Author
As this is the start of 2019, it’s natural to think about new beginnings. As I think of all of the things I want to change, accomplish, and how I intend to succeed, one phrase keeps coming to mind:
Manifest Destiny
I’ve always known that success is about intention. People who set goals and regularly revisit and reevaluate them are the most successful, period. So that thing you’re after, that change you want to make? Pick your path and make it so.
Happy 2019.
Nathan Belway
For years I played the game, applying for jobs, endlessly tweaking my résumé. I’d send it out so many times, written so many cover letters, made so many follow-up calls. For nothing.
All of the keywords, all of the hyper-positive, motivational phrases. All of that work, all of that effort. Not to mention the hit on my time, my finances, my family, my motivation, my self-esteem. What a waste. What a degrading process.
Until the day I decided to do something different, to turn off the beaten and forge my own, new path.
For all those times I wrote that perfect résumé, just so an unknown, unaccountable someone could reduce my life to black, laser printed characters on a page and drop me into the recycling bin. 100% cotton bond, headed to China, mingled with all that common, pedestrian copier paper. It was a metaphor for me. And I’ve never been common.
Now my résumé is 300 pages long (and still growing). Now, when someone reads my résumé, they’ll tell their friends. They’ll recommend it to others. They might even buy a copy for a loved one.
Now my words mean something, every last one. Now I’m sure my typing, endless, creative hours spent crafting something real, will benefit me. Sure, someone might still drop it into the trash. But it’s never going to outweigh those who don’t. That’s a lot better than when it was the other way around.
<deep breath>
From here out, life is going to be different. It’s a walk of one thousand miles, and not a simple or singular path. Forward, I am changing the view.
So nice.
– Nathan Belway
What will the first expedition to Mars look like? The truth is, no one really knows. But everyone agrees, it will happen. Some day.
The most important consideration is money. Some estimates put the price tag on a manned Mars mission at $40 billion per person! I think that price can be substantially reduced if the mission is planned one-way. However, a one-way mission needs a means for the crew to sustain life on Mars. This is no simple task, considering the hostile desert that is Mars cannot support human life. So there are trade-offs.
Costs can also be reduced if current technology is used instead of plowing cash into research and development. Man has spent years in space, and we’ve learned a lot along the way. It might be bare bones, but the tech we have has worked for a long time.
Something everyone agrees on, when people do finally go to Mars, all of Earth will be watching.
– Nathan Belway