Building the Panama Canal was a monumental achievement that overcame countless obstacles. The French were the first to attempt it, but suffered a crushing defeat. Ferdinand de Lesseps, who built the Suez Canal, was confident he could build the Panama Canal too, but he was mistaken. He insisted on a sea-level canal even though the two oceans have different sea levels. After almost a decade of work, they quit and accepted defeat. It was the largest and most significant financial collapse on record. More than 800,000 French investors lost everything. Over 25,000 lives were lost, most from yellow fever and malaria. In 1903, the United States chose to pursue the seemingly impossible task. President Theodore Roosevelt tapped John Wallace as chief engineer, but he lasted only a year, overwhelmed by the monumental task. John Stevens then took over and proposed a lake-and-lock plan. He also tasked chief Army physician William Gorgas with eradicating yellow fever. However, Stevens resigned three years later with no explanation. Ultimately, Colonel George Goethals took over and finished the job. Despite the setbacks, on August 15, 1914, the Canal opened for business — miraculously under budget and six months ahead of schedule. The Canal, the most expensive project ever undertaken at that time, forever changed the world and the global economy by cutting the distance between the Atlantic and Pacific by 8,000 miles. This story teaches one crucial lesson: never quit. As Christian missionary Hudson Taylor said, “First it is impossible, then it is difficult, then it is done.” You may lack money, ability, or resources, but a million dollars’ worth of determination will get it done. Perhaps this is the year you can make the impossible possible in your own life—if you practice the same persistence and determination.
