Now that Chris has taken the right steps to be on his way to achieving his goal of becoming an astronaut, he must put in the work. He has the recipe, now he must bake the astro-cookies.
He started by gaining the 1000 necessary hours of jet flying experience he would need to be eligible to be an astronaut. This took time and effort, but he knew there would be more ground to cover to reach his goal. He had to sacrifice time with his new wife to get closer to his goal, but she understood his passion and supported him. He spent months at a time away, just as his father had as an airline pilot. The only difference was that Chris had an end-goal, while his father only loved to fly planes, and make money doing it.
Once he had enough experience, he took the appropriate measures when attempting to start his career as an astronaut. He knew he would be going up against thousands of other candidates, so he stood out. One scenario he describes in his book is in one of his final interviews. The board of people he had been interviewed always seemed to refer back to one man. They would say “Mac, you want to take this one?” Chris made a quick decision when he was asked a relatively difficult technical question by the board. He answered back sharply “Mac, you want to take this one?” Needless to say, everyone in the room cracked, and his quick thinking may have helped secure his position in the Canadian Space Agency.
Chris Hadfield flew to space 3 times; first in 1995, second in 2001, where he was the first Canadian to walk in space when he helped install the Canadarm2, and for the final time in 2012, where he was became the first Canadian commander of the International Space Station in march 2013. He has showed millions of Canadians that it does not take money or fame to reach your goals. It takes hard work, love, patience and an appreciation for the journey you take to get there.
The commander stated in his book that he loved his 5 month stay aboard the ISS, but he wished he could have been launching and reentering to earth in a spaceship more often. Of course, that is the most exciting part. His entire life, he wanted to reach his goal of going to space, yet here he is IN SPACE, and he says he wishes he could have made the journey to space more often. This in itself is a representation of his whole theory of why it is amazing to be an astronaut. Yes, you get to go to space, but most of your time is spent on the ground, making the journey to that one summit. In order to enjoy what you do, you need to enjoy the journey just as you enjoy where it will lead you.