I had a lot of topics I was thinking of writing about but after watching the latest Falcon heavy launch from SpaceX on Tuesday February 6, 2018 I have been taking in as much space, history, and Elon Musk info as I could so this is what’s on my mind.
Of course if you have not seen or heard about this I strongly suggest you at least watch the video of the launch that I linked below.
In an attempt to put Tuesday’s significance into perspective, I want to try and quickly recap our history with space/ exploration in this country.
1950
The first rocket launches from the U.S. out of Cape Canaveral, FL.
1958
The first rocket launch attempted to go beyond Earth’s orbit. This test failed.. And failed again roughly 6 times after that.
1959
First unmanned spacecraft reaches the lunar surface and returns images of the moon.
1968
Apollo 5 is launched from NASA’S Kennedy Space Center. Basically this was a historic launch because it allowed NASA to test all systems and hardware that we felt was sufficient enough to send the first person to the moon.
1969
Apollo 11 blasted off maned by Neil Armstrong, Edwin Aldrin, and Michael Collins. In roughly 4 days they made it to the moon. Armstrong and Aldrin walked on the moon while Collins stayed in the ship doing experiments. They planted an American flag and a plaque on the moon, did some experiments, collected rocks and dust, and came back to earth safely.
President John F. Kennedy announced his ambitious goal to land a man on the moon in 1961. In less than ten years it happened, and since then…
Not much else has happened.
Until Tuesday February 6, 2018.
When SpaceX launched the Falcon Heavy, the world’s most powerful rocket into orbit.
By the way Elon basically started SpaceX around 2002.. And already has accomplished more since that time, than NASA has in the past 40 years.
And now there are several other big-name competitors who are making strides to compete with SpaceX in their race to explore our universe.
Why is this significant?
It’s not because of the goal.
As great as it will be when SpaceX or someone else is successfully making routine trips to Mars and is building a community that’s not the greatest thing that will come of this.
But as we’ve already seen from the many competitors popping up everywhere, it’s the fact the SpaceX’s progress has shown the world the potential. It’s the simple fact of one person’s insane belief is forcing all of humanity to expand what we thought was possible.
And when you expand your belief, you increase your potential. And when you increase your potential you take greater action and achieve greater results.
Viktor Frankl an Austrian Neurologist, Psychiatrist and holocaust survivor explains the importance of belief beautifully in the linked video. He talks about how flying taught him about the importance of believing we are capable of far more than whatever our potential is.
If you believe in your true potential and aim for what you’re capable of you will often fall short of it. Not because we are doomed to fail, but because there is always resistance that we will face. And resistance forces many people to give up, or achieve less, and it debilitates our belief. But when you believe your capable of far more than your potential you can endure resistance and still over-achieve.
See this example of how flying and boating can teach you the importance of belief.
When your flying there is always wind (resistance), same with boating (current). So if you aim for your target, your almost guaranteed to land anywhere but that aiming point. Where as if you understand resistance, take it into account, and aim somewhere higher than where you intend to land you can push through resistance effectively and still hit your desired landing spot.
Life is no different.
Maybe your potential assures you, you will be a stay at home Mom, or another employee at a big company, making a decent living.. which is fine. But if that’s all you believe you’re capable of, you might not even achieve that. If instead you’re confident you can do truly anything you set your mind to, you might just surprise yourself and live a life beyond what you could have imagined. And being a stay at home Mom will just be one of the many incredible feats you have achieved.
If Elon Musk believed only in his true potential, he would likely still be a very wealthy unknown programer in silicon valley somewhere starting and selling many companies. Instead, due to his love for space, gaming, fantasy, and exploration even he strived for something much greater and has expanded his belief massively. Rather than being a successful programer/engineer he is already achieving far beyond his potential and will soon be rubbing shoulders with Leonardo Da Vinci, Thomas Edison, & Nikola Tesla in the history books.
Even better, expanding your belief does not just raise your potential.. It influences those around you and increases everyone’s potential. You don’t have to strive to be like Elon Musk and change our entire world for the better, but you should strive everyday to change yours.
Learn more on this:
Video: Viktor Frankl: Why believe
Video: SpaceX Falcon Heavy launch
Video: Elon Musk Ted talk
Article: Elon Musk timeline
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