I’ve been listening to more music on my iPod classic as I sit in the front porch of our house in Palm Springs. One of the joyful moments is stumbling upon songs on shuffle that bring you back to a time. Today, it was Billy Bragg’s, “The Space Race is Over”—a musician my painting professor in college introduced to me.

Here is the ChatGPT summary of the themes of the song:

“The Space Race is Over” serves as both a critique of society’s shift away from collective progress and a personal reflection on growing older and facing the realities that challenge childhood dreams. Bragg’s song is not just about space exploration—it’s a metaphor for lost ideals and the need to rediscover a sense of purpose and hope for the future.

As read Chanpory’s post about being middle-aged and working at a startup, I thought how much this song resonates. We need more collective ambition to bring us together, not dividing through our ideologies; just like what Top Gun: Maverick did for us.

I’m hoping startup innovation can renew how we work together.