What amazes me about Felix Baumgartner.

So hopefully by now you will all have seen the historic jump.  Whilst people will forever debate the merits of this event - that is, was this in the name of a money-making stunt or a mission of scientific discovery?  I'm sure there are other angles as well, but I will explore none of these here.  But there is something else that amazes me.  It's not the name.  It's not because of the sheer feat itself.  It's not even the obsession dedication that's got me.  Its actually his ability to put preparation into practice for a situation that he has never known.  Allegedly, he has been in preparation for over 5 years.  Countless skydives, base jumps, bungee jumps, physiological tests, etc just for this one event that he knows will occur.  Almost 2 hr 30 min of mental preparation of just being in the balloon itself.  Then, despite multiple items on the checklist, it just sort of happens.  You mutter something under your breath and you take a leap (of faith).  And he'd be lying if he said it turned out like he had hoped.  His visor was fogged up.  He was spinning out uncontrollably.  So much so, in fact, that he could have died due to the centrifugal forces which could have forced his blood vessels to explode (allegedly, that is.. I actually thought the rotational accelerations on the brain would have been substantial as well).  But then he was able to call on his experience.  He righted himself.  Suddenly a sigh of relief.  He hadn't even opened the chute yet, but the worst was behind him.  You can prepare, prepare and prepare some more, but until you get put into that position, you have no idea how you will react.  You can envision yourself spinning out of control, but until you get put in that position, you can't say how you will feel or react.  All you can say is how you would like to handle that situation.  So under more treacherous conditions than I (or most people) can claim to have ever been in, he was able to do exactly (maybe not exact, but he lived, so that's pretty exact for me) what he had prepared for.  Preparation in all facets of my life have never seemed to go so smoothly.That's what amazes me most about the jump.