My Service

What is my service to this world? How do I give back? That’s a pretty hard question to answer if you are a selfish bastard like me. It’s always all about me… It’s also a hard question to answer if you’ve never entered into a “Best of the Best” arena.

What’s my highest skill? This question is ranking my skills, not ranking my skills to other people.

What do I like above all else?

I’ve already typed the answers to these questions and those answers are the exact same as the one below. Now, looking back it is no surprise. But you have to do the work to come to the realization.

What is something that no one else can compete with me? This question is asking in reference to the masses of all the people in the world. Not the individuals stated in the warning. My answer: Riding sportbikes on the track and riding dirt bikes on the terra firma. Wrenching on sportbikes and dirtbikes. Welding something that involves the already mentioned. Why can’t they compete? Because this is not work for me. I do this for fun and for free; in my free time. As a matter of fact, I pay a lot of money to do some of these things.

Some people jump out of airplanes or jump off of cliffs with those flying squirrel suits. I ride the track. Why am I willing to risk injury for this sport? It’s the singular focus, nothing else matters, while on the track. Because you have to bring your best, to do it correctly. If you half-ass it, you are in the hospital. This is dangerous, which produces adrenaline. This isn’t a drunken game of golf or baseball, where mistakes go unpunished. You are moving at speeds that the body wasn’t built for, so we have to train our eyes. The acceleration mixed with the exhaust notes, gives you a rush; almost as if you are on a catapult or slingshot. And lastly, the after effect, I feel at peace after having done a trackday. I feel happy, confident, and loving. The world needs more of this from me.

“To keep what you got, you have to give it away”, a philosophy of life that James Hetfield believes. I heard this many years ago and to this day it is the only thing that I remember from the interview. The phrase has stuck with me because its a tongue twister for the brain. An oxymoron if you will. How can you keep something, by giving it away? If you are only thinking in tangibles, you’ll never understand.

What’s my service? To grow the sport of track riding. Whether that is helping someone get their knee over the curb for apexes, or helping someone fix or maintain their bike. Basically, helping others that are less skilled than me. Or it could be helping someone unload or load their bike. They have the skill, they just need a helping hand.

So this adds another element, another level to my track days. 70 possible laps in a track day and growing the sport. If I can help someone have a better experience at the track they are going to come again and/or more often.

John Maxwell has a good insight, “You are only a leader if you are willing to pass the baton”.

Reference Points:

• Newsletter #9 has been edited and updated.

• Food tastes so much better when you have a caloric limit.

• Hangry isn’t a thing, its just an excuse for you to act without control. You can be hungry and pleasant at the same time, I’ve learned.

• MotoGP at Jerez, April 25th - 27th.