Go or Go Home!

I had the opportunity this past week to watch qualifying for the NASCAR race in Chicago. For those of you not familiar with NASCAR racing, there are 43 starting positions in the race. Usually there are more cars than that that show up to try and make it into the race. The cars that are in the top 35 in owners points are guaranteed a spot, so all of the cars that show up outside of the top 35 have to qualify their way into the big show. For this particular race in Chicago there were 11 cars competing for 8 spots. These 11 cars are considered go or go home cars. Basically their whole weekend is riding on their being fast enough to make the field in the 2-lap qualifying run.
That’s a lot of pressure. A driver has two laps to make a fast run or his team ends up putting its equipment back on the car hauler and heading back to Charlotte without even racing. Think of all those wasted miles, driving out to Chicago or Las Vegas or California and not making the race. All the preparation is for naught if a racing team cannot make a good qualifying run. This past weekend 3 teams made that long, disappointing drive home without the chance to race.
When you are a team that is trying to qualify, you do everything legally within your power to try to make the field. The preparation that goes into a qualifying round is extensive. The team’s one goal is to lay down the fastest possible lap it can. As is said in other sports, “It’s do or die.”
What if we started having that kind of focus in our lives? What if in our careers we treated each meeting or presentation or client like it was go or go home? What if for our health and well-being we started making going to the gym a do or die activity instead of thinking, “I’ll try.” The amount of preparation put into qualifying on a go or go home car is intense. If we put that same amount of preparation into the important aspects of our lives, I promise we would start accomplishing more.
I use a system that Charles M. Schwab, president of Bethlehem Steel, learned from a man named Ivy Lee, whose objective it was to sell him services to make his business more efficient. It is called the critical six. At the end of each day make a list of the six most critical tasks that you need to complete the next day. The key is that they be critical for moving you toward your goals. After you number them in order of importance, complete them the next day in that order and check them off as you do. Any unfinished tasks automatically become your most important tasks for the next day. By doing this you will stay on task to complete the most important steps toward personal success. Start treating your life as go or go home. . .to win the race of life.
For more in-depth coaching on winning in life or in business, check out my website below.
Erik Elsea
www.erikelsea.com
Quote of the Day!-“If you don’t have time to do it right, when will you have time to do it over?” –John Wooden