“Think about the Polynesian islander, in the dug out canoe, deciding one day they were gonna go THAT way. No one had ever been that way before, no one even knew if there WAS anything that way. It was amazing and it changed the world.”
What is taking a moonshot? This is something that Google’s founders have emphasized since the company’s inception. It is the idea that you should not strive for marginal, safe improvement, but for massive, life-changing improvement. The concept is, “If you shoot for the moon and miss, you can still end up landing on a star.”
“People can set their minds to magical, seemingly impossible ideas, and then through science and technology, bring them to reality. That then sets other people on fire, that OTHER things that look impossible might be accomplishable.”
Google’s CEO Larry Page challenges his employees to improve things 10x and it is this mentality that has led to Google being able to change the world. When you strive to improve things 10 times from its current state, you can’t be constrained by the current reality or limitations. Shooting to improve something and make it 10 times better means you have to bring in all your creativity, passion, and intuition to help guide you to a new, incredible solution to the difficult problems in your life.
“There are so many challenges in the world and you can feel daunted by that and kind of oppressed by that, or you can say, ‘how might we think differently about this’.”
If you work in corporate America you have likely heard this phrase, “There are no problems, only opportunities.” In weekly team meetings you can see people rolling their eyes at this common expression because we hear management say this, then when an “opportunity” presents itself, management flips out and reacts extremely negatively. If we change the way we approach the challenges in our life, everything changes. Life is all about perspective.
“Have the courage to try, that’s how the greatest things have happened.”
You don’t need to know how you are going to do it, who is going to help you along the way, or what steps you will take. Just make it clear in your mind why you are doing what you are doing and who it will help, then take action. Each step will reveal the next steps and before you know it, the impossible will suddenly be staring you in the face.
“The biggest nightmare scenario is that we won’t have what it takes to solve the really big challenges.”
This is what it all comes down to in life. Fear can make us feel as though we will never be able to figure out the most challenging problems in our lives. The worst thing that can happen is taking no action because then we guarantee nothing will change. When we take action, even if we don’t succeed, we will learn, develop, and grow to find answers to other problems that may eventually lead us to solving the original problem. Ultimately, even if we never find the solution to the original problem, action helps us grow and learn.
“Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed citizens can change the world. Indeed it is the only thing that ever has.”
Going for your dreams alone is rewarding, bringing in others along the way spreads the excitement out and gives you people to support you when you are feeling down. As much as possible, connect with people who motivate and inspire you. Then as you work to provide motivation for them, they will do the same for you in return.
If our time here is short, we should work to make a massive, beautiful impact on the people we meet. In short…
Start taking moon shots today.
I love you Mom and Dad for always supporting me in my moon shoots and in pursuing my biggest dreams. I love you both with all my heart and want to help you both achieve your moonshot dreams in the same way you have for me!
Love,
Brian