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From Mark Ford, founder, Palm Beach Research Group: My friend Paul enrolled the two of us in a BMW driving program. To my surprise, it turned out to be both fun and educational.
A series of lanes, loops, and obstacles (rubber cones) was set up in a vast parking lot next to a racetrack here in South Florida.
Professional drivers taught us the skills needed to deal with every imaginable driving challenge: fast braking, changing lanes at full speed, and driving slalom without swerving or skidding.
The most valuable lesson was this: Something about the way our brains are wired compels us to steer a vehicle in the direction of our vision.
Let’s say you’re driving 60 mph and need to make a sudden 90-degree turn (perhaps to avoid a truck that’s swerved into your lane). You’ll crash unless you force yourself to look away from the obstacle in front of you and toward the turn.
This is very hard to do because the obstacle tends to hold your focus.
A similar phenomenon exists in the realm of ambition—when you’re “driving” toward some desired goal.
Like the driving course, life throws us curves. It puts roadblocks in our way without warning.
Our natural tendency is to focus on the obstacles… to wonder how they got there… how dangerous they are… and why we don’t deserve them. But that mindset is counterproductive.
If we allow ourselves to focus too long on the obstacles, we’ll “crash” into them. Instead, we must mentally redirect toward the path that leads us safely to our goal.
A hoped-for project fails. A business partner cheats you. A government agency fines you. A key employee quits. You cannot, of course, ignore such obstacles. But the sooner you return your full attention to your objective, the more likely you’ll be to survive and prosper.
Reeves’ Note: If you’ve crashed en route to your goals too many times, Mark may have a solution. It’s something unprecedented in PBRG history… and it could help you grow very rich. Click here to learn more.