D.I. COLUMNIST
The Real Deal
Y
with Tommy D'Aprile
ou want success? You want to see in-
creases in certain areas of your life? As we
continue with our 2017 race season I have
been reminded of some things that many people
and race teams seem to forget when it comes to
realizing true success.
Now, I’ve been around racing most of my life
and I have seen many people come and many
people go. Some arrive with an abundance of re-
sources and some with not so much. There are
people coming in with already great success and some with none at all.
But the number-one contributing factor toward success that remains
the same for every team is the quality of the people themselves.
I have been very fortunate in my racing career thus far and a sig-
nificant contributing factor in that has always been the people I race
with. You see, we can’t win races without people, good, knowledge-
able people. In the cars we race at a professional level, we absolutely
need the abilities and talents of those who can push our programs to
higher levels of success. To do it alone is practically impossible—and
the same can be said for the most basic sportsman classes. We all need
help sometimes.
I know teams that have all the best parts money can buy, but never
seem to have any true or lasting success. Then there are those who race
on a shoe-string budget that run really well and always seem a threat
for the win. By now you should see what I’m getting at. Although we
do need sufficient resources to run our race programs, we still are only
as good as the people around us.
A very successful business man once told me that in order to have
success you must be willing to be humble. Don’t wish you had other’s
talents, use the ones you have. He said to always give your team mem-
bers encouragement and if they make a mistake you should correct it
as kindly as possible in order to build self esteem and character. He
also said to have the right people in place for the jobs at hand. In other
words, just because someone likes racing doesn’t mean he or she will
be good at working on or driving a race car. Putting the right people
in your organization will help ensure its success and growth, he said.
Now this man not only told me these things, he backed them up
with his actions. He was humble, kind, caring and knowledgeable. His
employees absolutely loved and respected him, and when asked why,
the reply was simple: they all said he led by example.
The lessons are real for seeking success. If you own a team or even
if you’re just part of one, it’s important to first ask yourself, why are
you there? And be honest, you must have a passion for what you do.
Second, it’s essential to be good at what you do by practicing your trade
and constantly refining your methods. Never stop improving. Third,
always be willing to accept constructive criticism. This goes for owners
and employees. If you give correction don’t make someone feel stupid
in front of others, talk about it in private. Making the effort is so worth
it. Team unity will bring more success to your program than anything
else. Strive for it, make ways for it to happen and start enjoying the
sport and people you are around. Finally, remember not to let your
on-track performance determine how you treat others. People are al-
ways happy when they win, but the real measure of character comes
from taking a look at what happens when they lose. That will give you
a great perspective on if they love winning more than caring about
others.
From time to time, analyze where you are and take a serious mea-
sure of the people with whom you’ve surrounded yourself. Do these
people bring you up or drag you down? Do you go to the track or your
job filled with eager anticipation, or dreading the beat downs you’re
bound to take? Honest answers to these questions can help determine
where you may want to make some life changes. And don’t ever be
afraid of change. Otherwise, you risk becoming one of those people
haunted by unfulfilled wishes or at least wondering about what might
have been. As always, the choice is up to you.
Tommy D’Aprile
tommyd@dragillustrated.com
March 2017
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