"Falling on My Ass" A Followup Story...

First of all, this article was inspired by a story by one of the instructors here on Better Networker, Fernando "Ferny" Ceballos.

You can read his article here:
http://www.betternetworker.com/articles/view/falling-on-my-ass

Ferny, great story man.... thank you for sharing your story and the great life lesson.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Photo Courtesy Of: Steve Gahn

As an avid snowboarder of 16+ years I have taken may people up the mountain to share this amazing experience. Our local mountain in Jackson Hole is an absolute playground! Big Bear was my old stomping grounds when I lived in Cali. I remember the first time I went skiing at Big Bear. It was cold, raining and foggy; you know, a perfect day of skiing in So Cal. I went with a friend who was on the freestyle team. We got to the top and he split. I was scared out of my mind! But I made it down by myself and fell in love with the sport. I was hooked. The next season I moved to Wyoming.

I was living in Santa Barbara and Hollywood before I moved to Jackson Hole and did a lot of surfing and skating, so when I got here I immediately switched to snowboarding, there's a lot of similarities and I missed the feel of riding a board.

I started out in the backcountry on Teton Pass and Glory Bowl since I didn't have enough money at the time to buy a pass at the mountain. ($2k) But it made me a very good boarder. I learned to ride all sorts of terrain, deep fluffy champaign powder (chest deep), crusty corn, heavy packed, you name it. I also developed an edginess and a fealess kind of attitude on the mountain. I knew what I was up against and I wasn't afraid to confront it. Or at least I didn't let fear stand in the way of having a good time.

There was a bunch of us that had just moved here and we were always together, in a pack and we were all beginners and pushing each other to the extreme (as extreme as it was for us to be in the Rocky Mountain wilderness, deep ungroomed runs, untouched powder and avalanche danger at every turn). This made all of push ourselves and each other harder to learn FAST. If you couldn't keep up you got left behind. It was kind of brutal and cold, but we all became good riders very quickly or scrubbed out. Something clicks in your head very quickly when you're in the backcountry with the sun going down, a storm moving in and the idea that if you get lost you could die. At the very least it sucked to be buying all the beers that night for 10 thirsty riders... not cheap.

Anyway, I got a job at the mountain my second year and it changed everything! I started taking friends up with me and teaching them how to ride. And it was hard to watch them fall so much. I would explain the mechanics and how to stand up and where to look and so forth, but most of them just didn't seem to get it. Then one afternoon I figured it out. Something I took for granted learning in the backcountry... MOMENTUM.

See, most people make the mistake of getting on the bunny slope their first time on a snowboard. Which in and of itself is fine, except for one critical flaw in their design, the bunny slopes are too flat. On a pair of skis this really isn't much of an issue; you can skate to get from point A to point B. But on a snowboard you must have momentum. Without it, you simply catch an edge and fall flat on your ass.

And there in lies the irony, the one thing that changes the experience from "I Hate This F$#@ing Sport!" to "OMG I F$#@ing Love This!" is the one thing that scares the crap out of most people... Going Fast; Movement.

Now when I took friends up the hill it was a totally new set of issues to contend with. It was no longer about look here, stand like this, do this, do that. Now it was "calm down, you're not going to break your neck. You CAN do this." I've seen people absolutely panic and have to have ski patrol take them down in a sled because they couldn't get past the fear of going down a steeper run. No matter how many times "I" would demonstrate, they just couldn't get past their fear.

But something beautiful happened on those runs too... I've watched people CONQUER their fears and have the time of their life. It's such an awesome thing to experience with someone. You see it in their face and in their body language. Panic, panic, panic, ease up, ease up, get it, it get it, GOT IT! And POW! Just like that it clicks. They get it and now there's no stopping them. I love it. Being able to witness that first hand and share in the excitement and thrill of the moment with them. I love it.

And not unlike snowboarding, success in business requires momentum...

You'll never learn to get off your butt when you fall if you never fall in the first place. And to truly have success and learn how to fall and get back up, you must have consistent momentum.

You must learn to be active, daily, and learn to create momentum in your business. And, at first, it's uncomfortable, even a little scary. It's unnatural for most people; we're just not used to working for ourselves. Out on our own in unknown territory. (the backcountry) We're not used to stepping away from the heard towards freedom and success. (pointing it down hill) On the contrary, we're all used to skating through life, like a newbie skier on the bunny slope; nice and safe and easy. Totally missing the thrill of gunning it down hill on a fresh powder day, wind in our hair with a bluebird clear sky and the sun in our face; total freedom... having the time of our life.

But the one's who do get it and see it start to work, just like our instructor (mentor) told us it would, it's a beautiful thing. And once we have that, and experience it for ourselves, we truly become unstoppable and would never thinking about hitting the bunny slope (J.O.B.) ever again.

I think we even thrive on that risky edge that accompanies hauling down a line knowing in the back of your mind, if you bite it right now... you could really break your ass. Being an entrepreneur is risky business. It's all about you and the pack you run with. Success or defeat is in your hands... And it's just so much fun.

So thanks again for such a great story Ferny.... hope my little contribution can add to the story in a positive way.

Cheers!
~Richard

PS:
Open Invitation to All...
If you ever make it out to Jackson Hole in the Winter and want to hit the mountain, look me up. The new aerial tram is sick!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Richard Bravo is on Twitter @RichardBravo
Or you can find me on Facebook and MySpace
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
 

=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=-=
If You Like This Article Give It a "Thumbs Up!"
And please leave a comment or some feedback.
I would love to hear about your experience and life lessons.