Remembering Apollo

My husband just weaponized the Apollo program.

Um…what?

A bit of background.?

First - my husband and I are big fans of NASA. We spent our 5th wedding anniversary at adult Space Camp. We’ve met several NASA legends, including Jim Lovell and Gene Kranz. Remember Gunter Wendt in the movie Apollo 13? Gunter shoved astronauts into spacecrafts and was the last to shake their hands. Yup - we met him. He signed my technical drawing of the Saturn 5 rocket.

Second - my husband Aaron Robinson is a gifted writer, with more than 30 years as a professional scribe. He’s been writing under deadline for longer than some of his Hagerty colleagues have been alive. Aaron knows how to wield the power of prose.

So, when I told him how my stomach was in knots every time I sat down to write because I was terrified by the goal of 50,000 words, he said, “Remember Apollo.”?

Bam. Ouch.

In his May 1961 speech to Congress, John Kennedy said,?

"I believe that this nation should commit itself to achieving the goal, before this decade is out, of landing a man on the moon and returning him safely to the earth.”

Kennedy set the goal. His murder cemented it as a must-achieve mission for a martyred visionary. His speech presented a compelling “why” for Congress and the country. The “how” he confidently entrusted to NASA.

In the miniseries From the Earth to the Moon , the character Chris Kraft (NASA's first flight director) outlines the many steps required to reach the moon by December 1969. The invention of new products. The creation of new processes. The hiring of new people. The challenge of old assumptions. The Mercury missions were critical steps. So were the Gemini missions and every Apollo mission before the 11th. Every step brought Neil and crew closer to what they accomplished in July 1969, with 5 months to spare before the end of the decade.

Back to Aaron telling me to remember Apollo.?

We can become overwhelmed by big audacious goals. We can be terrified of what is required to achieve them and lose faith in our abilities to even attempt them. Kennedy acknowledged the fears inherent when facing a monstrous undertaking, telling his audience,

“...let it be clear that I am asking the Congress and the country to accept a firm commitment to a new course of action…If we are to go only half way, or reduce our sights in the face of difficulty, in my judgment it would be better not to go at all.”

Remember Apollo.?

Face the fear. You’ve made the commitment. Have confidence in your abilities (because everyone else does). Break down the big scary goal into steps and attack them one by one.?

Yes, I could have self-published a smaller book. Yes, I could have avoided books entirely and scratched my writing itch through blogs. But that would be going halfway, lowering my sights and constraining the badass boldness I know lurks within me.?

On September 12, 1962, Kennedy spoke these words at Rice University:

"…We choose to go to the Moon in this decade and do the other things, not because they are easy, but because they are hard; because that goal will serve to organize and measure the best of our energies and skills, because that challenge is one that we are willing to accept, one we are unwilling to postpone, and one we intend to win…”

I accepted the challenge. The time is now. I intend to write this book, to win the battle over fear.?

I am remembering Apollo.?

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Tina is founder of WorkJoy , investing in leaders at all levels through one-to-one coaching, one-to-many facilitation, and one-to-all program advisory and development. She's a keynote speaker and is embarking on her first book, fear by fear, step by step.