After a few setbacks because of weather conditions, the “Red Bull Stratos mission” officially got underway on the morning of 14 October 2012 in Roswell, New Mexico. The mission sought to take one man beyond human limitations and pursue untapped scientific discovery.
As the 55-foot balloon and capsule ascended into the upper echelons of our planet’s stratosphere, Felix Baumgartner waited. The nearly three-hour ride would take him to his jumping-off point at 128,100 feet (24 miles) above Earth.
Whatever fears, questions, doubts and uncertainty circled the Austrian’s mind didn’t matter anymore. There wasn’t any turning back. Destiny was outside the capsule door and he was ready to seize it.
A child’s dream
When “Fearless Felix” (as he is known today) was a child, he dreamed of skydiving, according to redbullstratos.com. Often, he would go to the airport and watch with gleaming eyes at those jumping from planes. Much to his frustration, it wasn’t until he was 16 years old that young Baumgartner could receive his sky diving license because of Austrian laws.
Eventually, he joined his country’s army and, according to Baumgartner, “learned a lot” as a military skydiver. In 1986, he learned how to BASE jump, and from that point, his path of record setting carved itself out throughout the world.
In 1999, he set a world record BASE jump from the Petronas Twin Towers in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia (1,479 feet). In 2007, Felix BASE jumped from the world’s tallest building, Taipei 101 Tower, Taipei, Taiwan (1,669 feet). “With every jump I did, I was growing,” Baumgartner said.
When asked about the success of his daredevil acts, Baumgartner said, “It starts with a plan. It’s about making the right judgments, getting the right people on board, and being determined. This is what I needed to execute my jumps.”
Lessons learned
As the capsule door opened, Baumgartner pulled himself up in his customized suit to the platform. With one quick gaze out across the curvature of the planet, he leaned forward and stepped off. Baumgartner fell at a rate of 833.9 mph, becoming the first person to break the sound barrier without vehicular power. The total duration of the jump lasted roughly nine minutes. Within that span of time, Felix achieved something no one has ever done before and may never again achieve for quite a long time.
When I thought about this record-setting daredevil and his accomplishments, I felt like many of us have a parallel story. Each of us has aspirations to be something and do something great. We want to run an award-winning hotel or company. We want to own a profitable business and lead teams of people. We want to reach a goal or a dream that might have been with us since the early days of our life. Yet, it seems so often adversity and fear of the unknown hold us back from taking the step toward achieving that dream.
I realized that within Baumgartner’s incredible story there were lessons we could apply to our own jumps in the business world.
1. Have a plan of action. When Baumgartner was growing up, he saw at the airport exactly what he wanted to become: a skydiver. Not all of us have the same realization when looking at people jump out of airplanes. Though at some point we do eventually realize what we want to do. I like how Baumgartner said, “It starts with a plan.” Earlier in his life, he put himself in the best position to achieve his dream. Receiving his sky diving license first and then joining the military as a skydiver provided him with the fundamental experience he needed. The “Red Bull Stratos mission” itself didn’t just get thrown together. It was carefully thought out and planned before it was executed.
How are you aligning yourself to be successful? What is your plan of action to achieve your dream?
2. At some point, you just got to have faith. Achieving personal goals and objectives isn’t always something that can be completed alone. Often, the measure of our success is in direct proportion to our ability to collaborate with and trust other great individuals. To a degree, Baumgartner could prepare and plan a lot of the details of this amazing jump himself. However, he had to have faith in his team that they would pull through to bring him home safely.
Do you have as much faith in your team that they will get the job done? Or do you need to “get the right people on board,” as Baumgartner suggested?
3. Success is a journey, not a destination. The steps we take toward greatness don’t begin with us being the best. They start with us growing little by little as we take on new challenges, setbacks and opportunities that come our way. Being “determined,” as Baumgartner said, is important if we are to get past those obstacles. Early in his decent back to Earth, Baumgartner began spiraling out of control. Had this been his first attempt, there is a strong chance he would not have survived. However, because of his experience gained from more than 2,500 career dives he was able to correct his fall and stabilize. He had actually completed two initial test jumps in preparation for this one that, while at lower altitudes, were also daring by their own merit.
Do you have the determination to weather the trials and tribulations needed to reach your goals?
4. Don’t let fear stop you. Whether intended or not, many of us have been taught to fear the unknown. The path to achieving our dream is covered in the shadowy possibilities of difficult people, challenging moments, long days, hard work, stress and so on. I love that Baumgartner said, “Learn to love what you have been taught to fear.”
We can’t let uncertainty derail us from pushing forward. If anything, it should be embraced. Part of the joy in our journey toward success is navigating past new challenges and experiences. It helps us grow and makes us stronger.
Baumgartner's step off the platform started with a journey that began when he was young. Every jump helped him grow so in that moment he was prepared to face the unknown. He also had the courage to deal with whatever uncertainty was brought before him.
Are you prepared to jump? Perhaps now is the time to take the first step toward greatness.
Mark Williams is Director of Development for Coakley & Williams, one of the nation’s top third-party hotel management companies. In 2006, Mark received his B.S. degree in Hospitality from University of Central Florida’s Rosen College of Hospitality Management. He also received his MBA from Grand Canyon University’s Ken Blanchard School of Business in 2011. Mark is also the outgoing Chair for the American Hotel & Lodging Associations’ Under 30 Gateway. He can be reached by phone at 301-614-8848 or by email at mwilliams@cwhotels.com.
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