A Higher Calling: Change the World!

During some recent work for a consulting client, I conducted a survey of technology entrepreneurs in the region around Washington, DC. We were not surprised that many entrepreneurs selected "be my own boss" as the top reason for starting their new venture. Of course, being a snob who grew up in Silicon Valley and then spent the past 6+ years working with space entrepreneurs, I wished that most of them had chosen "change the world" as their primary motivation.

I was just reading an excerpt from the inaugural address of the recently appointed dean of the newly created business school at The Johns Hopkins University. He recounted a story which I think bears repeating for the sake of all space-focused entrepreneurs:

"When the great Alexander marched his army into Asia Minor looking for new lands to conquer, a nervous subaltern came to him and said, ‘Where you have brought us is not on the map.’ To which Alexander is said to have replied, ‘Great armies do not march on the map. Great armies make the map bigger.’"

So true!

What are YOU doing to change the world by making the map bigger?!?!

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Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by SpaceTourist on July 30, 2008 at 11:52am: GarageJet™ is all about changing the world! And it has ALWAYS been so.
I'm releasing some words I had to say to investors in response to articles about the latest in Space Tourism:

Garage-to-Orbit™
We stand ready to inspire a new era of public interest in Space flight. Remember, the initial ROI of GarageJet™ is IMMEDIATE. Join with us. The GarageJet™ IMP™ will immediately go into a proven product line. It's a proven product line that has been successful over at least a 5 year period. Sales will be immediate. Thus, YOU, the investor, will get immediate ROI.
The Jetsons on Steroids
High operations costs do not apply to GarageJet™’s PRIVATELY OWNED vehicles. Sales of these vehicles to others reduces our own operations costs by at least an order of magnitude. GarageJet’s™ competitors take all costs upon themselves in centralized flight operations. GarageJet™ costs will be on the order of automotive start-ups. GarageJet™ itself will have flying costs for the owner closer to that of a car than a private aircraft. Merely taking the number of flying hours in a GarageJet™ over that of today’s private aircraft per unit costs of vehicle shows the truth in that statement.
GarageJet™
The GarageJet™ project breaks down the path to orbit into manageable chunks. All other projects have the disadvantage discussed above of high capital costs up front.
GarageJet™ costs up front are in fact TINY!
I expect up front costs to be a mere $300,000.00 to Produce the IMP™ and THEN GET IMMEDIATE ROI FROM THE IMP™!
No other competing space tourism project you may be looking at can give you such immediate ROI.
The IMP™ will set the aerodynamics for the flying car GarageJet™.
The pressurized flying car, GarageJet™ Imperial™, will then be made ready for sale and will have fittings for Orbiter™ rocket pods.
Rocket pods will be purchased on the open market.
Garage-to-Orbit™
This will complete the Garage-to-Orbit™ design train. Apollo rocket pods will take the Imperial™ to the Moon. The world will have a completely new transportation system. The very real public dream of a flying car will have physical reality. And space access costs will come down by at least an order of magnitude.
But most important to you the investor, ROI on your investment will begin IMMEDIATELY.
Please fund the GarageJet™ project now.
By funding GarageJet™ now, we will be ready to take our place as LEADERS of the Space Tourism industry.
The Jetsons on Steroids
The private ownership aspect of GarageJet™ is the most important customer sales feature of our project.
Garage-to-Orbit™
We stand ready to inspire a new era of public interest in Space flight. Join with us. Remember, the initial ROI is IMMEDIATE. The GarageJet™ IMP™ will immediately go into a proven product line. Sales will be immediate. Thus, immediate ROI.
Thank you.
George A. Teacherson
And so, I George T, do remind you that GarageJet™ will not only change the world and its transportation, but when funded it will make our Universe bigger. And that's the way I think.; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Guillermo Söhnlein on July 30, 2008 at 11:54am: OK, I just came across a more modern quote along the same inspirational lines.

From "Alexander the Great" we move to "The Great One" (Wayne Gretzky): "I skate to where the puck is going to be, not where it has been."

[There's another pun in here about how "'great' minds think alike" ... ]; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Dave Hook on July 30, 2008 at 9:40pm: I like both quotes, but find I'm more like Gretzky. I started my little company intending to help protect little airports from terrorist threats. And we still do that. But like Gretzky, I belive in skating to where the puck will be. In this case I see General Aviation morphing into General Spaceflight. It may take a few years for the puck and I to meet to make that business slap shot, but I know that I and my company will never get there if we don't start skating now.

Here's another good quote for entrepreneurs:

"Luck is when preparation meets opportunity." The Great Vince Lombardi; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Joe Latrell on July 30, 2008 at 1:17pm: "To Change the World" is exactly why I started Beyond-Earth. Space is a wonderful place but most people only understand it through their television set. The concept of putting Space in the hands of anyone was the driving force behind what we do. Maybe sending a photo to Space and back is not an exciting goal for most enthusiasts, but what is it to a 10 year old? Magic!; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Richard D. Dell Jr. on July 30, 2008 at 3:25pm: Guillermo,

Thanks for letting me know about this discussion. Alexander is one of my top ten favorite figures from history, and that story one of my favorites-

Here's what we're doing to make the map bigger-

http://www.avrc.com/presentations/Fast_Manned_Interplanetary.ppt

We really have no time to pursue Angels while we are engaged in keeping our core business in motion, so we are seeking interested and accomplished parties to support developing a joint venture and a financial package to see Fusion Ship II become a reality within the next five years. We have the technical, technological and strategic business development talent to make this work.

Best Regards

Richard; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Ayhan E. Mertogul on July 31, 2008 at 7:25pm: I took a look at your presentation and what immediately caught my eye was "R.L. Burton." When I was in school there was a professor named Rodney Burton who worked on this sort of thing. Is your R.L. Burton a professor at UIUC?

If so, please say hello for me!

Ayhan Mertogul; ▶ Reply to This

Permalink Reply by Ken Gosier on August 1, 2008 at 3:35am: This reminds me of a quote from Theodore Roosevelt, who did not necessarily make the map bigger, but rather "changed the conversation," and thus was a thought-leader.

When asked how he did such a good job as president "keeping in tune" with what the nation was thinking etc, he responded, "I never concerned myself with what people _were_ thinking, but rather what they _ought to be_ thinking."; ▶ Reply to This