A Tribute to Sir Richard Branson and the Power of a Childhood Dream

Today I am still feeling joy and celebration for yesterday's historic flight of the Virgin Galactic spaceship with its founder and visionary, Sir Richard Branson.

I watched the livestream coverage as he became the first person ever to go into space on the rocket that he "built." Were you also one of the 50 million people or so who watched it too? Of course, it takes an entire team of people with many skills and backgrounds.?

This trip actually took 17 years!?That is when Branson created The Spaceship Company as a joint venture with aviation pioneer Burt Rutan and his company Scaled Composites.

A lot of news coverage about the flight made mention that this was like a birthday present for Richard Branson. Next week, on July 18th, he will turn 71 years old. (Or 71 years young, depending on your state of mind.)

Please think about the persistence of the vision that this accomplishment took. Branson didn't even start The Spaceship Company until he was 55 years old! Yet he still had the passion, the persistence, the vision, and the financial means to push through all of the challenges and setbacks to realize his dream to fly in space. (These setbacks included a major accident in 2014 that killed one of the pilots and left the other seriously injured.)

We are all very fortunate to benefit from Branson's childhood dream, his vision, and his persistence. From his seat in the spaceship yesterday, here is what he said:

“To all you kids down there, I was once a child with a dream. Looking up to the stars. Now, I’m an adult in a spaceship with lots of other wonderful adults looking down to our beautiful, beautiful Earth."

“To the next generation of dreamers, if we can do this, just imagine what you can do,"?

Imagine what those children can do...

That's what I wonder and hope for too.

That's why I want us to encourage those dreams - and get them started - as soon as possible with?Goodnight Moon Base .

What if Branson didn't wait until he was 55 years old to decide to bring this vision into reality?

Nonetheless, this is the power of a vision with persistence. He had these dreams as a kid. With his historic accomplishment, I'm hopeful for all of the additional dreams it will create in other kids around the world.

We can add - and?should?add - more fuel to these dreams. What better way than to give them actual visions for these dreams of looking down upon Earth - in vivid color and enchanting words - so that they fall asleep every night with these visions in their dreams - figuratively?and?literally??

This is why I believe?every bedtime is the best time?to inspire and empower our future generation of dreamers.?

Imagine what can happen when we give children a lifetime of thoughts and imaginations about traveling on spaceships and looking down upon Earth. We shouldn't make them wait until they are 55 years old! Let's start as soon as we can, with?Goodnight Moon Base.

If you are also celebrating this historic accomplishment from Richard Branson and the team at Virgin Galactic, and would love to give dreams of floating above Earth to more kids in the years ahead, please consider a boost of support to publish Goodnight Moon Base this November. The Kickstarter campaign is still in its first week and we are over 25% of the way to our goal. You can take a look here .

Thank you Richard Branson for your persistence to turn your dreams of space flight into reality. I'm excited for all of the people who will benefit from your persistence and your vision. You have brought inspiration and hope to millions of kids around the world.