Jhonathan Florez: RIP

Jhonathan Florez is a Colombian air athlete who has specialises in the disciplines of Skydiving, Base Jumping and wingsuit flying. In 2012 Jhonathan impressed the world when he broke 4 Guinness World Records, by making the longest jump in human history in both time and distance.

Jhonathan passed away in Swtizerland in 2015 after he had done the interview with TLP.

Jhonathan Florez Definition Of Success | Success, means to me happiness. A successful person is one who is able to do what they love to do and figure out a way to live off of it. My definition of success has changed over the years, I once thought success was to have a career and a high paying job from 9-5. But this doesn’t do you any good if you your life lacks passion and happiness. For me it is important to be passionate about what I am doing in my career. For others it may not be their career that fuels their passion but something else in their life that lights their fire. I know that if I stay connected to whatever is moving me at any given time my passion and happiness will lead me to true success. Money and material possessions are NOT a measure of success. Modern society wants you to think that those are the most important things, but happiness and passion are really what is important. That’s why we witness poor and happy artist and rich and miserable executives.

What Drives Me | I’m driven by love. When the compass of your life is your heart fueled by your passion anything is possible. I was an adolescent in Colombia who was watching videos and movies of these athletes flying and it was only this curiosity and subsequently love for air and adventure that has taken me to all kind of different places in the world.

The Difference Between good And Great | I believe that in our sports and in our lives people should ask themselves a simple question before they start anything: Do you want to do something or you want to be good at something? The people who want to be great at something usually put in the time to master their craft. Those are the ones that breathe, sweat and eat everything regarding their craft. For these people this is not work it is just part of who they are and what they do. It is just a way of life because for these people they are driven by something far bigger. No prize, no award, no accolades could get them to feel they have achieved enough. They have made a commitment to themselves to continue to immerse themselves in their craft because their only competition is themselves and they are driven by being as good as they can at what they are passionate about.

My Key Strength | My strengths are my perseverance and resourcefulness. I take huge tasks and I break them down. I start from an idea and start heading up hill. What keeps me moving is the love and passion I have for the things I do, and since this love is what moves me I keep on going no matter how adverse the opposition is. I look at things differently. Try to devise creative ways to achieve my goals. Love is one of the biggest fuels one can have, I love what I do, I love flying, I love my country and to represent it. Representing people and an entire nation is what always keeps me moving forward, because when you represent something that is bigger than yourself, you will always keep fighting. Because you can let down yourself but when there are other people involved (and in this case an entire nation) you will keep going.

The Essence Of My Life | Love, I believe that love is the engine of everything that is worth something in the world. Love for my sport and for what makes me feel happy, not worrying about the economics of it. I just do it for the love of it and money will follow. Learning how to trust the Universe and let things run their course. Stubbornness. You need to be a person that doesn’t take no for an answer. Since the goal of my life is fueled by passion I know I can not give up just because I am told the word “no”. Instead I gotta just continue doing what I love and find a way to do what I feel is right for me.

The Importance Of Passion | We can’t be slaves to society and what the norm is or what other people want us to do. Our society is so focused on money that we tend to forget about passion, about happiness and about love. You can see people with millions of dollars who live a lonely and empty life. I rather live a life of passion and rich in memories and good times.

Important Skills I Use | My school knowledge. I have some media knowledge, photography, video editing, international business and some knowledge in marketing. I have employed all these skills together with my athlete skills to propel my career. Being a professional athlete in my field is pretty tough. It has been and continues to be a non-stop full time job.

How I Use My Mind | I have what they call ADD (Attention Deficit Disorder) and ADHD (Attention Deficit Hyperactive Disorder). Since I was very young this has really been is a struggle for me and it continues to be a struggle. Fortunately my stubbornness and perseverance have managed to over power my challenges enough to get me where I am. The nature of my sport forces me to be very focused and present. This is one of the main reasons I am so drawn to it. Skydiving, BASE jumping, Wing suiting have all helped me with my mindset and mental clarity. It helps to clear my mind of counterproductive thoughts and energy. So basically, my sport is both a tool and an avenue for my success.

My Dream and Ambition | I want to use my sport to help people. I want to use the millions of views that some of our activities get to transmit a message of significance and importance to the world. I want to help kids stay out of drugs and live a life fueled by pure energy and experiences. I want to do activities to help others. One way I have done this is by organizing for a few of Colombia’s wounded soldiers to go on tandem skydives. This meant a lot to them because they lost a limb in action before achieving the prestigious honor of becoming a Lancero (one of the highest programs in the Colombian military). I would want to take this further and utilize my sport to help raise money for their prosthetics. Essentially, I want to be rich in spirit and deeds of kindness. I have been on the receiving end of kindness when my spirit needed it. I have been inspired by others who do good. And I want to continue the cycle and inspire others to do good.

On Building Wealth | Ask yourself why? What is your purpose? In this quest to build wealth who else are you planning to benefit? How are you going to be of service or inspiration to others? If you are just trying to build wealth for the sake of wealth then be cautious of it becoming an empty pursuit. Make sure that you can put some passion behind your drive. Be aware of how your actions affect others. We gotta remember that we are all on the same team on this planet.