The way you live daily and the decisions you make determine what you will achieve as a racing driver. Do not hope to achieve great things if you don’t want to pay the price in the first place. Every day you have to live the lifestyle of a champion – the way you think, walk, talk, train and compete... and years from now people will recognize you as a champion.
Here are nine ways to live the lifestyle of a champion:
1. Have a clear goal
First of all, you should know what you are aiming for. A driver who is focussed on winning their particular championship will live differently from those who don’t have any clear goal. Your desire to achieve your goal will inspire you throughout all the hard work you need to go through.
2. Aim high
Having a clear goal is important but not enough. Your goal should also be challenging to inspire you to do your best. It should be both realistic and difficult enough to get you out of the comfort zone and push your limits.
3. Make a plan and do it
Besides having a clear goal, a good driver has a clear plan for his training, tests and race. He knows what kind of training he needs to go through to prepare properly. Similarly, ‘you’ should have a clear plan on how to achieve your goal. What kind of skills and knowledge do you need? When and how are you going to acquire them?
4. Cultivate your Desire
The journey to mastering your sport is long and difficult. You need sustained desire to walk it. Otherwise, there is no way you can go through the years of hard effort needed. You can’t depend on others to motivate you; your goal is the only thing you should need to motivate you.
5. Train hard for a long time
You need to have superior skills and knowledge to achieve your goal. There is no other way to have it but by training hard for long time. Study shows that people typically need 10 years (10,000 hours) of purposeful practice to become an expert on something. It is this kind of training that you need to go through.
6. Go beyond your comfort zone
Not all kinds of training will give you the improvements you need. You need to do effortful study to become an expert. Effortful study is the kind of study which entails continually tackling challenges that lie just beyond your competence and grasp. It takes you out of your comfort zone to increase your capacity and build your belief.
7. Go one mile further
A champion won’t just do things like anybody else. Instead, his goal and desire are so high that he will want to add more to what is expected – he will train harder and more effectively than his peers – he is constantly looking for an advantage This does not come easily to everyone, but developing this attitude will put you ahead of your competitors.
8. Use competitors to motivate you – continually put your skills to the test
A healthy dose of competition is important to make you move forward and learn fast. Without competition, it’s very likely that you will do less than your actual capability – as drivers we only drive as fast as we need to. Competition shows us what is possible.