The Gumball Rally

There’s a movie from the ’70s called The Gumball Rally where a wacky cast of characters participate in an automobile race from from the East coast to the West coast.

One character enlists the help of a professional Italian racer to drive his car. The first thing the Italian does when he gets in the car is to reach up and rip off the rear-view mirror and toss it aside. Shocked, the owner asks, “Why’d you do that?”

The Italian answers “When you are in a race, it doesn’t matter what’s behind you. What matters is what’s ahead.”

Last week one of my coaching clients was upset. His competition was copying him. They were stealing his ideas! What should he do?

I told him that it’s impossible to keep people from knocking you off. Consider it a compliment. You are the leader and they are on your heels. The only thing you can do is to keep coming up with great work. Better work. Innovate and push forward.

There will always be people who are trying to catch up to you. You can’t waste your time looking in the rear-view mirror.

What matters is what’s ahead.