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It’s Not Rocket Science
Book

It’s Not Rocket Science

7 Game-Changing Traits for Uncommon Success

Perigee, 2015 more...

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Editorial Rating

8

Qualities

  • Applicable
  • Concrete Examples
  • Inspiring

Recommendation

Rocket scientist and virtual reality entrepreneur Mary Spio grew up poor in Ghana and immigrated to the United States alone at age 16. After high school, she moved to Brooklyn and found a job at McDonald’s. With work, struggle and study, she became a deep space engineer at Boeing and started a virtual reality company. Spio explains how you, too, can become a “Game Changer.” She identifies seven major traits that people with world changing achievements share: “creativity, passion, compassion, focus, hustle, audacity and tenacity.” Spio’s case histories of successful people encourage you to follow your dreams with practical action. getAbstract recommends her advice to anyone who needs a shot of upbeat energy.

Summary

“The Game Changer Tribe”

Born in Syracuse, New York, Mary Spio was raised in Ghana. She grew up poor during a period of severe political and civil unrest. Wanting a better life, she convinced her parents to let her return to the United States alone at age 16. After finishing high school in South Carolina, she left her host family, moved to Brooklyn and began working at McDonald’s. At 17, she enlisted in the US Air Force, which opened her eyes to a larger world. After her military service, she pursued graduate work in deep-space communications at Georgia Tech, eventually becoming an engineer at Boeing and later starting her own virtual reality company.

At Boeing, Spio invented a new process that Lucasfilm and other studios used to distribute movies digitally. Though Boeing owns the patent, it bears her name. She developed technologies for real-time streaming and for creating alternate endings for films and TV shows. She founded the virtual reality company Gen2Media – now called Vidaroo – and is now president and CEO of Next Galaxy, a virtual reality and digital media firm. The US State Department enlisted her to speak on innovation in such diverse places...

About the Author

Mary Spio grew up in Ghana and had never seen a computer until she was 17 years old. A former Boeing deep space engineer, she is CEO of CEEK VR, a blockchain based virtual reality company.


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