What does it mean to "believe the unbelievable"?

A lot new businesses have been built on believing in the unbelievable. Apple believed it was possible to sell digital music cheaply and legitimately and iTunes was born.

Jeff Hawkins believed it was possible to carry around a computer the size of a wallet and he carried around a block of wood cut to size for many months before he developed the original Palm Pilot.

Muhammad Yunus believed it was possible to lend folks smalls amounts of money, enough to get them started on a business and developed the Grameen Bank.

So it's entirely possible that someone with enough determination and vision and doggedness to make something unbelievable become a reality.

No. I think people should not pursue their dream if everyone else believe it's impossible.

OK, just joking... gotcha :D

No, really, here is my answer: yes. Of course. When put it that way, how can one disagree? Actually today it would be considered plane insane to answer 'no' to such a question. I'm not even sure it is a question anymore.

But makes me think. And makes me think that 'believing the unbelievable' today has turned into a bit of a cliche and has lost its 'bigness'. I'm afraid most people today tend to read 'unbelievable' from a mere success point of view: 'I can make money so n so" "I can be successful if I do so and so". That's all fine, we all have to earn our everyday caviar and champagne.

But how small are these dreams really - in terms of quality, not quantity. Is that why our today's heroes are just successful business people? Is this what 'unbelievable' is all about? Is that it? (I know, too many question marks for an 'aswer').

Should it be something bigger then just giving people like me the opportunity to write on the internet for a monthly flat rate or to flash a plastic thing to pay the bill (which I both greatly enjoy BTW). That type of 'unbelievable' sounds a bit trivial, doesn't it?

Perhaps an interesting question would be " what is really worth believing in and pursuing?" i mean, everyone has the right to dream whatever, for as small or personal it might be. But when we talk about Unbelievable and Dream, shouldn't we start comparing dreams like being and 'American Idol' or selling a million copies of whatever, to dreams like, say: ' One day all people will be equal'. Is there a difference between Mr. Gandhi or Mr. Martin Luther King and Mr. Gates or Mr. Trump?

I see one: unlike the other two, Ghandi and M L King changed the world because they couldn't accept anymore the violation of fundamental values. They did so out of love for humankind, against al odds and for no personal interest. And because of that we now live following a new set of values. Now, how unbelievable is that.

Cheers

Believe The Unbelievable

'Believing the unbelievable' is something that many people have doubted through the ages. But is has happened so many times in history. Think of the holocaust of example: Hitler had a plan to first ripe out all the Jews in Germany, and then moved on to killing all of the Jews in Europe. And after that-the world. And he almost exceeded his plan by killing 6 million or 80% of the Jews in Europe. But the Jews hung on and had hope that some day, they would be saved and could find there family they were seperated from. But the Nazis were very very strong and powerful-but they stilled believed the unbelieveable. And guess what? The Russians and the Americans came and saved them. And though there weren't much left, thousands of Jews believed the unbelieveable, and they lived. Many never found there familes; but yet still many did! Same thing with the African American Slaves. They believed the unbelieveable-and they were saved.

It could be as simple as getting an 95 on the final that you didn't study for. But it could be as serious as believing that there is hope in a life and death situation.

'Believing the unbelievable' is something that many people have doubted through the ages. But is has happened so many times in history. Think of the holocaust of example: Hitler had a plan to first ripe out all the Jews in Germany, and then moved on to killing all of the Jews in Europe. And after that-the world. And he almost exceeded his plan by killing 6 million or 80% of the Jews in Europe. But the Jews hung on and had hope that some day, they would be saved and could find there family they were seperated from. But the Nazis were very very strong and powerful-but they stilled believed the unbelieveable. And guess what? The Russians and the Americans came and saved them. And though there weren't much left, thousands of Jews believed the unbelieveable, and they lived. Many never found there familes; but yet still many did! Same thing with the African American Slaves. They believed the unbelieveable-and they were saved.

I agree. I too have dreams, just like billions of others. Many do pursue, but only a handful make it. Why is this? Perhaps the environment within which one chases his or her dream matters more... Yours is a remarkable story -- of how you effectively bought a debt-ridden, 1-aircraft airline for RM1 (or something like that...) and created a new market segment for Asia! Now everyone can fly.... millions do, all over Asia, flying instead of taking the coach or train.

What a dream. But if you had the same dream and you were asked to implement it in, lets say, India, could you have done it? Would the environment, there, have been conducive for you, 5 years ago?

On the other hand, the billions of dreams people have, in the main, are common. Only a select few would be paradigm movers, like yours. In other words, not everyone is an inventor. Many are innovators, though. Still, to say 'go chase your dreams, no matter how crazy, regardless what people say' could be risky advice. Between dream and success, there is the ether of failure. The beauty is in navigating through that ether, to success, without losing your way. Most dreams may not be enough to get you there.... Isn't this the stark reality? Think, again! I am.

Raj Kumar, Writer, Pitch Strategies.

raj.kumar@pitchstrategies.com

To me, to believe the unbelievable means to do extraordinary things ordinary people wouldn't even think of.

Doing it is the key, just the belief without action is a mere dream. I'm kind of an unconventional guy, always delivering results in strange yet creative ways, which if disclosed earlier would have been laughed at or shrugged off.

It's only by believing what we are capable of and what others can synergistically produce with us that will break through the so-called impossible dream to attain what others will then call a 'brilliant job'.

I rose from a trainee technician to executive director in a very large MNC in 25 years. After 5 years at that position, I left to start my own coaching business for senior managers and directors in local companies on leadership, success and manufacturing management coaching. I'm much better off, and I have been "abnormally" successful from the viewpoint of those who do not believe the unbelievable could be done.

Many people would describe that as 'believing if mythological animals or other insane things.' But to me personally, it is believing that there is hope. It could be as simple as getting an 95 on the final that you didn't study for. But it could be as serious as believing that there is hope in a life and death situation.

'Believing the unbelievable' is something that many people have doubted through the ages. But is has happened so many times in history. Think of the holocaust of example: Hitler had a plan to first ripe out all the Jews in Germany, and then moved on to killing all of the Jews in Europe. And after that-the world. And he almost exceeded his plan by killing 6 million or 80% of the Jews in Europe. But the Jews hung on and had hope that some day, they would be saved and could find there family they were seperated from. But the Nazis were very very strong and powerful-but they stilled believed the unbelieveable. And guess what? The Russians and the Americans came and saved them. And though there weren't much left, thousands of Jews believed the unbelieveable, and they lived. Many never found there familes; but yet still many did! Same thing with the African American Slaves. They believed the unbelieveable-and they were saved.

So to answer your question, 'believeing the unbelieveable' to me means when things seem grim and are not going your way, you still believe there is hope.

Perhaps an interesting question would be " what is really worth believing in and pursuing?" i mean, everyone has the right to dream whatever, for as small or personal it might be. But when we talk about Unbelievable and Dream, shouldn't we start comparing dreams like being and 'American Idol' or selling a million copies of whatever, to dreams like, say: ' One day all people will be equal'. Is there a difference between Mr. Gandhi or Mr. Martin Luther King and Mr. Gates or Mr. Trump?

I think it's almost impossible to believe the unbelievable, challenge the norms and yourself. Almost impossible. Not impossible. To do it you have to have nerves of steel and deaf ears. We live in a very closed society. Age, race, gender and money put a clear ring around what you can and can not dream to achieve. In baseball for instance you have to be a certain age or you can't play professional sports. Does it matter that you have talent, skill, determination, desire or a dream? No. You can dream all you want but certain things are not going to become a reality. I believe in challenging myself. When I see people with no legs rolling over the marathon finish line I'm inspired. Each day I prepare myself for the "haters." No matter what you do they are always going to be there. Go for it! Turn your deaf ear toward the crowd and believe the unbelievable. When you achieve it..the haters will become your biggest fans!

I agree that people need dreams, no matter how feasible those dreams are.

But dreams will only remain dreams if it's not turned into a goal that a person wants to strive to achieve. Without being turned into a 'goal', a dream is useless to persue.

Nothing is impossible in this world, therefore people should stop dreaming and start turning their dreams into goals that have to be achieved. You may have dreams that seem absurd to some, but when it is realized as a goal, people tend to start to respect you, because you aren't just dreaming anymore, you're working on it to make it a reality.

But there are limits to taking on personal challenges to realize your goals. To really achieve something great for yourself, you have to look at every angle. Plan ahead to root out any mistakes, or else you'll be realizing Murphy's Law, that "Whatever can go wrong, will go wrong" more often than not, without careful planning. You also have to know when to stop or adapt, to minimize your losses. Most people crash after the first or second setback. Everything needs careful planning.

Then there's responsibility to society. Do things to benefit yourself while stepping over others' - what would you do. Your dreams/goals may be yours, but there are responsibilities involved. Think about it.

It's easy to have dreams and outline Goals for yourself, to pursue and realize them. But the main thing is, to achieve them, can you bring yourself to do the things that you would probably loathe to do? If you had to betray your principles, conscience and/or loved ones for the sake of your dreams/goals, can you? Can you live with the decisions you've made, that lead to more decisions that have to be made, and begs more questions than answers given?