Ernest Hemingway once said, “The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.”
Talking about trust on IMAGI-NATION {TV} today was Nancy Conrad, transformative education leader, entrepreneur and public speaker. Her message: to trust and keep going regardless of any failures in life.
Nancy is the founder of the Conrad Foundation, created to honour the work of her late husband, the late astronaut Charles Pete Conrad. Nancy spoke of Pete’s challenges with reading and spelling and failure during his early education. He wasn’t considered intelligent by the traditional school system and it led to him getting kicked out of a prestigious private school in the 11th grade.
Fast forward to November 1969, Pete led the Apollo 12 space mission and became the third man to walk on the moon. A few years later, in 1973 he commanded a Skylab mission where his crew had to repair some damages to a lab in space. They held him by a tether while he worked outside the ship. That took trust!
One of the Conrad Foundation’s signature programs is the Conrad Challenge, an annual multiphase innovation and entrepreneurship challenge that encourages young adults aged 13-18 to participate in designing the future.
Last year, to mark the 50th anniversary of the first landing on the moon, Conrad Challenge participants were given the opportunity to contribute in the creation of a moonwalker capsule; a package of supplies astronauts take to space. They created a tool to improve space efficiency inside the International Space Agency, a low-cost water filtration system to serve populations after natural disasters, a medical device to improve joint health, a line of skincare products made from tobacco, and many more. All these ideas went to space on a Blue Origin flight.
In February this year, a Conrad Challenge alumna, Afolabi Williams presented at the opening of the NEXUS Global Summit at the United Nations Headquarters in New York. He and his team won the 2017-2018 Conrad Challenge with a virtual farming app to help revolutionise farming in Africa.
Australian singer-songwriter Lisa Mitchell wrapped up the show with a soulful live performance about surrendering to love.
And in the spirit of imagination I’ll leave you with this quote by Denis Waitley: “You have all the reason in the world to achieve your grandest dreams. Imagination plus innovation equals realisation.”
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