--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: He was told that it was impossible, that…" description: "\"“He was told that it was impossible, that America was not a place for shtetls, and that his plan would surely fail. It almost did.”\" — Shulem Deen" image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d7/shulem-deen-37355_quote_he-was-told-that-it-was-impossible-that_1094647.jpg" --- # He was told that it was impossible, that America was not a… ![“He was told that it was impossible, that America was not a place for shtetls, and that his plan would surely fail. It almost did.” quote by Shulem Deen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d7/shulem-deen-37355_quote_he-was-told-that-it-was-impossible-that_1094647.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d7/shulem-deen-37355_quote_he-was-told-that-it-was-impossible-that_1094647.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d7/shulem-deen-37355_quote_he-was-told-that-it-was-impossible-that_1094647.jpg) > ““He was told that it was impossible, that America was not a place for shtetls, and that his plan would surely fail. It almost did.”” [Shulem Deen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shulem-deen/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Facing doubt and hostile expectations, perseverance can turn a seemingly doomed plan into success. **In simple terms:** Persistence can overcome impossible odds. Key Takeaway Keep pushing despite naysayers. Themes perseverance determination overcoming adversity Mood determined hopeful Type inspirational motivational When to use this quote - Starting a business - immigration challenges - personal projects Key Concepts Resilience self‑efficacy risk taking Questions to Reflect On - What obstacles are you letting discourage you? - How can you turn doubt into motivation? A Different Perspective Failure is still possible if effort wanes. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Impossible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impossible/) [Impossible America](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impossible-america-2754788/) [Place Shtetls](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/place-shtetls-2848560/) [Shtetls Plan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/shtetls-plan-2848559/) [Told Impossible](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/told-impossible-1017564/) ## Related quotes > [When oil goes over $40 a barrel it's almost impossible for America to do well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/donald-trump/when-oil-goes-over-40-a-barrel-it-s-almost-impossible-for-america-to/) [Donald Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/donald-trump/) > [“It's virtually impossible in America to be heavy and feel good about oneself.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-pipher/it-s-virtually-impossible-in-america-to-be-heavy-and-feel-good-about/) [Mary Pipher](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-pipher/) > [What could you accomplish if no one told you it was impossible?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/what-could-you-accomplish-if-no-one-told-you-it-was-impossible/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“She sighed. "Have I ever told you that you're impossible?" His smile was wonderfully wicked. "Have I ever told you that there is no…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sandra-marton/she-sighed-have-i-ever-told-you-that-you-re-impossible-his-smile-was/) [Sandra Marton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sandra-marton/) > [My parents always told me that nothing was impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richard-rogers/my-parents-always-told-me-that-nothing-was-impossible/) [Richard Rogers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richard-rogers/) > [As a girl, I used to believe that I could see and taste the air. I was TOLD that was impossible and forgot how…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/silver-ravenwolf/as-a-girl-i-used-to-believe-that-i-could-see-and-taste-the-air-i-was/) [Silver RavenWolf](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/silver-ravenwolf/) > [Don't be told something is impossible. There's always a way.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-rodriguez/don-t-be-told-something-is-impossible-there-s-always-a-way/) [Robert Rodriguez](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-rodriguez/) > [“It is human nature to try hardest to accomplish the very thing we are told is impossible.  Why?  Because innately we know that nothing's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/richelle-e-goodrich/it-is-human-nature-to-try-hardest-to-accomplish-the-very-thing-we-are/) [Richelle E. Goodrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/richelle-e-goodrich/) > [When we were told it's impossible, we knew it's the right way to be done.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joe-sutter/when-we-were-told-it-s-impossible-we-knew-it-s-the-right-way-to-be/) [Joe Sutter](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joe-sutter/) > [One is not born a genius, one becomes a genius; and the feminine situation has up to the present rendered this becoming practically impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/one-is-not-born-a-genius-one-becomes-a-genius-and-the-feminine/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [We have a fear of facing ourselves. That is the obstacle. Experiencing the innermost core of our existence is very embarrassing to a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-have-a-fear-of-facing-ourselves-that-is-the-obstacle-experiencing/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [History is, in its essentials, the science of change. It knows and it teaches that it is impossible to find two events that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-bloch/history-is-in-its-essentials-the-science-of-change-it-knows-and-it/) [Marc Bloch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-bloch/) > [Even though you can't expect to defeat the absurdity of the world, you must make that attempt. That's morality, that's religion. That's art. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/even-though-you-can-t-expect-to-defeat-the-absurdity-of-the-world-you/) [Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/) > [All Germany was in turmoil. Revolutionaries seized power in the cities of Munich, Hanover and Cologne. One regional German government after another was toppled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cross-giblin/all-germany-was-in-turmoil-revolutionaries-seized-power-in-the-cities/) [James Cross Giblin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cross-giblin/) > [Making movies seemed so impossible as far as getting my ideas funded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boots-riley/making-movies-seemed-so-impossible-as-far-as-getting-my-ideas-funded/) [Boots Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boots-riley/) ## More by Shulem Deen > [“We do not accept the repentance of heretics because we do not believe them.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shulem-deen/we-do-not-accept-the-repentance-of-heretics-because-we-do-not-believe/) [Shulem Deen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shulem-deen/) > [“enlightened ones do not seek God. They seek only to destroy the faith of those who do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shulem-deen/enlightened-ones-do-not-seek-god-they-seek-only-to-destroy-the-faith/) [Shulem Deen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shulem-deen/) > [“God, too, I wrote, wishes we’d come to Him. But we humans prefer our silly playthings.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shulem-deen/god-too-i-wrote-wishes-we-d-come-to-him-but-we-humans-prefer-our/) [Shulem Deen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shulem-deen/) > [“When adults misbehave, I reasoned, they forfeit the right to tell children what to do.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shulem-deen/when-adults-misbehave-i-reasoned-they-forfeit-the-right-to-tell/) [Shulem Deen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shulem-deen/) > [“As if underneath it all, those who begrudge the godless their godlessness do so not because the godless are sinners but because sinners have…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shulem-deen/as-if-underneath-it-all-those-who-begrudge-the-godless-their/) [Shulem Deen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shulem-deen/) > [“You can’t invent a historically memorable event, unless it really happened.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shulem-deen/you-can-t-invent-a-historically-memorable-event-unless-it-really/) [Shulem Deen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shulem-deen/) > [“It stung, the notion that my child belonged more to her mother than to me, but I learned to accept it.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shulem-deen/it-stung-the-notion-that-my-child-belonged-more-to-her-mother-than-to/) [Shulem Deen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shulem-deen/) > [“lies would be a necessity. Soon enough, my lies would become routine, the destiny of anyone in my circumstances: I was a heretic among…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shulem-deen/lies-would-be-a-necessity-soon-enough-my-lies-would-become-routine/) [Shulem Deen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shulem-deen/) > [“Logic will get you nowhere if it’s faith you’re after.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shulem-deen/logic-will-get-you-nowhere-if-it-s-faith-you-re-after/) [Shulem Deen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shulem-deen/) > [“How is it that we attribute to God feelings such as sadness and joy and pleasure, and even want for our love, when one…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shulem-deen/how-is-it-that-we-attribute-to-god-feelings-such-as-sadness-and-joy/) [Shulem Deen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shulem-deen/) > [“I learned that the book was Then Again, Maybe I Won’t, which, along with other books by the same author, Judy Blume, was seen…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shulem-deen/i-learned-that-the-book-was-then-again-maybe-i-won-t-which-along-with/) [Shulem Deen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shulem-deen/) [Explore all 12 Shulem Deen quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shulem-deen/) ## More Impossible quotes > [Making movies seemed so impossible as far as getting my ideas funded.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/boots-riley/making-movies-seemed-so-impossible-as-far-as-getting-my-ideas-funded/) [Boots Riley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/boots-riley/) > [All Germany was in turmoil. Revolutionaries seized power in the cities of Munich, Hanover and Cologne. One regional German government after another was toppled…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/james-cross-giblin/all-germany-was-in-turmoil-revolutionaries-seized-power-in-the-cities/) [James Cross Giblin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/james-cross-giblin/) > [Even though you can't expect to defeat the absurdity of the world, you must make that attempt. That's morality, that's religion. That's art. That's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phil-ochs/even-though-you-can-t-expect-to-defeat-the-absurdity-of-the-world-you/) [Phil Ochs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phil-ochs/) > [History is, in its essentials, the science of change. It knows and it teaches that it is impossible to find two events that are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marc-bloch/history-is-in-its-essentials-the-science-of-change-it-knows-and-it/) [Marc Bloch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marc-bloch/) > [We have a fear of facing ourselves. That is the obstacle. Experiencing the innermost core of our existence is very embarrassing to a lot…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/chogyam-trungpa/we-have-a-fear-of-facing-ourselves-that-is-the-obstacle-experiencing/) [Chogyam Trungpa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/chogyam-trungpa/) > [One is not born a genius, one becomes a genius; and the feminine situation has up to the present rendered this becoming practically impossible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/simone-de-beauvoir/one-is-not-born-a-genius-one-becomes-a-genius-and-the-feminine/) [Simone de Beauvoir](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/simone-de-beauvoir/) > [every being is unique.god neva creates carbon copies,he alys creates originals.he is truly a creator.he neva repeats.but man goes on living in imitation.we are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/every-being-is-unique-god-neva-creates-carbon-copies-he-alys-creates/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [It is not enough to dream of the Impossible Love - it is necessary to conquer it too.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paulo-coelho/it-is-not-enough-to-dream-of-the-impossible-love-it-is-necessary-to/) [Paulo Coelho](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paulo-coelho/) > [I've heard from the movie marketplace that James Cameron did such a killer job with 'Titanic' that it's almost impossible to do anything better.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/erik-larson/i-ve-heard-from-the-movie-marketplace-that-james-cameron-did-such-a/) [Erik Larson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/erik-larson/) > [Among the many factors that make a return to halcyon days of the first decades of the postwar era virtually impossible is the decline…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-gilpin/among-the-many-factors-that-make-a-return-to-halcyon-days-of-the/) [Robert Gilpin](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-gilpin/) > [Ronaldo is just an athlete. He works so hard and back to back; he is always there. But if you work hard, can you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/edgar-davids/ronaldo-is-just-an-athlete-he-works-so-hard-and-back-to-back-he-is/) [Edgar Davids](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/edgar-davids/) > [In such a diversity it was impossible I should be disposed to melancholy.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-boone/in-such-a-diversity-it-was-impossible-i-should-be-disposed-to/) [Daniel Boone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-boone/) > [For war to man, like childbirth to women, is simplifying in its emotions and activities. All the real problems of life can be put…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pearl-s-buck/for-war-to-man-like-childbirth-to-women-is-simplifying-in-its/) [Pearl S. Buck](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pearl-s-buck/) > [I just like stories about redemption about getting a second chance at life, I think everyone in the world has a few major mistakes…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sylvester-stallone/i-just-like-stories-about-redemption-about-getting-a-second-chance-at/) [Sylvester Stallone](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sylvester-stallone/) > [It's impossible to know who Donald might have been under different circumstances and with different parents.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mary-l-trump/it-s-impossible-to-know-who-donald-might-have-been-under-different/) [Mary L. Trump](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mary-l-trump/) [Browse all 7,633 Impossible quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/impossible/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“He was told that it was impossible, that America was not a place for shtetls, and that his plan would surely fail. It almost did.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Shulem Deen" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shulem-deen/he-was-told-that-it-was-impossible-that-america-was-not-a-place-for/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Impossible" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shulem-deen/he-was-told-that-it-was-impossible-that-america-was-not-a-place-for/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d7/shulem-deen-37355_quote_he-was-told-that-it-was-impossible-that_1094647.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d7/shulem-deen-37355_quote_he-was-told-that-it-was-impossible-that_1094647.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/6d7/shulem-deen-37355_quote_he-was-told-that-it-was-impossible-that_1094647.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“He was told that it was impossible, that America was not a place for shtetls, and that his plan would surely…” — Shulem Deen", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Shulem Deen", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/shulem-deen/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“He was told that it was...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shulem-deen/he-was-told-that-it-was-impossible-that-america-was-not-a-place-for/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/shulem-deen/he-was-told-that-it-was-impossible-that-america-was-not-a-place-for/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```