What does it take to chase an impossible dream for sixteen years without becoming someone who cannot let it go? Dr. Eiman Jahangir has spent his adult life inside two systems that rarely sit beside each other: medicine and spaceflight. A cardiologist, professor, and commercial astronaut, he applied to NASA five times across sixteen years, was rejected each time, and finally flew with Blue Origin in August 2024 when commercial space cracked the door open. His first book, A Heart for Space, is now available for preorder. You can also preorder through Eiman’s author site and get a free first chapter. Eiman returns to Breaking Precedent for a follow-up conversation with Leah Solivan, with new updates from his time as an astronaut trainer at Blue Origin and the release of his first book, A Heart for Space. What emerges is not a story about luck or grit, but a clearer framework for pursuing seemingly impossible goals: be firm on the vision and flexible on the details, treat every rejection as feedback you can act on, and recognize that stability is both the platform that makes risk possible and the gravity that keeps most people from taking it. Eiman and Leah unpack the immigrant calculus of risk, the difference between persistence and delusion, why we are finally returning to the moon, how AI will reshape engineering and deep-space life, and what an astronaut does when the dream he organized his entire adult life around finally happens. Key Insights • Playing safe is rarely the conservative choice it pretends to be. For high-performers, it can be the slowest form of opportunity cost.• Vision and execution are different layers of a goal. The vision should be rigid; the path should be a draft you keep editing.• Markets create doors that institutions cannot. Commercial space made Eiman’s flight possible because NASA’s gatekeeping no longer defined the category.• Immigrant stability is double-edged. The same foundation that lets a person take a public risk also makes that risk feel disloyal to the people who built the foundation.• Persistence without feedback is delusion. Eiman kept applying because he kept evaluating why he was being passed over and adjusting what he could control.• Achieving the dream is not the end of the work. After the flight, the question becomes who else you can pull through the door behind you.• The most durable goals braid identity and craft. The book title is not a metaphor. He is a heart doctor with a literal heart for space. Timestamps 00:00 Welcome back to Breaking Precedent01:00 When playing safe became the bigger risk03:00 Firm on the vision, flexible on the details04:30 What A Heart for Space actually means05:11 Pursuing space wholeheartedly06:30 Why we are finally going back to the moon08:00 How AI will accelerate space exploration10:30 Immigrant stability and the right to risk13:00 Telling your parents about your dream14:00 Persistence, stubbornness, or delusion15:00 The post-flight mission and Blue Origin chapter17:00 Where to preorder A Heart for Space About the Guest Dr. Eiman Jahangir is a cardiologist, professor, and commercial astronaut. After applying to NASA five times across sixteen years, he flew to space with Blue Origin in August 2024 with the endorsement of the MoonDAO community. In 2025, he joined Blue Origin as an astronaut trainer, supporting research projects, payload work, and crew preparation. His first book, A Heart for Space, is a memoir and field guide for pursuing seemingly impossible goals and includes interviews with eight astronauts, including NASA administrator Jared Isaacman. He speaks internationally on persistence, leadership, and breaking precedent. Eiman’s WebsiteEiman’s LinkedInEiman’s Instagram Resources A Heart for Space — Author site preorder, with free first chapterBlue OriginNASAMoonDAOProject Hail Mary by Andy WeirArtemis IIJessica MeirJared IsaacmanScott and Mark Kelly NASA Twins Study Leah Solivan is the host of Breaking Precedent, a podcast that explores the stories of innovators who are pushing societal boundaries and setting new precedents in their fields. Leah is General Partner at Fuel Capital, where she invests in early-stage companies across consumer technology, hardware, education, marketplaces, and retail. Leah has 15 years of experience building and creating technology products that have reached millions of people around the globe. She started her career at IBM as an engineer in the software group, working on Lotus Notes and Domino. In 2008, Leah founded TaskRabbit, the leading on-demand service marketplace in the world. Connect with Leah Website: breakingprecedent.comInstagram: @leah_solivanX: @labunleashed
