Sponsors are Real, the Talent Fairy is Not!
God help me, this comment from a sponsor gives me panic attacks...
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Now let’s get stuck in.
This came in a couple of days ago under my sponsorship advice article for drivers.
It’s from a gentleman who has actually sponsored drivers, who has given drivers similar advice and watched them completely blow it with inaction!
Now, you can look at it as an unremarkable comment where someone is having a bit of a moan at drivers (join the queue mate) OR…
… you can see it as the most explosive few lines you will ever witness in your life as a racing driver!
I can’t read it without thinking I’m going to get a nosebleed! Honestly!
I’ll translate it’s meaning with a gif:
…and drivers are not willing to take it.
It’s shocking unless you understand drivers a bit, and what is behind their reluctance or stubbornness to go out there and find the people ready and willing to fund them.
Why drivers really struggle to fight for sponsors.
They don’t believe they should have to. It’s not just casual laziness, or shyness.
I think its based on two hard-wired beliefs that are extremely painful for them to go against. Naturally acquired beliefs, but deadly all the same because when you have these beliefs you cannot bring yourself to take the opportunities that are there (or more to the point, accept the money on the table).
Deadly Belief 1. Talent doesn’t need sponsors.
If you need to chase sponsors with a good business offer, then it means you are not fabulous enough for Ron Dennis (or whoever is more current, Horner?) to recognise your sheer talent, and rescue you from the shame of begging for money.
In other words: worthy drivers get automatic backing, crap drivers have to pay for themselves. Chasing sponsors is therefore an embarrassing admission of your lack of speed.
Deadly Belief 2. Faith in fairness will be rewarded.
By going after sponsors properly, you are betraying your belief that talent and fairness triumphs over all. When you seek a sponsor in a fully committed way, you are taking control of your own destiny, which means you are killing the racing driver dream that you will be talent spotted by a big team.
In other words, going after sponsors, going it alone, means you are no longer going to be blessed with that magic endorsement from a higher motor racing authority. You won't be seen as so talented that teams just have to back you, instead you'll be seen as a normal driver who is a bit of a good salesman.
All the immediate evidence supports these beliefs, all the F1 drivers were looked after from very early on by 'academies'. And if you are a racing fan its exactly what the racing business wants you to believe.
Here’s how you can drop those self-limiting beliefs in favour of something FAR MORE POWERFUL, so you can take what’s there for you.
Understand this:
Racing is superior to sport. Racing is superior to business.
For some reason, people want to say motor racing is a bona fide sport, and racing drivers are athletes, as if somehow this elevates the status of racing.
Its a weak position to take. Motor racing is far superior to any sports, and we shouldn't even tolerate the comparison. Sports are something you play, motor racing is DEADLY serious and is closer to war than sport.
And obviously, being really good at business alone isn't enough to qualify you as a great driver either.
No, racing drivers need the lot…proper ones at least.
Being a racing driver requires you to master everything around you. You need to be a tremendous practitioner in the art of driving, you need a body that can cope, the courage to die for racing, and you need to bring the finance and resources to waste on it. It requires you to be a Titan of humanity! Not just a sportsperson, or a merely successful business-person.
Quit Believing in fairies - Work for your own greatness.
If you can rid yourself of the religious beliefs in fairness and the fairies who grant the rights to the ‘talented’, then you can choose to be someone far greater than any current F1 driver.
Once you learn instead to chase real human greatness as your objective, rather than relegating your magnificent racing driver soul to a toy of the rich, then you can free your heart to bring proper sponsors into your glorious world. That does prevent you kicking the doors down into F1 either, it just means you don’t submit yourself to being chosen - you chose.
When you elevate your sights this way, your passion and commitment to maximising yourself will manifest as irresistible charisma. A proper sponsor who wants to partner with that energy is going to back you, because proper sponsors understand you. They want to promote their values through you.
Yes, they want to use the publicity that comes with motor racing to sell stuff, but they also want to showcase their entrepreneurial values by your example. They are:
Self-sufficiency.
Commitment.
Persistence.
Risk taking at the cost of self-preservation.
Courage.
Going all in, lose it all and get back up, crash and burn and return.
You know, good old fashioned heroism!
In summary here’s what you can do seize the opportunities waiting for you:
Quit believing in fairies and crippling ideas about sport and fairness.
Instead develop yourself as a great human who can do it all.
Blow sponsor’s minds with your charisma and accept the backing that is there waiting for you (as a fair exchange of value!) - the evidence for which is at the top of this article.
It’s a hell of a lot better than praying for the talent fairies to give you a call and turn you into a grateful charity case!
Not sure where to start?
Well said! And totally 100% accurate. It goes along with drivers who believe they shouldn't have to work hard at training, physically and mentally, because their natural talent will take them to the top. Which is some type of animal droppings. Thanks for this, Terence.
Another dollop of free yet superb advice from Terence. If you're lucky enough to be reading this stack, please make sure to take it in! Any sponsor's hard-earned dollars aren't ever going to be given up lightly.
The original comment quoted in this article comes out of year's of frustration in dealing with a much wider range of entities looking for backing: drivers, teams, athletes, bikers, events, charities, ... all the way to potential future employees or suppliers. Everyone, and every organisation can apply Terence's advice to significantly raise their chance of success, whether it be sport, business or life. Amazingly, very few bother to make the effort. So those that do stand out a mile.