No Doesn't Mean No Way

When Elon Musk needed to transport a rocket from Texas to Florida, his team encountered a significant challenge.

The rocket was massive and too big for air transport, and too slow to send by barge, which would’ve taken months. So the engineers were told: “It’s impossible to do it any other way.”

But Musk pushed back with one sentence: “Physics are the only laws. Everything else is a suggestion.”

That shift in mindset changed everything.

The team began to map a route by land. They avoided low overpasses. But then they hit another challenge: power lines stretched across many rural roads. Again, they were told it couldn’t be done. So what did they do?

They sent trucks ahead of the rocket, each equipped with long poles, to physically lift the power lines out of the way as they drove.

The rocket made it in weeks, not months.

All because they refused to accept someone telling them it was impossible. Just because something hasn’t been done doesn’t mean it can’t be done. Just because you haven’t done something doesn’t mean you can’t do something.

Sure, it won’t be easy. You will run into problems and obstacles. People will tell you, “That’s impossible.” But your mindset matters more than the resistance.

If you want to embrace this mindset, you must be willing to say:

“No doesn’t mean no way. It just means not that way or not right now.”

P.S. This week, I'm delivering a streamlined, virtual workshop from that very program titled: How to Lead a Winning Team: Talent, Culture, and Strategy in 2 Hours. 

If you're responsible for leading people, this workshop will be an immediate game-changer for you. In this application-focused session, I'll guide you step-by-step through:

Talent: How to identify and retain your best performers and develop or replace your low-performers.

Culture: How to intentionally create and sustain a high-performing culture that drives performance and engagement.

Strategy: How to set clear expectations and goals to maximize your team's success.

The pop-up workshop is on August 7th from 11 AM to 1 PM EST over Zoom.