4 BIG LESSONS CONT ...
his jet fighter abilities , his 2,200 logged flight hours , and his advanced degrees as reason enough for him to join NASA .
He was accepted in the third round of astronaut applications and began training for the mission to the moon . He took the president ’ s challenge as a personal goal . As a career military man , he vowed to obey the order of his commander in chief .
“ We didn ’ t have the know-how , but we did have a leader with the vision , the determination , the courage , and the confidence that we could get there ,” Buzz said . “ And by publicly stating our goal and putting a specific time period on a very specific achievement , President Kennedy gave us no way out .”
Kennedy wouldn ’ t live to see his dream fulfilled , but his leadership had sparked a fire . The United States was going to land on the moon , one way or another , using a spirit of determination that has long been the fuel for many entrepreneurs and business leaders who have pushed beyond the barriers set before them and built upon the American Dream . Kennedy knew this . Small , timid goals do not stir men ’ s souls and won ’ t rally people behind you .
In your business , what big goals have you rallied your team around ? Do you have a shared , mutual goal that will stretch them , challenge them , and inspire them ? Here ’ s a littlespoken truth about attracting and keeping great people on your team : they want to work on big things . . . challenging things . . . significant goals . They want to be in a place that is working toward a bigger future with more opportunities to grow and learn . If you don ’ t provide that in your company , you ’ ll have a difficult time keeping them on board .
LESSON NO . 2 : YOU NEED A TEAM YOU CAN DEPEND ON .
In the case of the Apollo mission , a village . It ’ s estimated that the project team consisted of 300,000 people — an incredible partnership between the government , private industry , and , of course , the three astronauts who executed the mission .
While Michael Collins orbited the moon and piloted the main ship , Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin descended onto the lunar surface . Earth erupted in celebration . Three humans were up in space , and at that very moment , two of them walked on the surface of the moon , sealed up rocks to take back to Earth and took some of the most spectacular photos in American history .
The enormity of it all wasn ’ t lost on Aldrin .
“ Everyone felt like they had participated in this incredible journey , and the world welcomed us back as heroes from
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