A Lesson from the Moon About Your Potential
Aug 15, 2025
Last week I saw something that made my jaw drop.
My wife and I were visiting the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida where we got to see the rockets used to launch the Apollo Missions.
That’s right, “One small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”… those missions.
When standing underneath a rocket that is longer than a football field, and stands taller than the Statue of Liberty… one senses the truly awesome power it takes to escape gravity and reach among the stars.
But behind the rocket, behind the astronauts, and behind the images of the American flag fluttering against the stark emptiness of the moon… stands a story that is even more remarkable.
And it is this:
If the Wright Brothers achieved human flight in 1903, then it took only 66 years for mankind to walk on the moon.
That’s all.
66 years.
In that time period mankind witnessed
…the spread of electricity
… two world wars
…the replacement of the horse with the automobile
…the telephone
…nuclear energy
…television
…computers…
…and yes… technology that could send man to the moon.
In a little over 6 and a half decades, the world changed that much.
In someone’s lifetime, even.
Which brings us to you.
So often the vision we have of ourselves falls incredibly short of our real potential. We accept the gravity of other people’s perceptions, and worse, we often listen to the limitations of our own harshest critic… ourselves.
If the Wright brothers could have seen Neil Armstrong walking on the moon… do you think they would have believed it?
Similarly, if you could peer into the future of your potential, would you believe it?
At the same time, when the Wright brothers were tinkering on airplane concepts in their bicycle shop in Dayton, Ohio… or when scientists were failing again and again in the development of rockets… there were a lot of critics who said the effort wasn’t worth it.
Those Wright brothers have no idea what they are doing…
Those astronauts and that space program will never amount to anything.
What a waste…
As you pursue your goals, do you hear similar voices?
Possibly even from inside of yourself?
If the Wright brothers, or anyone else, couldn’t possibly have imagined the far reaching possibilities from their hard work and ingenuity, then who has the right to set limitations on you?
More importantly, what right does your inner critic have to set limitations on yourself?
A lifetime was the only thing that separated our first step into the air, and the giant leap to the moon.
Where will you soar to?
I can’t wait to see.
Christian
CHRISTIAN HANSEN has gone behind the scenes in some of the biggest organizations in the world to find out the reasons why some people get chosen and why others don’t. As the 2X #1 bestselling and LinkedIn Top Ten ranked author of “The Influence Mindset: The Art & Science of Getting People to Choose You” Christian helps teams and organizations who want to stand out and be the obvious choice. With degrees from Brigham Young University and The London School of Economics, he’s helped thousands of individuals position and sell themselves. A fan of international communication, history, and choral music, he currently lives in Utah with his wife. Reach him at: TheChristianHansen.com
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