MAKE THE IMPOSSIBLE POSSIBLE(ISBN=) 英文原版

　　“Success is the point where your most authentic talents,
passion, values, and experiences intersect with the chance to
contribute to some greater good.”
　　–Bill Strickland
　　According to MacArthur Fellowship “genius” award winner Bill
Strickland, a successful life is not something you simply pursue,
it is something that you create, moment by moment. It is a
realization Strickland first came to when, as a poor kid growing up
in a rough neighborhood of Pittsburgh, he encountered a high school
ceramics teacher who took him under his wing and went on to
transform his life.
　　Over the past thirty years, Bill Strickland has been transforming
the lives of thousands of people through the creation of Manchester
Bidwell, a jobs training center and community arts program. Working
with corporations, community leaders, and schools, he and his staff
strive to give disadvantaged kids and adults the opportunities and
tools they need to envision and built a better, brighter
future.
　　Strickland believes that every one of us has the potential for
remarkable achievement. Every one of us can accomplish the
impossible in our lives if given the right inspiration and
motivation to do so. We all make ourselves “poor” in one way or
another when we accept that we are not smart enough, experienced
enough, or talented enough to accomplish something. Bill Strickland
works with the least advantaged among us, and if he can help them
achieve the impossible in their lives, think what each of us can
do.
　　Among Bill Strickland’s beliefs:
　　People are born into this world as assets, not liabilities. It’s
all in the way we treat people (and ourselves) that determines a
person’s outcome
　　The sand in the hourglass flows only one way. Stop going through
the motions of living–savor each and every day. Life is here and
now, not something waiting for you in the future.
　　You don’t have to travel far to change the life you’re living.
Bill grew up in the Pittsburgh ghetto, four blocks from where he
came to build one of the foremost job training centers in the
world. He now speaks before CEOs and political leaders, church
congregations and civic leaders. You only need to change your
thinking to remake your world.
　　Through lessons from his own life experiences, and those of
countless others who have overcome their circumstances and turned
their lives around, Make the Impossible Possible shows how all of
us can build on our passions and strengths, dream bigger and set
the bar higher, achieve meaningful success and help mentor and
inspire the lives of others.

　　BILL STRICKLAND is president and CEO of Manchester Craftsmen
Guild and Bidwell Training Center. Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild
today offers programs in ceramics, photography, digital arts and
painting to over 500 kids a year, as well as 3,400 additional
students in the Pittsburgh inner-city school district. Ninety
percent of the students receive high school diplomas of which 85%
go on enroll in college or secondary education. Bidwell Training
Center trains more than 600 adults each semester for professional
careers like the culinary arts, pharmacology, and horticultural
technology. Through partnerships with major corporations in the
area, Bidwell Training Center has helped 73% of its graduates land
meaningful full-time employment. Manchester Bidwell is now a
breathtaking facility that includes a 350-seat jazz auditorium, a
40,000-square-foot greenhouse covering half a city block, a
state-of-the-art chemistry lab, a full-scale ceramics department,
and a culinary institute. He has received a MacArthur Foundation
“genius” grant, lectured at Harvard Graduate School of Education,
and served on the board of the National Endowment for the Arts. He
lives in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

　　Acclaim for Make the Impossible Possible
　　“Passionate. Inspirational. Hopeful. Optimistic. Powerful.
Compelling. And most important— it works . . . Here is the cure to
what ails this country. Take it home. Read it. Then live it.” —Alan
M. Webber, founding editor, Fast Company magazine
　　“Bill Strickland is a genius, because he sees the inherent genius
in everyone. Bill’s ability to inspire hope is powerful, universal,
and world changing. Make the Impossible Possible will show you how
you can achieve even your wildest dreams. Bravo!”
　　—Jeff Skoll, first president of eBay, founder and chairman, Skoll
Foundation
　　“I have lived a jazz life for the better part of my 95 years, but
it was not until I read Bill’s book that I truly understood the
influence that jazz has had on my success.…Kudos to Bill who has
not only put into words what I have always felt in my heart, but
who has also laid out a path that others can follow.”
　　— John Levy, NEA Jazz Master, manager of Cannonball Adderley, Wes
Montgomery, Joe Williams, Nancy Wilson, and many others.
　　”We often hear the word inspire, likely allowing it to pass and
not sink in our psyche.
　　However we often will never forget things that inspire us. A
visit to see Bill Strickland’s concept in Pittsburgh was one of
those events for me. Now you can read about how he was driven to
build it.” —Jim Hackett, President and CEO, Steelcase, Inc.
　　“Are you yearning to pursue what others say is an unrealistic or
impractical dream? This is the book for you. By telling his
remarkable story, Bill Strickland shows us that an impossible
notion is just an idea nobody had the guts to try.  With great
flair and amazing range—you’ll read about jazz, pottery, airplanes,
even orchids!—he reveals how each of us can change our part of the
world. Like the man who wrote it, this book is inspired and
inspiring.” —Daniel H. Pink, New York Times bestselling author of A
Whole New Mind
　　“Bill Strickland could sell anything . . . Read this book and
you’ll understand why he is such an inspiration to practicing and
aspiring entrepreneurs.” —James Heskett, Harvard Business
School
　　”This is a provocative tale of meaning and substance about Bill
Strickland’s life and endeavors. At its heart, it’s a story about
greatness — and the relentless pursuit of making the world a
better place. One person. One town. One moment at a time. As we
read it, it’s humbling — could we ever dare attempt something as
profound as Bill has? His message on this point is quite clear:
Within each of us is this greatness to be unleashed.”
　　- Keith Yamashita, Chairman, Stone Yamashita Partners
　　PRAISE FOR BILL STRICKLAND AND MANCHESTER BIDWELL
　　“One of the most innovative social enterprise thinkers I have
ever met. The ‘Strickland’ thought process is that of a highly
trained jazz musician, coupled with a keen business sense . . . He
is definitely one of my major heroes.”
　　 —Quincy Jones
　　“The Manchester Craftsmen’s Guild is a testament to the power of
the arts to transform children’s lives. Its students learn much
more than how to shape clay, take pictures, and appreciate jazz.
They leave the Guild knowing that they have the potential and tools
to become successful and productive citizens.”
　　—Hillary Rodham Clinton