Mike Mongo · Author · added almost 11 years ago

SO LONG, SISYPHUS/HELLO, TIPPING POINT—WE HIT 50% FUNDED!

HOORAH! Fellow writer and business owner (as well as mother to two of my top long-standing students, Bronza and Ganon) Ms Lara Fox, pushed us up and over the "tipping point"—we are now over 50% funded!!

So let us continue on this epic journey. As my publishers Adam Gomolin and Thad Woodman at Inkshares point out, "50% is great but every student in America should own this book." In other words, we are halfway there, it's true. But remember what Teddy Roosevelt said, "Believe you can and you're halfway there." Meaning, we were already halfway to our goal just by first setting out!

I do believe in space. I believe in space because I believe in the value of encouraging young students to envision a future that is 1) awesome and 2) has them in it. That's almost certainly like a lot of us all, and especially our backers.

[pictured: Lara Fox, on the bowsprit of her sailboat, DANGER'S PRIZE, pointing out the way to the future]

So let us continue on this epic journey. Share The Astronaut Instruction Manual for Pre-Teens with friends and family who you know "get" it, and who also are working for a hope-filled, fantastic future for our students.

With 18 days to go, we are doing great. And the more students whose hands we can put a book into that fosters belief in themselves and a hope-filled future, the better off we are all going to be.

That's it. Spread the word: Epic journey ahead, thataway!
MM

http://kidastronaut.com/

Mike Mongo · Author · added almost 11 years ago · 1 like

HEL-LOOO BEAUTIFUL! WE HAVE BROKE $5k FUNDED MARK!

The honor goes to yet another Icarus Interstellar executive board member: industrialist and construction magnate (not to mention life-long technology buff and career first-adopter) Mr William "Bill" Cress.

What a great kick-off to World Space Week 2014. Tess and Adam at Inkshares have so much in store for the next week. And we are putting the wraps on our "pitch video" as me enter the next 20 days of our campaign.

Thanks, Bill, great work team! Thanks for sharing, keep up the good work!
MM

PS If you are into cyberpunk & videogames as much as I am, be sure and check out Yann Rousselot's Dawn of the Algorithm—also being funded here on Inkshares. I myself became a backer of Rousselot's book today!

Lastly, writers and friends of writers, spread the word about Inkshares.com. For writers with great ideas and/or proven audiences, the crowdfunding publishing model is the best thing to happen to writing since Gutenberg.

Mike Mongo · Author · added almost 11 years ago · 5 likes

Oye backers,
When a peer supports you, it is one of the best feelings in the world. Now, my friend physicist Robert Freeland is one of those professional peers for whom I have the highest professional admiration and with whom I "occasionally" see eye-to-eye.

[pictured: That's Rob in the middle, sitting at my left. NASA engineer Rob Adam's hosted this group, some of the core members of Icarus Interstellar, at his home in Huntsville, AL, for last year's Tennessee Valley Interstellar Workshop. Yes, my glasses are upside down.]

So today when I received the "You've got money!" notification with Rob's name listed, first I did a double-take. Then I gasped. Then I cheered.

...then, I lowered my head, shut my eyes and gave a quiet word of thanks—for friends and allies and supporters like Rob. Even though we argue, we agree: The value of space exploration for our future is bigger than any one (or two) of us.

Of all the backers of our crowdfunding campaign for The Astronaut Instruction Manual for Pre-Teens, Rob Freeland's comes along with a feeling of gratitude and appreciation that make me feel like we are taking on the world with our audacious goals and space science endeavors, and that by our doing it together we are making headway.

That's it. Keep up the good work, we are making headway:
One amazing backer at a time,
MM

Mike Mongo · Author · added almost 11 years ago · 2 likes

WE BROKE 45% FUNDED (all caps 4 life)
...actually, thanks to Peter Krynicki, Calvin Allen, Theo Glorie, and Sam Kaufman, we actually smashed 45% and are are nearer to 47%.

Meaning, we are very very near to the 50% funded mark. Which is so thrilling I can hardly begin to tell you.

See, next week is UN World Space Week. That's my week. I own that week. All week long, as a resident space professional, I'm speaking at classrooms around Key West, FL. It's one of my favorite times of the year. All week I get to meet with students and give them permission to imagine themselves living, working, and playing in our space future. For space educators, it is like Rush Week for future space professionals.

Here I am speaking before kids in Jamaica this April:

(BTW if you need me or another space professional to address students at your school about space and space careers, drop me a line at mike-at-mikemongo-dot-com. Time is short but I have connections all over the US for this, and especially Florida. And especially especially the Florida Keys.)

One more terrific piece of new: This year, I am a Keynote speaker at SEDS SpaceVision 2014 Conference in Durham, NC. SEDS stands for Students for Exploration and Development of Space, and SpaceVision is the largest single gathering of space career-minded college students in the US. October 3-November 2.

That's it. You have all put up money for this project. Your spreading the word to your friends on Facebook and in emails about this project does as much if not more (!) for the campaign as anything I can do. Here's the URL to share:
http://kidastronaut.com

Keep up the good work, next update at 50% mark,
Mike Mongo

Mike Mongo · Author · added almost 11 years ago

Great news—WE ARE NOW 42% FUNDED

(PS if you don't know the significance of that google "42 meaning of life". And read The Hitchhiker's guide to the Galaxy! Because clearly everybody else has.)

OK, big thanks to our new funders Tyler Lee, Bert Whitt, Ross Williams, and Bernadette McCall—you all got us to this new peak: We are $15 from 43%!

On our campaign page, enjoy the video excerpt from my "Build A Starship" presentation at Starship Congress (2013) now posted. I believe it really captures what we are doing here, that is, giving young students permission to imagine themselves working, living, and playing in space.

Lastly, if you would like to help and be part of our campaign team, you can email me direct. Drop me a line at mike-at-mikemongo-dot.com.

That's it, thanks again and keep up the good work!
MM

Mike Mongo · Author · added almost 11 years ago

WE BLASTED THROUGH—30% BACKED!!

—
THANK YOU DENNIS BEAVER!
THANK YOU, (super intelligent human being) JIM HENDRICK!
THANK YOU, THANK YOU, (my buddy & friend) TONY ESTENOZ!!
THANK YOU, (amazing music teacher) ROBIN KAPLAN!

THANK YOU, (new friend & ally) MORITA PAGAN
Thank you, Steve Smith. Thank you, Stacie Eggers! Thank you, JT Thompson!

—

Seriously, what a terrific way to kick off the final 30 days of the campaign.

This is how we win this, with backers like YOU ALL.

OMGoogle THIS is how I feel:

Backers, now that you're committed let the world know.

As a backer, the best thing to do is spread the word—on Facebook, Twitter, and email. Think of it like how word about Minecraft: Let YOUR kids know that they can be astronauts and that they are getting an astronaut instruction manual—and they will spread the news to other kids. It's a sure thing!

Thank you for backing The Astronaut Instruction Manual for Pre-Teens. Again, you all this is a terrific moment in the campaign! Great work, everybody!

MM

Mike Mongo · Author · added almost 11 years ago · 1 like

WE BROKE 25% FUNDED MARK ...and are on our way to 30%!

Mike Mongo · Author · edited almost 11 years ago · 2 likes

People always ask, "Mike, how can I become an astronaut teacher?"
So, here's how:

Dressing for Future We Want, not Future We Have
"I went from graffiti artist to astronaut teacher."

Mike Mongo · Author · added almost 11 years ago

WE HIT 20% MARK!
My google what a great milestone!!

Thanks to backers Charles Cohlt and Michel Lamontagne who independent of one another tagged-teamed the campaign backing and pushed it over the $2k mark—as of right now, we have reached 20% of our goal with 40 days to go.

That's AWESOME! Great work, team. Let's see what the rest of the weekend holds. BTW remember to share our team link on your FB and twitter pages. There are kids out there with "centauri dreams" who long to hear the magic words:

"What do you want to be when you grow up?"

"Have you ever thought of being an astronaut?"

Don't forget: The #1 way to makes guarantee space exploration is by getting young students today to see themselves in a space future.

Keep up the good work!
MM

Mike Mongo · Author · added almost 11 years ago

US1 Radio Interview—Mike Mongo discusses The Astronaut Instruction Manual for Pre-Teens. (Shout-out to Inkshares!)

Great way to start the day! Friday AM interview on Florida Keys radio station, US-1 Radio. Bill Becker is a South Florida news icon. Here's the link on Soundcloud. Thanks and enjoy!
PS We are less than $50 from the 20% mark! Go team!