Les Brown: It’s Possible (Full Transcript)

Watch and read here the full transcript of Les Brown’s most inspirational and motivational speech: It’s Possible.

Listen to the MP3 Audio here: les-brown-its-possible-speech

TRANSCRIPT: 

Oh, y’all look good! 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 fun, little encouragement to get back in the game again.

Here’s what I want you to look at. There are winners and 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 different strategy or plan of action to make some adjustments that will open up the key to a whole new future for them, 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 think about something you want for you, that’s real for you, 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. 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’ve 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 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’.

[Audience: It’s possible]

It’s all I want you do when you look at your dream, just say to yourself every day: It’s possible. Just say that every day to yourself: it’s possible. Because what does that do? See, it begins to change your belief system. So 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 have done, things they have experienced, things they have seen, things that they have observed. 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, 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 wanted 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 and they can’t see the possibility of it being any different.

Example: before in 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.

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. What changed? 20,000 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. And those 20,000 people got in a race believing, knowing in their heart that someone had done it that it’s possible that they could do it.

And I’m saying that if you know anybody that had some goals, some dream, something they wanted to do and they did it. Then I am saying that you know in your heart that it’s 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, beginning to embrace that it’s possible. I’m blessed and highly favored. I’ve got a lot going for me. I 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.

I’m thinking about two men right here in Chicago who are fairly successful, similar background, educated. They worked for a corporation for many years and they were among many people that were laid off. Two guys who are 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, 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. 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 everyday, 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 and kept going.

He went to a place and say, ‘Look, I 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 let me do some volunteer work. You don’t have to give me anything. All right. I just want to work, I want to be busy’.