Long before serving as the United Kingdom’s two-time prime minister, Benjamin Disraeli had a prolific writing career, releasing several nonfiction books and novels. This quote derives from his 1832 novel “Contarini Fleming: A Psychological Romance.” The namesake protagonist wrestles with his own novel-in-progress while visiting Pisa, Italy. Through the character, Disraeli imparts that brilliance is acquired through tough, time-consuming effort — with an endpoint. “There is a moment when a heavenly light rises over the dim world you have been so long creating, and bathes it with life and beauty,” he wrote. “Accept this omen that your work is good, and revel in the sunshine of composition.” According to “The Guardian,” Disraeli followed his own advice during the next decade, with the publication of his second trilogy. Its middle volume, “Sybil,” is the newspaper’s pick for the eleventh-greatest novel written in English.

Norwegian polymath and polar explorer Fridtjof Nansen was no stranger to "impossible" challenges. He led many expeditions to the Arctic, including the first to cross the entire frozen expanse of the Greenland interior, in 1888. Later, he was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his humanitarian work in the wake of World War I, providing aid to thousands of refugees, prisoners of war, and victims of the famine in Russia. Nansen’s achievements prove that an “impossible” task is often simply something that’s never been done before. If we have the patience and tenacity to conquer even the most difficult goals, what was previously unimaginable suddenly comes into the realm of possibility.

English essayist William Hazlitt is best known for his humanist writings, which stress free will and self-actualization. In 1826, he published “On Application to Study,” an essay discussing how staying engaged keeps us moving forward. With this line, Hazlitt suggests that the drive for knowledge keeps our minds sharp — that genius is a muscle that can be exercised. He wrote that “by continuing our efforts, as by moving forwards in a road, we extend our views, and discover continually new tracts of country.” In other words, we will always learn something new when we’re out looking for it with an open mind.