I have listened to hundreds of podcast episodes this year but the one I just listened to with astronaut Jerry Linenger is one of the best I have ever heard. I was completely captivated listening to author and business guru Donald Miller interview Linenger.
Linenger’s bio is mind-boggling: Naval Academy grad, M.D. and Navy surgeon, Ph.D. in epidemiology and master’s degrees in systems development and public health. He is also a Navy fighter pilot, a SCUBA diver, triathlete and NASA astronaut who spent five months orbiting the earth in a Russian space station, conducting over 120 experiments and taking over 10,000 photos of earth.
There were lots of golden nuggets in his interview.
Aim high and work hard.
I’m sure you’ve heard the saying, “The harder I work, the luckier I get.” From the age of 14, Linenger knew he wanted to be an astronaut. When he told his dad, a blue collar telephone truck driver in Michigan, his dad said: “Work hard, study hard. This is America. You can do whatever you set your mind to.” From that time on, he was laser-focused on maximizing his chances of achieving his goal. Linenger went to the Naval Academy because more astronauts were coming through the Naval Academy than any other school. He earned multiple degrees. He became a SCUBA diver, because dives can simulate space walks. He didn’t sit on his behind dreaming of the day he would be in space — he worked to make it happen.
You don’t control the outcome.
Imagine 35,000 qualified people applying for 10 spots. Your chance of being selected is 0.0003 percent. Linenger did everything he could to position himself well for astronaut selection but then, he had to trust the process. When fire broke out on the space station, he did not know what the outcome would be. He worked hard to make it a positive one and he succeeded - but he might not have.
Know what’s worth dying for.
Live fully. Die with no regrets. Linenger has a mantra: “What I’m about to do is worth my life.” NASA is a risk-reduction machine, he said, but the risk does not drop to zero. Knowing that you are playing full out and that when you die, you die knowing you did everything you could to make life better for people around you brings peace of mind. Don’t waste your life wondering “what if?”
Don’t lose your cool.
There is no bad situation that panicking can’t make worse. During his five months on the Russian space station, he and his two crew mates experienced a malfunction in the heating/cooling system, keeping the temperature at 90 degrees, a filter malfunctioned, causing carbon monoxide to begin to build up, a computer failure that sent the space station tumbling through space and communication malfunctions with Moscow. You don’t need to be in space to experience days/weeks/months/years where things go wrong. Keeping your cool may not fix the bad situation but at least it won’t make it worse.
Everybody needs validation.
One of the most striking lessons Linenger taught on this podcast is how universal the need for approval is. No matter how many accomplishments someone might have under their belt, or how much of a beginner they are, they still need to know they are doing a good job. Linenger said the most surprising lesson he learned in space was just how much he craved that approval. Getting a message that researchers in the Czech Republic loved the experiment he was working on really lifted his spirits. “Those words of encouragement do matter to everyone,” he says. We all have people around us who need those words of encouragement and validation — and we need them ourselves.
Keep perspective.
Linenger faced mechanical malfunctions, systems failures and the most serious fire ever in an orbiting spacecraft. He’s launched fighter jets off the back of an aircraft carrier in stormy weather and dealt with triple gunshot victims coming into Detroit Receiving Hospital. It makes taking a risk on a business venture far less intimidating. Neither you nor anyone else is likely to die if your investment in frozen foods doesn’t pan out. Losing a political race pales in comparison to burying a child. Will it matter five years from now? If not, don’t stress out over it.
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Holly Richardson has no plans to go to space, or even to scuba dive. She would, however, like to get better at not losing her cool at drivers on I-15 and at validating the people in her life. Even when they burn the cookies.
