The passing of John Glenn today reminded me of my great affection for the movie “The Right Stuff.”  What a masterpiece from start to finish.  As a boy who grew up with a love for aviation and space, this movie had everything.  I need to watch it again very soon.

There is a scene from the movie that I have used more than once as an illustration in speaking.  One of the subplots of the movie is the quest to break the sound barrier.  In the opening lines of the movie, the narrator states:

“There was a demon that lived in the air. They said whoever challenged him would die. Their controls would freeze up, their planes would buffet wildly, and they would disintegrate. The demon lived at Mach 1 on the meter, seven hundred and fifty miles an hour, where the air could no longer move out of the way. He lived behind a barrier through which they said no man could ever pass. They called it the sound barrier.”

According to the movie, it was typical for pilots to back off the throttle when they experienced violent turbulence at the threshold of Mach 1.  But on October 14, 1947 in his Bell X-1, Chuck Yeager chose to push through the turbulence to the other side, becoming the first human being to break the sound barrier.

In life and in leadership it is typical for us to pull back on the throttle when we begin to experience turbulence.  Turbulence is scary.  It feels like we are going to break apart.  But when we pull back in fear, we miss out on overcoming the barriers before us.  We miss out on the other side.  Ever wonder what’s on the other side?

Hebrews 10:39, But we are not of those who shrink back and are destroyed, but of those who have faith and preserve their souls.

“The Right Stuff” IMDb Link