Why I love Astronauts

One of the most asked questions I get is, “Out of all the places you have spoken, what is your favorite?” I usually clarify the question as I have “favorites” for different reasons. It may be the location, the organization, philanthropy, or event.  I told this interviewer it was when I keynoted at NASA for their safety day. She asked me why. I told her that number one was because my wife got to experience not only my talk (which doesn’t often happen) but a day behind the green curtain at NASA with me.  I grew up in the 1960s, and space was the coolest thing going. I was enamored with the big idea of going to the moon and all the breakthroughs. 

That day at NASA, I had the opportunity to meet a rocket scientist who was on the Columbia Space Shuttle team. He and I had a fantastic conversation as we compared and contrasted what happened on the Space Shuttle and what happened on US Airways 1549. I learned many distinctions (such as you can actually speak with a rocket scientist and understand what they say!) and that you cannot take anything for granted as things can go out of control quickly. It was an excellent lesson for me that I now speak about in my new talk.

In my new book “ God gives you the Lessons when YOU are Ready,” I share about the impact it had when I was in high school and the sponsor of the club I was president of making the arrangements so I could meet one of my childhood idols, Senator and Astronaut John Glenn. It was a “magic moment” in my life and helped me understand how important personal leadership is. Being a Senator is good, being an Astronaut is cool and especially being the first American to orbit the earth, way cooler. When I met Senator Glenn, I realized how humble he was and how he worked his way up to be an Astronaut. I recently thought about that encounter as being a great leader just doesn’t happen; there is an investment of time, perseverance, and faith that is required, and John Glenn is an outstanding example of that.

Recently, my executive manager, Colleen, shared a video from one of her clients, Chris Hadfield, the first Canadian who walked in space. Chris was engaging, but I learned the impact he had with many students with the dozens of experiments he did concerning gravity on the human body. He is still inspiring and impacting people around the world since he retired in 2013. 

After watching Chris’s video, I read in one of the journals from 1987 and found some notes from a conversation I had with my mentor Bill. We often talked about air travel. Bill told me he became enamored with flying when he met Charles Lindbergh in 1930 and Amelia Earhart in 1933. He told me he didn’t get to fly until after the War but always enjoyed looking down out of the window and wondering how it all happens. That day we spoke about what happened on the Challenger space shuttle and how tragic it was. I was too young to remember firsthand about Apollo 1, but Bill told me when that happened, it shook the world as everything was going so well for the space program, and then a tragedy occurred, and there were so many questions. He then told me that he thought one of the greatest leadership moments he ever saw was when President Reagan came out the evening that Challenger went down and spoke to the nation. A leader faces tragedy, manages their emotions, and communicates appropriately. Just like astronauts have to do when they face challenges, such as what happened on Apollo 13.

As I read this, I started to think about why I love astronauts so much. And it finally came to me.

Astronauts launch themselves into something or someplace that no one has gone before, with courage.

They persist under pressure, and authentic personal leadership cannot be obtained without courage. 

I then began thinking about what happened on January 15, 2009. I got emotional thinking that I was one of the 155 people that were launched into something they were not ready for but persisted under tremendous pressure and dared to do the right thing, with courage.

That is why I love astronauts because they show all of us how to launch ourselves into a place no one has gone to before with courage, like a worldwide pandemic. 

That is why I am so passionate about my new book. I am sharing lessons, strategies, and specific habits that I learned from someone who launched himself into a new industry during the Great Depression, had courage, perseverance, and faith. Timeless lessons that I was blessed to receive and experience, and now I have the opportunity to share. As I share in the book, no single lesson may carry you to the pinnacle but can change your date with destiny.   

Every day, equip yourself with focused execution, empower yourself with resourcefulness, and transform yourself with gratitude so you can be the inspired leader and servant leader, ready to serve others first.  

LEAD YOURSELF FIRST!

 Dave Sanderson is the President of his firm, Dave Sanderson Speaks International, based out of Charlotte, NC. On January 15, 2009, Dave was one of the last passengers off the plane that crashed into the Hudson River, best known as The Miracle on the Hudson, considered to be the most successful ditching in aviation history. He has built a career as a motivational speaker, mentor, and author. Recently named one of the top 100 Leadership Speakers in Inc.com, Dave averages over 80 speeches a year for major corporations worldwide.