Off the Cuff with Jacqueline Ross | March 2026

By Jacqueline Ross

Greetings, Humans,

Have you ever gotten ready… to be ready… to be ready? I mean preparing for a moment you’ve never experienced before. One you can’t quite see yet, but somehow know is coming.

Recently, I stepped into an opportunity that felt like a full-circle moment. Over the years, I’ve been a motocross racer and coach, worked in the hospitality industry as a bartender and server, and spent time in a call center as a sales and service representative. For a long time, those roles felt separate, almost random. Different chapters that didn’t seem connected.

Recently, I found myself working with an amazing team at the Chicago Auto Show. I traded in the right-hand throttle for a gas pedal and two-foot driving. For the first time in my life, I wasn’t alone racing. I was part of a team. Incredible people welcomed me, guided me, and worked alongside me. At the auto show we drove attendees through a full indoor off-road course in a Ford Bronco Badlands edition (with a Sasquatch package, I must add). The course featured concrete rock boulders, a 40-degree climb known as “Bronco Mountain,” a massive seesaw, and a 22-degree off-camber sidehill. There were no sight laps, you had to get it right the first time. And the line of people waiting for the experience stretched for hours. 

That’s when it clicked: every season of my life had prepared me for that moment. The focus from racing, the awareness from coaching, the communication skills from hospitality, the calm and clarity from customer service…nothing was wasted. Not one job. Not one detour. Not one version of me.

Maybe you’re in a season that feels disconnected or ordinary. Maybe it feels like you’re just working or just waiting. But what if you’re not waiting at all? What if you’re getting ready? One day, you’ll step into a moment that requires everything you’ve learned, even the parts that didn’t make sense at the time. Stay ready. Your turn is coming.

In motion,

Jacqueline