Drag Illustrated Issue 148, September 2019 | Page 57

D.I. COLUMNIST The Real Deal with Tommy D'Aprile Y ou have heard it said that hard work is the key to success, but how many are really putting that into practice? Hard work does not only pertain to physical labor but to the work ethic and the ability to think ahead and see the suc- cess you can have. Here is where the problem lies. We try some- thing and we’re not successful. Then we quit. How can you ever achieve success if you quit after failure? We were all made with a spirit of persistence. For example, when you were a child and took your first steps I’m sure you fell, but you got back up and tried again. You were not going to just sit there. And when you took your first steps, you kept at it and eventually not only walked but ran. I see people not have the success they want and instead of de- veloping their talents, they quit again. Did you know that Thomas Edison failed 1,000 times before the light bulb was perfected? When asked how it felt to fail 1,000 times, Edison replied, “I didn’t fail 1,000 times. The light bulb was an invention with 1,000 steps.” I can only imagine what we could achieve if we all had that type of drive. In racing we all need to have that type of drive that keeps us going. We will lose more races than we will win in our careers, but how you handle the losses will determine your future success. If your attitude stinks after you lose or you say things like “I will never win,” then guess what? You won’t. Teams either build stronger with defeat or they grow apart. As we entered the PDRA season opener this year we found ourselves in an unusual position. Not qualified at or near the top like we were all last season, but toward the bottom of the list. We had a problem that we just couldn’t find, but round after round we just kept fighting. Not one of us became defeated. Knowing it was going to take persistence to just keep at it, we just kept going and got our car to run at the top of the pack again. And please be careful who you listen to. If someone is encourag- ing and thoughtful about your dreams, then receive that, but on the other hand if someone beats you down and discourages you, then distance yourself from that person. A young man at a university was in a class that wanted the students to think of a business idea. This one young man proposed a delivery system to his professor. The professor in turn laughed at his idea and told the student he was stupid and his idea was dumb. He went on to say that it would never work. Fortunately, this young student had others in his life that en- couraged him. He kept at it and formed his company. The company name? FedEx. We all have a choice to make when it comes to persistence. Ask yourself how important something is to you and then make a de- cision to set a goal. I’ve heard it said that without a dream people perish. How true that can be. When we set goals, we work to achieve them. After achieving goals, always set new ones to go after. You may succeed on the first try, or on the 1,000th try, but always know you can succeed. Our minds and our words are very powerful. If you say you can’t, then you won’t, but if you say you can and don’t give up, you will be surprised by how much you can accomplish. Search your heart and do what you love. Use the gifts you have and be the best you can be. As always, the choice is yours to make. [phone] Meziere.com Water Pumps • Starters • Flexplates all crafted in the U.S.A. Email Tommy at [email protected] September 2019 DragIllustrated.com | D r a g I l l u s t r a t e d | 57