Overcoming Impossible Odds

The Rubik’s Cube is the best-selling children’s toy in history. It was invented in 1974 by Erno Rubik, an architectural design professor who used the cube to teach his students how to analyze design problems in three dimensions.

But before his students could use the cube, Rubik had to figure out how to solve it himself. That posed an immense challenge. The Rubik’s cube has over 43 quintillion combinations. To put that number into perspective, if everyone on earth did one combination a second, all 43 quintillion combinations would take almost 200 years.

In addition to that head-scratching number, Rubik also faced another challenge: he had no Internet or books he could turn to for answers. He had to rely on his own problem-solving skills and determination. The solution took him a month.

Rubik tells people, “When we encounter problems, there is an opportunity to discover something new and different. If everything isn’t good today, they can always be better tomorrow.”

Whatever you hope to achieve in life, one principle will be key to your success: Don’t quit. Even when the odds seem against you.

You reach big goals by accomplishing small goals one at a time. You stay sober one day at a time. You restore your marriage one counseling session at a time.

Even when you’re pushed beyond your limits and the odds seem against you … stick with it.