ACT AS IF NOTHING IS IMPOSSIBLE

I want to share something with you—not as a celebrity, not as someone you’ve seen on the screen, but as a man who knows what it feels like to doubt, to fall, and to still keep walking.

When I say, “Act as if nothing is impossible,” I don’t mean be reckless. I don’t mean ignore reality. I mean believe so deeply in your calling that even the mountain ahead of you starts to question itself.

Let me take you back.

A Couch, a Dream, and a Whole Lot of Faith

I wasn’t always “Denzel Washington.” I was just Denzel, the kid from Mount Vernon, New York. I wasn’t the best student. I got in trouble. I wasn’t sure where I was going. Truth is, I was drifting. But my mother? Oh, my mother didn’t play around. She believed in discipline, in church, in faith—and most of all, she believed in me, even when I didn’t.

One day, when I was about 20, I was sitting in my mother’s beauty shop. A woman I’d never seen before looked at me like she knew me. She said, “You’re going to travel the world and speak to millions.”

I laughed. Me? I didn’t have a passport. I didn’t even have a clear path. But there it was—spoken out loud. A vision. A seed.

That seed stayed with me.

I didn’t know how. I didn’t know when. But I started walking differently after that. I started acting as if nothing was impossible.

And slowly, the doors began to open.

What Faith Feels Like

I got into acting by what some people might call chance. But I don’t believe in chance. I believe in divine alignment. When I got into Fordham University, I didn’t plan on being an actor. I stumbled into it. But once I stood on that stage, once I felt the heat of the lights and the silence of the crowd waiting to believe in your next word—I knew I’d found something real.

But even then, it wasn’t easy. I got rejected. A lot.

I auditioned for plays and didn’t get the part. I showed up with hope and left with silence.

But you know what I kept doing?

I kept acting as if.

As if the next audition could be the one.

As if I was already the man I was becoming.

As if God had already said yes, and all I had to do was walk it out.

That’s not pretending. That’s faith. That’s vision in motion.

Fail Big, Dream Bigger

Let me tell you something I’ve told graduating students many times:

Fail big. Dream bigger.

You will fall. You will fail. But guess what? You will learn. You will grow. You will stretch in ways you never thought you could. That’s how character is built. Not in your comfort, but in your struggle.

When I got the role in Glory, people saw the Oscar. They saw the speech. What they didn’t see were the years before that—working odd jobs, doing roles that barely paid, questioning if it was all worth it.

But I acted as if that breakthrough was coming.

Because when you live like nothing is impossible, you stop waiting for permission. You stop asking if you’re good enough. You just go. And eventually, the world moves to meet your steps.

The Real Success

Now, let’s talk about what matters.

Success is not the money. It’s not the awards. It’s not the applause. All of that fades.

Real success is purpose. It’s using your gifts to lift others. It’s becoming so aligned with who you are that just being in your presence makes people believe they can be more.

When I speak to young people, I tell them: Don’t just chase a career. Chase conviction. Find that thing inside of you that refuses to quit—and then feed it like your life depends on it.

Because in many ways, it does.

You Are the Miracle

Somebody reading this right now feels stuck. Feels too old. Too lost. Too behind.

Let me be real with you: That’s a lie.

You’re right on time.

God didn’t make a mistake with you. That dream? That idea? That thing you can’t stop thinking about? It’s in you for a reason.

But you’ve got to stop waiting for everything to be perfect before you move.

You’ve got to act as if nothing is impossible—because when you do, everything starts shifting. Your energy changes. Your words change. Your circle changes. And most importantly—your outcomes change.

The Final Word

So here I am, decades later, having traveled the world, having spoken to millions, just like that woman said I would.

Not because I had it all figured out.

But because I believed. Because I acted like it was already done. Because I knew that with faith, discipline, hard work—and a little bit of crazy courage—nothing is impossible.

Not for me.

And not for you.

Moral of the Story:

When you act as if nothing is impossible, you train your soul to rise. You teach your fear to sit down. And you remind the world that faith, not doubt, is the strongest force on Earth.

So walk like it's already yours.

Speak like your voice matters.

Dream like it's your birthright.

Because it is.