Sticking to your guns

I’ve been reflecting quite a bit lately on the basic idea of success. What defines success? Who gives you the thumbs up that you have succeeded? Do numbers dictate success? These are all simple questions that I’m sure every business in the world deals with, and for obvious reasons. Financially speaking, enough people must believe in a product in order for a business to survive, whether that is food, clothes, or anything else one produces or sells. Lately I’ve been scrutinizing a lot of what is going on in the Telemark ski world in terms of products, sales, growth, etc. It is a very interesting business to be in for the simple fact that the companies don’t seem to be reaching out to new areas of consumers. I’m mainly concerned for the fact that a younger audience is not targeted, but this is due to the demand of these products in this age bracket, which is little to none. The companies have their hands tied behind their backs, and are unable to reach out to this younger demographic for lack of #s.

So who becomes the first one to budge?

It has been extremely exciting for me this past season to see the level of interest grow in these younger skiers. To have them involved in Lipstick films and Freeheellife.com is a dream come true and it seems to grow daily with the report of new kids getting into the sport. So for me I feel like I am succeeding. Although I have had companies try to tell me otherwise….I still feel like my projects are helping make a “dent” in the side of the currently cold metal wall that shields the stagnant world of telemark skiing.

The long story short of this little ramble is that I truly feel like the answer to all of the questions of success is: You decide. It is more about how one feels about life and what they are doing than something one can gauge monetarily or by numbers. Here’s to growth and change!