Success in life related to Slalom Skiing

[behindpropellers]

Seems that people who have the drive to make it through a slalom course also share that in their professional life.

 

I find it interesting that the people who I introduce to the course who get hooked are also very successful in their professional life.

 

Thoughts?

[SkiJay]

Slalom sking is a Type "A" magnet.

[BraceMaker]

Which also costs type A money...

[thager]

Makes me type B and not good at anything.

 

[Horton]

Only successful people can afford to ski. (I fake it)

[Texas6]

Sure @Horton, because there is absolutely nothing successful or Type A about a guy who works several jobs, travels the country to assist at ski tournaments, writes comprehensive technical equipment reviews, runs a successful website, and spends enough time chasing buoys to get into 39 off.

[behindpropellers]

Takes lots of perseverance to get through the course.....

[lhoover]

A wise man once wrote about another group of these "business professionals".

 

Greetings, class. Let us start today’s lesson with 2 statements that have proven the test of time:

Truth #1. The unexamined life is not worth living.

Truth #2. Practicing failure nearly always results in failure.

 

The first is a tad heavy, and you may be wondering where I can possibly go with it in relation to skiing. Stick with me. The second is rather self-evident, but can still make so little difference in behavior for so many skiers, even veterans.

 

I have spent over 30 years of Springs, and no few Winters, watching so many skiers completely defy these two timeless truths that I start to question their sanity. I am talking about extremely smart people in the workplace, very successful in all phases of their life, but they are completely insane when it comes to skiing.

 

If a definition for insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly, yet expecting a different result, then the two skiers in the following examples have their picture in the dictionary.

The Professor skied with some friends last Spring who are running slalom at 90%, or greater, FAILURE rate. I’m talking veterans, decades of slalom skiing, who never consider Truth #1 and, therefore, are a victim of Truth #2. Let’s take a look at some real numbers from some real people.

 

Skier A loves to Winter ski, which is quite easy in _____, his home. He even agrees that Winter skiing, averaging once a week, should involve running passes and staying dry. Falling is to be avoided. So what does he do? From October through March, he runs about 40 sets, at least 6 passes per set. He has completed, actually run, no more than 15 passes, some sets not making a single pass. He has either trailed, or fallen, over 220 passes. That is over a 90% failure rate according to my slide rule. Plus, he refuses to slow the boat or lengthen the rope.

Class, this is insanity; his approach to skiing goes without examination (Truth #1) and, therefore, he does nothing but practice failure (Truth #2).

 

Skier B does no Winter skiing, but comes out in March to begin the season. He steps right out of his vehicle, onto the dock, puts his ski on, and starts with his usual opener. No warmup, no free skiing, no shadowing, just automatically resuming everything from 5 months ago, October, when he last skied.

 

He does not run a pass the first set (6 tries), runs a very shaky pass the second set, and immediately shortens the rope. Shall we guess the results? So the first day back after at least 5 months of no skiing, skier B is 1 for 12. In case you are keeping score at home, that, too, is over 90% failure.

 

Unfortunately for Skier B, this is repeated about 10 days later, his second time back. Now he is still sore from the first time and figures he needs to ski to get back in shape. But instead of skiing, he practices falling. No warmups to get the juices flowing. No slowing the boat to actually run some passes. No lengthening the rope to actually build up some rhythm. No shadowing to actually ski the length of the lake to build a little stamina.

 

In other words, he approaches his skiing UNLIKE any other phase of his life -- totally unexamined, and (let’s say it together) spends his time practicing failure.

Class, I would say this is insanity, but I would be repeating myself.

 

The Professor has been with skier B the 10 sets he attempted this last Spring. Our skier is 4 for 60, yet the next time he skis, he will repeat the same process. In fact, skier B is beyond upset that things are not like they were just 5 short months ago and he is beginning to think that skiing is just not that much fun anymore......................

[usaski1]

I'm pretty successful at skiing, (running the course) but kinda unsuccessful in life. (if you define being successful in life, by the job you have, or haw much $ you make) Of course, if you define being successful in life by the overall enjoyment you have of yours, I would say I'm pretty successful in that way.

[ForrestGump]

Success means many different things to different people. To me, it should be the drive to be the best you can be at XXXX. XXXX can be running a company and making $, it can be being a stay at home dad or mom, it can be as an athlete. But what success is not, is complacency and the drive to be mediocre. Most people in our society look for the exception, instead of the desire to be exceptional.

[Horton]

Thank you Dr. Hill. Now i understand.

[ForrestGump]

@Horton I tell all the nurses I meet that I used to play doctor, but it's been 35 years. And that it in no way infers possession of a medical degree. :) But that they can still call me Doctor Shane if they'd like. :)

[Razorskier1]

@ShaneH -- I'd go with Dr. Feelgood

[ForrestGump]

Oh my gawd, Jim. You nailed it! I am forever greatful! :)

[Than_Bogan]

At one point, somebody told me he would hire me based on qualifying for the Nationals alone. I'm sure this was an exxageration, but the point was that he assumed that someone with that kind of focus and drive would be a good hire.

 

Of course, he was clearly wrong. Check the post time on this for proof :).

[lhoover]

OB, you would have to ask The Professor. However, don't you want your friends to improve, to drop their ridiculous, destructive habits when it comes to getting jerked by the balls?

[XR6Hurricane]

Don't sell the Type B personality 8:00 - 5:00 cubicle crowd short. They might not have a $70,000 towboat and a $2000 ski, but they get more time on the water because they're more likely to call in sick and go skiing. Plus they're not spending their evenings and weekends on the laptop working, LOL!!

 

For the record, I'm a Type A German mixed with just enough Type B Englishman to keep me from having a stroke. I've never played hooky from work either. I work in purchasing, pretty much a 38-40 hour a week job. But I did persevere through a master's degree.

[crashman]

I guess our club brings down the bell curve for the rest of the slalom world- lots of blue collar 15 off guys. One guy (we'll call him "skier C") works nights on the line at a GM factory 6 nights a week- before he goes to work he'll bust out a set at 15 off 30 mph just like he's been doing since 1986 and come off the water looking happier than a dog with two peters. probably helps that our club is only a few hundred bucks a year and full of guys that keep their boats for 30 yrs.

[luckyone]

division -skier c 53yrs old,32mph,15 -off,loving it.

[6balls]

It's all about fun, for some of us that fun must include the continuous push for self-improvement. For others, just getting out there is all that counts. It's all good.

[Than_Bogan]

fun == continuous push for self-improvement

 

Couldn't have said it better.

[Razorskier1]

It could just be that never quit attitude. I've never liked admitting defeat, and in slalom there is always another mountain to climb, so you never get to say "I won" except for the victory of that next speed or rope length. Once that's done, well, on to the next one! Victory is yours for a moment at a time! Time, energy, and great coaching from both pros and fellow ballers will get you there. In the last few weeks I've completely rebuilt everything from my pull out through my gate and one in an effort to improve my consistency at -38. I think it will work, but it is totally new to me. Keep learning, keep fighting, keep having fun. Yep, that pretty much sums it up for me.

[jipster43]

Once you label me you negate me. It doesn't take any gnarly personality trait to become great at something you love doing!