As we approach the end of 2013, I encourage you to think possibilities and not impossibilities. In 2014, be prepared to turn the impossible into possible. Look at what you accomplished in 2013 especially what you once thought could never be done. Are you amazed you once thought it was impossible? In 2014, take some risks and be fearless, control the things you can control and think outside the box. Think possibilities and not impossibilities.

1. Make the Impossible Possible in 2014
Hello friends, I trust that you had a wonderful holiday. Marchelle arrived home in time for Christmas.
Malcolm had to work Boxing Day and only arrived home on Friday. Saturday evening we had our
Christmas family dinner. I woke up Boxing Day feeling lightheaded and dizzy and as result I spent most of
the day in the ER at Credit Valley Hospital. On Saturday I did a follow up with my family doctor. All my
vital signs including blood pressure and red blood cell count are normal. The ECG test performed at the
ER did not detect any cardiac (heart) abnormalities. I am not suffering from one of my severe cluster
headaches. While I may have over indulge and eaten a lot over the holidays I certainly have not
consumed any alcohol. One possible explanation for my experience is that I might be suffering from
motion sickness caused by some a virus that result in fluid in my inner ear.The long and short I have
been given the green light by the doctors at the ER as well as by my family doctor but I will certainly
keep of how well I am improving.
Christmas is a time of giving and sharing and last week Monday and Tuesday morning as well as this
morning I spent two to three hours volunteering at Regeneration Outreach Communityon Main Street
in Brampton. Regeneration cares for the homeless and those at risk of being homeless by providing
breakfast seven days of the week. Regen also provides a sense of a community and access a number of
social services such as clothing, nursing care, clinical foot care, personal hygiene kits, and so much more
to the homeless and needy.
For the New Year, I am planning to volunteer some of my time and skillsto Regeneration to build on the
success of my Holiday Season Food Drive that concluded a week before Christmas day. In January and
February I would like to use my skills to help raise awareness for Regeneration’s coldest night of the year
fund raising campaign which is February 22, 2014. What are your plans for 2014? How do you plan to
make a difference in 2014?
Please allow me to share my thoughts with you today about making the impossible possible in 2014.
Few days before Christmas I became aware that astronauts on the International Space Station were
conducting a series of urgent repair spacewalks to revive a crippled cooling line. According to the news
report a breakdown had occurred that left one of two identical cooling loops too cold. It forced the
astronauts to turn off all non-essential equipment inside the orbiting lab, bringing scientific research to a
near-halt and leaving the station in a vulnerable state.
I am amazed that we have the technology and ability to carry out a pump replacement about 260 miles
up in space. From what I have read the repair job was a risky endeavour. To avert some of the risks the
astronauts wore extra safety gear as they floated outside because NASA wanted to prevent a recurrence
of the helmet flooding that nearly drowned an astronaut last summer. The astronauts had snorkels in
their suits and water-absorbent pads in their helmets. I certainly found the exercise to replace the pump
in space incredible fascinated. Think about it. If we are able to replace a pump in space, what else can
you and I accomplish?
I also found the attempt to rescue 74 people on board a Russian ship, the AkademikShokalskiy, trapped
by ice in the Antarctica equally fascinated. As one of the researchers mentioned few days ago all the

2. people on the ship are healthy and in very good spirits. The researcher went on to say few years ago
researchers trapped by ice in the Antarctica would not be able to communicate with the outside world
via Youtube, Skype, Facebook, Twitter and other social medias. However, here we are at the end of
2013, watching one ice breaker ship after another attempting to crack the ice andraising hopes of a
successful rescue.
I recounted these two pieces of news to say that in 2014 you can make the impossible possible. If we are
able to repair at cooling systems hundreds of miles above earth or if we can use one ship after another
to crack ice in Antarctica to rescue researchers on another ship what is it that will be truly impossible to
us in 2014? Depending on what you goals are, I would say nothing will be impossible for you in 2014.
Whatever your goals are for the New Year, here are three things you should do to make the impossible
possible in 2014:
Take risks and be fearless
Clearly, the pump on the International Space Station needed to be fixed but it involved taking risks. To
mitigate some of the risks, NASA took extra precautions to avoid water vapours in the astronauts’
helmets. Life involves taking risks. Taking risks requires that you belief in yourself. You must be so
confident in yourself that you are fearless. Your beliefs are powerful. If you believe something is
impossible, that belief will erode your confidence and turn that impossible belief into a self-fulfilling
prophecy. You will be afraid and you will avoid taking risk. You must confront risk with confidence. We
should not be careless or carefree but we have to take risks and be fearless if we want to turn the
impossible into possible in 2014.
Control the things you can control
Let us take the 74 people trapped on the Russian ship. They send out tweets, post videos on Youtube,
update their Facebook status and in the process keep the rest of us informed on how well they are
coping in the face of being distressed in Antarctica. They even manage to celebrate the birthday of one
of the female researcher on board. They may be trapped by ice in Antarctica but they are still in control
of the things they can control such as keeping in good spirit and keeping us informed. To make the
impossible possible in 2014, control the things you can control. For example, you can control your health
by eating healthy foods and keeping physically fit by exercising daily. You can keep track of your finances
by using a budget. You can document your plans and goals for the New Year.
Think outside the box – think possibilities and not impossibilities
It is unclear whether the pump repair was a part of the mission for the astronauts on the International
Space Station but they were obviously prepared. They had the 770lbs (353.8kg) refrigerator-size pump
handy which was held by a robotic arm as it was guided to the installation spot. In the Antarctica, the
Chinese Ice Breaker ship remains in close proximity in the event the Australian icebreaker the Aurora
Australisis unable to reach the stricken ship. The Chinese icebreaker, the Snow Dragon, is on standby at
the edge of the ice and within sight of the trapped ship. It has a helicopter on board which could be used

3. in the rescue. The rescuers initial plan is to break through the ice but if that fails they will move to using
the helicopter to rescue the researchers. They are not sticking to one solution, they are thinking outside
the box. To make the impossible possible in 2014, you must think outside the box. I am optimistic that
the 74 people will be rescued despite the adverse weather conditions that forced the Australian
icebreaker to suspended efforts to reach an icebound research ship.
As we appear the end of 2013, I encourage you to think possibilities and not impossibilities.In 2014, be
prepared to turn the impossible into possible. Look at what you accomplished in 2013 especially what
you once thought could never be done. Are you amazed you once thought it was impossible?
In 2014, take some risks and be fearless, control the things you can control and think outside the box.
Think possibilities and not impossibilities.
Mark McKenzie is a leading Subject Matter Expert in financial services regulation and supervision as well
as a professional motivational speaker, corporate trainer and youth mentor. He can be contacted by
email mastbmckenzie@gmail.com or by telephone 647-406-4622. Read my blog
http://mastbmckenzie.blogspot.ca/ and always write me a comment and share. Follow me on Twitter
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