The Launch Is Not The Journey

Launches are exciting. Almost all launches are. Educational. Social. Financial. Every day untold numbers launch. Well, some just jump. Not all launches end well. Sometimes the concrete hits our forehead with a ferocity to show us our head is not as hard as we first thought.

The photograph below appeared in Life magazine. I don’t know the year, but I remember seeing it when I was a child. It moved me. It still does. The young lady has been called Julia Hanson. Some said it wasn’t a simple suicide. There were a number of witnesses to Julia’s launch. It was tragic. Fatal. I’m sure the journey was fearful. The ending was predictable.

Suicide isn’t a launch worth taking. Ever. The most tragic launches are those from which there is no recovery. Suicide fits the bill perfectly. You don’t recover. So the decision should always be, “Do not launch!”

Most ships that launch do so successfully. Most enjoy years of reliable service and numerous voyages.

The picture above is taken of the White Star liner Celtic at Queen’s Island, Belfast, on April 4th, 1901. On delivery in July 1901, Celtic was the largest ship in the world at 20,904 tons. She would soon be surpassed by another Belfast launch - of the Titanic.

Harland & Wolff were the shipbuilders commissioned by the White Star Line to build Titanic. Thomas Andrews was the chief designer of Titanic. He died aboard the great ship.

This is the drawing office of Harland & Wolff in 1912. The plans for Titanic were prepared here. The plans were approved by White Star in 1908, the year building began. The engineering that went into the Titanic is still a marvel a full century later. The launch succeeded, but the voyage was an historical failure.

Neil Armstrong took one giant leap for mankind while taking one small step as a man. Imagine being the first human to ever walk on another planet. Mr. Armstrong did it in 1969 on Apollo 11. The rocket successfully launched, journeyed to the moon and returned home safely. It was an engineering feat that may still be unrivaled.

All endeavors begin with a launch. A first step. An initial idea. Some action taken to begin. That launch, however inauspicious or flamboyant, is not the journey. Quite often the launch has little to do with the journey. Success is not guaranteed, nor necessarily hampered by a lackluster launch. Apple and Microsoft were both launched with less than spectacular fanfare. Titanic was launched with magnificent applause and world-wide attention. So was the Hindenburg.

Some endings are even more spectacular than their beginnings. Some journeys do not end well.

The goal of every launch - assuming the action or enterprise is designed to serve the well-being of those so engaged - is to propel us on a good journey with an even better ending. The person who dreams to starting a new company hopes to create a company that will provide positive qualities they don’t feel are available otherwise. The hope of making millions and being one’s own boss (or whatever else drives people to leave jobs and chase a rainbow of their own) drive people to launch forth. Not all launches go so well. For every Apple and Microsoft are millions, perhaps billions of smaller scale Titanics and Hindenburgs.

Launches are exciting. The thought and planning that go into a launch can be exhilerating. That’s why some entrepreneurs are considered to be serial entrepreneurs. Like serial killers, they can’t quit. They need the rush of the launch. Not much else drives them. They’re less interested in building and growth. For them, the launch is the journey - but they’re the odd man out. Most view the launch as a means to an end.

Life and all the activities of our life are simultaneously part launch, part journey and part end. Birth, life and death. It’s a 3-part cycle of almost everything. Birth is exciting. Launches are almost always emotionally invigorating. We dream of how grand the journey will be. We wave goodbye to those on board Titanic wishing we could be them. It all seems terrific, hopeful and prestine at the beginning.

Life is the journey. It can be equally thrilling, especially if the destinations along the way excite us. If not, there’s always a port further along that draws us. The future always beckons us to hope. Tomorrow will surely be better than today.

Seldom do we consider the destination except on short journeys that make up life. The entrepreneur working out of his garage dreams of the day when the company headquarters will occupy a 10 story building. He doesn’t think of how the company will look in 30 years though. For him, the culmination of the journey may end in an IPO where his millions afford him the opportunity to walk away. Or start again.

The destination is the real rub. I love engineering the launch as much as the next guy, maybe more. I love to plan, make notes, discuss and edit a good launch. Perhaps I love that more than the launch itself. That could explain why I have engineered more launches than have never happened. I’m not so good at the journey part. That’s the part that often alludes me. I work constantly on the daily journey - enjoying it more. Looking at the view from here, knowing it won’t be quite like this ever again. That’s the hard part for me. But keeping the end in mind is ever before me. Death and whatever you believe follow are the destination.

What will matter then? In the scripture a question is asked by James, “What is your life?” He compares life like a vapor that appears, then is gone. Life is short. If you believe the Bible (I do), then following life is death, then the judgment.

Destinations can be glorious. Icy, blue, clear and inviting. Unfortunately, they’re often nicer to look at and ponder than to experience. The picture is beautiful, but I don’t want to swim for my life in that water.

Titanic’s final destination wasn’t planned. Or intentional. But the big-headed notion of human power and engineering being infallible proved too much. We’re not as skilled as often think we are. Like the tower of Babel, men came to realize their own fragility. The icebergs that fell the Titanic can happen to any of us. So we should plan, launch and journey with great care. More attention should be given to the planning of our destination.

The launch and journey are not vain. Without them, there is no ending. No destination is ever achieved without a successful - even if it’s lackluster - launch and journey. Few launches and journeys go as planned, and without incident. Even fewer destinations will be reached without full and complete intention.