Impossible is an Opinion
Tuesday, March 8 2005I hope this finds you well. What do you believe is impossible?
Over the years people have said: putting a man on the moon, a convicted terrorist becoming President (Nelson Mandela), one man rallying an entire country to overthrow colonial rule, by peaceful means, (Gandhi and Britain), computers talking to each other, smoking banned in public places, (New York and the Republic of Ireland) or even the people of Lebanon forcing Syrian troops to leave their country, as began happening yesterday.
A few weeks ago, in the longest court battle in British legal history, Helen Steel and David Morris, the "McLibel Two," secured an extraordinary victory against a multinational giant, McDonalds.
For 15 years the two activists from north London fought a case against the world's biggest burger chain which seemed doomed, but ended in victory on the 15th February, when the European Court of Human Rights ruled that the two did not have a fair trial, as they had defended themselves without legal aid, against a global giant with unlimited resources.
David and Helen's story began when a pamphlet, "What's wrong with McDonald's" was distributed which accused McDonald's of selling unhealthy food. McDonald's served writs against the activists. Three of the accused apologised to escape legal action but Helen, now 40 and David, now 50, fought on. They said "We were told we did not have a cat in hell's chance...but we decided that we had to fight because McDonald's were suing a lot of people and creating a climate of fear."
Their only legal support was occasional sessions of free advice from a sympathetic barrister, Keir Starmer. After the victory he said, "They were extremely courageous. Most people would have backed down and everyone else, in fact, did. This has gone from three or four people in anoraks standing in the rain in Finchley on a Saturday afternoon, to the European Court in Strasbourg. Companies know that people without money cannot fight libel cases so they use the law to threaten everyone. It was only when someone stood up and said, 'We have nothing to lose' that they went from a position of weakness to one of strength."
I remember Helen Steel from my Greenham Common Peace Camp days, twenty years ago. Standing round a campfire, I don't remember thinking she looked like someone who would go on to make legal history and hit headlines all over the world. I saw her as quiet and self-possessed, but with a clear sense of purpose, conviction and integrity. Well, you know what they say, "It's the quiet ones you have to watch!" Congratulations Helen.
As George Bernard Shaw said, "The reasonable man adapts himself to the world; the unreasonable one persists in trying to adapt the world to himself. Therefore all progress depends on the unreasonable man." (and woman!)
So, if impossible is an opinion, it's vital to keep challenging our views and beliefs about the world and our personal world. There's no better man to coach us to do just that than the mighty Mike Blissett. You can catch him in London on April 2nd, work with him personally or use the Winning Mindset online package. Over to Mike:
