Can you think of anything that’s impossible?
Hundreds of years ago it was impossible for humans to fly through the skies.
However, there were some who believed it could happen. Today the volume of people at our airports shows clearly that the impossible became possible.
Maybe whatever you think is impossible now can be achieved if you believe it can and don’t give up hope on it?
Wishing you a month of believing and possibility…
Sinead
P.S. If you know anyone else who would like to receive this monthly newsletter, please feel free to share it. The link to subscribe is here
Elizabeth (Bessie) Coleman was born on 26th Jan 1892 in Texas. She was the 10th of thirteen children born to her mother Susan, a maid, who was of African American descent and her father George, a share-cropper, who was of mixed African American and Native American descent.
Bessie was very bright at school but did not have the means to complete third level education.
She moved to Chicago to live with her brothers when she was 23. Hearing about airplanes used in World War 1, sparked her interest in becoming a pilot, although many people told her this would be impossible.
At the time, females and African Americans were not permitted to attend flight school in America. But Bessie was determined and had the belief that one day she would be a pilot.
She worked in 2 jobs and took French lessons in order to achieve her dream of learning to fly. In June 1921, Bessie earned her pilot’s licence in Paris, France.
For the next 5 years, Bessie performed as a stunt pilot becoming famous across America and Europe. She was adamant to never perform where there was segregation and Bessie became an inspiration in breaking down gender and racial discrimination.
Tragically, Bessie died at age 34 in 1926 due to a fault with an airplane engine. Bessie has been honoured in many ways since then.
In 1992, the first African American woman to go into space, Mae Jemison, carried a picture of Bessie with her on her inaugural trip.
Humankind’s fascination with flying is believed to date back to 400BC when early kites prompted inventors to think about how humans might be able to fly.
Around 1500 Leonardo DaVinci studied and wrote extensively about flight. He was fascinated with flying machines and created designs, mostly based on his study of birds and how they flew. Many believe Leonardo was a genius and credit him with having a vision for flight long before it became a reality.
Whilst not a winged structure, the first human carrying flying machine was a hot air balloon which travelled over Paris in the late 18th century.
In 1903, the Wright Flyer, the invention of brothers Wilber and Orville Wright was the first controlled aircraft to fly.
For the following 2 years, the brothers worked continuously at improving their flying machine. By 1905, the Wright Brothers had an aircraft available for sale but they had no customers.
Many questioned the brothers’ achievement and cast aspersions on their characters as well as their invention.
Undeterred and with unwavering belief, the brothers persisted with promoting their aircraft. Their fortunes changed in the following years, as orders for the planes increased and the Wright brothers achieved celebrity and fame.
Aeronautical engineering developed rapidly after that and less than 60 years later, Yuri Gagarin, a Soviet astronaut was the first man to travel to space in 1961.
Not wishing to be left behind in the space race, President John F. Kennedy, then president of the USA, committed in the early 1960s that the US would build a rocket to take a human safely to the moon and back before the end of the decade. When the president asked senior officials at NASA what would that take, the reply he received was “the will to do it”, i.e. as long as one believed it could be done, it would be done.
In 1969 the USA achieved this goal when Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin landed on the moon.
Currently, space tourism is on the radar for adventurous travellers (albeit very wealthy ones) as space trips begin to be offered commercially by Richard Branson’s Virgin Galatic, Jeff Bezos’ Blue Origin, and Elon Musk’s SpaceX.
Whatever your thoughts are about a journey to space, you have to admire the strength of belief that these inventors, engineers, presidents and billionaires have. Their plans would have seemed impossible initially but they believe in their ideas and they are making them happen!
“The desire to fly is an idea handed down to us by our ancestors who, in their grueling travels across trackless lands in prehistoric times, looked enviously on the birds soaring freely through space, at full speed, above all obstacles, on the infinite highway of the air.” Wilbur Wright
“What we find is that if you have a goal that is very, very far out, and you approach it in little steps, you start to get there faster. Your mind opens up to the possibilities.” Mae Jemison
“Surely, in the light of history, it is more intelligent to hope rather than to fear, to try rather than not to try. For one thing we know beyond all doubt: Nothing has ever been achieved by the person who says, ‘It can’t be done.” Eleanor Roosevelt
Sinead Huskisson 