Whenever I hear, 'It can't be done,' I know I'm close to

Hear the fiery words of Michael Flatley, the lord of dance whose feet moved faster than the eye could follow: “Whenever I hear, ‘It can’t be done,’ I know I’m close to success.” In this declaration lies a truth older than time itself: that the impossible is often nothing more than the veil that hides the extraordinary. Those who cling to fear and doubt declare, It cannot be done. But the bold, the dreamers, the warriors, know that such words are the last shadows before the dawn of victory.

Flatley, who brought Irish dance from the halls of tradition to the great stages of the world, was told many times that his vision was madness. To blend speed, fire, and storytelling into a spectacle seen by millions was, to the doubters, too ambitious. Yet he pressed forward. For he knew that when others say, It cannot be done, they reveal not the limits of reality, but the limits of their own imagination. His triumph in Riverdance and beyond was proof that the edge of doubt is also the edge of greatness.

History, too, resounds with this truth. When the Wright brothers sought to conquer the skies, they were mocked as fools. Learned men of science declared that human flight was impossible. But the brothers, with patience and persistence, turned “it can’t be done” into wings that carried mankind into the heavens. Their success was born not in spite of the doubt, but because they understood doubt as the sure sign they stood on the threshold of the miraculous.

Think also of Marie Curie, who pursued the mysteries of radioactivity when others dismissed her work as folly. She toiled in cold laboratories, unrecognized, uncelebrated, while voices of authority told her, It cannot be done. Yet she pressed onward. Her discoveries not only defied the doubters, but also reshaped science and medicine forever. For her, as for Flatley, the presence of disbelief was not a barrier but a compass pointing the way to breakthrough.

The meaning of Flatley’s words is this: the chorus of doubt is not a warning to stop, but a signal to continue. The phrase “It can’t be done” is the world’s way of revealing where boundaries have not yet been broken. Success lies beyond those boundaries, waiting for the one who dares to ignore the chorus of fear and keep moving forward. The impossible exists only until someone proves it possible.

The lesson for us is powerful: when you hear others say, It can’t be done, do not shrink back. Instead, take courage, for you are standing at the very edge of discovery. Do not let the smallness of others’ vision define your own. Press forward with boldness, and let perseverance be your answer to doubt. The greatest victories are always born where most people refuse to tread.

And what must you do, O seeker? When your dream is mocked, when your goal is doubted, when your path is declared impossible—rejoice! For you have found the doorway to greatness. Make a plan, labor without ceasing, and believe fiercely in the vision you carry. Let the voices of doubt be fuel, not chains. Each time someone says, It cannot be done, let it remind you that you are walking the very path that leads to success.

Thus, let Michael Flatley’s words echo in your heart: “Whenever I hear, ‘It can’t be done,’ I know I’m close to success.” Take them as your battle cry. When the world places walls before you, see them not as prisons but as invitations to climb. For it is at the edge of the impossible that destiny is written, and only those who dare to cross it leave their names engraved in eternity.