After I showed him how silly he sounded and looked he began to relax a bit. I told him if he kept up saying, "I can't! I can't!" then he was only making himself fail. If he told himself "I can!" then he would tap into his smart brain and begin to succeed. After some struggling he finally turned the corner. And guess who was waiting for him there? SUCCESS!
He finished the previously labeled impossible and did a fantastic job!