Thursday, August 6, 2009

How to Win Five in a Row

Five in a Row
To win five sporting events in a row is an amazing feat. There has not been a Triple Crown winner in horse racing in 30 years. To win a Superbowl in football takes winning at least three in a row and is celebrated as one of the great accomplishments in all sports each year. To win a World Series requires winning four games, although they do not have to be in a row: just the best of seven. So when Ron Hornaday won his fifth consecutive NASCAR Camping World Truck Race on Saturday, I watched in awe.
There is so much that has to happen to win just one race. So many things can go wrong, and so many things have to go right. There are 36 other trucks on the track, all hoping to make it to Victory Lane. Equipment can break or malfunction. The pit crew can make mistakes. A driver can be caught up in an accident beyond his control. Thousands of other things can happen to take a car out of the race or put it behind the leader.
So what does a driver have to do to win five in a row? First he has to have awesome equipment. He must have engines with outstanding horsepower. The handling on the truck has to be spot on. Pit stops need to be fast. All of these things have to happen, and the driver has to believe he is a winner. In fact, on a racing team everyone has to believe. The guys in the shop who prepare the truck for the race, the people in the engine department, squeezing the last bit of power out of the engine while making sure it holds together for the entire race, the driver himself—all need to believe.
To be able to do this five consecutive times is historic. In fact, it has never been done in this series and has not been done in any of NASCAR’s major touring series since 1971, when NASCAR was very different from what it is today. The moral of this account is that if you believe you are a winner, you will be! The 33 team believed it was and proved it to the rest of us.
As a side note I could not be happier for Ron Hornaday and his team. About 4 years ago I was with some friends in Mooresville, NC at this little, hole-in-the-wall, local bar to listen to a band and relax on a Saturday night when a guy tapped me on the shoulder, asking for help to move a table. I said, “No problem” and “Man, you look like Ron Hornaday.” He replied, “I am,” and we ended up talking for awhile. I can tell you that he is as down to earth and as much a gentleman as anyone I have ever met. He has all the humble qualities someone needs to make history like he has. In my book he deserves the accolades. I congratulate the 33 team! They proved to me that if a person believes, he can achieve.

Erik Elsea
www.erikelsea.com
Quote of the Day!-“Faith is to believe what you do not see, the reward of this faith is to see what you believe.”-unknown

Wednesday, August 5, 2009

Do You Play Victim?

Playing the Victim
In racing one sees a lot of post-race interviews in which one driver blames another for getting him loose or spinning him out, causing a wreck. I am amazed that drivers have such a hard time taking responsibility for what happens on the track. In racing, as in life, few things happen over which we have no control. A series of events usually occurs before a wreck, and often the wreck could have been avoided. It troubles me when drivers get in front of the camera after a race and play victim.
This is an important issue for me personally. I have spent a good deal of my life in victim mode. However, when I honestly look in the mirror and take full responsibility for my life, I am able to move forward. As a life coach I find many people who do not realize that they have created everything in their life. Placing the blame on others and not owning up to the fact that they are responsible for the life they lead are the primary obstacles that hold back most people. The Law of Attraction states this: everything we have in our lives we have created—good and bad.
If you want to change your life, then start owning it. Take a good, long look in the mirror and realize that you are where you are today because you choose to be—the result of your past thoughts and actions. Today, however, you are choosing to take control of your life and be completely responsible for future outcomes.
When you have negative feelings or are dealing with a difficult situation, assess whether you are in victim mode. Analyze your thoughts and, if you are thinking of yourself as a victim, reevaluate and change your role. Take ownership of your life, and you will finally be in control of your own destiny.
Erik Elsea
www.erikelsea.com
Quote of the Day!-“Some men see things as they are and say ‘Why?’ I dream things that never were and say ‘Why Not?’” – George Bernard Shaw

Tuesday, August 4, 2009

What Is Wrong with Failure?

What Is Wrong with Failure?
I have crashed and burned several times in my life—in a race car, in business and in relationships. I have made some pretty major mistakes, and they have cost me a lot. I used to really beat myself up over them. Now I realize the real cost was the time and energy I wasted on feeling sorry for myself or on not moving forward because I was so caught up in the past, where all my energies were focused.
Not until I was able to let go of the past and concentrate on today did I truly learn how to live. I learned to embrace the mistakes and failures as life lessons. I believe I may have created these challenges in my life to help me grow and to prepare myself to handle anything that comes my way. My failures have given me the strength to be successful.
From Portrait of an Achiever:
-1832 Failed in business: bankruptcy
-1832 Defeated for legislature
-1834 Failed in business: bankruptcy
-1835 Fiancé died
-1836 Nervous breakdown
-1838 Defeated in election
-1843 Defeated for U.S. Congress
-1848 Defeated for U.S. Congress
-1855 Defeated for U.S. Senate
-1856 Defeated for Vice President
-1858 Defeated for U.S. Senate
-1860 Abraham Lincoln Elected President of the United States of America
Abraham Lincoln shows us that failure can overcome us only if we let it. Those who are truly successful take life’s hardships and setbacks and use them as preparation for the next challenge. The lesson in all this: Use life’s challenges to build character and strength to move forward with your life.
Erik Elsea
www.erikelsea.com
Quote of the Day! - “Strength is built by one’s failures, not by one’s successes.”- Coco Channel

Monday, August 3, 2009

August Book Review: The Secret by Rhonda Byrne

It has been passed down through the ages, highly coveted, hidden, lost, stolen and bought for vast sums of money. This centuries-old Secret has been understood by some of the most prominent people in history: Plato, Galileo, Beethoven, Edison, Carnegie, Einstein—along with other inventors, theologians, scientists and great thinkers. Now The Secret is being revealed to the world.
“As you learn The Secret you will come to know how you can have, be, or do anything you want. You will know who you really are. You will come to know the true magnificence that awaits you in life.”
— from the Introduction
If you don’t know the Secret, then you need to read this book or see the documentary that was made by some of the leading business leaders, philosophers, authors, speakers and quantum physicists of our time about the Law of Attraction.
The Law of Attraction states that what you think about, you bring about. You control your destiny with the power of your mind. You become what you think about most, but you also attract what you think about most. Like attracts like. If you have positive thoughts, you will have positive results. The Law of Attraction gives you what you want—period! If there was ever a book that I could recommend that would start you on the path to changing your life, this book is it. Further, I suggest you get the DVD and the book and use them together.
You can find these at www.erikelsea.com/books/
Erik Elsea
www.erikelsea.com