Racin' Jason: Life at Terminal Velocity

I got that name as a kid. Racin' Jason my uncles and aunts would call me. And if you know anything about me, you know I still uphold that title. While it used to cripple me as a kid, I've learned to harness it as an adult and focus most of it toward my goals.

My boss told me a few months ago he needed me moving at 90 mph and I was only doing 65. Imagine that - Jason Tross not going fast enough. I'm sure you're thinking what I was thinking then.

Well he'd be proud to know I far exceeded his (and my own) expectation by reaching terminal velocity through December and screaming into January and my time here and knocking out the toughest obstacles in groups of fives. But just as I figured, I'd have a hard stop at the wall when things simplified - and they're about to.

Being here and moving at this speed is putting forces on me I never anticipated, nor have I previously experienced in anything I've done. I'm reaching goals at record speeds and seeing instantaneous results. But then come the risks of being at terminal velocity - it's terminal right?

Imagine what a bug feels like at this speed. Then imagine how hitting anything feels. It's enough to kill you - let alone the ground that's screaming toward your face. It's now time to pull the chute and take in the ride. This won't be my last jump. I'm sure of that. If nothing else, I can feel confident that I can operate at this speed again later (which I'll likely have to) and I'll also be able to pull the chute in a moment's notice.

Lastly, it's the risk of the dives that keep people like me doing work like this. It's what I've wanted for so long. Now I'm finally here. Almost every year for the past five years, I've been at the Snowsports Industry of America (SIA) tradeshow hustling as fast as I could to make my mark on the ski and snowboard industry. These past two weeks while nearly everyone I know was doing the big show there and in Aspen at the ESPN Winter X-Games, I wasn't. And just as I presumed - I wouldn't rather be anywhere but here doing what I'm doing.

It's been one hell of a dive.

Motivating Motivational Statement

I was cruising around the interwebs looking for examples of successful motivational statements. Here's the best one I've found yet!

"I'm willing to play hurt and I like to blow things up. I like faster horses, older whiskey and younger women. I have a clean record when it comes to driving high performance cars in crappy conditions with little sleep. I know how to stick to my story when I screw the pooch. I don't screw over my buddy and will diligently resist screwing my buddy's wife. I think Ronald Reagan rocked and I can watch Animal House and Caddyshack repeatedly without getting bored. This is why I want to be a U.S. Naval Officer."

2010 - The Summary

Twenty-ten goes down as the best year of my life so far, slightly ahead of 2009 - which was the best year of my life exactly 365 days ago.

Of course that's really good news until you start thinking about the future. Scratch that. It gets a little scary when I think of today as the start of 2011. How am I going to make 2011 better than 2010?

It's not going to be easy - not that making 2010 a flabbergastingly surprising success was all that easy either. Taking a quick stroll through my blog entries over the past year, I'm still taken back considering I overcame what I did - especially in the fourth quarter.

I sat around today and watched/read interwebs stuff about great athletes and other very accomplished individuals. It only reinforced what I already know about achieving anything. It's not only "not easy," but it's absofuckinglutley grueling in most cases. The process of doing what it takes to make things successful is so much grimier and makes you so much more weary, exhausted and confused than I ever imagined.

That's what makes wins taste so sweet - I guess. Success always felt good, but in order to get really big successes you need to pour endless resources and failures into a bowl with glamorous and enviable ingredients in very careful portions to get it right. And that's before we put it in the oven. Lots of the success has to do w/ luck and trial and error. It also helps when you have good people help guide you. That's what I got in 2010. I had enough remaining talent and the best coaches in the world to help bring me to the majors. That's the biggest accomplishment of 2010. I'm finally eligible to play in the big leagues. Doesn't sound like such a big deal now does it?

Any of the great athletes and people I read about today always did one thing. They had killer numbers at the end of the year. More importantly, they had outstanding numbers when it mattered the most. I did that for the first time this year. I've always worked hard and done my job, but broadening my scope to see the entire field, division and league while learning how to interpret the intertwined web of action and reaction made the difference.