The Bumblebee’s Secret

THE ANECDOTE 

There’s a story that goes around – one that even opens the 2007 Bee Movie – that says: according to the laws of physics, the bumblebee shouldn’t be able to fly.

Its wings are too small. Its body too big. And yet, it soars.

This story is often shared as a metaphor – a reminder that possibility often lies beyond conventional wisdom. But as with most great stories, there’s more to it than meets the eye.

In the 1930s, a French entomologist named August Magnan noted that by conventional aeronautical calculations, a bumblebee’s flight just didn’t make sense. The math didn’t add up. It shouldn’t be able to fly at all.

His calculations would be correct, if a bumblebee flew like a plane.

But it doesn’t.

Bumblebees flap and rotate their wings to create tiny hurricanes of lift – more like helicopters than fixed-wing aircraft. That shift in understanding changes everything.

What the original observation lacked wasn’t better math, it was the right perspective.

And that’s the lesson I love most in this story: not just that the impossible is sometimes possible, but that how we frame the problem can change both the outcome and how we approach it.

A bee might never glide like a plane, but it doesn’t need to. It found its own way to fly.

And we couldn’t do either. So we invented both.

A RADICAL IDEA

What if we stopped worrying about whether something is “supposed to work” and started acting like the bumblebee? What if we leaned into our passions and our purpose instead of second-guessing every move or doubting our abilities?

Much of what we think is impossible is really a limitation of perspective. The bumblebee wasn’t breaking the laws of physics, it was just working within the confines of its capabilities.

The question you should be asking isn’t “Can I do this?” but rather “How can I do this?” When we stop comparing ourselves to others or to preconceived ideas, we almost always will quickly discover new ways of solving problems or reaching goals.

Maybe it’s time to challenge the so-called rules that are holding you back. They might not apply as much as you think.

CHALLENGE YOURSELF

Next time you’re feeling stuck, check in with yourself:
Are you holding back because you think it can’t be done – or is it possible you just haven’t found the right way to do it?

Spend some time to rethink your approach. Start small. Experiment. Pivot. Break the problem down and look at it from another angle.

Remember.. like the bumblebee, lift can be created in more than one way.

And progress isn’t always linear.
It’s not defined by perfection.

It’s can be messy. Chaotic at times.

But as long as you’re in motion –
You’re on the right path.

🔗 Connect with me at: linkedin.com/in/scottschoeneberger.