A friend of mine was telling me how disappointed he was that a friend had muscled him out of a job prospect. She had assured him she had no desire to move to New York for work. Of course, once she had gotten word that he had applied, she swiftly changed her mind.

It is unfortunate of course, but it’s something I understand. She’s a shitty friend, sure, but she is also like many people in her thought process. A move to New York is terrifying and uncomfortable (especially coming from outside of the United States) It is impossible to imagine yourself having the courage to up and move to a presumably cutthroat place like New York. Until someone else does it. And the fact that someone close to her was taking the steps to do what she was afraid to do was the green light. She only assumed it wasn’t realistic.

The four minute mile eluded modern runners for decades, and was even considered “dangerous and life threatening” if attempted. Until Roger Bannister clocked in at 3:59.4 in 1954. A mere two months later, Australian John Landy also broke the four minute mile (losing to Bannister in the same race). The next 50 or so years of running saw Bannister’s record being beaten by a staggering 17 seconds.

“Everything’s impossible until someone does it.” Bruce Wayne (I just quoted Batman)