Shoot For the Moon!

This past weekend was the 40th anniversary of the United States landing on the moon. It was great to see the photos again and hear the famous words, “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind.” I can remember being glued to the television watching all the tense moments leading up to the landing and celebrating the accomplishment by watching the astronauts parading in New York City. When President John F. Kennedy challenged our nation to land on the moon, many thought it would be an impossible, even a ridiculously outrageous vision for America.

Stories I saw over the weekend looked back at the process to make that dream a reality. Scientists at NASA were challenged, enthusiastic and focused on the goal. They worked extremely long and hard hours. Now stories show that they took many risks, even almost running out of fuel prior to the famous lunar landing. Ground control had tremendous challenges with communication and systems during the flight. All these challenges made the success even sweeter and set the stage for even greater future accomplishments in the space program.

So was it a ridiculously outrageous vision? Did JFK ever wonder himself about the dream a whole country had embraced? What about other dreamers? Historians have reported that President Ronald Reagan was advised not to include the portion of his speech that challenged Gorbachev to tear down the Berlin wall. But Reagan’s mission for peace and vision of democracy rang out in the words, “General Secretary Gorbachev, if you seek peace...tear down this wall!”

Mickey Mouse, Microsoft & Madolyn
What about Walt Disney? He envisioned an entire enterprise that started out with a cartoon mouse! And Bill Gates envisioned Microsoft in his dorm room while still a college student! A good friend of mine started her multimillion-dollar international business in the basement of her home! And I started Signature HomeStyles out of my apartment! Was it a silly idea? Who would have ever thought that you could start a business with $1,500! Of course there were naysayers and challenges.

Every visionary is challenged. Every dreamer takes risks and works extremely hard. And dreams start to happen when they are fueled by commitment, passion and focus on the goal. Whether it’s landing on the moon or building a small business, the challenges and the steps to success are the same. Having a dream and making it happen sets the stage for even greater future accomplishments.

Never, ever let go of your dream!

Shoot for the moon and you will at least land in the stars!