Accidental Success? – When Winning is Expected
The rumbling, the humming, the anticipation is growing. The earth is moving, you can feel it under your feet. You’re not exactly sure when it’s going to drop… but you know it will. It has to come. It’s almost here…
Heart beating fast. Pupils dilated.
Holding your breath. Anxiety building.
Green flag.
The roar of the engines, the cheers of the crowd.
It’s time for speed and the race is on.
All that you’ve worked for has led up to this moment. Let’s GO!
I have the distinct honor and privilege to be the father of a young man who’s only purpose in life is to go fast. This was no accident, nor is it an example of a father living vicariously through his son, which unfortunately I’ve seen before.
My heritage is love for all things auto. I spent time as an SCCA race car driver and enjoyed experiencing amazing circuits as an adult and enjoyed plenty of shenanigans in expensive cars.
I was the kid in high school with a modded out J-Spec / HIN / JDM import. It’s in the blood. I got it from my daddy. He was into cars. I guess the apple doesn’t fall far from the tree…
From the moment my son was born, he spent his time staring down from the 35th floor of our condo in Atlanta at all of the small cars and trucks passing through the highways and streets. We were even fortunate enough to be able to see the downtown trains, which amused him with their horns and ‘choo choo’ sounds. He would be there for hours if we let him.
From asking for car toys, wanting to go to car shows, to Motul Petit Le Mans races at Road Atlanta and wrenching on race cars with dad, he’s been under the hood and driving in little cars since 2 years of age. It truly is his passion.
But. When he asked to go racing. We said “no.”
PUMPING THE BRAKES
Having dipped my toe into Club Sport Racing and spending heinous amounts of time and money into the game of racing, coupled with the knowledge of the inner workings of my son’s brain, I knew that his ask was no simple track day. He wanted to race as a profession.
He wanted to race other kids. He wanted to be competitive. He wanted to fight for position, dive-in like Verstappen, speed through turns like Vettel, and win like Hamilton. He wanted to be on the track and live his life in the paddock and garage.
He wanted to race full time. Nothing else. He wanted to go pro.
He asked us every day to race for over 9 months.
Every. Single. Day.
Nine. Freaking. Months.
270+ days.
Over. And. Over.
What does a six year old know, anyway?
Maybe it’s not what he knows. But what he sees.
His eyes see what I cannot.
DISCIPLINE IS REQUIRED TO SUCCEED
My six year old had something internally that he leveraged and revealed at such a young age: daily discipline and a never-give-up-spirit.
Frankly, I never even considered it when he began asking. It began in a fun way, with responses from me like: “You’re too young!” “You don’t want to go that fast!” and “When you’re older, for sure!”
This slowly moved into annoyance of the repetition. Sometimes he would repeat the question multiple times throughout the day! My responses began to turn more sour: “Hey, you asked that already.” “It can’t come soon enough.” and “For the fourth time today, no. You cannot go racing.”
Amazingly, he didn’t quit. He persisted. And I noticed.
I began to ask him questions about it. The ‘whys’ and the ‘tell me more’ and having him ask me questions about what I know about the world of racing. We began slowly, experiencing some faster electric karts and giving him a look under the hood of the racing world: going to kart races, talking to coaches and drivers, and getting coaching in a mini-Honda kart at the local track.
The year began to mold into discovery mode of youth racing. Daily conversations, questions, deeper dives, experiences, and inside-looks at the path of driving as a profession became the focus for the year. “Project Youth Racing” had begun.
I’ll concede, there were many sleepless nights as I lay there in bed considering the implications of his desires. His age. His maturity. Can he even make these decisions? And even am I being a good parent?
Nine months. Daily.
He didn’t have to convince me. He proved to me that this is all the wanted to do. In the process, he proved to many around him that this was his all-consuming desire. It truly is a know-it-when-you-see-it.
Now the real question is, where will it take him?
11:09 PM ∙ Feb 26, 202166Likes1Retweet
GOING PRO AND LOVING IT
We dove in deep. Want to know what our family discussed with him?
- Going full time means, full time.
- No more daycare schoolin’. Homeschool is now the game.
- 2 to 3 days per week at the track.
- All other days on the simulator (after homeschool).
- Study racing, read racing, watch racing.
- Review personal racing tape with dad.
- Receive on-track coaching and racing coaching.
- Review data and tape with coaches and team.
- Help prep karts. Help build karts. Help clean karts.
And more.
He gets to race with all of the responsibilities and I got to discover an absolute joy in my life.
I have the job of being my son’s ‘constructor.’ Or, he who builds the racing kart. It’s not that I couldn’t have another do it. I just know that I’ll be much more useful to my son if I know how to build and set it up. It is also one of my most cherished experiences with my son: To have him communicate with me about how he needs the kart changed or set up for the track conditions. These moments of working with my son are deep within my soul.
To create for my son is pure love for me. To have him driving at 60 MPH on a machine that I built for him is one of the purest forms of giving and utility. Gift giving is great! But giving someone the machine and tools to achieve amazing things and win (finish) :)… Now that, is pure father-son-full-love.
The races are merely the icing on the cake. It’s even better when the family is there.
8:03 PM ∙ Jan 30, 202135Likes3Retweets
YOU CAN EXPECT SUCCESS
Watching my son driving on the track is one of my greatest joys. He works so hard. He pushes. Sometimes, he pushes the limits and it scares me. In a few instances, he’s gotten hurt. My job? Encourage him. Lean into it. Don’t give up. I’m there for all of the wins and the falls. I’ll always be his greatest fan. I was down since day one.
At the races, the family joins in the fun. I love how my wife will come out. Notice how good he’s getting. Busts out the cell phone for pictures and ‘da gram’ and exclaims greatness in his abilities! Tons of support and love. And rightfully so!
But, there I am.
With raised eyebrows.
What did you expect?
I see him practice.
Every. Single. Day.
On simulator and on track.
I see it all.
ACCIDENTAL SUCCESS?
Have you ever met an accidental rockstar, superstar athlete or top-of-game professional?
Nope. Neither have I.
I love watching the NBA draft. You know why? It’s for the moments when the name is called, the crowd erupts, the mom is in tears and the dad is standing there with his arms crossed.
He’s not surprised.
He was there. The whole time.
Just like me. There. The whole time.
I’m not surprised at my son’s success.
I was there.
The whole time.
There are no accidental athletes or rockstars. No. There was often a single discipline: Practice. Every day.
TO SUCCEED YOU MUST ACHIEVE SOME MASTERY
I ship content/products every day. Most days, it’s merely content. All of my content is communication. It’s simple. My tradecraft is communication. Of ideas. Visions. Future realities. I love encouraging others, inspiring others, and reminding people that if I can achieve, then certainly they can too.
I believe that one of my best skills is communicating what I’ve learned in my experiences in life, and I too, must continue to practice. Every day.
I must practice every day. And I can improve my communication every day. I explore new ideas, formats, topics, styles, editing, themes, language, mediums and more. Many of which require me to learn new things! Lucky for me, I love new things!
You’ll always see improvements in whatever you practice.
Make sure you’re putting your time into the right things.
- What’s your trade?
- What should you be leveling up?
- What should you be practicing, daily?
I promise you, if you practice every day, you’ll achieve some mastery.
When you achieve mastery, that’s when the craft, hobby, or project can become real joy. It sucks to suck at something. It’s much more fun when you’re competent or really good.
When you’re competent and really good…
Now that! That, is a valuable asset.
All the best,
ps