It's All a Matter of Perspective

While I was in LA I was struck by something... no not lightning! I was struck by the fact that so many things in life are so entirely dependent upon your perspective. Is this a novel idea? No of course it's not but in the context of how this occurred to me it made me realize that all of us need to stop and think about this sometimes even though it's a common idea/thought.

Let me explain...

Before I went to work at NASA I put astronauts on pedestals and thought them to be in the same company as the Greek Gods... okay so I am exaggerating a bit but you get the idea. However after working with them (and eventually marrying one!) I quickly realized that they are just regular people who happen to be extraordinarily good in their field who have worked hard and ended up with a cool out of this world job. (Sorry couldn't resist the pun there... I've been with Ken - aka the Punmaster - too long!) Don't get me wrong - I was giddy as a school girl when I ran into Gene Cernan a few months back because in my eyes he's still a bit of a rock star.

Does it mean that the other astronauts aren't rock stars? No, not at all. But I realized it's a matter of perspective and where you are "sitting" and in what context. But let's face it if I treated my husband and all our friends who happen to be astronauts like "rock stars" in the star-struck fan essence then we wouldn't have much of a relationship. Generally when we get together we talk about anything but space or maybe just a little space.

So there I am in LA. I am not generally the star struck giddy school girl (okay well except when it comes to Glee - I am a little crazy about them!) but here I am in a city that is known for it's glitz, glamour and stars..... and I wanted to see some stars! I kept my eyes peeled everywhere we went because I certainly didn't want to miss a star sighting opportunity!

Got a dose of "perspective" when we went to hang out with our friend Dan who happens to be a musician in a pretty famous band. I had to laugh when I realized that in addition to typical friend talk I wanted to hear about the awesomeness that must occur in the music business whereas he wanted to hear all about space! Perspective!

Went and hung out with another buddy of mine who is an incredible actor (been on Broadway and recently was on NCIS) and a wonderfully talented musician. Found that while I was interested in that he was also interested in space... in addition of course to our myriad of random topics we went through as typical friends :)

Bottom line is it's all about perspective! People are as star struck with an astronaut as I was with movie stars and it gave me a recage on just how cool astronauts (Even my husband!)  are.

That said - when I was at Paramount Studios for the tour I was beyond beside myself when I saw Chris Colfer ride by on the back of a golf cart! To say I was "Gleeful" (sorry had to go there with that pun!) was an understatement even though I couldn't get a good picture because it's frowned upon I did manage to snag this shot discretely. (Chris is the guy in the black shirt with his back to the camera in the left area of this picture as you look at it.) Yes I am THAT person who just had to manage to get a picture anyway...

 I was beyond excited just to see where Glee was filming that day too. And it wasn't just "Glee" stars I saw... I also got to see the cast of NCIS LA - in fact we drove right pas them but couldn't get a picture then it would have been to obvious so I got a shot (again discretely) as we were driving up. Stacey this one is for you... can you tell who that behind belongs to? ;)

So I am not ashamed to admit I was star struck and had a blast with it! Personally I think it's okay to be star struck now and then because it's a fun feeling! Just remember it's all about perspective... a star to one is just another dude/gal to someone else and that's okay! Life is all about variety!

My Letter to Glasgow....

Dear Friends in Glasgow,

Words can hardly express how wonderful my time was in Glasgow a handful of months ago. I enjoyed seeing this wonderful city but even more importantly I loved meeting such amazing people. I enjoyed getting to chat with many of you and have enjoyed continued "chats" over Twitter etc. I love to see the excitement and passion so many of your bring to your respective fields.

I write this blog "to you" from my personal blog (as opposed to my ISSET blog) because I want you to know that this is personal to me not just business. I write this letter because I need your help. I really really really want to bring Mission Discovery to Glasgow for your students. What I LOVE about Mission Discovery is that it's inclusive not elitist like some other programs. It's the kind of program that encourages all kids to come and participate. (We do target high school and University age but have taken younger students and adults as students.) It's the kind of program that students have literally said has changed their lives. I want the youngsters of Glasgow to have an opportunity to partake in such an incredible event. (One I might mention that I sure wish existed when I was their age!) But I can't do this without your help....

If you aren't sure exactly what Mission Discovery is check out this website...
http://isset.org/mission_discovery.html
It truly is an incredibly unique event given the range of topics we cover including team building, leadership, various science, communication skills and of course space! Plus where else do you know that students can have an astronaut available for mentorship for an entire week? (Most people are happy to get to spend 1 hour listening to an astronaut and maybe get 1 question asked - attendees of Mission Discovery have access to an astronaut - and other great mentors! - for the entire program!) The program culminates with a team project where they design an experiment within given parameters which could fly into space. (And with the proper support/funding it will! Can you imagine having YOUR work sent into space?!)

I'll be honest most of the work falls to us to make it happen but the very basics I need help with right away. What are the basics? So glad you asked.... We need a place to hold Mission Discovery. Details for that....

• Ideally a University (Frankly it's a great thing for the University overall!)
• Certainly it is preferred that they donate the space but we can work on an agreement on that or some amount of payment if necessary
• Options other than a University could certainly work as well... would need to evaluate 
• We need an auditorium that could hold at least 200 students (that's the number we would target)
• Need classrooms or other space close to the auditorium that we can use for "break-out" sessions for the students to work
• We would need these spaces for a week during the summer (Monday-Friday 9-5)

Truly I can't even begin to make a Mission Discovery happen without a location (for obvious reasons!) but once I have a location I can promise you that I will work like crazy to make sure it is the most amazing Mission Discovery to date!!

Once we get a venue selected there is more you can do to help... help spread the word, sponsorship at various levels.... but for now... Please help me find a venue :)

Here's to making Mission Discovery Glasgow happen in 2013! Happy New Year everyone!!

Full circle with Cisco

On Tuesday I mentioned that I traded in my usual "work clothes" of yoga pants and a comfy top for real work clothes. (For those of you who don't know - I work for myself so many days I work at home spending all day on the computer and phone thus no reason to wear anything but comfy clothes!) 

Gillian, from 29 Studios who I became friends with on our Gobi Adventure, introduced me to a great gal named Julie who asked me to be part of a Female Business Leaders Event over Telepresence. Cisco Telepresence is a video conferencing system that is absolutely incredible. The video & call quality is so good that it's like you are in the room with the people on the other end of the call. 

I was honored to be a "guest speaker" of sorts at this event and I was humbled to be in the presence (or shall I say telepresence) of so many incredible women who have accomplished so much in their lives. It was fantastic to be able to have discussions with women in Glasgow and London about topics that are so pertinent to all of us. I think these kinds of events are key to growing as an individual in business because one should never stop learning.

Why do I say full circle with Cisco? Well when I was working as an instructor at NASA one of the things I had to train the astronauts on was the Cisco IP Softphone application which is how they could "phone home" from space! (Every time I say phone home I can't help but this of ET! ET Phone Home...) So it was especially interesting to be on one end of the triad of this Cisco Telepresence call as I have branched out into the world of business on my own!

Here's to some amazing ladies! I really hope our paths cross again in the future wether it be in person or via Telepresence.

Hmmmmm.... perhaps these ladies want to help me bring a Mission Discovery to Glasgow and they could be guest speakers at that event....