Success Isn't Sustainable If You Don't Adopt This ONE Behavior

Five Lessons To Long-Term Success - Without The Painful Years Of Trial-And-Error (Key #3)

It’s May 2018, and I’m fulfilling a 45-year old dream. I’m strapped into the cockpit of a real Indy 500 race car. By myself. And I'm driving on the legendary racetrack at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway.

Ever since I attended my first Indy 500 race as a 10-year-old kid, I always wondered, “What would be like to drive fast on that track and pass other cars as I zoomed into one of the corners?”

But, driving on the first of eight laps, my dream is quickly becoming a nightmare.

The steering wheel is shaking so violently I feel out-of-control.?It’s everything I can do to keep the car on the track.

That definitely wasn’t part of my race car fantasy!

I’m thinking, ‘This is AWFUL!?What am I doing wrong? I waited all these years to do this, and I’m blowing it!’

Then I hear a voice in my helmet. It’s the spotter.?He sits in the grandstands and watches to make sure you’re doing everything right.?

He says, “You're doing fine. Remember what we said in the meeting, these cars are designed to go fast. It's pretty nerve racking when you're going slow because the car feels out of control, doesn't it?”

I shout into my microphone, “You’re not kidding!”

The spotter says, "It gets better when you go faster. But, ya gotta take your foot off the brake. Push down on the gas. You can do this. Go FULL THROTTLE!”

Dozens of thoughts flash through my head — “I don't want to run into the wall! I don't know if I can do this! I hope I paid my insurance premium!"

But then another thought pops in my head, "This guy (the spotter) has watched hundreds of people do this. He knows what he's talking about.?They wouldn't let me crash... would they?

“I don’t wanna blow this. I might never get this chance again…”

“All-right. Let’s do this!”

I take my left foot off the brake. I push down on the accelerator with my right foot. I keep repeating, “Full Throttle! Full Throttle! Full Throttle!”

Immediately, the car starts going faster…a lot faster!?

And the drive gets…. smoother.?

The vibration stops. I feel more in control.?

I’m flying around the track now.?

This is everything I imagined it would be!

That day, I fulfilled my dream of driving fast (154.1 MPH) and I passed two cars while flying into the third turn on the greatest race track in the world.?

What Does A Memorable Race Car Ride Have To Do With Long-Term Success?

Everything.

The first lap of the drive was a metaphor for how I have been living my life up to that point. The reason the car was vibrating so badly was because I was not fully committed to the experience. I was driving scared.

By keeping one foot on the brake and not pushing all the way down on the accelerator, I was creating the roughest and most uncomfortable possible ride because I was fighting against the natural tendencies of the car, which is to go fast as possible. That doesn't work when you're simultaneously stepping on the brake and gas.

This is exactly how I was living my life. I talked about being a coach/trainer, author, and speaker, but I wasn't willing to leave my job and fully commit to my so-called dream.?

When I stepped back and took an honest appraisal of my life, I realized I emotionally felt as if I was vibrating as violently as I was sitting in the race car during that first lap. I felt unhappy, unfulfilled, and out of control, like I was going to crash at any moment.?

Which leads me to the third key to lifelong success…

Whatever you choose to do, you can only succeed at a high level if you fully commit to that endeavor

For more than a decade, I tried to succeed in two fields — as a financial planning professional, and as a speaker and speaking coach. I kept my foot in the financial planning world to create financial security while I pursued my dream of speaking and coaching.

For me, this did not work. It created lack of fulfillment in both worlds, I certainly wasn't serving my clients as well as I could in either one, and I knew in my gut this wasn't the way I wanted to live my life.

The day I retired as a financial planner and fully committed to live my mission - my calling - of speaking, training and writing is the day I took my foot off the brake, jammed on the gas pedal and committed to live in this one lane.

I have never regretted that decision. Sure, there have been days, or weeks, when I had no idea how I was going to meet my financial obligations, but knowing I'm doing what I'm called to do helps me get through those times and find solutions to my challenges.

My experience underscores my belief that in order to succeed at high levels, you must fully commit, be all-in, because that commitment will help you weather every storm and create the life you want to lead.

In the next post you'll read about the most valuable insight to change I ever received.