“Not every barrier can be overcome, but many of them can.”
What is truly impossible, and what do we merely assume to be so? A serious accident can change your life in a matter of seconds. Suddenly, different rules apply, familiar abilities disappear, and your sense of identity is shaken. Yet limits are not created solely by external circumstances. Some exist primarily in our minds. What matters is how we deal with them and whether we are prepared to continue pursuing our goals despite everything.
“You have to have these big dreams and goals, and set them as high as possible.”
Michaela Benthaus is an aerospace engineer and has been in a wheelchair since a mountain bike accident. Yet she did not give up on her dream of space. Via mechatronics and aerospace engineering, a parabolic flight and a simulated space mission, her path eventually led her to Blue Origin: She was one of the first people with a disability to see the Earth from space. Her story shows what can be achieved when seemingly unrealistic goals are turned into concrete next steps. Benthaus also talks to Georgiy Michailov about self-confidence and imposter syndrome, the loss of identity following her accident, coincidences and self-created opportunities, and accessibility in space travel.
*Video only in German
SMP LeaderTalks
