How to Be a Great Employee And a Greater Manager
Page 7
3. Calling upon my years of experience, I froze at the controls. – Stirling Moss
Experience matters. That’s why practice is important. That’s why testing and study are important. Having known some of the world’s great athletes has given me a unique perspective on what success requires. In particular, the race car driver must have total knowledge of his environment, the heat of the day, the heat of the track, how much rubber is on the track, how fast is the wind, which direction is it coming from and where is the sun, etc., etc., etc. But more than this, how well you know that track, where the apex is on every turn, how does the angle of the track affect your car and your ultimate speed, etc. Practice makes a difference and though the track is virtually the same with every lap, there are still variables that you must take into consideration and react to with lightning-like quickness. You must be in supreme physical health and you must be able to know completely what your car is doing at every instant. Practice and experience makes a difference.
I’ve noticed that there is a learning curve with every athlete and every type of activity. The first year or two, he is learning the track, his car, his environment and considering every possible variable, what he will do if a car cuts him off, is braking differently or is having trouble staying on the track. As he grows in experience, he learns how to finish first and once he finishes first, he will be able to finish first more often; he will control his variables and influence how the race will proceed. He’ll learn how to win before the race is even started, by preparing himself physically, mentally and strategically. He’ll even know how to take charge of his race-strategy and how to run the team so it runs like a well-oiled machine. His team is as important as his race car; and it is “his” car to know, to study, to feel, to love and to own totally. His car is an extension of his mind and body.
Successful drivers are like engineers, understanding the set ups, recommending minute changes; after all he is the one person who knows the car better than anyone else; he drives it. No one else on the team has that experience so he knows it is up to him to know everything and communicate to the team manager and engineers and strategists exactly what he needs to communicate so they have complete understanding of what he means when he says he wants something.
More than anything, he knows the feel, the smell, the taste, the excitement of victory – a feeling like no other possible. He knows the emotions and thoughts of the primordial hunter who figured out how to kill a large animal, the feelings and thoughts of the first architect who built his own home with his bare hands, the first business entrepreneur who created the first industry and even the small businessperson who feeds his family with his profits. The victor is the individual who knew everything he needed to know to be the best at doing the hardest. He is, in a sense, the highest intelligence in the freest body. There is nothing like victory at a hard task. Only those who have experienced it can know it. They are the elite of humanity living an existence that few people can understand.
4. I don’t know driving in another way which isn’t risky. Each one has to improve himself. Each driver has his limit. My limit is a little bit further than other’s. - Ayrton Senna
Ayrton Senna was the ultimate driver. He was on the edge of disaster with every second behind the wheel. While he was alive, he was the standard of excellence and very few other drivers could match his perfection.
5. It is amazing how many drivers, even at the Formula One Level, think that the brakes are for slowing the car down. – Mario Andretti
Mario Andretti knew the formula for success. Be the best physically. Drive the best and most advanced car. Strive for perfection with every turn of the wheel. Take risks and never settle for second-place.
6. Once you’ve raced, you never forget it…and you never get over it. - Richard Childress
7. Race cars are neither beautiful nor ugly. They become beautiful when they win. – Enzo Ferrari
8. To achieve anything in this game you must be prepared to dabble in the boundary of disaster. - Sterling Moss
9. What’s behind you doesn’t matter. – Enzo Ferrari
10. If someone said to me that you can have three wishes, my first would have been to get into racing, my second to be in Formula 1, my third to drive for Ferrari. – Gilles Villeneuve
One thing I’ve noticed about winners is that they always want the best; and they are usually unsatisfied without it. The best of everything. Everything.
11. The crashes people remember, but drivers remember the near misses. – Mario Andretti
12. Luck is when opportunity meets preparation." - Johnny Rutherford
13. “No attack; no chance.” – Takuma Sato
14. “Speed costs money. How fast do you want to go?” – Roger Penske
In any great endeavor, there comes a moment when you must act. It is the moment when the victory is made, the moment that all the practice and strategic planning have been about; you know immediately that this – THIS – is the moment that you must grab, hold on to and clutch closely; because it is the moment when VICTORY stands in front of you. This is the moment of opportunity, the moment when danger means nothing, money means nothing, awards and trophies are mere trifles; it is the moment when even death, the end of everything, matters not; THIS is your moment of greatness and YOU must put everything else aside because you know that you are ready. It is the moment right before you say: “I DID IT!” – Robert Villegas
“Knowledge is Power.” – Francis Bacon
Bacon is one of the greatest thinkers in history. This quote is one of the greatest expressions of respect for the ability of human knowledge to help the life of man.
“Nature, to be commanded, must be obeyed.” – Francis Bacon
This quote clearly expresses the fact that acknowledging nature, and it’s cause and effect, is the means for effecting change and making action meaningful.
Today’s failure makes possible tomorrow’s success. The most successful men are those who have failed more often than others. They’ve learned from their mistakes. So, go out there and don’t be afraid to make
mistakes.
“Wealth does not grow in nature; it has to be produced by men.” – Ayn Rand, The Money-Making Personality
“Wealth is the product of man’s intellect; of his creative activity.” – Ayn Rand, The Money-Making Personality
“Dress for Success!” – John T. Molloy
“Step up; don’t step back.” – Robert Villegas
"Your life’s purpose is essentially the wider value to which you dedicate your productive work career. When I say “wider value”, I mean that your purpose is the one goal that comprises all of your other values."
"This is not to say that your work can’t help others (all productive work helps others in trade); but it is to say that your purpose MUST be YOUR purpose; it must enable you to derive a high degree of personal satisfaction without the filter of approval from others.” – Robert Villegas, The REAL Purpose-Driven Life
About the Author
Robert Villegas, Jr. is an Indiana Author specializing in business books, fiction, romance, theater and philosophy. He was born in South Texas (Weslaco) but raised in Indiana. He is Hispanic-American but American in every sense of the word. He has spent a lifetime in the business world as a UPS executive and he has also worked in locations all over the United States and Europe. He is an Army veteran who served in Korea as a telecommunications specialist serving in the 7th Infantry Division in Camp Casey, Korea. He was educated in Indiana and earned a Degree through the University of the State of NY (Albany) via an external degree program. He is divorced with three grown children and three grandchildren.
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[1] The Real Purpose-Driven Life
[2] http://www.txstate.edu/philosophy/resources/fallacy-definitions/Ad-Hominem.htm l
[3]http://www.txstate.edu/philosophy/resources/fallacy-definitions/Appeal-to-Ignorance.html
[4] An Introduction to Logic by H. W. B. Joseph, Second Edition Revis
ed, Oxford At the Clarendon Press, Page 590
[5]http://www.txstate.edu/philosophy/resources/fallacy-definitions/Confusion-of-Necessary.html
[6] An Introduction to Logic by H. W. B. Joseph, Second Edition Revised, Oxford At the Clarendon Press, Page 579
[7]http://www.txstate.edu/philosophy/resources/fallacy-definitions/False-Dilemma.html
[8]http://www.txstate.edu/philosophy/resources/fallacy-definitions/Faulty-Analogy.html
[9]http://www.txstate.edu/philosophy/resources/fallacy-definitions/Inconsistency.html
[10]http://www.txstate.edu/philosophy/resources/fallacy-definitions/Irrelevant-Authority.html
[11] http://www.txstate.edu/philosophy/resources/fallacy-definitions/Is-ought.html
[12] http://www.txstate.edu/philosophy/resources/fallacy-definitions/Ought-Is.html
[13]http://www.txstate.edu/philosophy/resources/fallacy-definitions/Questionable-Cause.html
[14]http://www.txstate.edu/philosophy/resources/fallacy-definitions/Red-Herring.html
[15]http://www.txstate.edu/philosophy/resources/fallacy-definitions/Slippery-Slope.html
[16]http://www.txstate.edu/philosophy/resources/fallacy-definitions/Straw-Person.html
[17]http://www.txstate.edu/philosophy/resources/fallacy-definitions/Two-Wrongs.html
[18]http://www.txstate.edu/philosophy/resources/fallacy-definitions/Unwarranted-Generalization.html