A note about inspiration and having dreams...

A quick honest chat about the project…

Lately, I’ve noticed a lot of great questions come up and ensuing banter about the project and the intentions of it. I know that there will be people who don’t take the time to understand what I am doing, or who judge it with whatever opinion they have from the little they know about me or will take the time to understand the project. Truthfully, I don’t mind. I need those people. I need to be questioned and put to the test and reminded that I believe in this. I don’t have it all figured out yet, and I don’t want to. I really am betting that the journey will be most enjoyed through the life changes, the newly developed relationships and the side projects – it will be enjoyed by the lessons I learn about myself. As I set out this course for space, I’ll get a whole lifetime of experience in return.

I appreciate that people will have their opinions and I appreciate that they will take the time to voice them. I also appreciate the people, who come to the defense of the whole thing and the chatter that ensues, the fact that people are taking positions and defending their views, getting in the mix, that is a great thing. Our lives are easily drummed to sleep by the fast paced beating of the economic machine. We don’t take enough time to sit and think, talk, argue about what we believe in and in turn, it seems we eventually concede to someone else’s views. It feels like less frequently we take a new view point or allow ourselves to be convinced of something good and true.

There are many sub-goals for this project of mine, and this increase in awareness, is a personal priority. When Obama was inaugurated, I felt this wonderful tingling inside of me. It was hope and inspiration and it was a feeling I’d been longing for that I hadn’t felt in sometime. I loved it and I want to feel it more often – it was motivating me to be a better person. I want everyone to feel like that.

To inspire others, I’m realizing you have to be out there – sharing your message, hence the blog and the speaking engagements and of course, the mission to outer space. I’m also realizing that it is in these grand gestures that people seem to pay attention. My first speaking engagement will be this week. My niece, Nicole is going to do a project for school that focuses on the mission and my drive to be a leader through my own project. We plan to do some video interviews and have a lot of fun. The exciting part – is our ability to work with new technology to reach so many people in different parts of the world. Her class in Cambridge, Ontario in Canada and I will be Skypeing in from San Jose, California! I am pumped that I can be an inspiration to my niece and I hope that she can be an inspiration to other kids. Inspiration can be very contagious. What was exciting was that she approached me with the idea and I was already brainstorming mini-curriculums to present to other classrooms. This will be a great test-pilot to see how we can increase the awareness aspect of my project. I intend to “Skype” into classrooms to get the discussion going with kids and teens and get them thinking about their dreams and goals. I want to give them advice on how to stay on track and not underestimate their abilities.

Like I said - inspiration is contagious and what a great feeling to spread around! I love that people are passionate; it is one of the defining characteristics that make us human. When we lose that and subsequently drone away at life, stop pursuing our goals and dreams, our lives turn into the movie Groundhog Day. The days just keep repeating themselves until we figure out the meaning and the important stuff. It might be cliché but life is too short; people are dying around us, text messaging drivers running over babies, earthquakes in Haiti, 9/11, airplane underwear bombs. If there was ever a time to support the people who are trying to do more with their life, people who are trying to lead us into change, it is now. That might sound self-serving but I really believe it.

In earthquake lingo, I had a minor tremor last September, when the Guillain Barre hit. In fact, as I sit here right now, the bottoms of my feet are still tingling and my big toe is completely numb. One day my 7.2 quake will hit and if I am trapped under the rubble of my own life, when all of the construct collapses down on me, I hope as I lay there and wait for help, I can say that I was awake, I breathed in life, I took chances, I got people talking and thinking, I inspired people. If I can do that, when my time comes, I’ll have done something right.

Thanks for your continued interest and support in my journey through Guillain Barre, life, and my trip to space.

The "I'm Going to Space Guy"
Jim Moss

Goals and Dreams and Inspiration - video blog

Jim Moss Bio

James Ronald Moss was born in Toronto, Ontario Canada on March 3rd, 1977. Raised in Brampton, Ontario, he spent most of his 32 years in Canada until his move to San Jose, California in 2003.

Jim, a professional lacrosse player with the Colorado Mammoth of the National Lacrosse League (NLL) learned to play both box and field lacrosse when he was only four years old. Since that time, his accolades include; winning the National Men's Lacrosse Championship in 2002, being honored with the Gold Medal for winning the World Championship in Field Lacrosse as a member of Team Canada in 2006, and joining other elite lacrosse players such as Paul and Gary Gait in the Brampton Sports Hall of Fame and the Canadian Lacrosse Hall of Fame.

Jim not only had a love of lacrosse, but as a true Canadian, had an equally passionate love of ice hockey. Jim played college hockey for the University of Western Ontario where he captured a Bronze Medal with the Canadian National Hockey Program in the International University Sports Federation (FISU) World University Games and professionally for the Huntington Blizzard, of the East Coast Hockey League (ECHL). Through his experiences playing lacrosse and hockey, he had the fortune to visit Australia, Europe and Japan, giving him a thirst for travel and exploration.

Currently employed by STX Lacrosse in sales management, he enjoys working with others who are passionate about lacrosse. His previous experience includes sales management with Silicon Valley Sports and Entertainment, representing the San Jose Sharks of the National Hockey League. Jim achieved his post secondary education at the University of Western Ontario and at San Jose State University with continuing education at Stanford University. In July, 2007, he welcomed his son Wyatt Douglas Moss into the world and his daughter, Olivia James Moss arrived in November, 2009.

Shortly before the birth of his second child, Olivia, one of Jim's biggest life-changing moments occurred and came in the form of an illness named Guillain Barre Syndrome. Guillain Barre is an auto immune disease that causes the body to attack its own peripheral nervous system. In late 2009, Jim fell ill with the H1N1 virus and as a result, he contracted Guillain Barre and was hospitalized for four weeks. Jim had to re-learn to stand, walk and handle basic daily functions before returning home. Upon returning to his home, Jim continued with ongoing physical and occupational therapy, writing about his experiences along the way. His blog about these experiences:  www.sidewaysisforward.blogspot.com, discusses the ups and downs of dealing with life's everyday challenges, thoughts on how to stay positive through stressful events, and realizing one's dreams and turning them into goals.

Jim is excited to embark on this journey into outer space and looks forward to writing about this his experience along the way. His wife Jennifer and children Wyatt and Olivia are rooting him on and he can't wait to give them a wave from his spot looking down on earth.

  

Day 14 Fundraising my trip to Outer Space

1 - Raise the cash to send me to space.



Yes, I am asking you to click that little button on the right and make a donation that will help send me to Outer Space. I have a feeling that this is going to be a hot topic for discussion on this project. My hope is that you will take the time to express your thoughts and questions in an open forum so that I can answer them. If you will do that, we can get our opinions out in the open and ensure that everyone understands the motivations behind this project. A good friend, Melina, hit me with a bunch of questions and I greatly appreciate that she took the time because it allowed me to not only answer them for her, but practice defending my ideas as well. I promise that this is a truly altruistic endeavor and those of you who know me well, would only expect that from me. Ideally, the new friends that I'll meet along the way will learn that about me as we go.

It sounds pretty wild that I am planning on fundraising two-hundred thousand dollars so that I can take a trip to Outer Space. I admit that. In fact, that is one of the key concepts because it raises the questions that need to be asked. It sounds even more absurd if you can imagine that there are some people doing some fundraising for me as we speak, to help us out the financial hole that 30 days in hospital can create in your life. So, this begs the question, "How is it, that I can ask for you to donate this amount of money, only to spend it on something as frivolous as a space flight - couldn't you do so much else with that money?" The answer is, "I intend to do so."

First of all, let me reiterate that I am planning on raising the money entirely through this blog, a website, and events connected to them. Small donations from private citizens and revenue from the ads that you see placed on it. Hopefully I get 200 000 one dollar donations so that we have reached out to that many individuals. I am not planning on accepting any corporate donations, and there is no tax receipt that you will get from chipping a couple of bucks into my virtual guitar case. To reassure donors that the money fundraised is going to my goal; I set up a special account that only allows me to purchase the ticket and nothing else. In truth, the point of the fundraising is to demonstrate that my desire, my perseverance towards this goal can act as an inspiration to others to get back on track and work towards their dreams. Additionally, I am hoping that through dedication and devotion towards this project, I can stimulate corporate sponsorships that will be used to create a nonprofit that will assist others on their own journey.

2 - The Non Profit

I've thought a lot about doing personal and life coaching and in those contemplations I started to evaluate who my clients might be. I kept coming back to them having to have the money to afford it as private coaching is valuable and in response, costly. I'd always planned to offer some pro bono cases, but it is often those folks who need it the most, who would be unable to afford it. As I thought further on the concept, I couldn't get past thinking about so many people whose dreams have been pushed aside because of financial hardship and so spending money on chasing their dreams sounded ridiculous. That is where the idea for the nonprofit was born. I could raise money to create a resource for people to do amazing things with their lives. I would even wager that some of those successful people become key contributors as alumni of the program I create. I will create online resources, virtual coaching and advice, case studies and whatever else people need to get back on track towards their dreams. It sounds a little crazy and little lofty to put these two ideas together into one big project, but that's exactly what I plan on doing.

So to be clear, yes I am fundraising to send myself to space, but not just to go and come home and forget about all of the donations. I fully commit to growing those donations into much larger commitments that will help as many people as I can with my trip to space as the inspiration point. Hopefully I can inspire people to return to their childhoods, when their parents would turn out the lights and just before they fell asleep, they dreamed wonderful, childish dreams that should never die.

"The I'm going to space guy"

Jim Moss