John continues his conversation with Andy Crocker. In Part 1, Andy shared his journey to becoming an aerospace engineer, his career working on satellites, launch vehicles, missile defense, and lunar missions, and what it was like to compete with Elon Musk (SpaceX) and Jeff Bezos (Blue Origin) for NASA's lunar lander contracts.

In this episode, they talk about what it really means to fail, lead, and grow. They discuss why failing is a prerequisite for success and how companies like SpaceX use failing to learn and improve.

Listen to this episode to learn more:

[00:00] - Why failing is actually a good thing

[01:03] - What SpaceX gets right about failing

[03:40] - Why leaders must allow and encourage failing

[05:06] - Ritz Carlton way of encouragement

[09:13] - Andy's astronaut dream

[13:15] - Why Andy went back to school

[15:54] - Traits of a great leader

[18:12] - The difference between a leader & a boss

[19:23] - Moving toward entrepreneurship

[21:02] - Role of Andy's faith in his life

[24:12] - Andy's definition of success

[25:15] - #1 daily habit

[26:09] - Legacy Andy wants to leave behind

[27:01] - How Andy invests in his growth

[28:10] - Leadership book recommendations

[30:38] - Best way to connect with Andy

[31:53] - John's 2 book rule

[35:31] - Wrap-up

NOTABLE QUOTES:

"Failure is okay, as long as we learn and get better."

"Unwillingness to fail, or treating failure as a stopping point, becomes such a constraint that you're not able to succeed, or it certainly slows it way, way down."

"Failure is a prerequisite for success ... The people who have been the most successful, in whatever way you want to classify that, have failed the most because they've risked the most. They've failed, they've learned, and then they become successful."

"As a leader, you want to encourage risk-taking and innovation, because … if they have to come back and ask a question, or get permission, or be taught how to do it, then they're not going to learn those new and innovative ways."

"We've really got to sometimes ignore the no's, even when they seem like physical 'this can't happen.' Some people will prove that it can."

"Leadership really is striving to make others better, trying to help other people be the best they can be ... It's really focused on other people, focused on serving, trying to help them be the best they can be."

"Love, gratitude, integrity, accountability, and endeavor are critical ... You've got to stay aligned with your values."

"A positive that's come for me out of writing the book is gratitude … being present and realizing that I can be appreciative of whatever happens to be going on."

BOOKS MENTIONED:

Atomic Habits by James Clear (https://a.co/d/0bnOsYDp)
Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln by Doris Kearns Goodwin (https://a.co/d/0bmxQK4n)

USEFUL RESOURCES:

https://andycrockerbooks.com/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/andycrocker/

https://www.instagram.com/andycrockerbooks/

https://www.facebook.com/andycrockerbooks/

The Unconditionals: Five Timeless Values to Live Without Limits and Ignite Your Superpower (https://a.co/d/0dNbjtKG)

Andy's Animal Alphabet Almanac (https://a.co/d/006VHGdl)

CONNECT WITH JOHN

Website - https://iamjohnhulen.com

LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/johnhulen

Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/johnhulen

Facebook - https://www.facebook.com/johnhulen

X - https://x.com/johnhulen

YouTube - https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCLX_NchE8lisC4NL2GciIWA

EPISODE CREDITS

Intro and Outro music provided by Jeff Scheetz - https://jeffscheetz.com/