There Is No Problem So Bad That

It's Not Enough To Shelve Your Own Competitive Streak. You Have To Try, Consciously, To Help Others Succeed. Some People Feel This Is Like Shooting Themselves In The Foot - Why Aid Someone Else In Creating A Competitive Advantage? I Don't Look At It That Way. Helping Someone Else Look Good Doesn't Make Me Look Worse. In Fact, It Often Improves My Own Performance, Particularly In Stressful Situations.

If You Haven't Learned To Ride A Bike By The Time Your Peer Group Has, Then Suddenly It's An Embarrassment And You'll Avoid Opportunities Where You're Expected To Ride A Bike. And Then It Starts Shaping Your Behaviour. Reading Is Much Subtler, But Much More Destructive If You Have Not - For Whatever Reason - Learned To Read By The Time You Should.

Ultimately, Leadership Is Not About Glorious Crowning Acts. It's About Keeping Your Team Focused On A Goal And Motivated To Do Their Best To Achieve It, Especially When The Stakes Are High And The Consequences Really Matter. It Is About Laying The Groundwork For Others' Success, And Then Standing Back And Letting Them Shine.

It's Almost Comical That Astronauts Are Stereotyped As Daredevils And Cowboys. As A Rule, We're Highly Methodical And Detail-oriented. Our Passion Isn't For Thrills But For The Grindstone, And Pressing Our Noses To It.

Spaceflight Isn't Just About Doing Experiments, It's About An Extension Of Human Culture.