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In 1984, Jim Wetherbee was selected to join\xa0NASA\xa0in its tenth group of astronauts. Over a\xa0twenty-year career, he\xa0flew six times\xa0on the Space Shuttle. The five-time commander flew two missions to the Russian Space Station, Mir, and two missions to the International Space Station. In 1998, he was\xa0appointed\xa0as the\xa0Director, Flight Crew Operations, specifically selected to improve the flight and ground safety in the astronaut corps. Based on that success, Jim was\xa0selected\xa0after the\xa0Columbia accident\xa0to\xa0enhance\xa0the\xa0safety aspects\xa0in the organizational culture at the Johnson Space Center, home of NASA\u2019s human space flight program.

With\xa0thirty-five\xa0years of\xa0experience\xa0in\xa0high-hazard\xa0operational environments, Jim enjoys consulting with leaders and operators in\xa0dangerous endeavors\xa0with\xa0critical mission objectives.\xa0He is the only American astronaut to have\xa0commanded five missions in space, and is\xa0the\xa0only person to have landed the Space Shuttle five times.

What an incredible conversation Beth and Jim share about space with SO many great techniques to apply in our every day lives! Here are some of Beth\u2019s favorite moments:

On the balance between having confidence and humility:\xa0\xa0 \u201cYou must be confident to do the kinds of things astronauts and test pilots do\u2026 you have to have the confidence to be able to get in the vehicle and strap in, but you better have the humility to recognize that we\u2019re all humans and we might make a mistake- even as best trained as I am, I might make a mistake. If you have confidence, you\u2019ll make mistakes\u2026 If you don\u2019t have humility, you won\u2019t KNOW you\u2019re making mistakes.\u201d\xa0

Often I ask people, \u2018Do you know someone with supreme confidence and insufficient humility?\u2019 We all know those kind os people- and it\u2019s best to avoid those people and avoid their trailing wake of disfunction and debris.\u201d

-Jim Wetherbee from the Casual Space Podcast

At 35 minutes in, Jim shares his own perspective from flying the space from the shuttle- what surprised him, what he went looking for, and what came full-circle from his goal he set when he was 10 years old. \xa0At the end of the podcast, Jim explains what went through his mind and helped him sleep the night before he would launch and start his mission.

Here\u2019s more great memories about shuttle launches from Jim:

\u201cWhen you see a rocket launch from a far, and you notice how very slow the rocket/ vehicle seems to be moving up off the Earth\u2026 there is NOTHING slow about a launch!!! You get that sense because it\u2019s so far away from the camera, but when you are SITTING IN IT, and it FIRES, and you instantly are accelerating at twice the force of gravity\u2026.I try to describe this experience in the book, and it\u2019s exactly analogous to lying down on a hard bench, in an elevator, in a 19-story tall building, having the floor suddenly open up, and you\u2019re dropping straight down 190 feet! The space shuttle feels that that, accelerating, but in the other direction. The launch tower out your window just disappears. You are forced back in your seat with twice the force of gravity, then quickly picks up to three times the force of gravity. I did the math, and at one point, there was more than 800+ pounds pushing on my body as I traveled straight up, and it\u2019s so hard you almost can\u2019t breathe! But you can\u2019t think about it or devote any brain cells towards breathing because your job is to be thinking about the life support, the reaction control systems, the readouts on the computers, making sure everything is working flawlessly, and if it doesn\u2019t and when it doesn\u2019t, you must take action right away.\u201d

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You wrote the book, \u201cControlling Risk in a Dangerous World.\u201d How can we control risk when there\u2019s so much that seem out of our control right now in the world?!?!: Can we predict all accidents from observing the past? Are some unpreventable? We easily prevent potential accidents that are similar to recent occurrences, but preventing accidents that\xa0exceed corporate experience\xa0seems extraordinarily difficult. Organizations continue to be\xa0blindsided\xa0by tragedies that\xa0no one thought would occur.\xa0Yet, in any given postincident analysis, investigators often determine the latest catastrophe was\xa0tragically similar\xa0to a forgotten previous incident. New rules are promulgated, operating procedures are updated\u2014and the cycle of accidents continues. Organizations must\xa0need something more than\xa0rules\xa0and procedures to\xa0prevent\xa0accidents.

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About Jim Wetherbee: https://www.jimwetherbee.com/about-1

Jim earned a Bachelor of Science in Aerospace Engineering from the University of Notre Dame in 1974. He began his career as a\xa0Naval Aviator\xa0aboard the USS John F Kennedy, flying the A-7 Corsair. After graduating from the\xa0US Naval Test Pilot School, Jim performed flight-testing of the F/A-18 Hornet.

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Bringing his experience from the aerospace industry as a former NASA executive and astronaut, Jim joined the oil and gas industry as a\xa0Safety and Operations Auditor\xa0for BP. Four years later, he was selected as a\xa0VP for Operating Leadership. In this role, he supported efforts to\xa0improve performance results consistently over the long-term, by emphasizing effective leadership behaviors as a key way to influence and inspire people to conduct safe and high-quality operations.

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After\xa0successful\xa0careers in\xa0naval aviation, aerospace, and the\xa0oil and gas industry, Jim is\xa0passionate about helping leaders and operators\xa0perform successfully in\xa0hazardous\xa0environments.

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Get a copy of Jim\u2019s Book here: https://www.jimwetherbee.com/book