Look Past the Cone

I discovered a great life lesson while learning how to drive a race car yesterday.

We just returned from a terrific weekend north of Atlanta. Nerissa was pampered all day at the Chateau Elan spa, owned by the Panoz family. I spent all day at the Panoz Racing School, also owned by the Panoz family.

While zipping along at warp speed, dressed in helmet and heavy flame retardant clothing, sweat beading on my forehead as I concentrated on driving the hot monster I was in, I learned the way to drive with power, passion and control is to always be looking past where you are, toward where you want to go.

Race car drivers have to be focused on where they are while looking toward where they want to go.

As they approach where they want to go, they then look past it to the next goal, and so on.

With this emphasis on vision, they can move around the track at blurring speed and break all known records – all while having a blast.

The way the instructors teach this to newbie drivers like me is to place bright orange cones at strategic places on the Atlanta Sebring Race Track.

As we whip around a corner, we aim for the cone, but as we see we are approaching it, we look away from it to the next cone.

As we approach that new cone, we look past it to the next one, and so on.

This method of using your vision to move down the road makes the rest of you follow.

If you look in a particular direction while driving, the rest of you starts to go in that direction. If you are “one with the car” – a term racers actually use – the car will follow.

This is a life lesson.

When you state an intention, you naturally start go toward it. Unless you stop yourself, you’ll head to that goal.

But the way to keep your momentum up is to have another goal or intention (or cone), to go for next.

This is one of my secrets of productivity.

I’m able to produce so much because my eyes are on the next intention while I’m rounding the bend on the current intention. As I’m finishing a book, I’m beginning to think about the next one.

I’m being here now while looking toward the next now.

Ao Akua,

joe
www.mrfire.com

PS – The Panoz family made Francine, my 2005 Panoz Esperante GTLM exotic sports car. Francine is actually more powerful than the race cars I handled yesterday. So the next time you see me driving her, you better pull over and let me pass. I’ll be looking for the next cone.

Note: If you want to know more of my Secrets of Productivity, see www.secretofproductivity.com