Today I’m writing about one of my passions: Formula 1. It’s a sport (yes, I call it a sport) that I am shamelessly addicted to. I love it for all its complexity, technology, competition, politics, challenge and performance.
The team that I admire the most is Red Bull Racing…
In just 5 short years, the team has risen from also-ran status in the midfield to being the most successful team of the 2010 season. And I believe it will be a formidable force for some time to come.
Red Bull has achieved it’s success by hiring good people, building a strong team focused on a long term vision of winning the world championship.
When Red Bull bought the struggling Jaguar Racing team from Ford at the end of 2004, cynics criticized it for buying an F1 team purely to increase the exposure of its brand, with no intent on taking the sport seriously.
The critics have been proven wrong as the team is the most innovative of 2010, has 2 of the fastest drivers, and systematically built a team of the most talented minds in the sport.
This is in stark contrast to the disappointing fiasco that was Jaguar Racing – a brand with much prestige and heritage in motorsports.
Ford, then owners of Jaguar came into Formula 1 by purchasing the rising Stewart Grand Prix team and re-branding it Jaguar Racing for the 2000 season.
As you probably know, only in the last 2 years, has Ford changed its corporate philosophy to thinking longer term, concentrating its efforts on its core brands and getting rid of the losers (like Jaguar).
Ford had spent a lot of money entering F1 and wanted its Jaguar team to virtually win races straight away. Jaguar didn’t even perform to the same level as its predecessor.
Stewart won a Grand Prix in 1999 – its final year. Jaguar didn’t even come close at all.
In the years that Jaguar competed, from 2000 to 2004, its leadership and management changed no less than 4 times!
When Ford’s own management couldn’t bring results, they brought in successful American racing veteran Bobby Rahal to run the team. When Rahal didn’t instantly deliver the results, they hired former F1 champion and Airline founder Niki Lauda. Lauda couldn’t make the team victorious, so they ousted him as well.
They also fired many of their highest profile engineers and technical directors for not being able to bring the team to victory.
In 2004, Ford was in a big hole financially and no longer considered its investment in Formula 1 worthwhile. It subsequently sold Jaguar Racing to new owners, Red Bull.
Since then, many other car manufacturers having spent billions upon billions on F1 have left the sport, largely unsuccessful. Toyota never won a race, Honda never won a race, BMW only had 1 victory.
They, and their sloppy spending couldn’t compete with the teams who knew what it took to win.
The Jaguar Racing story is both amusing and tragic. Tragic because it’s representative of the way many of us think.
Instant gratification is rampant in our modern society and it’s killing people’s chances building sustainable long term wealth.
People have the same mindset as Ford when they make investments. They will buy stocks in a perfectly good company, and when it doesn’t grow instantly, they’ll make a knee jerk reaction.
People will expect instant success in this business of network marketing. They’ll join a good company. They’ll get all excited about the wonderful products, the phenomenal compensation plan and awesome marketing system.
Then after several months when not much has happened, these shiny toys aren’t so much fun to play with anymore.
You can achieve prosperity in just 5 short years in this wonderful industry of network marketing. It requires you to focus on a long term vision and transform yourself from within. Build your internal assets – your skills and beliefs. Success is just around the corner.
To your MLM success,
Wayne Wu
P.S. I would love your input! If you have an opinion that would contribute to this discussion, please leave me a comment below.
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{ 40 comments… read them below or add one }
Nice post Wayne.
I have been providing services to small and medium sized businesses for over twenty years. I cannot remember any of them who had the “instant gratification” syndrome. Of course these were brick and mortar businesses with hefty investments.
Yet online with relatively small investments people expect results the first week. The concept of the 5 year plan escapes them.
I wonder if those unscrupulous internet marketers are to blame, promising easy, push button results.
Peter Fuller MBA´s last [type] ..The Law of Awareness – A Personal Story
Hi Peter,
Yeah, small and medium business tend to have the tenacity to pull through the lean years and thrive. If they don’t do that, they disappear.
I agree, the internet is still the Wild Wild West of the business world, where cowboys are just making ridiculous claims to entice people into their deal. It’s those who are desperate that get sucked in.
Thanks Wayne,
I like how you’ve used your passion to deliver a simple message. We need to be all in, all the time to get the results and trust in the wisdom!
Well done,
Roisin.
Thanks for the kind words Roisin. I like what you just said about BEING ALL IN. We need to be ALL IN, especially at the beginning.
Hey Wayne,
Thanks for sharing this story.
Wow, that’s a lot of changing things up.
You know, in this industry I’m glad it takes hard work and dedication. Sure, I want to make tons of money starting yesterday too, but would I really appreciate any of it? Doubtful.
You get out what you put in.
Thanks again Wayne!
Susanna
Hey Susanna,
It certainly is a lot of changing things up. Change is good and necessary of course, but needs to be carefully considered and done over longer periods of time. Not like knee jerk reaction changes.
It’s the same as people who hop from ground floor opportunity to ground floor opportunity hoping to make a quick buck. How are you ever going to achieve stability?
I totally agree with. I wouldn’t appreciate the results if it was easy. The challenges make it worth it.
I don’t know who first said it but I’ve always been led to believe that “the sign of maturity is accepting deferred gratification”, however with the rate that the internet is moving and changing at it’s difficult to heed sometimes. You’ve illustrated this really well in your post with a great analogy – and definitely given me food for thought.
Thanks!
Lisa
Hey Lisa,
I really like that – “the sign of maturity is accepting deferred gratification”. The internet does move very fast indeed, but most of the principles that we learn about doing business on it don’t. It’s in these times of fast change that people need to stay focused on their plan and not get distracted by shiny objects. Whenever you move off track, you’re starting all over again.
Hi Wayne,
an awesome read, thanks for sharing your passion. The internet doesn’t make the necessity for delayed gratification obsolete. The internet is fast, sure, but being fast has nothing got to do with instant gratification. Instant gratification has something got to do with being slow, being slow in learning and personal development, well, as you said it, in developping from within. Being slow in accepting and designing change. As someone said, “If you give a fool a faster tool, all you get is a faster fool.”
Take care
Oliver
Oliver Tausend´s last [type] ..Lessons From Robert Kiyosaki’s “Cashflow Quadrant” For My MLM Network Marketing Business
Hey Oliver,
That’s a great quote – “If you give a fool a faster tool, all you get is a faster fool.” That’s definitely some food for thought.
Thanks, it’s great to be able to mix passion in sharing an important message. There is actually something very beautiful about the “slow” process that’s required for change and growth – you enjoy the journey. It’s all about the journey, not the destination.
Hey Wayne,
Great way to tied this in with business. I learned a thing or two from Red Bull’s racing team. I’m not a follower of formula racing so I had no idea of any of this. It was a great read.
Chat with you later…
Josh
Josh Garcia´s last [type] ..The Copywriting Scorecard for Bloggers is a Must Have
Thank you Josh. I’m glad you enjoyed it man.
Hi Wayne,
Interesting post with a great message. I can’t remember where I’ve read this, but it reminds me of the statement that we often overestimate what we can do in a year and underestimate what we can do in 5 years. Keeping our eye on the vision we’ve crafted for our lives is the key to staying the course and giving our actions time to manifest into results.
Thanks for the interesting post!
Heather
Heather C Stephens´s last [type] ..Network Marketing Tips- 3 Questions to Help You Get to Your Compelling Why
Hey Heather,
That’s a great insight. Graphically speaking, our progress is never like a straight line going up at a steady angle. It’s always plods along at the beginning like there’s very little happening, but the efforts that we put in compound over time.
What do we want?
SUCCESS.
When do we want it?
NOW!
What happens if we don’t get it now?
WE QUIT?
I don’t know who sold the majority on this plan, but they all seemed to have bought it.
Investing in your future for 5 years is nothing in the bigger scheme of things.
It hasn’t been a full year yet and I have come a long long way from where I was to where I am now. And so has many people around me who i now associate with (you included to Wayne).
Im in it for the long run.
Great post buddy
Chat soon
Dwayne
Dwayne Huggins´s last [type] ..Are You Talking To People Just Like You
Hey Dwayne,
Yeah, when you put it into perspective like that, 5 years really isn’t very much at all. And as you say, you only have to look at your own progress over a year to see how much you have a achieved in a relatively short period of time.
Great to hear you’re in it for the long run. I’m exciting to see our growth over the next few years.
Wayne,
Patience = Success in any business. Most people will give up right before they make it..
Thanks for shedding some light on this – great post
Really into cars myself (tuner, not F1′s)
Hector
Hector Cuevas´s last [type] ..“Live” Case Study- This Changed My Mind About PopUps Forever…
Hey Hector,
That’s right. Patience = Success in any business.
Glad to hear we have a common interest. I just love and appreciate the level of engineering that goes into designing and making cars. Plus the business side of the automotive industry too.
Hi Wayne,
Great story. I’m sure Henry Ford would be most unimpressed by this chapter in the history of the company he founded with such vision.
The message is clear though, that of instant gratification versus delayed success. It’s interesting to note that instant gratification and the whole ‘buy now, pay later’ mentality is what keeps many people locked in a lifestyle which is very difficult to break free from, and those who are willing to put in the hard yards before the rewards come tend to be the ones who achieve their golas and dreams.
Thanks,
Jym
Jym´s last [type] ..Home Business Success vs Weapons of Mass Distraction…
Hey Jym,
I think you’re right. Henry Ford would have been rolling in his grave a few years ago if he saw the state of play at Ford back then.
You raised a very good point here. The whole instant gratification lifestyle is what keeps us indebted and in poverty over the long term. People buy now and pay later with no thought, absolutely no consideration of the long term effects of their little error in judgement. They don’t know that “The Slight Edge” is working against them.
Hey Wayne,
Love how you tie up the story with network marketing.
So true, it takes hard work, patience, persistence and time. Success doesn’t happen overnight. Sadly, many marketers want success now.
Thanks for sharing.
All the best,
Mavis Nong
Mavis Nong´s last [type] ..Mavis Nong Presents Her FREE Online Marketing Training
Hi Wayne,
I enjoyed your post and learned a thing or two about Formula 1 racing too!
Unfortunately there are many more unscrupulous Internet Marketers who do promote this medium as being a fast fix so it’s no wonder so many expect microwave results. All we can do is be honest with people we mentor.
~Marcus
Marcus Baker´s last [type] ..Are you Killing Your MLM Blog by Writing a Post Everyday
Hey Marcus,
Great point. All we can do is be honest. Nothing more, nothing less. Again, honesty and integrity are the only things that work in the long term. People who get screwed by the heavy hitters promoting their shiny objects will realise eventually they got the short end of the stick. If we build that trustworthy relationship with them, they’ll turn back to those who genuinely cared.
Fortunately I resigned myself to a two year learning period before I even entered into online marketing. I treat it as any other business you start. You must develop relationships with the people we call our “niche”. I suppose the big difference for me is I’ve entered with very limited financial resources so I’m not looking for a return in any other investment except my time.
Kind of like a “Red Bull” whereas they have developed their product and stuck to a market entry plan before branching out. Because we are the “product’ in our industry we have to stick by it and develop it before we start to benefit from what it has to offer. The only way to do that is to go out there and find your niche market that needs what it is you have to offer.
So I hope that all makes sense to more than myself but then again I have a long way to go before I can perfect my writing skills. I know one thing I have to do and that’s be more natural in the way I write. You guys rock when it comes to being mentors.
Dennis O’Brien´s last [type] ..Who Else Suffers Information Overload
Hey Dennis,
That’s great. Over time you will perfect your writing and communication skills (not that they aren’t good already), but don’t worry about that. Like most of us who start online, we do have very limited resources in terms of money, so we have no choice but to invest the time.
The keyword here is “investment”. All investments take time to mature.
Well, besides calling driving a sport. You make some great points. (Didn;t say it wasn’t great entertainment but to me a sport should involve sweating and physical activity. I barely want to let even “golf” be considered.
Anyhow. I am not familiar with Formula One, but such an execution of long term business plan by “Red Bull” is very admirable. While I am unsure of the “sport” aspect of Formula One, for me personally, I have not doubt at all of the immense talent, resources and follow through that it must take to build a consistent and winning team in a competitive competition like Formula One racing.
Long term planning and goal setting are far too often ignored for quick returns. Great example on this!
Steve´s last [type] ..17 Tips for Making Friends While Traveling Solo
Hey Steve,
I’m actually little bit insulted by your comment…
If I was a cynic, I could say that all sports exist for the entertainment of those watching. But I know there’s much more to sport than that. I don’t believe the teams spend the billions of dollars they do just to entertain people – they have a much higher purpose.
As for the physical aspect of motorsports, if you knew what was involved, you’d understand that F1 is one of the most physically demanding sports in the world. It’s nowhere near like driving your regular Honda Accord around town. And it’s absolutely incomparable to golf!
But anyway, that wasn’t the point of the article, or your comment for that matter. It’s about persistence and dedication, and we’re both in agreement with the that.
Wayne, Well I am sorry if I insulted you. Like you said I do not know and I never meant to disparage anyone’s skill.
I was trying to be light and flippant and guess I came across wrong. I have some friends I joke about NASCAR with similarly and I know it takes a lot of skill and endurance and talent. I was playing and did not mean to insult. I should have remembered the cardinal rule that inflection and intention do not always translate through written word.
Steve´s last [type] ..I’ll Quit Procrastinating Tomorrow
Hey Wayne,
I am a major car enthusiate although I do not watch these races I can definitly feel what you are saying and can relate on a level that is undescribale. There was a time in my business that I was new, struggling and my wife asked me one night before dinner – ” if you don’t start making some money – when are you going to quit, how long will you wait?” – I looked at her and said quit? I had a look of disguist on my face and she knew – she said ” you are never going to quit are you?” I said no! At the point I turned around and walked back to my office, she later apologized because she realized that I did not need that negativity around me.
I am glad that I never quit, I never gave up, I took actions every day and now enjoy the freedom !
To many people give up and what would be interesting to know is how close were they to great success before they quit!
If you quit your own business ( you are the CEO) you could say you fired yourself, if that happens why would anyone ever hire you in the future if you are firing yourself!
Hey Robert,
Thank you for sharing. That’s a very powerful story. And I’d be guessing your wife today is glad that you didn’t quit.
That’s an interesting way of putting things – quitting your business is like firing yourself. I like that…
But you’re right, some people have an amazing tendency to quit with in a nose of reaching their goals. Hindsight can be very telling sometimes.
Incredible story of perseverance, Wayne.
Yes, prosperity is possible within a short period of time, but it does not come easy.
Thanks for inspiration!
Ana Hoffman
Ana | Traffic Generation Cafe´s last [type] ..How To Find Out Who Your Blog Fans Are
I agree that a 5 year plan is about right. Of course it could be quicker but 5 years is a very reasonable time in which to build a strong residual income. I took me that time to establish a conventional business.
all the best
Charlie Holles
Thanks Charlie, 5 years is not a high price to pay for long term wealth and prosperity.
Hi Wayne,
I agree about people wanting instant gratification.
We live in a world that we can get things a lot faster than in the past, Microwaves, instant answers and news via the internet, and lets not forget McDonalds.
Unfortunately, I think it has produced a generation of people that expect instant gratification in everything they do.
Take care,
Neil
Neil | newbie2newbie´s last [type] ..I Fired my Internet Marketing Gurus
Hey Neil,
Yeah, we have all of those things right at our disposal, but look at what it’s doing to us… we’re fatter than we ever were before, we’re in debt up to our eyeballs, we don’t have long attention spans. We’ve been conditioned to accept instant gratification as a way of life and it’s not a pretty picture…
Great story Wayne! I like the way you tied it in with business. The one thing that most people do not promote in this industry that it takes a lot of patience and some time in order to be successful in this business. A network marketing business is not a quick fix business that you make as a hobby. You have to have patience and a vision in order to see the results that you want. The 5 year plan is no doubt possible and also proven according to this story
Sherman
Hi Wayne,
Great analogy.
Yep F1 is truly a sport …………there is also a lot of Bloob Sweat and Tears required in our Business, maybe it’s a sport too?Pete
Pete
Go Mr Webber ! You can do it,
awesome post bro, keep them coming because I am reading
Hi Wayne
That was a wonderful analogy.
It is seeing things afar off rather than being so short sighted as many network marketers try to project MLM. You posted along the highway, the necessary signs so well, that we can always take a glance at each sign post of: Patience, Perseverance, endurance, determination, as we approach the horizon of success!
Good job!
Hi Wayne,
Despite being a passionate Ferrari fan I have to commend you on your post. Despite the history of domination of Mclaren, Ferrari, etc for so many years there is always room for a new comer to come in and reach the top.
Thanks
Giuseppe