To Boldly Go Where No One Has Gone Before: Lessons Learned from William Shatner’s Space Ride on the Blue Origin

We’ve all probably heard about William Shatner going to space, and you’ve got to admit — it was pretty exciting. 

Besides displaying a massive feat of technology, it shows what the human spirit is capable of. By that, I mean achieving the impossible.

90 Years Old and Ready for Space 

Let’s look at William Shatner as an example of this. 

He’s 90 years old and still willing to go out and do things that are out of his comfort zone. He is the oldest person to ever fly into space — a noteworthy accomplishment that certainly defies anything ordinary. Of course, he does have the sci-fi experience of playing Star Trek’s original Captain Kirk. 

After leaving the earth’s atmosphere and taking a joy ride on the edge of space, Shatner tweeted “I do not know what I may appear to the world, but to myself I seem to have been only like a boy playing on the seashore, diverting myself in now & then finding a smoother pebble or a prettier shell than ordinary, whilst the great ocean of truth lay all undiscovered before me.”

If that’s not visionary enough for you (you’re not of this world - ha!), Shatner described his experience in the great cosmic frontier by saying, “The covering of blue. This sheet, this blanket, this comforter that we have around. We think, ‘Oh, that's blue sky.’ Then suddenly you shoot through it all of the sudden, as though you're whipping a sheet off you when you're asleep, and you're looking into blackness, into black ugliness.”

Are You Willing to Defy All Limits? 

For me, this is an epic example of someone taking chances. Shatner wasn’t afraid to try something new, something revolutionary, and something fantastic. 

We’re all talking about how Jeff Bezos is creating the infrastructure for humanity to venture out into space. Everyone has their own opinion about what’s happening. But, someone like Shatner went beyond the talk. He jumped on board the Blue Origin ship and took a ride out there. Call it crazy, experimental, or whatever you’d like — but I say it’s inspirational and badass. (Continue reading by clicking here...)