Cultivating the Spirit of Exploration

After Nearly a Decade on the Sidelines, the U.S. Sends Americans Back to Space!

I have always been passionate about America's involvement in exploring the "Final Frontier" of Outer Space. It is, after all, no coincidence that I developed the Self-Action Leadership Theory out of a metaphysical metaphor and extended analogy rooted in Space exploration.

In my last blog post, I lamented the extended moratorium of the United States' commitment to Space Exploration, punctuated by the retirement of the Space Shuttle Program back in 2011.

In light of this lamentation, you can imagine the joy, excitement, and pride I felt when SpaceX's Crew Dragon rocket successfully blasted off at Cape Canaveral, Florida, yesterday afternoon at 3:22 p.m. EST, carrying astronauts Robert Behnken and Douglas Hurley to the International Space Station.

Click HERE to watch the Launch. 

Fueling my enthusiasm even further is my wife's and my friendship with Sarah (McNeese) Walker, currently a Senior Mission Manager at SpaceX headquarters in Los Angeles. I first met Sarah when Lina, Sarah, and their two other roommates were just 19 year-old sophomores at The Georgia Institute of Technology (Georgia Tech). Suffice it to say, there was a lot of brainpower in that college dorm! No wonder the good Lord made me wait until I was 27 before I was worthy of holding my own among that mighty milieu of misses. I must have seemed like a grandpa to them at the time, which is, no doubt, why those candid coeds christened me "Mr. 27."  Little did I know at the time what great things that young quartet would eventually accomplish.  

We are so proud of you Sarah!

South African born SpaceX Founder and CEO, Elon Musk—who faced severe bullying and other challenges growing up—is now the veritable king of Earth and Space (at least for the weekend). Musk was overcome with emotion and nearly at a loss for words after watching his long-held dream become a reality on Saturday afternoon.

Once he did find the words, he remarked:

"I think this is something that should really get people right on the heart of anyone who has any spirit of exploration.  And the United States is a distillation of the human spirit of exploration and I think this is something that is particularly important in the United States, but appeals to everyone throughout the world who has within them the spirit of exploration."  

Click HERE to watch post-launch remarks by Vice President Pence & President Trump.  

Musk went on to say that,

"I'm really quite overcome with emotion on this day, so it's kind of hard to talk, frankly.  It's been 18 years working towards this goal so it's hard to believe that it's happened."

Unlike Musk, a physicist and engineer, I am a metaphysicist and writer. Like Musk, I am an entrepreneur who has been working for nearly 18 years in an effort to launch my own rocket ship, although of the metaphysical variety. It's not quite there yet, but it's very close; you might even say it is on the launching pad.

While Musk aims to someday take people into Outer Space, I hope to one day take people to the outer reaches of their metaphysical potential as human beings. The Self-Action Leadership Theory teaches men and women how to do just that by advancing step-by-step through the Nine Stages of Existential Growth, analogized by the layers of Earth's atmosphere reaching high up into the outermost reaches of Outer Space.

Click HERE to read a Scholarly Article on the Self-Action Leadership Theory.  

Click HERE to buy the textbook, Self-Action Leadership, Volume I: A Theoretical Framework for Existential Growth

Sadly, yesterday's success in space can be contrasted by violent clashes here on the ground, sparked by the unspeakable tragedy of George Floyd's completely inexcusable murder at the hands of ruthless police officers in Minneapolis, Minnesota last week. The rampant violence, looting, and arson that accompanied the highly justified protests were also inexcusable. Suffice it to say, deeply entrenched and stubbornly pervasive problems persist all around us.

It is interesting to note that erstwhile achievements in Outer Space — hearkening back to the 1960s and 1970s — were also accompanied by strikingly similar civil unrest at home. It is sad that we have not made more progress in the past half century. But if there is one thing that yesterday's successful rocket launch should signal to all of us, it is that Hope Springs Eternal. Hope for healing. Hope for CHANGE. Hope for helping each other succeed. And Hope for a better and brighter future for ALL of us. 

At Freedom Focused, we are fervently committed to being part of the solution to problems all around us. And as educators and role models, we strive our utmost to leave this Planet a better place than we found it by serving our fellowmen and empowering them to more fully realize their limitless potential as human beings and children of God.  

Click HERE to learn more about our vision and mission as educators and role models at Freedom Focused

This juncture in the history of humanity — and more specifically in the unfolding story of the United States of America — provides all of us with an opportunity to pause and reflect. In so doing, may we direct those reflections inward in that kind of self-reflection borne of honest and humble introspection.

In other words, instead of pointing fingers at others, which is so easy to do at a time like this (or any time for that matter), may we each ask ourselves that painful and piercing question: "How am I part of the problem, if only in my thought processes?" And as a follow-up question, may we further query ourselves as follows: "What can I tangibly do beginning today to become part of the solution," with the recognition that I can only control my own thoughts, speech, and actions; but that in that control, I can be an agent of positive and productive change inside my own metaphysical world as well as a powerful and growing influence in the broader world itself.

By cultivating the Spirit of Exploration in our own minds, hearts, and spirits, I am confident that we can begin to nurture real and lasting change in our own lives, relationships, and homes. By so doing, we can gradually become catalysts of real and lasting change in our organizations, communities, regions, states, nations, and world-at-large.

There can be no greater quest than to indefatigably pursue that kind of positive change that comes from within and then blesses all without. Join us, and together we will transform our nation and world into the truly remarkable place it is capable of becoming.