Monday, June 25, 2007

Learning to Fly!

INSPIRATION FOR TODAY:
“Aerodynamically, the bumblebee shouldn't be able to fly, but
the bumblebee doesn't know that, so it goes on flying anyway.”
~ Mary Kay Ash

FLIGHT OF THE BUMBLEBEE!

Virtually every success is built not upon a foundation of talent or genius, but rather on the notion of persistence and hard work. The idea that achievement comes easily is, for the most part, a myth.

Consider NASA’s modern bumblebee: the space shuttle. Aerodynamically, it flies about as well as a brick. Yet, it fit a design need and re-wrote space exploration history. As a re-usable vehicle, the shuttle always made heroic space flight look, well, easy. However, without the persistence of dedicated engineers, hardware manufacturers, software programmers, mission controllers and astronauts, the shuttle would be just another badly designed flop.

After past catastrophes, the administrators at NASA are now phasing out the shuttle. While the first launch occurred April 12, 1981 and lasted only 36 hours, the shuttle today visits the manned space station regularly and still carries payloads into space. It has carried experiments that have impacted medicine, physics, chemistry and agriculture.

Its 26-year history has been one of tenacity, even in the face of tragedy. The program persisted, and we know our world and ourselves the better for it. The shuttle has become a symbol of strength and achievement.

Those who do manage to experience success without much effort face a different realization: they’re not pushing themselves hard enough. Remember the shuttle program and look for the greater challenge of how you could change the world, or at least your little slice of it.

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posted by The Office Grapevine at 8:14 AM  

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