Most People Break From Adversity—Here’s How to Rise Instead | A Bit of Optimism Extended Clip

What was the specific story when I asked you of something that you look back and you say that really was. That really molded me or contributed to molding me into who the person I am today? What was the specific story that you were going to tell that you said was slightly to the side? Just because you're in space, I'm not going to let you off the hook.

You're tough. Tough one. Without getting into specifics, it was. It was just being really scared. And I think that's something everyone who listens or watches, who's lived the life can, can, can understand, you know, being scared, it's being a scared boy for me and being able to stand up to someone that I had feared for a long period of time clicked something in my head and, and showed me that, you know, we're all a lot stronger than we give ourselves credit for. I mean, that it's hard to encapsulate, articulate how formative this experience was for me. But if you can imagine yourself and, you know, maybe most of your adolescence, you thought you weren't meant for big things or that you were scared. A scared little boy or scared little girl to do anything and not feeling of any worth or value, but being able to do the most courageous thing you never thought you could do, that changes you, and it changed me.

Where did you find the courage? If you went from having fear, what was it that made you rise up and overcome that fear?

I think it's the strongest emotion that we have, the most important emotion and the reason for why in everything we do. And that's love. For me, it was love of someone to care for them and protect them. And I think that love is the reason why. If you really pull away the layers of why we do so many things, it always comes down to love. I mean, look, right now, I mean, I'm up in space, but I've got a whole team of specialists, of engineers, of flight controllers and directors on the ground right now supporting this mission. They're not doing it for a paycheck. They're doing it because they love it. They love the public service. They love the work, they love the impact we're making. And most importantly, they love each other. We have a lot of love for each other. And that's what I find so, so inspiring about public service, is that it's. It goes beyond that and you find a level of camaraderie and love for each other to keep doing the job.

You know, this. This word comes up a lot. I've spent time with Marines I know you're a sailor. I mean, you're a sailor. Technically, you're a seal. You're an ass astronaut. And I mean, you're a hardened warrior. You're a combat veteran with many tours, and you've seen and done things that, you know, are, you know, wonderful and awful at the same time. And, and this word keeps coming up and, And. And I don't think that sort of private sector recognizes that, that. That to be a high performer, to be. To accomplish more than others think possible, is not driven by the desire, as you said, to prove others wrong or to prove how strong you are, you know? You know, whenever I talk to folks like you, it is love. And if you're going to be a role model to kids and parents are going to push them to go to Harvard and become doctors, maybe become astronauts and SEALs, you know, not only do they have to teach the math and work ethic, you know, how do we foster love in our kids? And how do we foster love, you know, on our teams with our employees and our teammates?

You practice it. You show love. You do love. It's shown through your actions. It's shown through the words. It's shown through the I'm sorrys, I made a mistake. How can we make this better? We're all human, and as humans, we just so naturally tend to cause harm to each other, even despite the best of intentions. But if you have love and empathy, I think there's really nothing you can solve. And I feel comfortable saying that. I've said it to a team of SEALs. I was invited back for my old alma mater SEAL team's anniversary, and my speech hindered around love. And at the face of it, you're like, that's such a silly thing to talk about amongst a big group of burly, tough Navy SEALs. Well, you know what? That message came through loud and clear, and it was very, very impactful to the operators I talked to afterwards of how, yes, indeed, the number one trait of a warrior is love, whether that's love for country, love for home, love for the ideals you believe in, but of course, most importantly, love for each other. To keep going on, I had the.

Opportunity to do a why discovery with. With the seals. And where we came to was that seals have a capacity to love each other more than others think possible. And what makes them special as Special Forces is this intense, intense love for each other as much as it is for the organization and the country. I was struck by that. Again, these hardened warriors where love was the underpinning. It was such a special event, and there were a lot of tears in the room. Again, hardened warriors.

I think one of the most impactful pieces of Scripture for me is greater love hath no man. Then he laid down his life for his friend. And I've seen that firsthand. And, you know, I have never had that opportunity to kind of. To show that. And I'd like to think that I would. I don't know if I'm courageous enough to do something like that, but I think that's the greatest measure of love, and it's certainly something I've seen, and that's one of those things that's changed me. You asked earlier some formative experiences, and that was certainly one of them.

Yeah.