“(In) everyone’s life, they have a pivotal moment when they ask the question, ‘What am I really doing? What am I here for?’ … I’m reminded of a credo that I came up (with) through the evolution of my engagement of a whole bunch of recreational pursuits (including being a marathoner, ultrarunner, and Ironman triathlete) … as well as my professional pursuits. It’s threefold, and here’s what it is:
“(First,) I’m here because I want to be able to challenge myself, to see how much I can squeeze out of me – whatever that is, whatever ‘me’ is. (For example,) I applied to the astronaut candidate program twice, but I failed to make it to the second round. I figured I’d give a go at throwing my hat in the ring! Like with (an earlier career experience of failing out of) the Navy Nuclear Power Training Program, failure in one domain just means that you have to pick yourself up, dust yourself off, and find a new direction – often pursuing stretch goals that are outside of your comfort zone.
“(Second,) I want to serve others. I want to find a way to be of use to others, whether it’s in a structured manner or unstructured manner, whether it’s volunteering or just being a civil servant. I really focus on this service aspect; I did become a supervisor about three years ago, and I really take that role seriously. I really have a service-based leadership philosophy. … That’s why I think (mentoring student interns) represented such a (career) highlight for me, because I felt like I was serving their needs. I was helping to really educate them and (provide) knowledge that I want to … transfer to them, to really inspire that next generation of folks.
“… And the third – which I think NASA fits beautifully – is, ‘How do I build the future? How do I help build the future?’
“So again, it’s challenge, service, and building the future. If I don’t do anything else in my entire life except for those three things, I’m at least getting something right. I might be getting everything else entirely wrong, but I can at least work toward those three things.”
— Dr. Rodney Martin, Deputy Discovery and Systems Health Technical Area Lead, NASA’s Ames Research Center
Image Credit: NASA / Brandon Torres
Interviewer: NASA / Michelle Zajac
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