Into The Unknown

Posted on July 29, 2010 by Ronald T. Brown, Ph.D.

“We must not be afraid of dreaming the seemingly impossible if we want the seemingly impossible to become a reality.” – Vaclav Have

Robert H. Goddard, the driving force behind America’s early space programs, is today called “the father of space flight.”  But when he first imagined that a rocket could be propelled through outer space, the New York Times ridiculed his dream, saying he lacked even “the knowledge ladled out daily in high schools!” With no atmosphere in outer space, and therefore nothing for an engine to thrust against, the NY Times explained a rocket could not move an inch.  That was in 1920.

Goddard stuck to his dream, insisting, “It is difficult to say what is impossible, for the dream of yesterday is the hope of today and the reality of tomorrow.”

In 1969, when the Apollo 11 mission reached the moon, the NY Times reconsidered its earlier scoffing and mocked itself in an editorial that included these words: “Further investigation and experimentation have confirmed the findings of Issac Newton in the 17th century, and it is now definitely established that a rocket can function in a vacuum as well as in an atmosphere.  The New York Times regrets the error.”

** Psychologist Abraham Maslow said when we free ourselves from the constraints of ordinary goals and uninformed scoffers, we will find ourselves “roaring off the face of the earth.” That is what happens when we, by faith, step in the direction of our beliefs and goals, rather than allowing ourselves to be distracted by naysayers who are content to live a mediocre life. 

** Stay focused, and move in the direction of your dreams.  Do not let anyone belittle your dreams out of you – for one day they may owe you an apology for scoffing at your idea as well!

“The only way of discovering the limits of the possible is to venture a little way past them into the impossible.” – Arthur C. Clarke