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In Any New Situation, Whether It Involves An Elevator Or A Rocket Ship, You Will Almost Certainly Be Viewed In One Of Three Ways. As A Minus One: Actively Harmful, Someone Who Creates Problems. Or As A Zero: Your Impact Is Neutral And Doesn't Tip The Balance One Way Or The Other. Or You'll Be Seen As A Plus One: Someone Who Actively Adds Value. Everyone Wants To Be A Plus One, Of Course. But Proclaiming Your Plus-oneness At The Outset Almost Guarantees You'll Be Perceived As A Minus One, Regardless Of The Skills You Bring To The Table Or How You Actually Perform.

Decide In Your Heart Of Hearts What Really Excites And Challenges You, And Start Moving Your Life In That Direction. Every Decision You Make, From What You Eat To What You Do With Your Time Tonight, Turns You Into Who You Are Tomorrow, And The Day After That. Look At Who You Want To Be, And Start Sculpting Yourself Into That Person. You May Not Get Exactly Where You Thought You'd Be, But You Will Be Doing Things That Suit You In A Profession You Believe In. Don't Let Life Randomly Kick You Into The Adult You Don't Want To Become.

One Chief Astronaut Used To Make A Point Of Phoning The Front Desk At The Clinic Where Applicants Are Sent For Medical Testing, To Find Out Which Ones Treated The Staff Well-and Which Ones Stood Out In A Bad Way. The Nurses And Clinic Staff Have Seen A Whole Lot Of Astronauts Over The Years, And They Know What The Wrong Stuff Looks Like. A Person With A Superiority Complex Might Unwittingly, Right There In The Waiting Room, Quash His Or Her Chances Of Ever Going To Space.

Almost Everything Worthwhile Carries With It Some Sort Of Risk.

It's Almost Comical That Astronauts Are Stereotyped As Daredevils And Cowboys. As A Rule, We're Highly Methodical And Detail-oriented. Our Passion Isn't For Thrills But For The Grindstone, And Pressing Our Noses To It.