On a roll

Sebastian Vettel is on a roll. He is winning the Formula 1 Grand Prix like it is nobody’s business. He reminds me of Michael Schumacher in the 2000s when he drove for Ferrari and won 13 races in a single season. Winning one Formula 1 GP is achievement enough for mere mortals, to win multiple races in one season, to win 3 championships in a row is what makes these people great. Not all races are won “easily”. Not every time that success is tasted is the story the same. The end result, however, is the same. When on a roll, everything just seems to fall in place. The path is difficult, always unyielding and always challenging – it is the end result that people see and the past is forgotten while jubilating over and celebrating the success of the present.

So what is it that people do to get on a roll? If Seb Vettel can do it, if the Australian cricket team under Steve Waugh that won 15 or 16 test matches on the trot could do it, can’t it be replicated everywhere? Yes, it can! It takes hours and hours of practice, sacrifice and pain. It takes working when the rest of the world sleeps or takes it easy. Mathew Hayden once put it brilliantly – it is running over that next one sand dune on the beach during training in the off season. Just one more! Then one more and the next… It is that training that gets you over the tough periods in the game. For Vettel, the previous year’s championship was a seemingly sterner test than this year with the championship going down to the last race of the season. No matter. It is all forgotten now. All we know is that he is now a 3 time world champion – in exalted company. He is on a roll of winning championships!

Yeah, talent and skill level does play a role. It is a potent combination of luck, talent, skill, determination, behavior, attitude, etc., no one can prescribe the right quantities that go into making a champion’s potion. If there were one, we would all be queuing up for it. Being part of a team on a roll is the most exhilarating feeling that one can have. It all begins with each individual buying into the goal – winning! Go for Gold! Sacrifice, Unforgiving self, Discipline. Repeat. Repeat again! Repeat once again! Do it day in and day out.