Canadian Astronaut Col. Chris Hadfield has commanded trips to space: Leadership lessons learned

21st YMCA World Council, Toronto, Canada – Thursday 23 July 2026

“We have, on average, 30,000 days of life: so make the most of each day,” says Colonel Chris Hadfield. “Using some of your time to enable others is the highest calling.”

Col. Hadfield, an astronaut, engineer, and pilot, gave the keynote address to the 1300 delegates of the 21st YMCA World Council in Toronto today. 

He was the first Canadian to walk in space, he circled the globe more than 2300 times, and was the first astronaut to operate the Canadarm. He has flown in 3 missions, built 2 space stations, performed 2 spacewalks, crewed the Shuttle and Soyuz, and in 2013 became the commander of the International Space Station for six months off-planet. 

Achieving goals

Col. Hadfield dreamed of becoming an astronaut from the time he was 9 years old and began his self-styled training regimen by learning how to swim at his local YMCA.

“I am immensely grateful for the 180+ years of work the YMCA has done for this world,” he said. “The confidence that comes when someone takes the time to help you learn something new, taking away your fear, is incredible.”

He asked the audience how they prepare themselves to achieve their goals. His advice: be relentless in self-change. Everything you learn, and the small choices you make every day, are important because they keep you focused so you can make your goals a reality.

Being ready to lead

Col. Hadfield shared that leadership in your own life, in your family, and in your volunteer and work opportunities requires clarity of purpose, an ever-evolving skill set, clear communications, and an ability to notice and celebrate achievements every day – both big and small ones.

“The necessity for teamwork, readiness and competence is paramount for success,” he said.

Focus on moving forward

There are times in life when you experience more negatives than positives and you may think there are lots of reasons to quit what you’re doing. Col Hadfield shared the words of wisdom his wife, Helene Hadfield, offered after the Space Shuttle Challenger disaster of 1986 which led him to question whether to continue pursuing his dream of becoming an astronaut: “Giving up on your dreams doesn’t come for free. We don’t know how the future will unfold so you just have to keep working towards the things you want.”

That support was meaningful to him and he continued on the path he dreamed of as a young boy. He added, “if people around you are saying you’re going to fail, surround yourself with different people.” 

The greatest challenge of our generation

Col. Hadfield asked the audience to consider how we can give as many people as possible, as good a quality of life as possible, in a sustainable way.

“We need to give opportunity to our children, supporting them to build skills and to be inspired by what is possible,” he said.

“We can do magnificent things together.”