About

“Some people follow their dreams, others hunt them down and beat them into submission.” – Neil Kendall

Hey, I’m Jason.

Thanks for stopping by!

Maybe you’re here because you want to get involved in startups/entrepreneurship and don’t know where to begin.

Or you feel like life has gotten a little too comfortable and you want to inject some positive adrenaline into things.

Or you’re full of great ideas but have trouble staying on track with your projects.

Or maybe you’re just someone hungry to make their mark on the world.

Whatever it may be, I’d like to thank you for coming by.

This site is for you us.

On this blog, I share everything I’ve learned (and am learning) about how to overcome fear, consistently produce great work and basically do epic sh*t and make things happen in business and life.

The specific topics cover a wide territory: gymnastics and distance running, startups and entrepreneurship, personal challenges and self-experimentation, book reviews and interviews with awesome people. Whenever possible, I reference my own experience, evidence from research & data, and the words & deeds of smart, successful individuals.

I don’t have all the answers and I’m still figuring things out, just like you. My hope is that the ideas in this blog serve you and help you along your journey toward Awesomeness.

So what’s my deal?

When I was 13 years old, I read the book 7 Habits for Highly Effective People by Stephen Covey. It changed my life. I was introduced to the idea that by thinking different thoughts and doing different things, people could live drastically happier and more successful lives.

As a student-athlete at Stanford, I suffered a terrible knee injury that ultimately required 5 reconstructive knee surgeries and hundreds of hours of rehab.

I refused to quit and threw myself into the recovery process.

One year later, I stepped back on to the competition floor (with the help of amazing friends, family and medical staff). In my final season, I was co-captain of an NCAA-championship winning team – our first victory in 14 years.

Now, as the co-founder of Ridejoy, a YC-backed tech startup in San Francisco, I’m living the dream – working my butt off with a team of people I trust and respect to change the way the world works, for the better.

My knee is still holding up. Since moving on from gymnastics, I’ve discovered a passion for distance running that recharges me when I’m off-duty at Ridejoy and I’m training for my first marathon. (The San Francisco Marathon in August 2012)

Still reading? Here are some of my more popular posts:

Kicking my own ass at the end of a race.

• How to be Relentlessly Resourceful [a practical guide]
• UX Design For Non-Designers: Notes from my first Skillshare class
• Great by Choice: the surprising lessons of how tech startups succeed over the long term
• The Anatomy of a Great Email Introduction
• How To Give Your Product Personality
• Taking Cold Showers
• Getting Your Groove Back
• Loud. Arrogant. Rebellious. Asian.
• Winning Isn’t Normal
• Rejection Therapy Week 1
• How I Blew Out My Knee and Came Back to Win a National Championship
• How to Land a Killer Job at a Tech Startup Out of College

If you’re interested in a more official bio:

Jason Shen is the cofounder of Ridejoy (YC S11) – a social transportation startup which has raised $1.3M in seed capital from Freestyle Capital, SV Angel, Founder Collective and other great investors. He also built and runs The Art of Ass-Kicking, a blog about conquering fear and doing epic stuff.

Jason’s previous experience includes sales & marketing at an venture-backed tech startup called isocket, publishing a 118-year old newspaper (The Stanford Daily), co-founding a nonprofit focused on microfinance and student entrepreneurship, and studying biology and philosophy at Stanford University – where he earned a BS & MS and led instruction for a popular course called “The Psychology of Personal Change”.

Jason has over 12 years of experience as a nationally competitive male gymnast including:

• earning a spot on the 2002 Jr National team (14-15 year old division)
• placing 4th at 2004 JO Nationals (16-18 year old division)
• placing 16 at 2005 Winter Cup Challenge (senior mens division)
• co-captaining Stanford’s 2009 NCAA Championship-winning gymnastics team

Things people have said about this site

I find great satisfaction in helping people make the most of themselves and I’m honored by the comments people have shared about the Art of Ass-Kicking. It’s notes like these that make the countless hours I’ve spent on the blog worth it.

“The Art of Ass-Kicking is just that – a blog that talks about how you can conquer your fears and start a business. Jason’s writing style is fun, personable and more importantly, useful. He uses a ton of visual examples and gives practical advice.”
- Grasshopper Blog’s Top 10 Must Read Blogs for Entrepreneurs in 2012 

“Let’s be honest: we like to kick ass. Really, we do. That’s why we love Jason Shen’s blog,The Art of Ass-Kicking. This week, he explored how to get more energy for side projects, and how working out makes you a better entrepreneur. We like the looks of both of those…what’s that? Time to take a run after work? Let’s do it!”
- The Livefyre Blog

“I stumbled onto your page on ”getting your groove back” at 4:30am after lying awake worrying about things for half the night. I want to tell you that it was just what I needed. I’ve been feeling like my best days are behind me lately and that the competition is nipping at my butt. This reminded me that I need to start acting like a winner and stop feeling sorry for myself. Thank you.”
- Jeff T.

“He champions virtues such as courage and persistence, but in a really edgy and compelling way (when I visit his blog I always end up reading more than one post). What sets The Art of Ass-Kicking apart from your average self-help or cool-personal-stories blog is that you literally want to get up out of your chair after reading and go kick ass.”
- Ted Gonder

Get in touch!

I hope you find this site helpful and inspiring. I’m very lucky to have the opportunity to do this. If you like what you see here, I encourage you to sign up for the newsletter!

I’ve got a lot on my plate, but I try to be accessible. If you’d like to get in touch, drop me a line at jasonyshen{at}gmail.com, jason{at}ridejoy.com if it’s business related, or on Twitter at @jasonshen.