Without effort, there are no outcomes.

How many of you have had the pleasure of helping your kids get ready to be part of a Pinewood Derby? ?? I can testify firsthand that it can be a fun (and pretty hilarious) experience, especially when you see how many parents take it as (or more!) seriously as their kids. A few weeks ago my son had a Pinewood Derby race, and interestingly it ended up being a life lesson that was more than a year in the making.

So quick flashback: About a year ago, my son came to me and let me know that he had a Pinewood Derby race coming up. We bought a kit, my wife and I gave him some articles on how to make a great car, and a few days later we went to a neighbor’s house and our kids worked together on their vehicles. And then … my son put in almost zero effort. He didn’t read the articles. He did no other advanced research on tactics. He did some sanding but didn’t think about what would make the car go as fast as possible. I internally debated on how to handle this and decided that he needed to see what would happen with his car. You can guess what happened. He was super excited the morning of the race, got ready … and then came in last out of about 15 cars. He was really upset, and we talked about it—that each of us has a choice on how hard we work on something to get ready. I reminded him about how he had seen me prepare for big meetings or speeches by practicing over and over again—that to be good at anything you have to put in time and effort. 

One year later, he came back to me—Pinewood Derby was coming up. He didn’t want to lose again. He had read articles about using weights as part of the design, about carving your car to be aerodynamic so it would go faster. He was going to work hard, and could we ask a friend with woodworking tools for help with a specific design? At the race he was nervous, but ready. He sat next to the track with his sister and all the other contestants.

And then … he came in first in his group and was 3/10 of a second away from the overall fastest car. He got a medal and left super happy and ready to put in even more effort in 2021 so he could win the trophy for fastest car (though he really liked the “funniest car” trophy as well). ??

It was a great lesson for him, and another reminder for me that without effort, there are no outcomes. Work hard, try new things, have intention behind what you want to accomplish. Hard work doesn’t always mean you will get the exact outcome you want, but it will definitely get you closer to that finish line, and ready to try again.