From DNF To First Place In 3 Months

From DNF To First Place in 3 Months

*And why this doesn’t work in business*

 

Most of you know that I have a passion for dirt bikes, specifically racing them cross country.

 

And most of you know my 3 kids have been riding dirt bikes since they could walk.

 

But what most of you don’t know is that I only started riding about 8 years ago!

 

The first time I met my wife’s parents, they did the usual “quiz the new date,” and asked me a bunch of random questions.

 

One of which was, “Do you ride dirt bikes?”

 

“No, my dad always said it was too dangerous,” I answered.

 

I can still see the expression on their faces… they looked at me, confused, and said, “So he signed you up for kickboxing instead?”

 

Hmmm… Maybe it’s time to rethink this!

 

One day, after a year or so being married, my brother-in-law calls me and says he has a spare bike and wanted to know if I’d like it.

 

I figured, what the heck. I’ve never ridden a motorcycle in my life, but hey, I believe in stretching my comfort zone.

 

So, I threw my leg over the bike, and the rest is history.

 

Long story short, my wife’s to blame for my love of dirt bikes!

 

Now, I have a belief that goes, “If you’re going to do anything, do it full out.” You only get one shot in this life, one at-bat, so play full out and give it your all.

 

To me, this meant racing.

 

I didn’t want to just ride around on the weekends casually.

 

If I’m going to give this a shot, I want to practice, test myself in a real competition, and seek to improve.

 

So, having only ridden for about a month, I did something maybe a bit crazy…. I signed up for my first race.

 

I was scared.

 

I was nervous.

 

Heck, I didn’t even tell anyone except my wife.

 

The big day comes, we show up, and I line up at the gate trying not to have a mini heart attack.

 

There are bikes blaring all around me, crowds cheering, and an immense sense of, “What the f am I doing here?!”

 

But the gate drops, and the race is on.

 

I take off, and things are going well…. but not for long. My arms are hurting and I’m falling behind, but I want to finish.

 

Finally, I can see the finish line, the end is near, and I’m sure the guys in front have lapped me by now, but that’s okay.

 

I come around the last corner, and everyone’s gone!

 

I was so far behind, the guy waving the checkered flag had put his flag away and started to walk away!

 

I was tired, I was beat, and now I was slightly embarrassed!

 

He saw me at the last second, and had to run back to wave me through as I ended.

 

I got classified as a DNF. A “Did Not Finish.” Basically worse than a last place.

 

But rather than get upset, it lit a fire under me.

 

When I got home, I vowed to get on the podium. Maybe not 1st, but at least 3rd.

 

And I backed my WORDS with ACTION.

 

I started training two hours a day, every day.

 

I signed up for as many races as I could.

 

Finally, slowly but surely…

 

13th place…

 

10th place…

 

7th place…

 

5th place…

 

Another 5th place..

 

And after my 5th race in under 8 weeks, I achieved my goal.

 

2nd place!

 

I made it onto the podium in my very first summer not only of racing, but of riding!

 

And guess what?

 

My next race after that: FIRST PLACE.

 

In 3 months, I went from having never ridden a dirt bike before, to landing a first place.

 

Here’s the thing though…

 

I didn’t win because I was a good rider.

 

In fact, MOST of my riding buddies are better at riding than I was.

 

I remember one race, I had a fellow friend racing with me, and she was WAY better than I was.

 

But I beat her.

 

Why?

 

Because I was nuts. I used raw, unfiltered WILLPOWER.

 

I’d go nuts, pass a bunch of people, lose control, wipe out, they’d all pass me by the time I got back up, then I’d go nuts, pass them, wipe out, repeat….repeat…repeat…

 

And this, my friends, is exactly like business.

 

In the early stages, WILLPOWER is enough to get the job done.

 

It’s enough to make a little bit of money.

 

It’s enough to get some traction.

 

It’s enough to hit some of those early goals.

 

But here’s the thing… As I started collecting podium finishes, I was forced to move up into a higher division, and then I started losing more and more and more…

 

Because it was a more advanced division? Nope.

 

Because after you get out of the beginner leagues, willpower is NO LONGER good enough.

 

Now it actually takes STRATEGY. I had been winning off willpower, but now I had to put in the real work and learn about strategy.

 

And that is just like business.

 

Once you’ve gotten a bit of traction with pure willpower, there will come a time where you will plateau, where it’s not enough anymore, where you just seem stuck, like nothing works as well as it used to.

 

Congratulations, you’ve now graduated out of beginner status, and if you’re going to make it, you’re going to need to invest in a good, solid strategy.

 

To really make it in business, you can only rely on willpower for so long.

 

Once you’re in the big leagues, STRATEGY will crush willpower every day.

 

Think of it this way… Ever see an old, out of shape, retired professional athlete play against a rookie?

 

Sure, the rookie has all the physical advantages, the speed—the cardio, the reflexes, the testosterone, the willpower—but the retired pro has the strategy. And they’ll wipe the floor with the rookie.

 

You’ve built a business.

 

You’ve got some traction.

 

Heck, maybe you’re making early 6-figures now.

 

But if you want more, if you want to scale, if you want to grow, you need STRATEGY.

 

Stop playing in the minor leagues. You’ve proven you’ve got the grit and willpower, now back that with a winning strategy and you will be unstoppable.

.

To your success,

 

Al

 

PS – Need some help finding your way to the top? I’ll help you build a strategy to take you there.