“Everything is impossible – until it happens!”

How true is this? I was fortunate to see Noel Fitzpatrick (aka Supervet) at the Arena in Birmingham on Saturday 17th November 2018. Seldom have I been moved to tears, to laughter, to inspiration, and to sheer thought-provoking contemplation in the way that I was for those few hours. Noel managed to take his audience on a journey with him from his humble beginnings to a promising future for all of mankind. A journey filled with hope, devastation, joy, loss and ultimately sheer dogged (excuse the pun!) determination to achieve what he has set out to do. 

I was struck by his passion and belief to deliver his childhood dream of becoming “Vet Man” to the world, no matter what obstacles he faced. Each time he was knocked back he sought solace in going back to his Chestnut tree – his source of strength – and somehow found the courage to continue.
He told the story of a working dog who had been injured and the faith of the Farmer who owned him in knowing (not thinking or hoping) that Noel could heal his dog. Noel himself was doubtful and, using a kitchen table as a makeshift operating table, he did what he could. The dog recovered and was left with only a slight limp. Noel was astounded that he’d managed to help this dog in the way he did, believing at the time that survival with all limbs intact was nigh on impossible. The Farmer said profoundly “Everything is impossible – until it happens!”

The hairs stood up on the back of my neck when, in an auditorium holding thousands of people, you could have heard a pin drop when he told the tale of Bella, the dog he couldn’t save. It would have been so easy for Noel to stop pushing the boundaries at that point, to give in and settle for what he already had. He chose to ignore the voice in his head that told him he wasn’t good enough/clever enough/experienced enough and continued to work towards getting more practical experience to prove he could do what he was wanting to do. He has succeeded in way that exceeds all of his initial expectations – he is changing the face of medical science as we know it.

So many people have a dream and seek to do great things; many do not have a supporter to encourage them to continue. For Coaches, the work that we do with our clients enables us to see others achieving dreams day in, day out. We truly do know at first-hand that “Everything is impossible – until it happens!”