Moonshot: What Landing a Man on the Moon Teaches Us About Collaboration, Creativity, and the Mind-set for Success

by Richard Wiseman

On the 50th anniversary of the Apollo 11 moon landing, renowned psychologist Richard Wiseman reveals the powerful life lessons behind humanity's greatest achievement.

The historic moon landings were achieved against remarkable odds and within the space of just a few years. How can we apply the secrets of this astronomical success to our own goals, to achieve the impossible in work and in life?

Psychologist Richard Wiseman brings together history, psychology, and self-help in this unique and powerful guide to achieving the impossible in work and in life. The result of intensive research, including interviews with surviving members of the Apollo mission-control team, Moonshot delivers eight key lessons on teamwork, leadership, persistence, creativity, and more, each one a vital part of the mindset for success.

Filled with never-before-told stories and fresh insights, Moonshot sheds new light on the science of success--and empowers each of us to achieve the impossible.

Genres: Nonfiction, Space, History, Self Help, Science, Business, Audiobook

272 pages, Hardcover

First published January 24, 2019

About the author

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name.

Professor Richard Wiseman started his working life as a professional magician, and was one of the youngest members of The Magic Circle. He then obtained a degree in psychology from University College London and a doctorate from the University of Edinburgh.

Richard currently holds Britain’s only Professorship in the Public Understanding of Psychology at the University of Hertfordshire, where he has gained an international reputation for research into psychology of luck, self-help, persuasion, and illusion. He has published over 50 papers in leading peer reviewed academic journals (including Nature and Psychological Bulletin), and his work has been cited in over 20 introductory textbooks.

A passionate advocate for science, his best-selling books have been translated into over 30 languages and he has presented keynote addresses at several organisations, including Microsoft, The Royal Society, Caltech, and Google.

Richard is the most followed British psychologist on Twitter, and has created viral videos that have received over 40 million views. Over 2 million people have taken part in his mass participation experiments and he has acted as a creative consultant to Derren Brown, The MythBusters, CBS’s The Mentalist, and Heston Blumenthal, Nick Cave, and the West End play ‘Ghost Stories’.

Richard is a Member of the Inner Magic Circle, an Honorary Fellow of the British Science Association, and a Fellow of the Rationalist Association. He is one of the most frequently quoted psychologists in the British media and was recently listed in the Independent On Sunday’s top 100 people who make Britain a better place to live.

He likes sushi, is fond of dogs, and finds Arrested Development very funny.

Reviews

[Kevin Harris · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book does a great job of connecting psychological/self-help principles with a real-life situation. Each chapter describes one aspect of the space program that put Americans on the moon in the 1960s and then connects that aspect with one principle for success. While none of these principles were new to me, it was interesting to see how they worked in action and how they led to success.

At times the book feels a little didactic and simplistic. “Do this and you will change and you will have success.” But if you take those parts (generally toward the end of the chapters where the author is transitioning from narrative about the space program to imperatives about how to apply the lessons of the chapter) with a grain of salt, the book can be quite helpful. It is impressive how many principles he was able to overview in a relatively short book.

[Kylie Nicholas · Rating 3 out of 5]

For me, the balance between the self help and the story was off. I really enjoyed the history aspects of this book, and I would have loved more of those. The lesson portion could have been cut by half (or more). That said, I found the psychology aspect fascinating and applicable to my personal and professional life. There are valuable lessons to be learned from the Apollo program, I just got bored when that wasn’t the focus.

[tïmmyrèvuo · Rating 5 out of 5]

I expected another motivational book, but instead, it felt like someone quietly reminding me that achieving the impossible has never been about intelligence alone.

One sentence stayed with me from the very beginning: it wasn't just book-smarts that put humans on the moon; it was also the ability to find purpose in a task and remain prepared and well-rested for the unexpected challenges and fears that lay ahead.

That line hit me harder than I expected.

Because if there's one thing I know about myself, it's that I've always known what I want. I know the kind of life I want to build and the path I want to walk. But knowing the destination doesn't make the journey easier. Sometimes hurricanes arrive without warning. Sometimes life feels like one long catastrophe after another. And during those moments, it's incredibly difficult to keep standing, keep walking, and keep believing that the blurry purpose ahead is still within reach.

The book reminded me that the people who achieved what once seemed impossible weren't simply smarter than everyone else. They were able to hold onto purpose even when everything around them became uncertain. That realization gave me more comfort than motivation.

Another part that fascinated me was how humans are naturally wired to compete. Research has shown that rivalry—whether between individuals, teams, or even close friends—can push us to perform better.

Reading that made me reflect on my own competitiveness.

If I'm being honest, I've spent too much time comparing myself to strangers. I compare timelines, achievements, careers, and milestones without knowing where they started, what resources they had, or what battles they quietly fought. It's an unfair comparison, yet I still end up becoming my own biggest critic.

I've realized that the healthiest competition isn't with strangers on the internet.

It's with the people closest to me.

Not because I want to beat them, but because I understand their journey. I know how hard they've worked, and they know mine. When we both give one hundred percent, competition becomes inspiring instead of toxic. It pushes us to grow while still cheering for one another.

Then came a chapter that honestly felt like a personal attack: rest.

Rest has always made me feel guilty.

Whenever I sleep, spend time reading, or simply do nothing while my schedule is packed, I feel like I'm wasting precious time. Yet ironically, when I force myself to keep working, my brain stops cooperating anyway.

The book reminded me that rest isn't laziness; it's part of the process. Sometimes stepping away from a problem gives our brain the space it needs to create better solutions. Instead of seeing breaks as stolen productivity, maybe they're actually investments in clearer thinking.

Growth mindset is another concept we've all heard countless times, but this book made me realize I've lived on both sides of it.

There have been seasons where I convinced myself I was stuck. I imagined every possible failure before I even started, and eventually I chose not to try at all.

But there have also been moments when I simply moved forward anyway. I learned through mistakes, treated every setback as another lesson, and accepted that progress rarely looks perfect.

Looking back, I noticed something obvious.

The second version of me was far less stressed.

As someone who constantly battles perfectionism, procrastination has always disguised itself as preparation. I tell myself I'll begin once everything is perfect.

Except perfection never arrives.

Lately I've been practicing something much simpler.

I count.

One. Two. Three. Move.

Or I make the first step ridiculously easy. If I want to swim, I don't tell myself to finish the workout. I simply change into my swimsuit. After sitting with that decision for a minute, I almost always end up going anyway.

Sometimes action doesn't require motivation.

It only requires momentum.

The book also reminded me why setting specific goals matters so much. For professional procrastinators like me, vague intentions become endless delays. Clear goals create deadlines, and deadlines create movement.

One lesson completely changed how I think about worrying.

For years I believed imagining worst-case scenarios was simply catastrophizing.

But Richard Wiseman introduces an idea inspired by psychologist Gary Klein called the pre-mortem.

Instead of endlessly worrying, you deliberately imagine your project has already failed. Then you ask yourself one question:

Why?

Maybe I spent hours trying to contact businesses, starting with cold calls and then trying to warm them up with follow-up messages, only to get no answer at all. Maybe my calls went to voicemail, my emails were ignored, and the opportunity slipped away before I ever got a response. Maybe the problem wasn't the idea itself, but the way I reached out.

The goal isn't to scare yourself.

It's to prepare yourself.

That distinction completely changed the way I think about fear.

The problem isn't imagining failure.

The problem is stopping there.

Fear becomes useful when it helps us make better decisions before reality catches us by surprise.

Perhaps my favorite reminder from this book is that confidence doesn't magically appear. It has to be cultivated.

Richard Wiseman suggests intentionally remembering moments when we've succeeded—whether it's a project we're proud of, a difficult exam we passed, or a challenge we overcame. Instead of brushing those moments aside, we should replay them, almost like watching a slow-motion highlight reel. Keep photos, notes, or small reminders where you'll see them every day. Over time, these victories become evidence that you're capable of difficult things.

He also encourages us to find role models. Our belief in what's possible doesn't have to come solely from our own experiences. History is filled with ordinary people who achieved extraordinary things. I have to admit that I've never really believed in the idea of role models, and right now I don't have someone I constantly look up to. But maybe I can give it a try. When our confidence disappears, sometimes borrowing hope from someone else's story is enough to keep going.

One sentence from the book keeps echoing in my mind:

Just because you can't do everything you want to do doesn't mean you should give up and do nothing.

I think I needed that reminder.

Because lately I've been learning that courage isn't the absence of fear. It's repeatedly choosing to do uncomfortable things until they become a little less frightening. The more we face challenges, the braver we quietly become.

By the time I finished Shoot for the Moon, I realized it isn't really a book about reaching the moon.

It's a book about becoming the kind of person who can.

Someone who finds purpose when the path becomes blurry. Someone who competes in healthy ways. Someone who rests without guilt, embraces growth, remembers past victories, prepares for the unexpected, and keeps moving before perfection has a chance to become another excuse.

Achieving extraordinary things isn't reserved for extraordinary people.

It's built through ordinary decisions repeated every single day.

And maybe that's the most comforting lesson of all.

My biggest takeaway: Create your own competition—but make sure it's the kind that helps you grow, not the kind that convinces you you're falling behind. Sometimes the only person you need to become better than is the version of yourself from yesterday.

[Philip William · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book works on two levels:
1. The story of how we got to the moon within a decade, which as every year passes seems more and mor remarkable.
2. How to achieve similar success in your life including the issues of failure, innovation, responsibility, courage, being prepared, flexibility and passion.

Two fun facts from the book:
1. The average age of mission controllers in 1969 was 26 years old. The sources for this fact did not make it easy for me to check and what does "average" mean but nevertheless....
2. Most of us have heard that our phone has more computing power than the space mission but if you think about this the computing power is on the ground in the USA and not only is the space ship reliant on communications devices but when space missions went to the far side of the moon communication devices would not work and so the navigators in the space ship had no better navigation tools than Christopher Columbus when he discovered America (Star maps etc)

[Véronique · Rating 3 out of 5]

2.5 stars ⭐

Moonshot has a fun and original premise. I enjoyed the idea of explaining psychological principles through the long road to the moon, using different missions and preparations as metaphors for how people think, plan and behave. The concept is creative and often engaging.

That said, I struggled with the execution. A large portion of the book is devoted to historical background and the many people involved in the moon program. For someone without much prior knowledge of this history, the sheer number of names and details made it difficult to keep track and sometimes distracted from the core message.

The psychological principles themselves felt relatively brief and underexplored. While the book includes many checklists and self-reflection moments, I was hoping for more practical tools or clearer guidance on how to apply these ideas differently in real life.

An interesting and well-intentioned book, but I finished it wishing there had been more depth and practicality in the psychology itself.

[Rikke · Rating 4 out of 5]

Newcomers to the history of moon travel and performance science will gain a lot from this book. If you're already familiar with those areas, perhaps not anything new, but the book is well- structured and entertaining. Can recommend the audio version.

[Rebecca Fung · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book is much more about the psychological and inspirational angle than I was expecting, which wasn't a terrible thing. It was an interesting angle for a book to take. It also has quite a bit, though, about the moon missions. I'm not exactly sure, though, what people it might appeal to most as there is quite a bit more detail about the moon than may appeal to someone looking for self-help, and maybe too much self-help for those looking for a book on the moon.

However it does make for a very interesting take on both the moon story and the self-help book.

I liked the opening part about Kennedy's speech and the first section of the book made me feel very inspired. It was probably the best part of the book for me, it very much made me feel motivated. I liked some points about how making the space race into a "race" made it easier to keep people motivated.

However, I did think that later on the psychology parts of the book became a bit ordinary and also were not as inspiringly related. I found some of the messages confusing - there was one section telling us about the value of doing nothing and another about how important it was we avoid doing nothing (avoid procrastination).

I tried some of the puzzles and found that when we were given the answers it was a bit rigid even though the book emphasises creativity and seeing things differently. Who says this is "the answer"? I thought of a different answer. The book never acknowledges "you could have thought of a different answer and maybe it's just as good". The answer to the candle puzzle says "the most elegant answer is ..." Who chooses what is the most elegant?

That kind of annoyed me because it doesn't explain 1. how elegance is measured in answers and 2. why we should value elegance at all (when it is implied that the elegant answer is however valued by the author).

The author also refers to fight or flight and completely misinterprets/mis-explains what this actually means in the survival sense and instead tells us that fight is better than flight. He also references the book The Dice Man by Luke Rhinehart and talks about living your life in an unexpected way, by casting a die. He gives one positive example of something that happens in the Dice Man book to support this idea. Of course he conveniently omits that the first roll of the dice has the protagonist rape his neighbour.

Wiseman says of living your life by the roll of the die "Only choose six options you are really prepared to carry out". Well, if they are all things you would be really ok with, how risky is it? It is like another suggestion in his book to confront fears "Tell your parents, partner or closest friend how you really think of them (assuming it's positive!)" - I felt that it sounded like it wasn't asking you to really find your biggest worry, or it was even trying to avoid it. It's usually when you have to tell people something like you hate them that you have to worry about blowback, that would be a REALLY BIG fear!

To be honest, because of this I thought this book was playing it safe while urging us all to be bold.

There were some lovely little bits and pieces about the moon missions though and I like the idea that the moon missions were about a whole team, a whole unsung force, not just the famous astronauts we know so well. I like the message that getting a man on the moon was as much about the failed missions beforehand as the famous successful ones. It's a good way of thinking about the moon landing and I do think a lot can be learned from that attitude.

[Kevin · Rating 4 out of 5]

I hate self-help books. For the most part. Until I read them, then I usually like them.

And I liked Moonshot.

The angle was somewhat interesting: what was the psychology that helped land a man on the moon? And the answers to that question weren’t entirely surprising. I mean, I feel like we all know the secrets to success these days, we just need to be reminded every so often, right?

And Moonshot was a good reminder. I’d heard a lot of the psychology presented in the book before, but never in this context. It was nice to see how all of the success strategies presented were executed in the Apollo missions, and it was only that much more motivating.

There are a lot of helpful exercises, even one that goes along extremely well with the topic, The Astronaut Challenge. Knowing that all of the challenges merely required the attitude inspired me to do my best work, and I completed most of them pretty easily.

It’s books like these that prove that we already have inside us what it takes to succeed. All we need to do is hone those talents, those attitudes, and decide that we do want to succeed after all.

I often find myself embracing intentional failure, and Moonshot helped awaken me to my delusions. Even if success isn’t the only answer to life, approaching our goals and responsibilities with commitment is a necessary part of life, and it helps build character, which truly is the most important thing in life.

Whenever I start to think that success is a moral failure, I’ll try to remind myself of this book and how it showed me that it’s not. As Dr. Wiseman so succinctly put at the end, humility is the most important thing when it comes to success. And if you can succeed and retain your humility, you have succeeded indeed.

[Kimberly (spacetoread) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I thought Moonshot was an incredibly fun and unique read. Part history, part self-help, and part psychology, Dr. Wiseman relates the triumphs of the Apollo missions to circumstances we may face in our own life. We may not be a President garnering passion to land a man on the moon before this decade is out, but we do need to find passion and fulfillment in our careers or relationships. We may not be astronauts having to jerry-rig an engineering solution to save ourselves from the vacuum of space, but we do need to be flexible and prepared for eventualities. I’m a huge space nut, and loved getting the chance to look at this history from a different angle. Wiseman includes short profiles on specific players in the Apollo missions, showing how this was all accomplished by regular, hardworking folks. The interviews add a fresh feel to the stories that I have heard many times over. Thank you Dr. Wiseman for such a cool idea and wonderful execution! Note: I received a copy of this book on exchange for an honest review, and all opinions are my own.

[War De · Rating 4 out of 5]

Erg interessant boek waar aan de hand van cruciale stappen in de race naar de maan een aantal belangrijke onderdelen voor succes worden ontleed. Wiseman benadrukt het belang van het team en de mindset van dat team, in plaats van de individu en zijn intelligentie. Dit waren allemaal normale mensen, en zij hebben in 9 jaar een man op de maan gezet, dus jij kan het ook. De gedachteexperimenten die Wiseman in het boek opneemt zijn ook oprecht leuk, in plaats van afleidend, wat vaak het geval is bij motivatieboeken die willen dat je iets opschrijft. Het enige wat er wat te dik op ligt is dat elk persoon die aan de maanlanding heeft meegewerkt "came from a modest background, as so many of their colleagues." Ja, het zullen niet allemaal genieën geweest zijn, maar ook geen jongens met een MBO-diploma. Verder echt een top boek.

[Lee McKerracher · Rating 4 out of 5]

It is amazing how by focusing your mindset, taking challenges on one tiny step at a time, and backing yourself can change how you view what you can achieve.

This book uses the Apollo program and how they got to the moon in tiny bite-sized steps, to illustrate how using this approach can help you achieve in many different areas. This approach is helpful when considering changing jobs, working for yourself, writing a book, learning a language - it is applicable pretty much anywhere.

It's also fascinating to read accounts from the team at Mission Control on how they faced the unending number of daily issues and challenges, any one of which could have meant failure. However, they kept picking themselves up, thought of different ways to do things and learnt from their mistakes and made history.

[Norman · Rating 5 out of 5]

I asked for this for father's day and was not disappointed. I've followed the good Professor's blog for ages and enjoyed his outlook, so this book felt just right for me.
The book's handling of the history of the early space race of my childhood had fascinating insights I knew nothing about. I suppose as this is now history these things come out. Various psychological insights are mapped to events and thinking behind that simple (!) declaration and vision of President J. F. Kennedy to land a man (different times folks!) on the Moon safely return them.
I wish I'd read this when still working as I could see many ideas which could be used in adult teaching / training

[Cebine Ragn · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is amazing and I enjoyed every page. Wiseman describes the Apollo missions like you see them in movies, just in a way that you feel like you can reach your own moon. He starts out every chapther by giving a describtion of how this chapther relates to the Apollo mission, he then proceeds into using this knowledge and what you can do to act accordingly. He has some tasks throughout the chapther, and finnishs it with a summary, so you easily can look through the book even years after you have read it. This book is a must read!

[Supinder · Rating 3 out of 5]

A very exciting and informative Book. The author explains the excitement and danger of the Gemini and Apollo missions during the 1960s. Wiseman offers some practical, if not trivial, recommendations for achieving goals. The importance of mindset is heavily influenced by Carol Dweck's growth mindset theory, and the importance of taking responsibility is integrated into Wiseman's thesis. Critically, however, Wiseman examines any criticisms of the ideas he put forward. Nevertheless, it is a highly readable book.

[Wes F · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great book with some great, practical insights from the lessons of the Apollo program to put a man on the moon--inspired by US President Kennedy's vision for the '60s. Great ideas on how to spark creativity and to get "impossible" things done. Includes some great self-assessments that give you insight into how you're wired for life--and some changes you might make to go further. Listened to the audiobook on my iPhone (while on vacation in Switzerland); borrowed from the library.

[Ashfaq · Rating 4 out of 5]

Most of the self help books try to put forward its points along with anecdotes and research outcomes. But this one does the other way round. Robert Wiseman takes a real life project starting from how this project came into life and taking us through various stages of it until the end. And on this journey, Robert states us lessons that can be taken out of these stages. By far the most interesting self help book I have ever read

[Savannah Ponder · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this book electronically and am considering buying the physical book for reference later. Great book on aspects of the moon landing history that I’ve never read anywhere else. Great approaches to understand people and advice that should help me as a mentor at work.

[TiSh · Rating 4 out of 5]

There were a lot of mini exercises throughout. The scientific details of the NASA missions didn't interest me as much as I thought they would. I was more interested in the people involved, their actions, and responses.

[Angie · Rating 5 out of 5]

10, 9, 8, admission sequence start...
historical perspective, what creates success, it's complicated like a lunar flight

audio narration good, interactive quizzes a bit hard with audio...hit pause if you can.
3,2,1.

[Neil McGee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Enjoyed and was pleasently surprised by the modern examples in reference to organization and team building projects.

[Jeffrey Fisher · Rating 5 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this part history, part self-help guide by the always enlightening (and humorous) Wiseman. Good tips to add to your life ... hell they worked for Apollo!

[Austin Vosler · Rating 4 out of 5]

There are really great, practical tips that have already helped me in my own life. The book can get a bit boring, however, there isn't a lot of super interesting inside info or anything.

[Adam Piercey · Rating 5 out of 5]

REALLY enjoyed this book! Great new take on the Apollo missions, using a new perspective.

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

Using this as a text for a course.

[Andyfff · Rating 5 out of 5]

Very enjoyable. Positive book with and uplifting feel.

[Charla Burke · Rating 5 out of 5]

Well written, very interesting and motivating. Focused on Passion, innovation, responsibility, preparedness, and flexibility. Touched on the 6 Habits and had a couple of good questionnaires.

[Mikah Reddy · Rating 3 out of 5]

"Your everyday life is a direct result of the Moon missions."

[JQ]

It was okay?? Good for people who likes space, bc you won't be bored reading a non fic!!

[Omar · Rating 4 out of 5]

I found this book in our university library. The book is easy to read and very beautifully combines the history and nonfiction parts of this book. It was so interesting that I read 100 pages in one day, which is very surprising for me how this book held my attention.

[Jack Burgemeister · Rating 4 out of 5]

The points required for an entrepreneurial and innovative self and company