“Frustrated by the imperfections of the Gran Turismo cars of the time, he set himself a personal challenge: to build the perfect car.”
Ferruccio Lamborghini
A few days ago, Anke and I went to Lake Garda with my boys to visit our friends Andrea and Herbert. Spending the entire day by the pool was, of course, far too boring for the kids, so things got a little faster instead: driving a lap around the Formula 1 track in Monza, visiting the Ferrari factory, and exploring the Lamborghini Museum. And it was right there in the museum that I found myself standing in front of the history wall, reading the quote above. It’s beautifully and rather politely worded, because apparently, the actual story was a little more exciting.
Ferruccio Lamborghini was born into a farming family. But even back then, he was far more interested in machines and engines than in agriculture. And so, in 1951, the first Lamborghini tractor was born. His business became incredibly successful, and naturally, he also bought himself a few sports cars, including several Ferraris. Ferruccio was reportedly quite unhappy with the clutch in his Ferrari. As an experienced mechanic, he discovered that some of the components in the Ferrari clutch were similar to ones he knew from his tractors. So he took his findings to Enzo Ferrari. Apparently, Ferrari responded by dismissing him as a tractor driver and farmer and made it pretty clear: “You may know something about tractors. Leave the sports cars to me.”
So what happened next? Did Ferruccio start shouting back in typical Italian fashion? No. He did something completely different. Instead of arguing with Enzo Ferrari about who was right or wrong, he made a clear decision: I’ll just build my own sports car. Out of the frustration of being dismissed came what we now know as one of the world’s most prestigious sports car brands. The man who was supposedly better off “sticking to his tractors” became the founder of one of the most famous sports car manufacturers in the world.
I know that many of us are feeling pretty frustrated at the moment. Most of the time, it’s about things in the outside world that, at first glance, seem beyond our control. But if we take a second look, we might realize that we played a part in creating many of them. You chose the place where you live. You chose the job you currently have — or chose to stay in it. You chose the partner you’re with. So if you created all these things, couldn’t you also change them?
But to do that, you first need to know what you actually want. Because far too many people spend all day focusing on what they don’t want. And then they talk about it to anyone who will listen. For hours. Do you think we would know Lamborghini today if Ferruccio had spent his time complaining or gossiping about Enzo Ferrari with other farmers? Certainly not. He used his frustration as a reason to change something. He simply took matters into his own hands. I know that you can do that too.
The more important question is: Do you want to? Do you really want to change something, or perhaps, in the end, it isn’t quite as bad as you make it out to be? Always remember that your energy follows your focus. So become aware of what you want more of. Ferruccio suddenly knew exactly what he didn’t want. And he turned that into a picture of what he did want. So you can keep talking about what frustrates you. Or you can start building your Lamborghini.
Some time ago, there was something that helped me tremendously with exactly this idea: an audio program with the wonderful title “Your Wish Is Your Command.” Put simply, it explores exactly this question: Where are you directing your attention, and what picture do you carry within you of the life you truly want? At the moment, you can still listen to it for free. If you’d like to check it out, I’ve linked it for you here.
Maybe it won’t build you a Lamborghini. But it will remind you which one you’ve wanted to build all along — and how you can do it.
I wish you an amazing week. And you know what? I believe in you.
Keep shining.
Yours,
Norman
