Over the next few weeks, I have been asked to give several talks in the Jerusalem area on the theme of setting up a new business. And as I have put together the presentations, one strong central theme comes through. Can you make the impossible possible?

Psychologists teach us that starting anything new is not easy. However much you plan ahead – market strategy, cash flow, team recruitment, et al – a new enterprise is full of unknowns. One single unforeseen event, such as an unexpected change in government policy or a new local competitor, and all that prior effort could be seen as irrelevant. Time to give up?

Well, not necessarily. This is when we are all required to recall the theory of “the second wind”. Yes it really does exist. Coined by William James and described in fascinating terms by Maria Popova, we can learn how to transcend our perceived limits.

Compared with what we ought to be, we are only half awake… We are making use of only a small part of our possible mental and physical resources.

There is a sporting equivalent. Matthew Syed, writing this week in the Times of London, discussed how we can become so much stronger, almost ironically, at the moment when adversity is striking us (literally?) in the face. Arguably like a new commercial enterprise, Syed states that:

When you walk into an arena, you are naked. If you have weaknesses, they are likely to be exposed. If your resolve is lacking steel, it is likely to fray just when you need it most.

Syed goes on to cite specific cases of sporting heroes who initially dived, such as Andy Murray who was humiliated by Roger Federer at Wimbledon in 2012. And Michael Jordan made a video of his defeats, so that he could succeed even faster.

As a business coach and mentor, I am often called in by those, whose ventures are struggling in their initial stages. I find that very often, they know what needs to be done to alter course towards achievement, but they lack that extra layer of confidence. I would suspect that some call this resilience. And that is where an outside voice can show them that they have what it takes.

However, they have to learn to dig oh so deep to find it. That is the point when they stop allowing the seemingly impossible to get in their way and when the business begins to thrive.