Wisdom From The Kentucky Derby

Posted on May 08, 2012 by Early Jackson, One of Thousands of Performance Coaches on Noomii.

Last weekend, like millions of people, I ended up tuning into the Kentucky Derby that was being televised across the world. Unlike many of them however, I did so purely by accident! I had just settled on the couch for a couple hours of chill time and began to flip the remote across the HD universe. Up and down I went and nothing seemed to grab me. A little disappointed about the NBA season slowing down I couldn’t find a thing to watch. Just when I was ready to resort to Comcast On Demand I caught an image of horses going wild with guys on top. Over the next 2 hours I was literally captivated by what I saw. I never knew that horse racing was such an interesting sport. I didn’t know it was an actual sport for that matter!

The Kentucky Derby is a historic race dating back into the late 1800’s filled with pageantry, pomp and circumstance. The blue bloods of the world seem to flock to these races in efforts to hob-knob, to see and most of all to be seen. They all flock to the Churchill Downs to be a part of history. I’ve always considered racing a rich person’s venture but as I found out, it is one of great principle as well. The Derby is a race running counter clockwise for the span of 1 mile and a half. It is the first leg of the momentous Triple Crown series and pretty much the high mark of the racing season. Kings, dignitaries and the likes have been spotted there. Even our hip-hop/rap artists of today seem to be intrigued by this illustrious gathering. On Saturday it was I’ll Take Another that won the race in a thrilling finish that had everyone on their feet cheering. What made this victory sweeter was the fact that it was a rookie jockey riding a yearling that was so written off, it was sold for a paltry $11,000. What a storyline for those who feel they are the underdog. Now, I’m no betting man, but the odds were good and those willing to take that chance walked away fairly wealthy. What I would like to do is share two things I noticed Saturday that may change your perspective on life and your business.

Commentator after commentator put their two cents worth in about everything from the horses, the jockey’s family to the type of feed the animals were given. There was talk about horse pedigree and everything that may or may not give them the edge needed to compete. In the throws of all this I heard a couple of things that made me stop and grab some paper.

(1) The jockeys all said the most difficult part of any race is not the horse or training, but safely getting into the starter’s gate: I saw clips of guys getting their legs nearly torn off, thrown to the ground, trampled by their horses and so forth. Each one had a different technique and way of getting the horse in. First understand that the race cannot start until you are completely in position. This means you have to get things into perspective, you have to push a little and even be uncomfortable. Plus you have all the outside distractions going on. It is such a hassle to get the blinders on them and get them into the blocks. There are massive amounts of training invested in this aspect of the race and amazingly enough, the horse has yet to run an inch yet. This is vital for us, you have to put the time and training in before the starter’s pistol ever goes off if we expect to win.

(2) The scariest part of the race is usually the first turn: Remember I said the race at the Derby is run counter clockwise right? Well, imagine a pack of beasts averaging about 1,000 to 1,300 LBS each barreling down on you and you probably weigh about 110 LBS max! Add to the plot the fact that horses scientifically have severe blind spots and have to adjust their whole heads, not just their eyes to see other objects. All these variables are going at one time can mean certain death! This is why each jockey holds their breath around the first turn. There are three things are at work here. First, horses, like humans, drift side to side as they run. Second, it is almost impossible not to shift vision to see what others are doing. And lastly, horses seem to love running in bunches. Until we can address these issues we will always be right in the middle of the cluster. Not too bad, but not too great either. If we can survive the turns (transitions and changes) life throws at us, we will be successful beyond our wildest dreams.

You and I have many things going on that we absolutely cannot control. But the one thing we can always manage and govern is our own focus. Not our co workers, family and so on, JUST YOUR OWN FOCUS. What you lend your gaze to you ultimately become. So guard yourself, make the turns and for God’s sake, get into the starters gate!

See you at the TOP!
Early Jackson