Are we pointed in the right direction?
How to check your trajectory before you crash
Pointed in the Right Direction
“Andy, you take off like a rocket. I just want to make sure you’re pointed in the right direction.”
That line from a mentor has lived rent-free in my head for years. It’s flattering and unsettling at the same time - because he was right. I’m wired for acceleration. I love momentum. I love the feeling of lift-off - new projects, new ideas, new frontiers. But rockets don’t get points for speed if they’re off trajectory. Underneath that simple statement is a deeper truth: rockets need five things.
Base - Launchpad Stability & Ground Systems
Before launch, the rocket is clamped down and stabilized. This matters more than people think. Just as a sprinter braces against the starting blocks, a career can’t take off from thin air. A strong foundation - health, relationships, self-awareness - keeps ambition from turning into chaos.
Thrust - The Controlled Explosion
Rockets don’t gently rise. They escape gravity through controlled force. Ambition, drive, and curiosity are the combustion chamber. I’m reminded of the quote: “Success demands singleness of purpose and hard work.” Thrust is what gets you moving while everyone else is stuck in analysis.
Speed - Velocity & Stage Separation
Rockets ascend through stages:
Stage 1: Raw power to clear the ground.
Stage 2: Smoother acceleration, aligning trajectory.
Stage 3: Fine-tuning and stabilization.
What’s essential? Stage separation, which requires discarding what no longer serves you - old habits, roles, identities, even relationships. Dropping weight isn’t loss; it’s evolution. Each stage has its purpose.
Direction - Guidance, Attitude, and Control
Once at altitude, you can’t close your eyes and coast. That’s fatal. A rocket uses gyroscopes, thrusters, and a guidance computer to make constant adjustments. One degree off at launch means missing Mars by millions of miles.
Career direction isn’t a one-time decision. It’s continuous correction. Checking your trajectory isn’t slowing down - it’s mission critical.
Landing - Precision & Humility
Thanks to SpaceX, landing is now as impressive as launch. Engines throttle down. Grid fins steer through turbulence. A final burn zeros out velocity. Legs deploy to meet the ground.
In life, landings are reflective seasons - intentional slowdowns. They feel uncomfortable because we compare ourselves to others and assume slowing down means falling behind. But ignoring your own trajectory to chase someone else’s speed is how you crash.
Lately I’ve been thinking about how easy it is to mistake motion for progress - especially in the world of tech, startups, and endless optimization. We stack goals like Jenga blocks: career milestones, side projects, health routines, financial targets. But if you zoom out, what direction are all those vectors actually pointing?
It’s not a new question, but it’s one worth revisiting with fresh urgency. Every few months, I pause and ask myself three things:
Am I building momentum or noise? Sometimes growth metrics are just digital catnip - addictive, overstimulating, and ultimately empty.
Does this align with who I want to become?
Not what looks good on paper - what actually feels like alignment.Would future-me thank present-me for this choice?
A brutal but clarifying filter.
For me, that’s what The Weekend Brew is about - slowing down just enough to check the coordinates. It’s the space between the push and the pause; a ritual to reflect on where our energy is going and why.
In a world where AI is reshaping entire sectors, energy costs are climbing, the economy is tilting into a new era, and our digital connectedness hasn’t solved our loneliness, the need for direction is sharper than ever. We’re navigating fragmented institutions, widening inequality, and a society that feels both accelerated and untethered.
Rockets don’t need more fuel. They need better guidance systems. That’s what I want to explore here - the signals, shifts, and stories that help us aim with intention.
So here’s to all of us chasing velocity - may we have the wisdom to steer well.
Dr. Andy Michel
☕ The Weekend Brew
I resonate with what you wrote about needing a strong base before lift-off. It's so true even in something like Pilates where you need core stability and precise movements to avoid injury and actually progress not just move fast.