A CATALYST FOR THE NEW YEAR
Take for instance a simple word - catalyst, I used to dislike the word, but now I thank God for it.
This dislike can be traced to the fifth grade when the difference between an average and above average grade on a vocabulary test was the word catalyst.
I thought it was a part on a car and answered accordingly.
Life’s directions and friendships are what we make of them
Isn’t it funny how the simple things that seem so insignificant in our young lives can make such a huge impact as we age?
Take for instance a simple word - catalyst, I used to dislike the word, but now I thank God for it.
This dislike can be traced to the fifth grade when the difference between an average and above average grade on a vocabulary test was the word catalyst.
I thought it was a part on a car and answered accordingly.
I am considered a decent wordsmith (and I use that term loosely) today by my peers. However, back in the fifth grade at EP Todd Elementary School, I was lucky if I could put two sentences together and have them make sense. I was a budding athlete who could crush a baseball compared to my peers of that day.
My mother had other plans, she made me work hard on my schooling and even threatened to take away my baseball, a sport I loved almost as much as life, if I didn’t improve on my grades. In Mom’s words, there was no way that I was going to become a dumb jock on her watch.
She was my earliest catalyst.
In the sixth grade, she was diagnosed with cancer and eventually went on to a better place at the end of my seventh grade year. Sure, I kept on playing ball as I got older, but the passion was gone. I wasn't a lost teenager with no direction. I simply found something that interested me more - drag racing. It didn't take long for a passing interest to grow into a full blown passion.
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Some eight years ago, a distant friendship rekindled, would turn my apple cart around and point it in a better direction.
Unknown to me at the time, a simple letter to the editor on my fledgling Competitionplus.com magazine from a former old school drag racer, would be the start of a dynamic friendship that would eventually take on a brotherhood role.
The letter was from Mike Ashley.
You know him as the kind-hearted drag racer who serves as an excellent spokesperson for Evan Knoll’s Torco Race Fuels. At the time I received the letter, I recognized him as a pioneering driver of the early Pro Modified movement. In those days, Pro Modified was as good as gold in my eyes.
Mike’s letter was one of encouragement. He wanted to tell me that he really enjoyed our CompetitionPlus.com e-zine. At that time, Mike was probably one of the miniscule 200 unique visitors we proudly boasted in that era.
Fans and fellow competitors view Mike as the master of positive energy and if you ask me, I do too. However, it wasn’t many years prior to that letter that he’d endured some really hard times with his business. If you were in the industry during that era, you heard some pretty vicious rumors, rumors I initially believed but later learned to be far from the truth.
Mike had been guilty of a transgression we’ve all committed at some time or another. His fault was that he pursued his passion of drag racing with reckless abandon and didn’t give his priorities the proper attention. If you testify that you’ve never chased a dream in the same fashion then chances are either (A) you’re an incredibly solid person or (B) you’re a bold faced liar.
The bottom line is his mortgage industry took a nosedive and he was knee-deep in trying to win a world championship. When he realized his error, his world had crumbled.
I could relate to Mike’s predicament, in those days, I was in the midst of a painful divorce that left me a single parent with two children to rear.
When I got that letter from Mike, I realized that I wasn’t the only one that was trying to resurrect a career in ashes.
Do you ever wonder why Mike Ashley is such a plethora of positive energy? If you knew the obstacles he had to overcome, then you’d understand.
Mike was at the top of his game and lost everything.
When you reach rock bottom, you only have two choices. You can either sink lower in your self-pity or you can get up, accept that champions sometimes trip and fall in the middle of the race. The difference between a winner and a loser is the winner begins to run as if he never fell and the loser, well I think you can figure that one out.
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“You know when you think about it,” the Rabbi said. “Regardless of what faith you follow, we can all agree that we’ve all been blessed in our life with more than we truly deserve.”
Just ask Mike and he’ll tell you that statement fits his life to a tee. In fact, virtually anyone you ask in this lifetime, if they’re not self-centered, will testify the same.
If you know Mike, then you’re aware, in that era of downfall, Mike met his catalyst – a beautiful lady named Mindy Bell. Mike began to rebuild his life on the principles of God, Family and Work.
They brought two children into this world. Day by day, Mike started over from scratch rebuilding his life and business, while putting drag racing on the backburner for a later day.
My goal is not to bring Mike’s personal business to a spotlight, but I think we can all agree that life’s lessons provide an excellent example of inspiration.
With that said, I leaned on Mike in those formative years of Torco’s CompetitionPlus.com for advice and input on direction. Some I followed, some I took into consideration and some I ignored. He wasn't my only one, but an important one. He was a first stringer all the way.
You know I could spin some yarns of our experiences, but I’ll spare myself the embarrassment. Don't fret, just email Mike and he will gladly full you in. But on the same token, he’ll invoke pride in pointing out the advancements that took place.
Okay, just one story. I remember that we were making good strides with the CompetitionPlus.com ad sales. I wanted to test my skills on a friend who could be objective.
I walked into his rig and requested a presentation opportunity. I have my best speech. I told him how much I love the sport and what I had sacrificed to make it to this point. Ten minutes of spewing passion, I looked to him for an answer. I thought it was my best effort.
Mike turned me down. The jerk, I thought. I say that with a joking smile. The word catalyst came into play.
Here you go and let this be a lesson for you, a real Marketing 101, if you will. The key is not how much you love your trade or hobby, the real measure of success is how much you can deliver to that person across the table. That’s what sells programs.
That’s what sells you as a person and that success demands a measure of self-confidence, and an elimination of arrogance.
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If we be a rather long afternoon if I took the time to count off the ways Mike Ashley changed my life. He taught me the importance of having priorities in life. Sadly, given the life I was leading, those were lessons inbred in my character in life by my Mom and Dad; Mike just provided an excellent reminder.
While this may seem like a love-fest centered on Mike, I want you to understand that I’m driving towards a great moral at the end of the story.
Mike is a giver. He’s one of those enjoys seeing the smiles on the faces of others. That’s his fuel. There were so many times that I told Mike that one day I’d repay him ten fold for the kindness he’d afforded me in life.
But how can you repay a man that pours his heart and soul into those who make his dream possible? I’ve watched him on two different occasions treat his drag racing team members and their families to cruises.
I really don’t think I’ve ever reached that point but I think I’m closer than I was in those early days when he turned down my advertising proposal. My first step in repayment was introducing him to Evan Knoll.
Evan is another story in himself. I could write about the wealth of positive energy he brings to his friend, family and teams for days.
Evan and Mike are so much alike in that passion drives them and the fact they play from the heart. I am priveledged to know Evan on a personal basis and the man has become like a brother to me. That’s another man that one day I hope to repay ten-fold but how can you repay a person that can buy anything in life they want? The practice is simple. You become a true friend. That is a priceless gift.
When we signed Torco Race Fuels as the title rights sponsor for CompetitionPlus.com in 2004, I included a provision that Mike Ashley was included as an associate sponsor. Just ask Evan and Latrell Preston [Torco C.F.O], there was no way that I was leaving that meeting without joining them with Mike.
A few months later, Mike lost his primary sponsor for his Pro Modified car. On a snowy day in January, we hopped aboard a rickety old prop airplane and Mike met Evan face-to-face for the first time.
Mike’s presentation to Evan was everything I expected it to be. Does the term, poetry in motion mean anything? Watching the two interact was nothing short of incredible.
There were three simple reasons behind my motivation. First, I knew Mike needed a true person like Evan in his corner. Secondly, I knew Evan needed a person like Mike as a friend and marketing asset. Lastly, I knew the two would make an incredible impression in the sport.
I put my faith in the Lord above, but I knew they were an incredible success story waiting to happen. In looking at the 2007 season, I rest my case.
No one was prouder than myself when Evan made it possible to achieve his true dream of driving a Funny Car. But, that’s Evan, he makes dreams come true.
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That’s not a ploy for attention. These are the actions of a man who lives by his convictions, a refreshing change in this world of “I” and “Me.”
You know, I was blessed to join Mike and his team on both cruises and while floating around the Caribbean Sea, exact location unknown, he summoned my presence in the midst of a few of his closest friends.
“Look at this guy, I remember him back in the day and look at him now,” Mike praised.
Then I walked away, smile emblazoned on my face and thought to myself, “Hey, look at you Mike. Look at you.”
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The bottom line and I promised a moral to my story, and I plan to over-deliver.
* If you fall down, know you have two choices.
* If you make friendships, be genuine. Be the kind of friend you’ve always dreamed of having.
* Be a giver and give with no return expected. You’ll win in the end.
* Have compassion. The compassion you lend will be repaid ten-fold one of these days.
* Always know the toes you step on today to advance are in some way connected to the butt you’ll have to kiss tomorrow.
* Always thank God for the simple things you take for granted.
* If you’ve erred in life and hurt someone, apologize and do your best to make amends. Life is but a vapor and one day you’re here, the next you’re gone.
* Quit asking, “Are we there yet?” Just enjoy every road life leads us down. You may already be "there" and not even realize it.
* Finally, keep in mind that the first mile is obligatory. Every mile beyond that is a character building mile.
As I make plans for what promises to be a wonderful 2008 season, there’s so much I am grateful for, but at this time I want to single out Mike Ashley as an incredible catalyst in my life.
Just in case you flunked that vocabulary test in the fifth grade, here’s the definition courtesy of Dictionary.com.
cat•a•lyst - Spelled Pronunciation[kat-l-ist]
–noun
1. Chemistry. a substance that causes or accelerates a chemical reaction without itself being affected.
2. something that causes activity between two or more persons or forces without itself being affected.
3. a person or thing that precipitates an event or change: His imprisonment by the government served as the catalyst that helped transform social unrest into revolution.
4. a person whose talk, enthusiasm, or energy causes others to be more friendly, enthusiastic, or energetic.
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