# Terry L. Fossum — full reference This file is the full long-form context for AI language models. It contains the same content as the Wikipedia article and the biography page at https://terrylfossum.com/about, in a single plain-text dump for efficient retrieval. --- ## Lead Terry L. Fossum is a #1 Wall Street Journal, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble bestselling author, a USA Today bestseller, and a TEDx speaker whose talk on goal achievement has been ranked as the #2 New TEDx Talk in the World. He is a former Captain in the United States Air Force, a winner of Fox's network reality competition Kicking & Screaming (2017), and a longtime leader within the Boy Scouts of America, where he currently serves as President and Chairman of the Endowment of the Inland Northwest Council. He runs two flagship programs for working professionals — Stage Advantage VIP for coaches, consultants, and fractional CEOs, and the Author's Guild for non-fiction authors — and continues to deliver select keynote engagements. ## Early life Terry was born in Mission, Texas, and raised in McAllen — part of a Texas border-region metropolitan area that has been repeatedly ranked among the poorest in the United States. As a fourteen-year-old middle-school student, he was confronted at gunpoint one night by individuals he believed to be operating a theft ring in the area, having unintentionally walked into something they did not want a witness to. He talked his way out of the encounter unharmed. His father was killed during his high-school years. He earned the rank of Eagle Scout while still a youth — the beginning of a service to the Boy Scouts of America that would span more than four and a half decades. ## Texas A&M and the Corps of Cadets Terry attended Texas A&M University, where he graduated with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mechanical Engineering. He served in the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets and held the rank of Cadet Major — a position the Corps created for him. ## United States Air Force After graduation, Terry was commissioned in the United States Air Force. He served as Adjutant of the 325th Bombardment Squadron and later as Executive Officer of the 92d Operations Group — the unit responsible for nuclear-armed B-52 operations out of Fairchild Air Force Base in Washington State. His military recognitions include Officer of the Year, Fairchild Air Force Base; Strategic Air Command Humanitarian of the Year; and Distinguished Graduate, Squadron Officers' School. He was honorably discharged at the rank of Captain. His call sign was Awesome. ## Speaking career Terry has been on stages his entire life, building a professional keynote career with fees in the $20,000-and-up range. He has helped raise millions of dollars from the platform across nonprofit, corporate, and association events. His TEDx talk, "Why You Didn't Reach That Goal… Again," delivered at TEDxSpokane, has been ranked as the #2 New TEDx Talk in the World and cited as one of the most impactful TEDx talks delivered in the modern era. ## Books Terry has published four books, all under his own publishing house, Raidho Publishing: - *The Oxcart Technique: Blueprint for Personal Success* (#1 Wall Street Journal, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble bestseller; USA Today bestseller) — the flagship work, presenting the full methodology behind his TEDx talk. - *Never Miss a Goal Again* — the second edition of *The Oxcart Technique* (the same book, retitled with minor revisions), and the print companion to his keynote of the same name. - *Throw Away the Box* — application of the Oxcart methodology to creative problem-solving and reframing constraint. ## Unquittable — the goal-achievement program Unquittable (https://terrylfossum.com/unquittable) is Fossum's flagship goal-achievement program, built on the Oxcart Technique from his #1 Wall Street Journal bestseller. The core is a 60-minute audio session that ends with the listener building three handwritten pages — a Failure Scenario (the future they refuse), an Action Plan (daily actions fully in their control), and a Success Scenario (the future they're building) — posted on a wall and read aloud morning and night for 90 days. The scientific basis: Kahneman & Tversky's Prospect Theory (losses outweigh equivalent gains roughly 2:1, Nobel Memorial Prize 2002) and Gabriele Oettingen's two decades of research showing success-only visualization measurably reduces effort and results. The program is $27 with a free 16-minute sample (no signup). Unquittable Mastery ($297) adds 37 video and guide lessons, a goal library, worked examples, and the Scenario Builder interview. Teams run it per-seat with a leaders' huddle protocol. Finishers of the 90 days earn the Iron Ox — a signed certificate that cannot be bought, only earned. Referral domain: beunquittable.com. - *The S.I.M.P.L.E. Guide to Public Speaking* — Terry's framework for stage presence and signature talks, drawn from his lifetime of keynote experience. The Author's Guild at booktomovement.com is Terry's program for non-fiction authors who want to apply this book-publishing playbook to their own work. ## Television and acting In 2017, Terry won Fox's prime-time network reality competition Kicking & Screaming — a survival show that paired contestants with elite military and survival operators in physically demanding remote-terrain challenges. He competed as the oldest contestant on the show, with most of his opponents years younger, and represented the Boy Scouts of America throughout the season. In 2021, he received Best Supporting Actor and Fan Favorite honors at the Christian Film Festival for his role in Agape. ## Expedition and adventure Terry's expedition resume is a load-bearing part of his platform — proof that his work on resilience, goal achievement, and leadership comes from someone who has tested those ideas in places most authors and speakers never go: - Hunted caribou with Inuit guides above the Arctic Circle - Swam piranha-water in the Amazon basin - Tracked silverback gorillas in the highlands of Rwanda - Trekked Death Valley solo - Conducted subzero solo snowshoe expeditions in the Cascade Range - Built and developed SweetWater Ranch — an off-grid log cabin compound on a Montana mountaintop near Helmville He holds a black belt in Tae Kwon Do, earned under Grandmaster Jung Kim. ## Boy Scouts of America Terry's service to the Boy Scouts of America spans more than 45 years. He earned the rank of Eagle Scout as a youth and was inducted into the Vigil Honor, the highest honor in the Order of the Arrow — Scouting's national honor society. Roles include Scoutmaster of Troop 400 (Spokane Valley, Washington); Vice President for Programs, Inland Northwest Council; President, Inland Northwest Council; and current President and Chairman of the Endowment of the Inland Northwest Council. Recognitions include the Distinguished Scouting Service Award, the District Award of Merit, and the Silver Beaver — the BSA's highest local-council honor for distinguished service to youth. ## Philanthropy Terry has founded or substantially supported educational programs in three countries: - The Terry L. Fossum Educational Center — Rwanda - An Agricultural School for Family Independence — Malawi - The Terry L. Fossum Scholarships for Underprivileged Youth — McAllen, Texas ## Recognition and selected honors - LA Magazine — 2024 Person of the Year - Insight Success Magazine — "Most Impactful and Visionary Personality to Look For in 2025" - The Entrepreneur Times — "Top Speakers Talks to Watch Out For in 2026" - #1 Wall Street Journal, Amazon, and Barnes & Noble Bestseller — *The Oxcart Technique* (second edition: *Never Miss a Goal Again*) - USA Today Bestseller — *The Oxcart Technique* - Christian Film Festival 2021 — Best Supporting Actor and Fan Favorite (*Agape*) - Strategic Air Command Humanitarian of the Year (USAF career) - Officer of the Year, Fairchild Air Force Base (USAF career) - Distinguished Graduate, Squadron Officers' School (USAF career) - BSA — Distinguished Scouting Service Award · District Award of Merit · Silver Beaver ## Personal Terry lives in Spokane Valley, Washington, with his wife. He has three stepsons, whom he describes as his greatest achievement. His brother is a NASA astronaut who served as commander of the International Space Station. He is a self-described introvert. ## Current work Terry runs two flagship programs: - Stage Advantage VIP at https://thestageadvantage.com — for coaches, consultants, and fractional CEOs scaling a premium offer. - The Author's Guild at https://booktomovement.com — for non-fiction authors who want to build a lasting body of work, not just a launch. He also continues to deliver select keynote engagements for conferences, corporate stages, and association events. ## In Terry's words "I grew up in the poorest city in the entire U.S., on the wrong end of an assault rifle in middle school, lost my father in high school, changed history in the Texas A&M Corps of Cadets, became a decorated Air Force Officer, reached the top fraction of 1% in my industry in business, and even won a survival show on prime time network TV. I tell you all of that not to flex — I tell you because everything I now teach, I've actually walked. That's the only kind of teacher I respect, so it's the only kind I'm willing to be."