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You can win one race by luck, but it takes much more than luck to win a championship title, let alone repeating that achievement multiple times. People tend to see the bright sides of being a champ, but we rarely see the roots of success and the long, rocky path that led them to the top.
Sensational debuts in Formula 1 don't happen every year, but you know when it does. Drivers like Fernando Alonso, Kimi Räikkönen, Robert Kubica, Lewis Hamilton, or Max Verstappen more recently - they all shocked the audience and left people wondering how it's even possible that a rookie driver challenges great names with so little experience. Well, it is really a mistake to call them rookies at that stage. They mostly start their careers very early, when they are 4 - 5 years old. Before they even start their official career (which has to wait until they are 8-10 years old according to regulations), they cover more testing laps than their older colleagues. It takes another 7 - 10 years before they are prepared to make a debut in prime championships like Formula 1 or WRC. By this time, despite their very young age (e.g., 18 - 23 years old), they have dedicated more than 15 years to their profession, endless races, practice sessions, fitness preparation, or hard work on mental strength and cognitive skills development.
In normal circumstances, they would enjoy going to parties with their friends, but they had to sacrifice this part of their life. Instead, they travel all over the globe, learning how the real world works, usually the hard way. They are more mature than colleagues of the same age because, since the very beginning, they've had to adapt to an ultra-competitive arena. Just to put that into perspective, in the recent Karting World Championship, in qualifying for the world's most important race, the top three drivers were separated by 0.005 seconds, and the whole grid consisting of 80 drivers was squeezed within 1.5 seconds. Which means the difference between each of them was less than 0.02 seconds, that is less than the blink of an eye! Make one mistake, and you lose not one but five positions.
Every elite champion has their own story of how they went through hell before the world noticed their presence. But they all share a similar, unique mindset that shaped them into superhumans, real champions, and role models for kids and adults all over the world. Here are five unique things you can learn from elite champions:
1. Focus: In the era of smartphones, the ability to focus means more than ever. It's not only about the kind of focus they need during the race. The true strength comes from the ability to define what is important to achieve the goal and what is a distraction that will stand in the way. The right focus and priorities help champions preserve their mental energy, so they can use more of their brain capacity when it really matters.
2. Determination: Champions know how to use failures to their advantage, how to learn from them so they can win. They will try again and again until they ultimately bounce back and get back on top.
3. Humility: Real champions are experts in controlling their ego. They always recognize an opportunity to improve and admit they still need and want to learn, no matter how many races or championships they've won.
4. Work Ethics: Achieving something meaningful requires hard work and dedication. There are no shortcuts to greatness. Champions inspire others through their dedication and hard work.
5. Attitude: Everything champions do depends on their attitude. They use their minds to build a powerful drive mechanism that leads them to ultimate success. They don't dwell on things they cannot change but focus on learning lessons and moving forward.
I do believe they are superhumans; they are capable of changing things and shaping their own worlds. There are very few things they can call impossible, and they will always find a way to achieve what they want.
I hope you enjoyed this and found it useful. It's based on my 20+ years of continuous work with elite champions. Please share your thoughts in the comments and reach out to me with suggestions. And don't forget to sign up so we can share even more interesting content with you.