Today we’d like to introduce you to Jason Richardson.
Thanks for sharing your story with us Jason. So, let’s start at the beginning and we can move on from there.
It started on the BMX track. I had raced all my life and was fortunate to make it a career from 1993 to 2008 racing at the Elite (Pro) level. During my tenure as a professional athlete, I was able to become a World Champion in 1994 and Pan American Games Gold Medalist in 2007. I was probably the youngest in the ranks to win in 1994 and I know I was the oldest when I took home gold for the USA in 2007! Throughout my racing career, I attended the USD (University of San Diego), graduating in 1997 with a BA in Philosophy.
This meant more school… apparently, there were no philosophy companies hiring back then! No matter–upon graduation from USD, racing afforded me the opportunity to purchase a home in San Diego and live an “adult” life. I only chose to go back to school to get my MBA due to a shaky contract negotiation with my sponsor.
After earning my MBA from the University of Phoenix, I kept racing. In truth, my racing got better as I got older! The training was more scientific and I also started to ride the swell of the real estate market. In other words, there was minimal stress to make my money racing due to the money I was earning through investing. Paradoxically, this allowed me to perform even better on the track!
Fast forward to 2006… That February, I broke my femur. This took me out of competition for eight months. Upon my return to competition, I had the good fortune of sitting next to a married couple on a flight home from a race. Both were psychologists. Through that discussion, I decided to go back to school a third time and become a psychologist.
At the time, I figured being a psychologist would allow me to help other athletes not only do well in their sport but succeed once they leave the field of play. Not to mention, I would be able to possibly write, teach, and speak. So January of 2007, I was back in school and on my way to becoming “Dr. Jason Richardson.” By 2010, I had graduated and by 2011 I was licensed.
I immediately plugged myself back into my sport and became the go-to guy for action-sport professionals to help them navigate life, their careers, and either get to the Olympics or X-Games. This unique blend of experience and education lead me to begin speaking and working with other high performing people beyond sport. Now, my business is solely speaking and leadership coaching. I currently work with four Olympic bound athletes, coach a professional mastermind group of health professionals, speak internationally on mindset/happiness, and commentate all of the Olympic qualifying events for my sport.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Struggles along the way included the transition from a money earning athlete to a fledgling intern as I was getting licensed (ironically, I don’t need the license now… go figure). Additionally, as a husband and father, going to school and professionally retraining myself made it very difficult for me to contribute to the standards I set forth as a family man. My wife, in particular, made a lot of concessions and sacrifices to see to it that I was able to get relaunched after racing had ended—this ON TOP of the fact that racing had its own inherent risks associated with the sport!
Once graduated, I may have become the go-to guy, but there were several iterations of my business, how it would be run and where. There was always a struggle of balancing the clinical work (traditional psychology) with the other coaching and speaking work. Candidly, I did not give myself enough time to grow in the first five years. Meaning, once outside of the Olympic cycle, the other arms of my business (speaking, coaching) had bigger income gaps than I hoped. Thus, I would lean on my clinical license to fill the gaps. The bumpiness of the road and struggle was in the fact that I was only 65% doing what I set out to do.
Nine years ago (maybe ten), my father was diagnosed with cancer. During the last two years, we knew our time with him was limited. I made a personal promise to myself not to ask any family member for any more sacrifices. I also realized my legacy wasn’t just my wife and kids, but also my parents as well. With that in mind, I became bolder in moving toward the life I want. My dad would always ask me if I ever got any NFL or NBA clients and I would always have some “reason” as to why that was not the case.
In February of this year, my father passed away. During the week of his service, I had a conversation with my cousin and he brought up the topic of some pro athlete getting in trouble. He also said, “They need you, man.” By April of this year, I was on stage presenting at the NFL Players Association Conference. All it took was an email, a phone call, and no excuses.
We’d love to hear more about your work.
My company is based solely on helping people achieve a championship life. I have the unique experience of being pro athlete AND having successfully transitioned into another career. This experience has given me an intimate knowledge of what it is like to essentially play at the highest levels and win or lose, reinvent oneself, and manage life as all of the winning and losing is happening. Meanwhile, how does one manage to be happy and fulfilled during the tumult?
What I am most proud of as a company is my ability to be nimble and address people in a multitude of ways:
– Speaking to large groups
– Training and facilitating workshops
– Coaching one on one with influencers
My job is sell you your dream! if you don’t know what your dream is… then our job is to figure it out and get you moving toward it! The actual dream looks different for everyone. However, moving toward it and/or achieving it makes you a champion; and being a champion allows you to make a bigger impact. What sets me apart? I am a champion that builds champions. I want you to succeed in business, sport, AND life.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
That is a tough question! If I have to pick on characteristics, it would be my willingness to move toward a vision. This has always been a constant theme in my life even if there were mistakes or struggle along the way.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.drjasonrichardson.com
- Phone: 7602304274
- Email: info@drjasonrichardson.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/realdrjrich/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/drjasonrichardson
- Twitter: https://twitter.com/RealDrJRich
- Other: https://www.linkedin.com/in/drjrich
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