“Make not impossible
that which but seems unlike.”
Shakespeare — “Measure for Measure”
I agree with Shakespeare. Wholeheartedly.
The chasm between “unlikely” and “impossible” is immense, though too many people see them as oddly adjacent.
Nearly synonymous.
As a result, dreams are abandoned. Hope is lost. Surrender is inevitable.
Understanding the enormous difference between unlikely and impossible is the difference between dreaming and dying.
It’s served me well.
It was unlikely—while all of my friends were attending college and I was scraping by as a McDonald’s manager—that my dream of someday becoming a school teacher would ever come true. It was even less likely when I was homeless, jailed, and facing trial for a crime I did not commit.
But I eventually made it to Manchester Community College at age 23.
I made it to Trinity College and St. Joseph’s University when I was 25.
I graduated with an English degree and teaching certificate when I was 28 and became a teacher that same year. I’ve taught in the same elementary school for the past 27 years and in the same classroom for 24 of those years,
In 2005, I was named Teacher of the Year in my school district and was one of three finalists for Connecticut’s Teacher of the Year.
While teaching at my school, I met Elysha and some of my closest friends.
I was seven years behind most of my friends who went straight from high school to college, and I dealt with some unexpected struggles along the way, but I never stopped believing that it might someday happen, so I never stopped trying to make my dream come true.
Unlikely but not impossible, so I never stopped trying.
It was unlikely for me to ever publish a book with a major publishing house like Doubleday, St. Martin’s Press, or New World Library. It’s unlikely for most people. Finding a literary agent and selling a book to a major publisher is the steepest of steep climbs, especially for someone who came from nothing and knew no one.
I knew it was unlikely, but I also knew it wasn’t impossible, so I never stopped trying. I’ve written every single day of my life since I was 17 years old without ever missing a day. At age 37, I finally published my first novel — “Something Missing” — with Doubleday.
My tenth book—my first middle-grade novel—will hit bookstore shelves later this year. I’ve published novels and nonfiction with all the major publishing houses listed above.
My novel “Memoirs of an Imaginary Friend” became an international bestseller and has been translated into more than 25 languages.
Unlikely but not impossible, so I never gave up. Never stopped writing.
When I began competing in Moth StorySLAMs in New York City, the record number of wins was 25. I knew how unlikely I was to match or surpass that number. I was told that 25 wins was “untouchable.”
No one had even come close to matching that total.
Last year, I won my 60th and 61st Moth StorySLAMs alongside 9 GrandSLAM championships.
I knew it was unlikely but not impossible, so I never stopped trying. Never stopped taking the stage and competing.
My new goal is 100 wins.
Also unlikely but not impossible, so I press on.
I knew it was unlikely that Elysha Green would ever date me. She was, in my estimation, a million miles out of my league.
She still is.
She was also engaged to be married when I met her.
Dating her was so unlikely that when I told our principal that we had begun dating — a full year after she had broken off her engagement — he thought it was an April Fool’s joke.
“Like Elysha Green would ever in a million years date Matthew Dicks!” he said to me and laughed as he walked away.
Thirty months later, he would officiate our wedding. In July, we will celebrate 19 years of marriage.
Unlikely but not impossible, so I never gave up hope.
This isn’t to say all of my unlikely dreams have come true.
I know it’s unlikely that one of my solo shows will end up on a Broadway or off-Broadway stage, but I continue to try to make something so undeniable that a Broadway producer can’t help but want it.
I know it’s unlikely that I will lower my golfing handicap to single digits, but I continue to take lessons and practice relentlessly.
I know it’s unlikely that an editor will agree to publish one or more of my picture books — they’ve rejected every one so far — but I keep writing and pitching them despite the rejections from shortsighted editors who fail to see my genius.
I know it’s unlikely that I will ever tour large theaters across the country with my solo show, but knowing that others have accomplished this goal, I know it’s possible.
I know it’s unlikely that any of my books or screenplays will be turned into actual movies, but it’s not impossible, so I keep writing and pitching.
I know it’s unlikely that my father will ever respond to the letters I send him, but I know it’s not impossible, so I continue to write.
Shakespeare almost certainly knew that it was unlikely but not impossible that his work would be remembered 500 years after his death.
Yet his plays are still being read and produced today, including “Measure for Measure,” which I’m reading right now just for the joy of it.
“Unlikely but not impossible” — the first ingredient in making a dream come true.
