Walter Cronkite died yesterday and I had a chance to reflect on my memories of him. I was a big fan of the Apollo launches when I was 9. I recall getting up early to watch each of them, leading up to Apollo 11 when man first walked on the moon. Coincidentally today is the 40th anniversary of that seminal event. It has been well documented that Cronkite was also a big fan of the space program and my enthusiasm for the various launches was fueled by his coverage of those launches, and especially the lead up to them. In those days a space launch created drama and anticipation and I wanted to follow what was going on. I felt something important and historic was about to happen as he counted off the time left to each lift-off – “T-minus 15 min….” Uncle Walter always made the events more memorable and exciting than my alternative of watching cartoons or Wonderama. As the rocket disappeared into the atmosphere, and the people in mission control seemed to breathe a sigh of relief, so would he. We had done it again. It was pretty cool.

I never wanted to be an astronaut but I was fascinated by what was involved leading up to each launch and the awesome technology and imagination that it took to bring us closer to that moon landing in 1969. For some kids, Cronkite may have inspired them to go into science. For me I was inspired to dream, and keep dreaming. As a grown-up consultant and entrepreneur, I keep trying to dream and whenever I can, I share the importance of being passionate and innovative. Putting a man on the moon was a generation’s “big hairy goal” (Collins and Porras) and they achieved it. I think this generation needs to find its inspiration and create another.