Celebrating Those First Victories!
A couple weeks ago Joey Logano celebrated in New Hampshire what many believe will be the first of many victories in his career in New Hampshire. At age 19 he is the youngest driver to ever win a Sprint Cup NASCAR race. A first victory is special on so many levels. It is special just for the fact that winning a race is a huge achievement. It is proof that all of the training and hard work have paid off and were worth it. You earn a respect from the people with whom you race. But most importantly you prove to yourself what you already knew: I can do this.
I am writing this because our lives are full of firsts. The victories that we have in life are not always celebrated with champagne, confetti and a beautiful girl’s kissing your cheek but they are just as important . . . and so maybe should be.
It seems to me that when we were children a lot of firsts were celebrated. A first birthday was an important family event. Our parents were overjoyed when my siblings and I took our first step or said our first word, and they have a photo of each year’s first day of school.
I want to remind everyone to keep celebrating those first victories. They are important! Don’t miss a one. Your first anniversary. The first day of work in a new career. The first day of school to continue your education. The first sale you make at a new job. Reward yourself and acknowledge these accomplishments. If you can go all out with the champagne, confetti and even the beautiful girl’s kissing your cheek, then do it. You are telling the universe that you gladly receive all the victories in your life and you are ready for more to come.
Erik Elsea
www.erikelsea.com
Showing posts with label racing. Show all posts
Showing posts with label racing. Show all posts
Monday, July 13, 2009
Friday, July 10, 2009
Deal with your Emotions
Last weekend’s NASCAR race had a spectacular finish with cars piling up and sliding across the finish line. Kyle Busch was leading the race but ended up getting loose and wrecking when he tried to block Tony Stewart. After slamming into the wall and getting hit from behind by Kasey Kahne, he ended up falling to 14th place. To go from leading with less than a half mile to go to finishing in 14th place because you got spun out would make anyone upset. The problem for Kyle was that the replay showed clearly that it was not Tony Stewart’s fault.
Kyle did not have the opportunity to view the replay before climbing out of his car, visibly upset. He went stomping down pit road toward victory lane, stripping off his gloves and his helmet because he was going to give Tony a piece of his mind . . . and maybe then some. About halfway down pit road the NASCAR officials corralled him. It took about eight of them to force him into a truck to be taken to the infield care center, where he could be checked out and persuaded to cool his temper.
I have been watching racing, involved in racing and behind the wheel of a race car long enough to have seen this scenario played out many times. In this case it didn’t lead to a fight or the loser slamming his car into the winner’s car like it usually does. In this case NASCAR officials got to Kyle first and gave him a chance to cool down and maybe even see the replay so he knew that he was not wrecked on purpose.
How many times in our lives have we let our emotions control our decision making and our actions? I am as guilty of this as anyone. But I have gradually come to realize that as emotions go up, intelligence goes down. We all need to concentrate on leaving emotion out of major decisions in our lives. When we are emotionally attached to the outcome of something, it is like we have blinders on to the rest of the world.
I have seen people so emotionally attached to a relationship that they stay in it even though it is suffocating them. I have seen people so emotionally attached to a business or investment that they refuse to see its failing until they are completely broke and sometimes buried in debt. The point: if you want to change your life, change your thinking. Leave your emotions at the door.
Remember: when emotions go up, intelligence goes down!
Erik Elsea
www.erikelsea.com
Kyle did not have the opportunity to view the replay before climbing out of his car, visibly upset. He went stomping down pit road toward victory lane, stripping off his gloves and his helmet because he was going to give Tony a piece of his mind . . . and maybe then some. About halfway down pit road the NASCAR officials corralled him. It took about eight of them to force him into a truck to be taken to the infield care center, where he could be checked out and persuaded to cool his temper.
I have been watching racing, involved in racing and behind the wheel of a race car long enough to have seen this scenario played out many times. In this case it didn’t lead to a fight or the loser slamming his car into the winner’s car like it usually does. In this case NASCAR officials got to Kyle first and gave him a chance to cool down and maybe even see the replay so he knew that he was not wrecked on purpose.
How many times in our lives have we let our emotions control our decision making and our actions? I am as guilty of this as anyone. But I have gradually come to realize that as emotions go up, intelligence goes down. We all need to concentrate on leaving emotion out of major decisions in our lives. When we are emotionally attached to the outcome of something, it is like we have blinders on to the rest of the world.
I have seen people so emotionally attached to a relationship that they stay in it even though it is suffocating them. I have seen people so emotionally attached to a business or investment that they refuse to see its failing until they are completely broke and sometimes buried in debt. The point: if you want to change your life, change your thinking. Leave your emotions at the door.
Remember: when emotions go up, intelligence goes down!
Erik Elsea
www.erikelsea.com
Wednesday, June 10, 2009
Harmonic Wealth Book Review
Harmonic Wealth: The Secret of Attracting the Life You Want by James Arthur Ray
This book is not only a must read: it should be kept and referred to daily. If you want to become wealthy—I mean truly wealthy—then this book can show you practical ways to do so. Harmonic Wealth will help you achieve real wealth in the “five pillars”: financial, relational, mental, physical and spiritual. This book helps make clear that true wealth will never be attained without success in all five areas.
James Arthur Ray combines teachings from some of the world’s premiere spiritual leaders with theories from top physicists and scientists to explain the Law of Attraction and how to create for yourself the life you have always desired. As a featured expert in the book The Secret, Ray knows the keys to getting what you want by unlocking the powers of the universe.
Harmonic Wealth is not some feel-good, motivational book filled with pie-in-the-sky fantasies. It encourages you to get real and be creative in identifying and living the intentions you have for your life.
If you want to break through personal limitations and acquire true financial, relational, mental, physical and spiritual wealth, start by reading this book. Then Live It!
You can find this book at www.erikelsea.com/books/
This book is not only a must read: it should be kept and referred to daily. If you want to become wealthy—I mean truly wealthy—then this book can show you practical ways to do so. Harmonic Wealth will help you achieve real wealth in the “five pillars”: financial, relational, mental, physical and spiritual. This book helps make clear that true wealth will never be attained without success in all five areas.
James Arthur Ray combines teachings from some of the world’s premiere spiritual leaders with theories from top physicists and scientists to explain the Law of Attraction and how to create for yourself the life you have always desired. As a featured expert in the book The Secret, Ray knows the keys to getting what you want by unlocking the powers of the universe.
Harmonic Wealth is not some feel-good, motivational book filled with pie-in-the-sky fantasies. It encourages you to get real and be creative in identifying and living the intentions you have for your life.
If you want to break through personal limitations and acquire true financial, relational, mental, physical and spiritual wealth, start by reading this book. Then Live It!
You can find this book at www.erikelsea.com/books/
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Adversity Builds Character?
One of the reasons I love sports in general is because it is encouraging to see individuals and teams overcome extraordinary adversity to claim victory. Stories of the human spirit are played out right in front of you. When the underdog or a horse with 50 to 1 odds wins, I realize that if you believe in yourself and your team, you can overcome any obstacle in your path.
Back in the early 80’s, way before all of the safety advancements of today’s NASCAR race cars, Ricky Rudd was in a serious accident during the Busch Clash at Daytona. His seat broke, and he was bouncing around in the car as it rolled. His window net came down, and his arm was flailing around outside the car. He was taken to a local hospital, where doctors wanted to keep him overnight for observation. He had suffered torn cartilage in his rib cage, and prospects did not look good for his racing in the Daytona 500. Ricky, however, wanted to get back to the track to continue practicing for the biggest race of the year. When his wife Linda pleaded with him, Ricky got up and walked over to a mirror in his hospital room, where he saw how badly his face was swollen. He gave into the pressure and decided to stay the night.
The next day he was back at the track to practice in a back-up car. When he got up to speed and went barreling into the turn, he lost his sight. He could see nothing, even though he was completely conscious. Not being able to see at 180 mph was not a good feeling. When he got back onto the straight-away and slowed, however, his sight returned. Ricky figured out that the g forces at those speeds in the turn, coupled with how severely his face was swollen, forced his eyes closed no matter how hard he tried to keep them open.
His solution: tape his eyelids to his eyebrows so they wouldn’t be able to close. His crew tried this, and when Ricky went back out on the track to practice, he had no problem. Ricky ended up racing the Daytona 500 to a very respectable 7th place finish at speeds of nearly 200 mph. The very next week he came back to win at Richmond.
I often hear that adversity builds character. This may be. What adversity really does is reveal character. We face challenges every day in our lives. The way we address them is a direct result of the kind of character we have. In these challenging times we need to remember what we are capable of overcoming. We need to push forward through the pain, because victory is waiting for us on the other side.
Erik Elsea
www.erikelsea.com
Back in the early 80’s, way before all of the safety advancements of today’s NASCAR race cars, Ricky Rudd was in a serious accident during the Busch Clash at Daytona. His seat broke, and he was bouncing around in the car as it rolled. His window net came down, and his arm was flailing around outside the car. He was taken to a local hospital, where doctors wanted to keep him overnight for observation. He had suffered torn cartilage in his rib cage, and prospects did not look good for his racing in the Daytona 500. Ricky, however, wanted to get back to the track to continue practicing for the biggest race of the year. When his wife Linda pleaded with him, Ricky got up and walked over to a mirror in his hospital room, where he saw how badly his face was swollen. He gave into the pressure and decided to stay the night.
The next day he was back at the track to practice in a back-up car. When he got up to speed and went barreling into the turn, he lost his sight. He could see nothing, even though he was completely conscious. Not being able to see at 180 mph was not a good feeling. When he got back onto the straight-away and slowed, however, his sight returned. Ricky figured out that the g forces at those speeds in the turn, coupled with how severely his face was swollen, forced his eyes closed no matter how hard he tried to keep them open.
His solution: tape his eyelids to his eyebrows so they wouldn’t be able to close. His crew tried this, and when Ricky went back out on the track to practice, he had no problem. Ricky ended up racing the Daytona 500 to a very respectable 7th place finish at speeds of nearly 200 mph. The very next week he came back to win at Richmond.
I often hear that adversity builds character. This may be. What adversity really does is reveal character. We face challenges every day in our lives. The way we address them is a direct result of the kind of character we have. In these challenging times we need to remember what we are capable of overcoming. We need to push forward through the pain, because victory is waiting for us on the other side.
Erik Elsea
www.erikelsea.com
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Don't Beat Yourself
This past weekend’s NASCAR race in Dover, Delaware was absolutely dominated by Jimmie Johnson and the Number 48 Team. Johnson led 289 of the 400 laps. He was the class of the field all afternoon, but with a late wreck bringing out the caution flag, everyone came in to pit. Different strategies played out: some teams took four tires, and others took just two, getting out of the pit faster with a better starting position when the race restarted.
The 48 Team, which had been perfect all day in the pit, had an extremely slow stop: Jimmie Johnson came into his pit in first place and came out running eighth. The problem was a different system for the pit stop than the one they had used all day long to try and save time. I interpreted it as their trying to be cute in the pits. This threw off their rhythm, and it looked like they would succeed at losing. Fortunately, Jimmie, with his four fresh tires, was able to catch up to the leaders and eventually pass them with only a few laps remaining, but that poor pit stop could have cost him the race.
The moral of this narration is to avoid beating yourself. Do not do things that open up the possibility of failure. If you are battling an addiction, do not put yourself in positions where you might use or be around people who do. If you have had a string of bad relationships, do not pursue a partner with the same characteristics. If you have found a technique in business that works for you, stick to it. I have seen many people who were on the right track, who beat themselves by getting off it and then failing. Unfortunately, you can be your own worst enemy. You need to work on being your own best friend.
Erik Elsea
www.erikelsea.com
The 48 Team, which had been perfect all day in the pit, had an extremely slow stop: Jimmie Johnson came into his pit in first place and came out running eighth. The problem was a different system for the pit stop than the one they had used all day long to try and save time. I interpreted it as their trying to be cute in the pits. This threw off their rhythm, and it looked like they would succeed at losing. Fortunately, Jimmie, with his four fresh tires, was able to catch up to the leaders and eventually pass them with only a few laps remaining, but that poor pit stop could have cost him the race.
The moral of this narration is to avoid beating yourself. Do not do things that open up the possibility of failure. If you are battling an addiction, do not put yourself in positions where you might use or be around people who do. If you have had a string of bad relationships, do not pursue a partner with the same characteristics. If you have found a technique in business that works for you, stick to it. I have seen many people who were on the right track, who beat themselves by getting off it and then failing. Unfortunately, you can be your own worst enemy. You need to work on being your own best friend.
Erik Elsea
www.erikelsea.com
Sunday, March 29, 2009
Only 3 Days Left!
It feels like coming down to the last few laps of a 500 mile race to be so close to the start of the Fast Lane to Success blog starting on April 1st. This has been in the works for a while and I am very excited to bring you my life experiences as well as those of many others who have found out how to win at life. This blog will consist of stories of success and stories of overcoming hardships to finish on top. We will review authors and their books. Check out some of the best websites. This blog will be full of tips and techniques that will help you drive full speed ahead towards you goals. Whether you're looking for ideas to take your business to the next level or high impact personal development you will find it here. I look forward to seeing you here on April 1st for the beginning to the Fast Lane to Success blog.
Erik Elsea
www.erikelsea.com
Erik Elsea
www.erikelsea.com
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
