How F1 legend Toto Wolff paved his path... Embrace the challenges, seize the opportunities, and always stay adaptable.

The Path is LinkedIn’s video series where I chat with some of the most influential leaders in the world exploring the successes, missteps, and key pivotal moments that shaped their professional paths. It’s through these authentic stories that we can learn how to navigate our own career journeys.

My guest this week is Mercedes-AMG PETRONAS Formula One Team Principal and CEO, Toto Wolff.?

Toto Wolff is arguably one of the most powerful people in all of motorsports. Since becoming CEO of Mercedes-AMG in 2013, the Austrian motorsport executive has grown the company into a Formula One powerhouse. Notably, he’s guided his team to eight consecutive Constructor Championship wins — an F1 record. Off the track, Toto has assembled a high-power roster of all-star drivers and is responsible for turning Mercedes-AMG into the second-most valuable team on the international racing circuit. That’s impressive stuff.

As a teenager, Toto was determined to become a racecar driver but couldn’t afford it. His family had been struggling financially since his father died. But he was determined to find a path to pursue his passion.?

Eventually he raised enough money to buy a race car and start competing but just three years later, he hung up his helmet – sponsorships dried up, and he also realized he wasn’t the best driver out there.?

He’d go to college and study economics, particularly the business side of Formula One. But he dropped out to take an internship at an investment bank (which he hated), before dabbling in steel manufacturing consulting, and later venture capitalism, before finding himself back to racing, and landing a job offer from Mercedes. Today, Toto is universally regarded as the most successful executive in the history of F1. Here’s how he did it:?

Don’t let a linear career path define you

Toto Wolff is living proof that a straightforward career path isn't the only way to the top, you might also have to swerve from time to time — and shift gears — in your career to stay ahead.

More than anything, Toto reminded me that skills and grit are the true currency.??

You don’t necessarily need a university degree, and don’t need a high-profile company’s name on your resume either, Toto says. Through his own various life experiences, Toto has learned to stay adaptable while trusting his instincts.

“You kind of feel whether it's wrong or right… I don't feel that I've ever taken a risk,” Toto told me “It was always calculated. If I could cope with the worst outcome, then it was a calculated risk, and I was prepared.”?

“I have a certain easiness about things,” Toto added. “I know we have a lot of responsibilities to our families to make a living, but still don't lose the ease of a child to embark on a different path.”

“We are telling our children, you know, find your purpose, find your passion. I think that's all nonsense. How should an 18 or 19-year-old know what passion or purpose is? I was a complete idiot until I was 23 or 24. I didn't even know what a venture capitalist was until then. So leave teenagers and young adults the possibility to be well-rounded, to look at various jobs to try, and then eventually focus on one thing that feels right. And if after five years it doesn't feel right anymore, then do the next thing.”?

So remember, there may be times when you hit a major road bump in your career. And when you do, and you're left with the daunting task of making a pivotal life decision, recall Toto’s advice: embrace challenges, seize opportunities, and stay adaptable. It's not the start, but the journey, and how you navigate it that matters.?

So here are some of the most valuable takeaways from our conversation:

• Skills and grit are true currency. Toto is a big believer that you don’t need a university degree to be successful. And you don’t need a high-profile company on your resume either. It’s your skillset that counts.?
• Not everyone’s path is linear. Changing tracks can be daunting — but it happens. Feel like you’re stuck in neutral? If you’re at a career crossroads, Toto’s advice is to, “Focus on one thing that feels right and if after five years it doesn't feel right anymore, then do the next thing.”?
• Trust your childhood intuition. Toto’s advice is “Don't lose the easiness of a child to embark on a different path.” He said be adaptable. “You kind of feel whether it's wrong or right.”

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