“Belief is literally the single most important thing to achieving anything.”
Danica Patrick, the most successful female racing car driver in history, began her journey by learning to drive a lawnmower. Yes, a lawnmower. Flat-out. You’ve got to start somewhere, right?!
At age 10, she began go-karting. The love was instant and from that moment she knew she wanted to be a racing car driver. Some may assume she was a natural, but Patrick had to fight to keep up. She failed a lot but kept persevering, bouncing back from those failures, determined to improve.
Through her teenage years she honed her skills and finally it began to pay off. She was winning; and winning a lot. So then came the big move. The move that solidified her commitment to the sport. Patrick left school and moved to England to focus on her career. She was in no doubt she had to make it work and was ready to sacrifice everything to do so. Her unwavering dedication to her craft was strong.
Patrick went on to make history by finishing first place in the 2008 Indy Japan 300 – the only IndyCar series win by a woman. In 2013, she became the first woman to win a NASCAR Cup Series pole position. These trailblazing achievements shattered gender stereotypes and inspired countless individuals around the globe.
Patrick’s message is to love what you do. Love it enough that when the going gets tough you keep going. Be prepared to make sacrifices. But most importantly believe in yourself. Patrick failed at the beginning, but she persevered, she learnt from her mistakes, and was determined to get better because she believed she could be.
So, focus on the journey. The progress, not the end result; and you too could make history.
