If a human can do it, you can do it.

A vision is a future you can see. Leadership is about taking yourself and others to that future. For many, including me, the vision becomes cloudy if it’s not something you focus on. If you’re not careful, you get caught up in the day, which becomes a week, which becomes a month and then a year. Before you know it, a lot of time has passed, and you’re roughly in the same place.

As I’ve been playing around with personal visions an idea from stoicism keeps floating around in my head. The original translation from Marcus Aurelius’ Meditations is:

Not to assume it’s impossible because you find it hard. But to recognize that if it’s humanly possible, you can do it too.

— Marcus Aurelius

This got etched in my brain as the more memorable, “If a human can do it, you can do it.” Credit for this distilled version likely goes to Ryan Holiday and his Daily Stoic podcast.

This principle suggests that nothing is insurmountable. Do you view certain individuals as superhuman? Nope. They’re as human as everyone else. Whatever their achievements, they navigated a path to attain them. That means you can figure it out, too.

Want to start a company? Be a consultant? Hold a handstand for two minutes? Yep, in all three cases, a human can do it. That means you can do it. Essentially, as long as you don’t defy the laws of physics, the world is your oyster. Nice.

Embracing this mindset, as opposed to one of limitations, fosters creativity and exploration. It becomes enjoyable to imagine the achievable. Really interesting visions start to coalesce and generate excitement. Now you can propel yourself and others toward that vision - because if a human can do it, you can do it. You just have to get started!

Do you have a vision of something you’d like to achieve? I’d love to hear it!