Quotes by Chris Hadfield

Almost everything worthwhile carries with it some sort of risk, whether its starting a new business, whether its leaving home, whether its getting married, or whether its flying in space.

Russians arent perfect. Their politics are messed up, and they keep going through self-defeating economic cycles. But I have a lot of respect for Russia, and a lot of love for Russians.

The International Space Station is a phenomenal laboratory, an unparalleled test bed for new invention and discovery. Yet I often thought, while silently gazing out the window at Earth, that the actual legacy of humanitys attempts to step into space will be a better understanding of our current planet and how to take care of it.

The world, when you look at it, it just cant be random. I mean, its so different than the vast emptiness that is everything else, and even all the other planets weve seen, at least in our solar system, none of them even remotely resemble the precious life-giving nature of our own planet.

Ive put a lot of my life into making it possible to fly in space at all.

When we first get to space, we feel sick. Your body is really confused. Youre dizzy. Your lunch is floating around in your belly because youre floating. What you see doesnt match what you feel, and you want to throw up.

Ive been lucky enough to fly to space twice.

There are no wishy-washy astronauts. You dont get up there by being uncaring and blase. And whatever gave you the sense of tenacity and purpose to get that far in life is absolutely reaffirmed and deepened by the experience itself.

As an astronaut, especially during launch, half of the risk of a six-month flight is in the first nine minutes.

For the last several years and culminating in six months in orbit next year, Ive been training for my third space flight. This one is almost in a category completely different than the previous two, specifically to live in on the space station for six months, to command a space ship and to fly a new rocket ship.

Ultimately, leadership is not about glorious crowning acts. Its about keeping your team focused on a goal and motivated to do their best to achieve it, especially when the stakes are high and the consequences really matter. It is about laying the groundwork for others success, and then standing back and letting them shine.

Ive had a chance to fly a lot of different airplanes, but it was nothing like the shuttle ride.

Ive had a chance to see something that is way outside everybody elses frame of reference and gives a perspective that is very different from everyone elses.

A lot of people live in fear because they havent figured out how youre going to react when faced with a certain set of circumstances. Ive come to terms with this by looking deeply into whatever makes me fearful - what are the key elements that get the hairs up on the back of my neck - and then figuring out what I can do about it.

You should have a fear of some things. That doesnt mean it incapacitates you from your ability to figure out a way to deal with it.

I think there are lots of ways to exercise ambition and accomplish things using leadership without going into elected politics. So, categorically, I have no intention of going into elected politics. None.

The communities and countries best at using energy to optimize a microclimate for human life are also the ones whose people have the longest average lifespans. Canada, Sweden, and Iceland - places with inhospitable winter weather - are frontrunners in sustaining human health and life.

It is spectacular. From about five minutes in, when we knew for sure that we were going to have the weather to go, the smile on my face just got bigger and bigger, and I was just beaming through the whole launch. I mean, it is just an amazing ride.

“Early success is a terrible teacher. Youre essentially being rewarded for a lack of preparation, so when you find yourself in a situation where you must prepare, you cant do it. You dont know how.”

“Success is feeling good about the work you do throughout the long, unheralded journey that May or may not wind up at the launch pad. You cant view training solely as a stepping stone to something loftier. Its got to be an end in itself.”