FBC – 161 – Difficult is not impossible

Difficult is not impossible.

Today we are going to talk about the difference between difficult and impossible.

We very often mistake one for the other and this actually limits our potential and kills our dreams. In this episode you are going to discover why it is crucial to differentiate these concepts.

So today is just going to be a quote that I saw. And it says something like “difficult doesn't mean impossible”.

It just means that you have to work harder at it. This thing is big, because as soon as things get difficult, people just assume that it's impossible. Okay. So a lot of people will tell you, oh, man, you know what? It's impossible to start a business that generates X, you know? And I'm like, no, it is possible.

I mean, some people did it. A lot of people did it. It's just that it's not as easy as you want it to be. It's going to require some work. Is going to require you to show up for two years, to show up every day to make it happen. But it is possible. But at the first sign of difficulty, most of us will just give up. Right. And I saw this other quote today that was a pretty good quote. 97 percent of the people who gave up too soon work for the 3 percent who never gave up. So it's basically. Yeah. I mean, as soon as the difficulties arose, most people just gave up. Right.

And there were 3 percent of these people who said, you know what? Let me go through with this thing. I don't care if it's difficult. I'm just going to work harder at it. And one day I'll make it happen. And then eventually, these are the people who become your bosses. And these are the people you work for.

So the concept can be very simple. OK. The execution is a different story. So the execution can be rather difficult or a little bit less simple. You know, it's not easy, but the concept itself is simple. So when you're facing a task that's difficult, you know, it seems difficult. Try to break it down and look at the concept. The concept is very, very simple. So if you want to, let's say, start a like an affiliate business, for example.

You know, you, for example, having affiliates. Okay. So what do you have to do, for example? So having affiliates, certainly once you get to a stage where you have hundreds of affiliates selling your product, that’s it, you’re gold.

Right, it's honestly, you are gold. You're going to make so much money, especially with digital products. Right. Because once the product is created, that's it. You know, you don’t have too many overheads for it.

So how do you get to a stage where you have this empire and you have all these people selling your stuff and sending your percentage of each and every sell? So here is the thing. So first of all, you have to create your product. OK. This is the first step. You create a product.

Difficult is not impossible

Second step, which is a very important step, is that you test your product yourself. OK. So when I say test, your product is, you know, you send traffic and you make sure the product converts.

So once you see that your product converts, then at that point you start looking for affiliates. What you're going to do is that you're going to give them the material for them to promote. Right. Because affiliates like to have everything done for them. OK. So you identified what worked so you can give them the landing pages you can find. You can give them the emails that work really well for you.

And then afterwards, you just find the people. All right. So if you've done the first three steps, when they start sending traffic, they make money. So what do they do? They send more traffic to make more money. All right.

So this was just a random example. But this is how you create a successful affiliate business. So you can see that the concept is very simple. Then the execution is more complicated.

So you can it can seem difficult. But it is possible, you just need to break it down into actionable steps and actionable concepts. Right. So, you know, again, it's all about the mind-set. If there is something you really want to do. And it's difficult. Well, the reason I mean, all the things are difficult is because they are worth it.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between something difficult and something impossible?

Difficult means the path exists but the work is heavy. Impossible means the path does not exist at any cost or with any effort. Most things we label impossible are simply difficult, expensive, slow, or unfamiliar. Naming this distinction is the first step to actually attempting the goal.

Why do we treat difficult goals as if they were impossible?

We label difficult goals impossible because labelling them that way protects us from trying and failing. Calling something impossible is socially acceptable. Quitting because it is hard is not. The label is a shield, and shields keep you out of the arena that actually grows you.

How do you push through a goal that feels too difficult right now?

Cut the goal into the smallest unit that you can actually start this hour, not this week. Difficult goals collapse under their own weight when you keep the long horizon visible. Today, you only owe the next move. The mountain is climbed in steps measured in minutes.

What is the first step when a dream looks impossible?

The first step when a dream looks impossible is to ask one question: has any human ever done a version of this before? If yes, it is difficult, not impossible. Once you reclassify it, you can copy the path, shrink the timeline, and stop using impossibility as an excuse.

About the Author

Martin Ebongue is the founder of martinebongue.com, an online business and lifestyle design blog focused on helping aspiring entrepreneurs build location-independent businesses. Since 2014, he has been creating and scaling online ventures across multiple niches, from digital products and affiliate marketing to SaaS and content platforms, while traveling the world. He shares the real-world strategies, tools, and systems that work, with a particular focus on AI-powered automation for solopreneurs. Follow him on YouTube, X (Twitter), and Instagram.

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