Mick Ebeling is a renowned social change maker and CEO of Not Impossible Labs — a multiple award-winning social innovation lab and production company, founded on the premise that nothing is impossible. Mick's story starts from the Hollywood hills, where his commercial film production company developed animation and visual effects for many blockbuster films, including 'Stranger Than Fiction,' 'Kite Runner' and James Bond's 'Quantum of Solace.' But it wasn't these films that brought international acclaim to Mick's contribution to humanity; it was his work with Tony, and later, with Daniel Omar.
Mick Ebeling was a successful entrepreneur in the American film industry when he first learned of Tony 'TEMPT' Quan. Tony was a legendary graffiti artist in Los Angeles who was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS) that left him 'entirely paralyzed but with his mind completely intact, confined to his bed and only able to move his eyes.' To help Tony, Mick organized a group of hackers, engineers and artists to invent the world's first low-cost eye-tracking device that enables individuals with paralysis to communicate and create art using only the movement of their eyes. TIME magazine called it one of the "50 Best Inventions of 2010," and the device is now part of the permanent collection of New York's Museum of Modern Art.
Mick Ebeling has since sparked a movement of pragmatic, inspirational innovation, harvesting the power of technology and story to change the world. He has been named one of the Top 50 World's Greatest Leaders by Fortune Magazine, received the Muhammad Ali Humanitarian of the Year Award, and listed as one of the World's Most Influential Creative People by The Creativity 50's.
In this episode of Intersections, Prof. Hitendra Wadhwa has a conversation with Mick Ebeling on the topic “How to Achieve the Impossible — and Make the World Happier”.
What gets some people to dream big, and then to translate their dream into reality? How can technology accelerate our pursuit of the impossible in today's time of transformation? What limits some of us from pursuing goals very dear to our hearts that others may consider impossible? When the odds are overwhelming and our skills are limited, what kind of superpowers can we tap into to turn imposing challenges into miraculous, life-changing stories?
The episode "How to Achieve the Impossible — and Make the World Happier" offers key insights on: