Tanya Toliver knows exactly what fear feels like.
“Clammy hands, thoughts racing through your mind of all the bad things that can happen, second guessing yourself,” she says.
And yet, more than 400 times, she has willingly stepped to the edge of an airplane anyway.
For the Valley luxury realtor, skydiving began almost casually. A friend invited her on a tandem jump for a birthday celebration, and Tanya’s answer was immediate: yes. But what started as a spontaneous adrenaline rush quickly evolved into something much more profound. Today, skydiving has become deeply intertwined with the way Tanya approaches business, relationships, spirituality, fear, healing, and life itself.
Ironically, Tanya says she was terrified that first jump.
“I remember the initial two seconds of fear standing at the door and leaving the airplane,” she recalls. “Then pure adrenaline hits you and it’s the best feeling in the world. Pure presence and pure joy.”
Moments later, once the canopy opens, everything shifts.
“You get to float down just taking it all in.”
That contrast between terror and peace is something Tanya has become fascinated by. Even now, after hundreds of skydives around the world, the fear never fully disappears.
“The fear is still there. Fear and excitement are the same chemical compounds in the brain and you learn to switch between them more quickly.”
For Tanya, skydiving was never just about adrenaline. What drew her in was something far more internal.
“It was the freedom to conquer fear and override all the thoughts your brain comes up with that tell you not to do it,” she says. “It’s control over oneself.”
Looking back, Tanya realizes she had unknowingly been training for this mindset since childhood. While she doesn’t describe herself as a natural daredevil, she spent years as a springboard diver learning difficult flips and dives from towering platforms.
“I learned how to do scary things. Learning new dives and flips, failing at them, feeling pain from the failure, and continuing to push forward until you perfected them.”
She credits her mother for introducing her to a sport that taught resilience, discomfort, discipline, and the ability to push beyond fear at a young age.
Before skydiving entered her life, Tanya also built a small stunt dirt bike brand, another clue that perhaps she had always been drawn toward challenge and controlled risk, even before realizing it herself.
Still, Tanya laughs that most people in her life thought she was completely insane once skydiving became serious.
“They still think I’m insane,” she says. “The only people who understand are the ones who are skydivers or adventure seekers.”
What’s compelling about Tanya’s story, however, is that she doesn’t romanticize fearlessness. In fact, she openly rejects the idea.
“You never truly become fearless. You learn to coexist with fear. You create a new relationship with it.”
That philosophy eventually transformed the way she approached her real estate career as well.
Tanya explains that when she entered real estate, she intentionally chose one of the hardest forms of lead generation: cold calling.
“Honestly, cold calling scared me more than skydiving. I told myself if I can throw myself out of an airplane, then I can call strangers.”
That mindset shift changed everything.
The same year Tanya leaned fully into both skydiving and confronting fear head on, she sold her first $10 million in real estate and ranked in the top 3% of agents in Arizona.
Today, she believes much of her success comes from skills developed in the sky: confidence, preparation, visualization, emotional control, and trust.
“There is power in visualization and positive self-talk. If you can think about all the bad things that can happen, you can also think about everything that will go right.”
Skydiving also fundamentally changed her understanding of control.
“The only thing you can control is your energy and your mindset,” she says. “It is not your job to control the outcomes.”
That lesson becomes very real in freefall. Tanya describes skydiving as both euphoric and strangely peaceful at the same time.
“It feels like driving in a convertible sports car going 150 to 200 miles per hour,” she says.
Yet mentally, she experiences stillness.
“When I’m in freefall, I’m focused on my breath and movement. No thoughts are going through my mind. It’s just being fully in the movement.”
And then, during the quieter canopy ride afterward, gratitude takes over.
“I’m thanking God for my beautiful life and everything I get to experience,” she says.
That spiritual component is central to Tanya’s philosophy.
“It’s putting your full trust in God that you will be safe and that He has bigger plans for you,” she explains. “Life is a spiritual experience and I bring that trust into everything I do.”
Over the years, Tanya has skydived internationally in places including Egypt and Mexico, but some experiences remain unforgettable.
One of her favorite jumps took place over Oahu’s North Shore after renting a private helicopter with friends at sunset.
“We were in bathing suits, no helmets, Rufus Du Sol was playing in our headsets, and we were flying through clouds reflecting all the colors of the sunset. The canopy ride was the most beautiful one I’ve ever experienced.”
Then there was Egypt, where Tanya skydived over the pyramids from military aircraft.
“It was surreal seeing the city of Giza all condensed together and then the vast openness of the desert where the pyramids were,” she says.
Not every memory tied to skydiving is lighthearted, though. One of the most emotional moments of Tanya’s life came after losing one of her best friends in an accident.
“My first jump afterward, I couldn’t stop crying telling her how much I loved and missed her. I feel her the most on my skydives.”
The experience deepened her perspective on life, time, relationships, and presence.
“We aren’t meant to just work. If all you are after is money then you will never live a fulfilled life.”
Skydiving also unexpectedly brought Tanya some of the most important relationships in her life, including her husband and what she lovingly calls her “sky family.”
“We love deeply and experience life to the fullest together."
Today, Tanya believes people spend too much time living safely and allowing fear to dictate their choices.
“There is a part of the brain wired to keep you safe and survive,” she explains. “But it is not always right. If you let your body control you, you will never control your life.”
Instead, Tanya believes the greatest experiences exist just beyond discomfort.
“The most beautiful things in life are on the other side of fear.”
And perhaps that’s the real heart of Tanya’s story. Skydiving may be what initially captures attention, but what she’s truly exploring isn’t the sky. It’s human potential, mindset, healing, trust, and what becomes possible when you stop letting fear decide your future.
“If someone has spent their entire life afraid to leap, I can promise you that taking action is never going to be as scary as you think it is.”
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