The anniversary of this date has nothing to do with my company – but the date, and the event recalled by this date has resonated throughout my life and I think about this endeavor in my work and training as a triathlete.
July 16, 2009. Forty years ago this morning, Apollo 11 launched from Cape Canaveral in Florida. Like so many of my peers, and millions of others from around the globe, I was fascinated by the Apollo missions. I remember watching the Apollo 11 launch, and 4 days later, on July 20th, watching Neil Armstrong’s (and then Buzz Aldrin’s) first steps on the moon. Some things change… I lived in Canada then… today I live in Florida. Some things don’t change… I remain fascinated by space, and further, by the notion of humankind exploring the limits of their capability in work, education and performance. Yet the magnitude of what was actually accomplished in 1969 is, to an extent, dulled by the passage of time, complacency toward the space program and an absence of a new frontier or objective. Today, the term moonshot has slipped into the vernacular defining a corporate strategic objective, a rallying call to take a company to a new orbit of success. And so it should be. 40 years ago, America was united in its own moonshot… one of the greatest accomplishments of humankind and proudest moments of this nation. We should celebrate on July 20th, that we can achieve what we are truly capable of.
