubt, the impossible remains so. But when you set your mind, commit your time, and pour your work into the task, what once seemed beyond reach begins to bend toward possibility. This is the truth not only of athletes and inventors, but of all who strive in every field of life.

Practical wisdom flows from this. If you dream, do not dream lightly. Set your mind with clarity, and let no distraction steal it. Dedicate time, for greatness is not born in moments but in seasons, in years, in decades of endurance. Commit to work, for it is labor that shapes raw desire into reality. Begin with small steps, and trust that each will carry you forward until the impossible bows to your persistence.

So let Phelps’ words echo like a torch in the darkness: “Everything is possible.” Not because the world bends easily, but because the human spirit, when armed with discipline and patience, can rise above every storm, every doubt, every chain.

Thus, O children of tomorrow, carry this teaching within you: banish the word “impossible” from your heart. Take instead the path of mind, work, and time. For in that path lies not only victory in the world, but mastery of yourself—and that, above all, is the greatest triumph of humankind.