FOOD FOR THOUGHT with Thuku wa Thuku So this week we look at a short but powerful piece by Robin Sharma. I hope we all take something home from this. As my boss says, you learn something new everyday. Let that be our mantra on a daily basis! The Man Who Lost His Face by Robin Sharma Heroism is less about “pre-installed bravery” and more about what you do when you’re petrified. The women and men we see as heroic are mostly good, ordinary people who found strength they didn’t know they had in moments of difficulty, threat or danger. We all have untapped courage within us. You absolutely are much stronger than you know. Which brings me to Niki Lauda, the past Formula One racing world champion… …and what he experienced on August 1, 1976. It was early in the race, at the German Grand Prix at Nurburgring. As Lauda made a turn at high speed, he lost control and hit the wall, his Ferrari exploding into flames. Lauda was trapped in his car for nearly a minute at temperatures that neared 425C. His scalp and face were dramatically burned. “Another ten seconds and I would have died,” says Lauda. At the hospital, a priest was called in to deliver last rites. “When I came into the hospital. You feel like you are very tired, and you would like to go to sleep. But you know it’s not just go and sleeping. It’s something else. And you just fight with your brain. You hear noises and you hear voices, and you just try to listen to what they are saying and you try to keep your brain working to get the body ready to fight against illness… I did that and that way I survived,” Lauda explained to a reporter at History Versus Hollywood. He added that when his wife at the time first walked into his hospital room, she fainted. “So I knew it could not have been good.” Yet… …remarkably, Lauda–with bloody bandages covering his damaged scalp–put on his racing helmet to compete only 6 weeks later at The Italian Grand Prix. He placed fourth. Lauda is now an aviation entrepreneur and successful businessman. And he rarely appears in public without his famous red cap. That covers his scars. Our Takeaways: #1. You’re Stronger Than You Know Inner strength and personal toughness are not natural traits. No. They are character elements that get forged in the fire of hard conditions. You really are stronger than you know. Difficult situations allow your power to express itself. And pushing yourself well past your mental, physical, emotional and spiritual limits only serves to expand them. #2. Get Back into the Car Fast Lauda admitted he was frightened to race again. And to get back into the seat only 6 weeks after his near-collision with death strikes many as an act of insanity. But Lauda knew that the longer he waited, the more his fear would become his way of being. And so he felt the pain, confronted his demons and got back into the game. Same for you and I. When we fail, fall and stumble, get back up and keep on going as quickly as possible. As you know so well, the place where failure happens is also the place where courage lives. #3. Never Stop Accelerating Lauda kept on racing–even after he left the track. After retirement, he started two airlines. He wrote a book. And he just continued his winning streak. You see, for the epic performer, there is no top end. The whole game is the process. For A-players, the end of one victory is the beginning of the next. You just never want to coast. Never want to rest on your laurels. Never want to slow down, stagnate and base your self-identity on the trophies you won 20 years ago. And so with sincere encouragement for your greatness, I wish you all green lights. Your fan always,
Posted on: Wed, 07 May 2014 09:30:00 +0000
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