depicts the two hemispheres of the Earth and reads: “HERE MEN FROM THE PLANET EARTH FIRST SET FOOT UPON THE MOON. WE CAME IN PEACE FOR ALL MANKIND.”
I’VE LEARNED MUCH ABOUT MYSELF since the Eagle whisked Neil and me off the lunar surface all those years ago. I’ve experienced my share of ups and downs, some successes and failures; I’ve met a lot of interesting people, and I’ve had a lot of fun. Some of the lessons I’ve learned have been painful; others have been hilarious. All have helped shape me and have served me well. I know the lessons I will share with you in this book work, because I have tested them for more than 86 years. They have worked for me, and I believe that if you will adapt them to your circumstances, they will serve you well, too.
One truth I have discovered for sure: When you believe that all things are possible and you are willing to work hard to accomplish your goals, you can achieve the next “impossible” dream. No dream is too high!
• CHAPTER TWO •
KEEP YOUR MIND OPEN TO POSSIBILITIES.
I’ve often said, “Your mind is like a parachute: If it isn’t open, it doesn’t work.”
Innovators and explorers like to ponder what might be possible, not merely what is expected. That’s why I try to stay open to new ideas. I’m constantly dreaming up new things, sketching new rocket designs, and looking for new areas to explore.
“Innovation” is my middle name … unless I decide to change it to “Lightyear.” In fact, one of the awards of which I am most proud is the Lifetime Innovation Achievement Award I received in 2015 from New Jersey, the state where I lived as a boy.
Speaking of my name, people often ask me, “Colonel Aldrin, is Buzz your real name?”
The answer is yes. Although my parents named me Edwin Eugene Aldrin, Jr., when I was born, Fay Ann, my two-year-old sister, had difficulty pronouncing “brother,” so she called me “Buzzer.” No doubt, over the years, a few people have called me “Buzzard,” but from the time I was a baby, the name Buzz has been a part of my life. Years later, after Apollo 11, and after my father, for whom I had been named, passed away, I legally changed my name simply for the convenience and clarity. But although Buzz is now my real legal name, innovation is my guiding spirit. I’ve always been quick to try new ideas, especially new ways of doing things in space.
During the early years of space exploration, a number of the initial Russian cosmonauts and American astronauts had experienced nausea during their first trips into space. Their bodies simply weren’t accustomed to the unusual sensations and disorientation brought on by trying to move and work in a weightless environment. In preparation for my Gemini 12 space walk, I welcomed the opportunity to become the first astronaut trained underwater in a swimming pool to simulate the effects of neutral buoyancy, trying to maneuver in a weightless environment in space. Some of my colleagues thought I was being eccentric, but the sensations in the pool prepared me for what it might feel like drifting along at 17,500 miles an hour, tethered to a spacecraft.
Ironically, in space exploration, as in business or any other area of life, past success can be the greatest obstacle to future innovation. Even wonderfully brilliant people can become entrenched in the status quo, stuck in the usual way of doing things. One of the greatest impediments to discovery is the attitude that says, “We don’t do things that way,” or its counterpart, “We’ve never done things that way.” Which basically means, “I don’t want to change.”
So we’ve never done it that way before? Great! Let’s try something new; let’s come up with a different approach, another way of reaching our goals. You have to stay open to the possibilities. Remember, your mind is like a parachute: If it isn’t open, it doesn’t work. So keep an open mind!
It was a man with an open mind who made it physically possible for human beings to land on the Moon. Many people have never heard of him, but John Houbolt was the man who may have saved the space program.
During the early days of television and motion pictures, it was not uncommon to see a science fiction movie depicting an enormous spacecraft blasting off from Earth and landing on the Moon. That single spacecraft idea had become so embedded in