How Underdogs Win in Life
“One in a million is not zero.” -Mike Massimino
When Mike Massimino was six, he watched Neil Armstrong walk on the moon — that day in 1969 sparked a boyhood passion in Mike that lasted his entire life.
His enthusiasm led him, against the odds, to serve as a NASA astronaut from 1996 to 2014.
Afraid of heights and unable to swim, he was not the ideal candidate to become an astronaut. During the selection process, he was medically disqualified for poor eyesight.
For most candidates, this would be the end of the story.
Massimino persisted.
He began doing eye exercises that he hoped would improve his vision. He pursued a Ph.D. in engineering at MIT, eventually landing a job as a research engineer at McDonell Douglas Aerospace in Houston. He moved into a neighborhood occupied by those working in the space program and became a part of that social circle.
He did everything he could imagine that might tip the odds in his favor.
He reflects on his journey and says,
“The one thing I felt like I could control was how hard I tried and not giving up,”
“I knew that if I gave up, I would…
