Meet Jordie Karlinski: Retired Professional Snowboarder, Real Estate Broker at Compass

We had the good fortune of connecting with Jordie Karlinski and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Jordie, what is the most important factor behind your success?
To give some context around my answer, I started snowboarding at the age of 7 and began to compete at the age of 8 at a very local level. After doing well at the local level and when I was in middle school, I began to compete at larger levels, regionally and across the nation. It was about at this time that my snowboard coach introduced me to goal setting which we did in the fall, right before the competition season kicked off. I would set weekly, monthly, season-long, and yearly goals. They’d be written down on a piece of paper and throughout the winter season, my coach and I would revisit them often to see where I was at, what I had accomplished, not accomplished, and what we needed to adjust. Once I began setting goals and having a vision of where I wanted to be at the end of the winter season, or 5 years down the road in my snowboarding career, I noticed a huge shift in my performance which led to better results and more success. I eventually was named to the US Snowboard Team for Boardercross in high school for a few years, and then I made the switch to focusing on slopestyle primarily where I was also named to the US Snowboard Team in 2011. I podiumed on some on some of the largest international stages, and I really attribute most of my success to vision and goal setting. By visioning what I wanted to accomplish and where I wanted to be in my career a few years down the road, I would set goals, a mix of process and outcome oriented, to meet that larger vision. By breaking my vision down into smaller more achievable goals, I knew I was staying on track and I was also able to take away the overwhelming feeling that many people experience when they think about their future because the outcome is unknown. A huge part of goal setting is also failing and not accomplishing your goals. Throughout my 16 years of competitive snowboarding, I experienced so many failures and set backs, whether it was missing the 2014 Winter Olympics by 2 points, or not getting the sponsor, the pay check, learning new tricks, or getting injured. The biggest gift goal setting has given me is to not be afraid to fail and learning from my failures. Since I retired from professional snowboarding in 2014, I still set goals every few months for my personal life and my career. I revisit them often and I adjust my goals if necessary. Goals don’t have to be set in stone and they should light you up, motivate you, give you a sense of confidence and not feel like they are weighing you down. If you feel like your goals are weighing you down, it’s probably not the right goal! 

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
When I retired from professional snowboarding in the spring of 2014, after I had “failed” to make the 2014 Winter Olympics, I was mentally fried. All I could think about was how badly I failed, and that I no idea how to rebound and what to do next with my life…an all-too common transition many athletes face when they retire from a sport they’ve done their entire life. Besides the support of my family, friends, and boyfriend, I had no tools to help me transition to “the real world”. I had no idea what I liked outside of snowboarding, let alone a career I could do for the rest of my life. I had no idea what my strengths were. Besides completing College through the chaos of my competitive career, I didn’t have anything to put on a work resume that made me hireable I thought. After a few months of recovering from my failed attempt to make the Olympics, I was fortunate enough to land a part time job at Lululemon in Aspen. Through my time at lululemon I discovered something called “personal development”… and that is when a lightbulb went off inside my head. Since the age of 8, when I first began to compete, I had been enrolled in my own personal development course. Although I felt like I had no real-life career skills to offer yet, I realized that I had been developing an incredible foundation over 16 years of competing that could now guide me through the rest of my life, and help me towards my future success. Over the past few years, I began to understand that my failure of not making the Olympics was the best thing that has ever happened to me. Now that I have had that experience and have come out on the other side better than I ever would have imagined, I feel limitless. Shifting my perspective on my past experiences has allowed me to understand who I am at my very core and how I need to show up today to put my best foot forward. My new fascination of personal development lead me to become a certified leadership and mindfulness coach where I had a brief stint of coaching other athletes to help them perform at their peak by developing a mindfulness practice. While I loved that part of my life and use many of the tools I learned through my certification programs to this day in my personal life and business, my new found love lays with the naturally competitive career of real estate. Because if there is anything I have learned throughout my life, I am always up for a good challenge. I love the entrepreneurial spirit of real estate and I love that the sky is the limit. What I put into this career is what I am going to get out of it and it’s been an incredible journey so far.

Let’s say your best friend was visiting the area and you wanted to show them the best time ever. Where would you take them? Give us a little itinerary – say it was a week long trip, where would you eat, drink, visit, hang out, etc.
Summer in Aspen, Colorado: We’d start the morning early with a beautiful hike on Sunnyside Trail. Grab breakfast and coffee at The Local Coffee Shop in downtown Aspen. After that we’d grab lunch to go from The Big Wrap and hop on my boat and float down the Roaring Fork River, fly fishing or just hanging out! After the float we’d head up to the W Hotel roof top and grab a drink, watch sunset, then head to dinner at one of my favorite restaurants Ellina.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My family for their support of my snowboarding career starting at an early age, and my snowboard coaches from the local level to the US Team level – Miah, Travis, and Bill.

Website: http://jordiekarlinski.com/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/jordiekarlinski/
Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jordiekarlinski/
Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/jordie-karlinski-compass-aspen-3
Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCQuMBK4Sz9SPPFZkSfMV0Xg?view_as=subscriber
Other: Podcast: Unlocked with Jordie Karlinski https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/unlocked-with-jordie-karlinski/id1538868514 https://open.spotify.com/show/59AN5tj5ibg4IoA1gRu3ei?si=piOKMfdDR4-XsbhCWK3Gmw https://www.iheart.com/podcast/268-unlocked-with-jordie-karli-73426836/