How to Be Awesome at Your Job

921: Overcoming Failure and Achieving the Impossible with Astronaut Mike Massimino

Dec 7, 2023

Former NASA Astronaut Mike Massimino shares insights on overcoming failure and achieving the impossible. Topics include dealing with failure, getting along with difficult people, and the importance of caring for relationships. Also discussed are tools for success, appreciating the beauty of the planet, and strategies for staying focused in difficult situations.

45:43

Episode guests

Mike Massimino

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Episode notes

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Quick takeaways

Teamwork and reliance on each other for success is crucial, emphasizing the significance of addressing conflicts honestly and openly.

Creating a culture where speaking up and sharing ideas is encouraged leads to the best outcomes and embracing change and challenges is essential for growth.

Persistence and effort can make a difference in seemingly impossible situations, and success is possible as long as individuals continue to strive for it.

Deep dives

The Importance of Team Success and Dependence on Each Other

One of the key takeaways from Mike Massamino's experience in space is the importance of teamwork and the reliance on each other for success. He emphasizes that individual success is great, but the focus should be on the team's success. This idea is rooted in his early training at NASA, where he learned that everyone on the team plays a vital role, and individuals should be supportive and admire each other's contributions. He also highlights the significance of addressing conflicts honestly and openly, with the intention of improving the team and the mission. In the space environment, the need for teamwork is even more critical, as astronauts depend on each other for their safety and mission success.

Introduction

3min

Appreciating Earth from Space

2min

Overcoming Medical Disqualification through Vision Training

11min

Building and Maintaining Positive Relationships

23min

Favorite Tools, Habits, and Insights

2min

Ways to Connect, Book Availability, and a Call to Action

2min

Overcoming Failure and Achieving the Impossible: Perspective and Focus

2min

Former NASA Astronaut Mike Massimino shares powerful insights on how to push past failure and achieve the impossible.

— YOU’LL LEARN —

1) The 30-second rule for dealing with failure.

2) The trick to getting along with people you dislike.

3) The most important lesson Mike learned while in space.

Subscribe or visit AwesomeAtYourJob.com/ep921 for clickable versions of the links below.

— ABOUT MIKE —

Mike Massimino served as a NASA Astronaut from 1996-2014 and flew in space twice for the final two Hubble Space Telescope servicing missions. He became the first human to tweet from space, was the last human to work inside of Hubble, and set a team record with his crewmates for the most cumulative spacewalking time in a single space shuttle mission. He received his PhD from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT). He is an engineering professor at Columbia and an advisor at the Intrepid Sea, Air, and Space Museum.

He is a frequent expert guest and has been called the real-life astronaut who inspired George Clooney’s role in the movie “Gravity.”

• Book: Moonshot: A NASA Astronaut’s Guide to Achieving the Impossible

• LinkedIn: Michael Massimino

• Website: MikeMassimino.com

— RESOURCES MENTIONED IN THE SHOW —

• Book: A Life in Parts by Bryan Cranston

• Book: Astrophysics for People in a Hurry by Neil deGrasse Tyson

• Book: The Stars: A New Way to See Them by H.A. Rey

• Author: Brian Greene

— THANK YOU SPONSORS! —

• Wildhealth. Take control of your health and get 20% off at wildhealth.com/AWESOME with code AWESOME.

• The Management Muse podcast. Sharpen your leadership skills with Cindi Baldi and Geoffrey Tumlin