Have you ever overcome a nearly impossible situation?

Throughout history,
from Copernicus to Steve Jobs, people have been accomplishing virtually impossible
tasks and refusing to accept defeat. Phelps beliefs about positive attitude are still
relevant today. Confidence is essential in completing difficult tasks. However,
although people have faith that a sense of certainty can help you accomplish
virtually anything, it is still necessary to be prepared for situations. A false sense of
security can lead to overconfidence and a lack of readiness.
Generally speaking, leaders and inventors should be confident in their
work; lack of confidence may lead to the self-fulfilling prophecy (believing you are
not going to succeed and subsequently putting less effort into it, leading to failure).
However, confidence should never be the leading factor when preparing. Proper
skills, such as studying, are needed in order to be successful. The victory disease
is a counter example where confidence is considered more important than being
prepared. This phenomenon occurs after a series of victories for a military leader,
causing them to become overconfident in their skills and making them attempt
tactics or strategies they cannot handle. For instance, when Napoleon succeeded in
taking over most of Europe, he believed he was overly prepared and thought his
confidence would carry over and allow his troops to beat Russia without proper
planning. Similarly, Adolph Hitler experienced this situation during World War Two
when trying to invade the Soviet Union after having multiple military victories. His
efforts failed, causing his troops thousands of fatalities. In both cases, the leaders
let their hubris get the best of them; they trusted their confidence alone instead of
considering their levels of preparedness.
In contrast, Copernicus, a Polish scientist and astronomer, theorized an
astronomical model that featured the sun as the center of our system. Because of
his theory, he was considered a dissident throughout his lifetime. His development
of the Heliocentric theory was extremely controversial and was met with much
criticism. He argued against the widely accepted Ptolemy model, where the Earth
was the center of the universe. This model was widely accepted and supported by
the highly influential Roman Catholic Church, thus banning Copernicus from the
religion. However, this did not shake his confidence or determination to prove the
theory. Copernicuss model was much more accurate than Ptolemy, and was
authenticated in the seventeenth century. Copernicus strong beliefs in himself and
his research allowed him to push the boundaries of science in a way no one had
before. Copernicus had the absolute sense of certainty when it came to his work
and was able to persevere, eventually shaping modern astronomy.
Similarly, Steve Jobs is a great example of an innovator who was confident in
himself and achieved his goals. Steve Jobs started his journey as a college dropout.
Without enough money to support himself, or to continue his education at Harvard
University, he was forced to sleep on the floors of his friends dorms. He did not
have enough money to feed himself so in order to have dinner each night Jobs
would have to recycle clean Coca-Cola bottles in exchange for change. This

struggle, however, was what led to his success. His will to succeed even in times of
destitution proved triumphant. At the age of twenty, he created his own legacy
Apple Inc. which would rapidly become one of the most successful multinational
corporations ever. Due to his faith in himself, he was able to overcome challenging
obstacles, altering the opinions of his critics and becoming the epitome of a self
made icon .
Throughout the nineteen sixties, American citizens did not believe the United
States could ever succeed in landing a man on the moon. As a nation, we had
dwindling confidence in our space program and did not think lunar exploration was
possible. The Soviet Union, who was dominating the Space Race, was proving
themselves a worthy international competitor but consistently had malfunctions or
mishaps on their spacecraft. Their misfortune sparked hope into the United States
President John F. Kennedy, who wanted to beat the Soviets to the Moon. His goal
lead to billions of dollars being invested into the Apollo Mission and an ambitious
speech presented to Congress titled, The Decision to Go to the Moon. The
executives at NASA were skeptical, but because of the confidence of their
Commander In Chief, other government officials, scientists, and astronauts, the
Apollo spacecraft was built, flown, and landed on the Moon in under 5 years. This
accomplishment is considered an enormous feat and shocked the world. Many
citizens doubted the success of the mission, but through the complete
determination and confidence of everyone contributing to the project it was a
success. Nationalism surged across the country due to the collective effort it took
beating the Soviets to the moon. If it were not for the certainty of President Kennedy
and other officials, the first lunar landing may have been the Soviets to celebrate.
In conclusion, when attempting to accomplish a virtually impossible task, it is
necessary to not only be prepared, but also develop the right mindset. A positive
attitude can help your confidence and maintain your determination. Even when
faced with adversity, the absolute certainty of your beliefs will help you overcome
the difficulties and achieve things others may think are impossible.