Skiing and entrepreneurship

One day, I decided that each year, I would acquire two new skills that would allow me to grow and experience something unusual. In the very first year, I added skiing and learning to drive to the list.

Before the war, I traveled quite a bit, so this time, I decided to combine my love for travel with my desire for new experiences. For my first skiing, I chose Andorra, a small principality in the Pyrenees between Spain and France.

I prepared thoroughly: read everything about Andorra’s resorts, found an agency through which I could pre-order equipment and services, bought ski pants, a helmet, sweaters, a mask, and gloves, paid for extreme insurance, and booked a hotel and plane tickets.

Andorra is a wonderful country where you can enjoy beautiful winter scenery, relax peacefully, and get an adrenaline rush by skiing or snowboarding on the mountain slopes. On the second day of my stay at the resort, I booked an instructor who spent two hours showing me basic techniques and movements, teaching me how to speed up, turn, and brake in various ways.

And that was it. I had learned! I felt like the king of the slope! But in reality, I was practicing on a tiny beginner hill, so I fell as soon as the instructor left. Not once, not twice.

The next day, I kept climbing that slight slope, falling, getting up, and falling again. And this continued until I injured myself and returned to the hotel to rest.

The next day improved, and I gained the courage to go down an actual slope.

And then I got scared…

I went up, fastened my helmet, put on my mask and gloves, and... froze. I stood there for about ten minutes, watching others ski past me, unable to move.

Finally, I started, immediately fell, got up, fell again, and then veered off into a snowdrift.

I’m sitting in the snow, and my first thought is, “To hell with these skis! Why do I even need this??” I couldn’t help but laugh at my childish reaction. While laughing, I took a selfie and posted it on Facebook.

My second thought was to feel sorry for myself because I was still sitting in that snowdrift, with a cold backside, but mostly feeling helpless. I thought about taking off my skis and walking down. Again, I laughed. And then I got annoyed by the kids zooming past me... In Andorra, skiing is part of the school curriculum, so all the locals have been confidently skiing down slopes since they were little.

Somehow, I made it down, falling again on the way. Emotionally crushed, I headed to the hotel...

And then I thought — what the fuck? I’m a grown, self-sufficient person. Is it fitting to give up without even trying to master it?

The following day, I gathered myself, went up the mountain, and repeatedly practiced the failed moves, paying attention to every detail.

Turning, shifting my weight to the front ski, body positioning, braking with the inner edge, and other ways. And then back to the ski lift. And again, until they started kicking me off the slope...

And you know, that was the best day of my skiing journey! That day, I truly began to enjoy this activity!

So what’s my point? The only way to do something is to start doing it. No one is born an entrepreneur or a leader, but progress happens with the right environment, determination, and persistence. Most will never become world-class ski champions or legendary managers like historical figures. But anyone can enjoy a ski run or become a true leader in their organization.