Interview with Pietro Fittipaldi - Formula 1 Team Haas

Pietro Fittipaldi (Formula One Team Haas) in conversation with Carlos Salum (Leadership Performance Strategist), on their collaboration since 2017 from winning the World Championship in Formula Renault V8 3.5 to the debut as an F1 Pilot in Bahrain and Abu Dhabi in 2020. They analyze The Keys to Personal Breakthrough and the core concepts of the book "The Glass is Full and a Half" by Carlos Salum, which includes a chapter on Pietro and Enzo Fittipaldi's evolution as peak performing drivers and Champions.

WATCH THE VIDEO - LISTEN TO THE AUDIO PODCAST

Get the book at https://www.saluminternational.com/bookshelf

True Breakthrough: Pietro Fittipaldi's Debut in Formula 1

PIETRO AT THE BAHRAIN GRAND PRIX 2020

On December 6, 2020, Pietro Fittipaldi made his debut in Formula 1 in Bahrain with Team Haas. He replaced his teammate Romain Grosjean, who had a fiery accident a week before, suffering burns to his hands and a foot lesion. After his first race, Pietro was confirmed to drive in Abu Dhabi the following week, in the last race of the season.

Three years before on December 7, we had celebrated with his family his World Championship, which had also taken place in Bahrain. During those three years, Pietro never stopped believing, regardless of seemingly unsurmountable obstacles. When he reached out to me, I insisted we focus on positive, optimistic and constructive perspectives, putting aside defeatist or catastrophic thinking.

A performance is a promise; it’s about how you use your potential to confront obstacles to find a way to win. You might run out of time and resources, but you never surrender. That’s what the sports audience appreciates and wants to absorb: how you love the challenge and use your grit to find solutions as you aim for a win.

In business, it’s also what your superiors, colleagues and clients want to see: Are you a box ticker or a solutions designer? Do you perform and get results or make excuses?

Pietro’s story confirms one of my core perspectives on life: when you know who you are and live on-purpose, new doors open that you never knew were there. Breakthrough is not a metaphor; it’s the mindset and lifestyle of the optimizers.

The Fittipaldi Brothers’ path to success is marked by friendship, determination, and the Breakthrough steps of Imagine, Improve, Inspire and Ignite I describe in my book “The Glass is Full and a Half.”

"The Glass is Full and a Half" Book - a Memoir of Transformation

BUY IT ON AMAZON.COM

I’ve writen a book: “The Glass is Full and a Half” - A Memoir of Transformation - How to Design Your Breakthrough, Lead with Your Inspiring Vision and Build Your Powerful Legacy

The Foreword is by Richard Saul Wurman, founder of the TED Conferences

This is a memoir about how I transformed my life and how you can too

The transformation process requires an understanding of Breakthrough

• You can design a Breakthrough Blueprint that allows you to achieve and lead

• You can replicate the process your entire life and build your inspiring Legacy

You can find answers to essential questions, such as:

• How far can I go? What’s my full potential and how can I reach it?

• How can I achieve my goals and be happy at the same time?

• How can I become a leader that creates significant achievements?

• What will be the resonance of my memorable legacy?

This book is my invitation for you to explore how you can create enduring success by focusing on your vision, managing your energy and intentionally designing a blueprint for achievement. Some individuals might start their path motivated by money, power and fame, but they ultimately discover that they can find a higher meaning by leading and creating an inspiring legacy. That's my definition of enduring success.

I want to share some of the lessons I've learned over the past 35 years about achievement. I've had incredible opportunities to work with remarkably successful individuals and I want to share these lessons learned hoping that it might help someone else, that at least one idea can be useful to someone seeking inspiration, guidance, a breakthrough or how to leave a path for others to follow.

From the Introduction of "The Glass is Full and a Half":

I’m an optimist by choice.

I believe the glass is neither half-full nor half-empty - it’s full and a half.

For every obstacle I encounter, I seek alternatives that can lead to a solution.

I intentionally focus on “what can be,” on exploring possibilities and finding new ways of seeing.

Adopting a broad perception field allows me to generate new ideas and be both creative and constructive.

The glass is full and a half because the development of the Human Mind is open-ended. We are constantly learning, adapting and evolving.

As humans, we have the capacity and the opportunity to design Future. When we exercise our imagination, we give ourselves permission to play with concepts, ideas, situations and metaphors in ways that animals are incapable of doing. When we imagine, we inhabit the future, we explore “what can be.”

Foreword by Richard Saul Wurman - Founder, TED Conferences

WITH RICHARD SAUL WURMAN

I was trained as a designer. We often talk about the glass being half-full and the glass being half-empty—the optimist and the pessimist view of the world. That’s an analysis. I’m more interested in getting the right size glass.

The right size glass means to me is a design problem. It’s the big design problem. It’s the design of your life. I’m interested taking the time at each occasion to choose the right size glass.

Our society is largely based on learning one thing and doing it better, better and better, and that’s where most of the rewards and awards come from, but behind all of it is the individual’s decision to design, to structure, to make the road map to that kind of life. To design your life, to take control of the decisions you make. Your individual life independent of the crowd.

I hope you enjoy having a conversation with this book. A conversation that allows yourself to give other individuals permission to design an interesting life.

The word interesting is key to every day, because every day the most interesting thing is waking up in the morning. It’s the beginning of a day wherein I can find things that interest me—not necessarily at all or not focused on being happy or for monetary gain, or power or fame, but just interest fueled by curiosity.

Interest, curiosity, permission-giving for myself and for the others that I pal around with are the key words of having a well-run life, business or - in reverse - the business of your life.

When Carlos asked me to do this Foreword for him, as I often say, I was flattered into submission. In this case, I was honored into submission.

Carlos, I have known for a number of years. I first met this special observer in Venice, Italy on an exotic island located between the airport and the city and owned by the legendary Edward de Bono, where he had organized a day-and-a-half-long conversation among some extraordinarily well-heeled individuals, mostly from the major countries in Europe.

Since that meeting, I have had a number of conversations with him at my home and in his hometown and read the things he has written and kept track of the advice he has given to people who are highly competitive, at the leading edge of their specialty, whether it’s tennis or car racing - extreme individual performances- and this book is written to heighten your individual performance.

I’ve come to realize Carlos’ unique focus and his brilliant choice of advising a certain thread, a certain slice of the citizenry on their careers. This book has a focus on discovering that thread in people who are willing to bet themselves every day, as world-class athletes. There are also similar leaders and athletes in business. Well, that’s interesting to me as I believe in the clarity that each person crosses the street by themselves—that noticeable gains in their abilities come from the clarity of yourself.

There is no doubt that the modest charisma that is found in both his presence and in his writings are persuasive and understandable and that understanding always precedes action. This is not an academic tone or one of those business books with large dots that list the five things you have to do to succeed. This is a book that focuses much more on the human being rather than on the measured success of the trifecta of power, fame and money externally observed, but rather the internal feelings of achievement that ultimately each of us value more deeply.

This is a treatise about understanding. I think it’s a great read. I think he’s a fine man. I think he delivers a useful message.

I’d like most of all to sit next to him on a long plane ride.

Richard Saul Wurman - Founder, TED, TEDMED, e.g. and WWW Conferences

Buy the Book on Amazon.com and Download the Workbooks on PDF to design your Breakthrough

William Cox III - Young Racing Champion and Breakthrough Performer

William Cox III is a young race car driver who got his start in karting in late 2017 and has since then raced various club races and many national and international races. In 2019 Will accumulated 3 wins, 17 top-five and 19 top-ten finishes in 26 starts in the INEX Series. He raced Spec Miata Series for Panic Motorsports and US/INEX Legend Series for Championship with Team Farbo Motorsports. Will won the 2019 Asphalt Nationals in the Young Lions Division, finished 3rd in the World Road Course Championship and won the 2019 Atlanta Fall Series point Championship.

I met Will at the GoPro Kart Motorplex in Mooresville, NC through Sergio Campos, his Brazilian-born mechanic, on the same day I had been invited by 2-time Formula One World Champion Emerson Fittipaldi to watch his young son Emmo practice. It was April 13, 2018, a cold and sunny day. Sergio told me he thought Will had great conditions to become a top driver, but he needed to become mentally tough. He suggested a meeting with his father (Daniel) to explore the opportunity to follow my structured program and evaluate the results.

Will is home-schooled, fulfilling his tasks online while following a busy racing calendar year round. He lives with his parents Natalie and Daniel in Raleigh, NC and has two younger twin sisters who love soccer and athletics. He has a Christian upbringing and praying plays a big role in his life. Sometimes the family travels together in their motorhome, joined by their grandparents.

Our first strategy meeting took place in July 2018 and we started working together in August. I found Will to be calm, polite, thoughtful and straightforward about his aspirations: to be a Champion (why bother with less). His father wanted to provide him with all the best resources required for him to succeed. At 13, Will was a latecomer to the Kart experience, yet a fast learner who could absorb great amounts of information. Daniel and Sergio believed that understanding the key factors of Peak Performance and Mental Toughness would both accelerate this progress and give him an edge over his competitors. We agreed on a 4-month curriculum and started regular sessions via-Facetime, complemented with meetings at GoPro Motorplex to watch him race.

During the initial months, Will read and applied the training materials I shared with him, focusing on the exercises he thought would improve his preparation and pre-racing rituals. During his Kart racing phase, Will had to contend with often chaotic racing situations, questionable officiating and cheating. Calibrating the kart is not easy; it’s more an art than a science, and the quality of the replacement parts varies wildly. I could see that for Will, Sergio and Daniel this environment created a great deal of frustration because their input did not match the results. In addition, there were a couple of instances in which Will could have been involved in serious accidents, as competitors’ karts flew above his helmet missing his head by inches.

Thousands of kids start their racing career in Kart and is undoubtedly a pathway to develop their racing craft and toughen them up as competitors. However, sometimes it seems there are way too many vehicles racing together, such as when the organizers merge several categories and ages together totaling up to forty karts. If you qualified outside of the top ten, you find yourself in the middle of a procession, not a race – and the chances for disabling accidents multiply.

After evaluating the results from races in several states, changing teams, coaches and karts (all at a great expense), Daniel Cox decided in early 2019 to take Will to the Virginia International Raceway to test Spec Miata cars coached by Tom Long, a Mazda Motorsports factory driver who teaches upcoming drivers as well. Will’s remarkable performances in testing allowed him to get permission to race the Spec Miata Series for Panic Motorsports, which provided him with the necessary challenges and lessons to stretch his goals and skills. He also got an opportunity to learn driving fundamentals from Ross Bentley, author of “Speed Secrets” and former Indy Car driver. During this period of six months, we focused on increasing his capacity to learn the new tracks fast, improve his visualization and recall skills, as well as recovering from mistakes. All along, we monitored the emotional impact of his improving physical conditioning and the balance between stress and recovery each week.

During the summer of 2019, Daniel Cox decided to enter Will in US/INEX Legend Series for Championship with Team Farbo Motorsports in the Young Lions Division. It was a very hot summer in the Southeast, and the Legends small cars have front engines that generate an enormous amount of heat. I provided Will with suggestions for Hydration strategies and management, since the food, hydration and mood connection become a critical factor under pressure. Will found solid support in Team Farbo, who continuously improved the car from every aspect according to each track’s requirements. He also got the experienced strategic advice from Lorin Ranier, who has worked with many NASCAR legends and winning drivers, having contributed to Tony Stewart’s career in NASCAR as well (now in the Hall of Fame).

To crown his remarkable ascent in just six months, Will won the 2019 Asphalt Nationals in the Young Lions Division, finished 3rd in the World Road Course Championship and won the 2019 Atlanta Fall Series point Championship. He performed at his best from race to race, rebounding quickly from mishaps and consistently lodging himself in the top 4 positions and raking up points to become “the one to beat.” He continued to win in Young Lions in early 2020 (even choosing to start last intentionally to beat all his rivals and finish P1). He won the Cookout Winter Heat Championship and subsequently was allowed to race in the Pro division.

When I asked Will to look back at his success and analyze the lessons learned, he thought that the most important factors were his ability to learn the tracks within one session and then finds speed faster than before. He also told me that his physical conditioning allowed him to have endurance, especially during long days at the track and constant interruptions. Mentally, he was able to embrace the Ideal Performance Mindset we explored from day one, keeping his head in the zone, praying before each race to align himself with the challenge. Being in the zone allowed him to get up to speed quickly, maintaining an intensity between a 7 or 8 out of a maximum 10. He could be loose but intense.

On the mechanical side, his breakthrough was to be able to give accurate data on how the car felt to Ryan Farbo and his team. In the Pro division he encountered a massive difference in pressure, having to drive at 200% accuracy on every lap and every corner, hitting every marker perfectly. He found himself among really good drivers whom he had to pass as soon as possible. His initial results in Pro were excellent, climbing once again to the top spots.

Acting how we want to feel is an important element of confidence under pressure. Overtime, I’ve seen Will change physically (becoming taller) and improving his Confident Fighter presence. He feels confident but he will never boast. He sports two wonderful custom suits, one black and another one white emblazoned with his sponsors and team logos. He looks like a professional race car driver and acts like one. Will is confident with a microphone and on camera. Gradually, he’s gathered a following in social media and posts regularly about his racing life on Facebook and Instagram, giving his fans access to the inside story.

You can follow Will’s progress and wins at www.williamcoxracing.com/

A Decade of Breakthrough Results (2010 - 2020)

My Work is a Theater of Purpose

Imagine. Improve. Inspire. Ignite.

Here's a summary of my Decade of Breakthrough Results as an international Leadership Performance Strategist:

• Consulted corporate and executive clients in 25 industries based in 5 continents. [Clients]

• Participated in international corporate turnaround processes that involved merging diverse cultures and geographical locations to increase efficiency, productivity, sales and assets under management in the billions of dollars.

• Assisted world-class professional athletes in their conquest of international tournaments and championships by becoming mentally tough. [Sports Peak Performance] 

• Contributed to the design of a personal Breakthrough Blueprint with international business leaders seeking to generate greater results, have deeper social impact and build an inspiring legacy. [Leadership Strategy] [Career Transitions] [Leadership Legacy]

• Spoke at prestigious international events such as the Nobels Colloquia in Venice, Italy, alongside Nobel Laureates and Professors in Economics and Management, as well as renowned universities in the USA and Europe.  [Speaking and Training]

• Organized the lectures of Richard Saul Wurman, the legendary founder of the TED Conferences in Charlotte, NC and participated in the launch of TEDxCharlotte as the opening speaker.  [The Tao of Richard Saul Wurman]

• Launched TheSircle Executive Club dinners in Charlotte, NC, followed by international events in Ancona, Italy and Zurich, Switzerland.  [TheSircle Executive Club]

• Started the Tennis Industry Association Innovation Challenge focused on promoting new technologies to increase engagement and participation in the game, which sprouted a platform to promote new concepts, alliances and start-ups in the United States, Europe and Asia.

• Promoted the development of a global Sport Technology Accelerator focused on Tennis in association with leAD Sports Tech Accelerator in Berlin and collaborated with experts in Silicon Valley and Barcelona. [Request more information]

• Participated in TV interviews, podcasts, online and book profiles on the alignment and integration of Peak Performance skills applied to succeeding in business and sports. [About]

• Contributed to the development of Latino Leaders in Charlotte, NC, through Leadership classes on “The Creativity and Innovation Mindset” organized by the Latin American Chamber of Commerce Charlotte.

• Established a collaboration to produce a film series focused on inspiring stories from sports with one of the most successful TV producers in the industry.

• Started a book to be completed in 2020 with the title “The Glass is Full and a Half” on the lessons learned as a Leadership Performance Strategist in business, sports and art.

• Got into the best fitness shape in my life through a sport science program centered on my needs as a tennis player and to support my longevity.

Design Your Path to Breakthrough: here are key Questions you can answer to start your New Decade in the right direction.

Questions to Design Your Breakthrough in a New Decade

For me, the Holidays are a time of introspection, reflection and renewal. During this time, I take a quiet moment to explore my reasons for celebrating, especially because it’s the start of a New Decade. In case you feel inclined to do so, here are some of the questions I ask myself:

• What is the balance of my year? What makes me feel fulfilled?

• What are the key lessons learned?

• What insights can help me do things better? How can I do better things?

• What gives meaning to my celebration? What gives me hope?

Design Your Path to Breakthrough

Whatever the outcome of your exploration, you can Celebrate Your Possibilities by looking at your future through four distinct lenses (the 4is) that can guide you to Breakthrough:

1. Imagine: envision what can be better, different and more fulfilling. What is your vision of a better future? Can you envision a more joyful approach to living every day?

2. Improve: decide which small changes can produce the biggest gains and what stepping stones can lead to bigger changes. What adjustments can you make to have a bigger impact on your performance and those around you?

3. Inspire: how can you inspire others through your progressive transformation? Why will someone feel inspired to follow you and join your vision?

4. Ignite: what will people do for themselves and others because they were inspired and led by you? What can be the effect of your decision to lead by example in others?

Write down your answers and ask yourself: "What makes this a Breakthrough?"

This simple ritual reminds me that "the glass is full and a half" (the title of my upcoming book) and helps me design alternatives.

I celebrate with you the decision of being a powerful contribution to make a positive impact. Best wishes on the start of a great decade of your life. Find out more about Designing Your Leadership Strategy.

Breakthrough Questions for You

As a Leadership Performance Strategist, I'm privileged to share perspectives and work with choice-seekers and Leaders who Dream, Do and Share.

To help you jump-start your Breakthrough opportunities and Peak Performance Strategy, I've outlined a few Breakthrough Questions:

• Feel Alive. Live Creating. What I did the last time I felt truly alive and creative was...
  Where was it? What were you Thinking, Feeling and Doing?
  You can recreate and incorporate that moment into your everyday life.

• Start a Life Experiment: Identify what helps you feel alive and creative.
  Make a Creative Ritual out of what fascinates you and absorbs you.
  What consistently fascinates me and helps me feel alive and creative is...

• Seek Meaningful Achievements: Out of everything I do, what has the most meaning for me is...
  What gives it meaning? Who cares about you doing it? How do you know?
  As you achieve, what makes you feel fulfilled? What gives you the certainty that you are leaving a positive legacy?
  If I am what survives of me, the reason I do what I do is...
  Make a list of Meaningful Achievements that will fulfill you during the next 12 months

• Go Beyond Personal Best: What makes you leave your comfort zone and design a better future?
  What inspires me and energizes me to learn and change is...
  As you move towards your new vision, whom do you inspire?
  By going beyond limitations, I become an inspiration to...
  What keeps you on-track and energized towards your vision?
  The training rituals and habits that guide me are...

• Envision (and Design) Better Results: The change that I would consider to be an outstanding result is...
  The three key actions that will take me closer to what I desire are...
  As I get what I want, my life improves because...
  What do I learn? What do I attempt? Who benefits from my success?
  In which ways do you feel that you already are what you want?
  What helps me live my vision as if it's happening today is...

• Measure Results in Joy: I will know I've made a significant contribution when I (see), (feel) and (hear)...
  When those impacted by my contribution write me a letter, it will say...
  The ways in which I celebrate my continuous progress are...
  I will celebrate daily, weekly, monthly and yearly by...

• Remember: The glass is neither half-full nor half-empty, it's full and a half. The quality of our Leadership depends on the quality of our thinking.

• Do More, Do Better: Download Your Breakthrough Design Exploration Chart

Lessons from Two Breakthrough Championships

Since September 2017, I’ve been engaged as Mental Toughness Training coach for world-class race car drivers Pietro and Enzo Fittipaldi, grandsons of 2-time Formula One World Champion and 2-time Indy500 Winner Emerson Fittipaldi. Here are the lessons learned from helping them win Championships in remarkable ways. I include some reflections and suggestions for you to explore your own opportunities for Breakthrough.

Pietro Fittipaldi: “I have to win the World Championship”

In September 2017, I was hired to become the Mental Toughness Training coach of Pietro Fittipaldi. He was competing in the Formula Renault V8 3.5 Championship and was leading it with one race left in the calendar (Bahrain). Pietro had been told by his main sponsor, Carlos Slim Domit (Chairman of Grupo Carso and Escuderia Telmex in Mexico) that he had to win the World Championship to continue receiving his sponsorship and continue his path to Formula One.

We had six weeks before the last race in Bahrain, so we agreed on scheduling weekly face-to-face and online meetings, and followed a carefully monitored training schedule. The most important concept I suggested upfront was “You are the Champion, now. You are going to feel, think and act like the Champion, every day, in every detail, on cue and on purpose.” This meant that he was already what he wanted to be. What we needed to design were the strategy and the stepping stones for his support team to understand how to sustain that envisioned reality. This is a cardinal concept in Mental Toughness Training.

Pietro is a disciplined, focused and determined athlete. He’s analytical, learns fast and thinks every issue through, which has endeared him with all racing engineers and teams, for he can assess vital information with clarity. Despite his hectic travel schedule (he was doing TV commentary during F1 races and appearances), we kept a solid pace.

All along, we focused on crafting his emotional strategy for the race weekend. We agreed that, although he might qualify in the top 3 and have the speed to win, finishing 2nd would give him enough points to be World Champion. Minimizing the risk (considering that three of his rivals would have to be more aggressive) was crucial. On the first race, one of the drivers who was not a candidate for the title had a great start and took the pole. Pietro applied all of his mental toughness skills to remain behind him, pulling away from the field together to end in P2 position and at the podium. In the second race, one of his main rivals’ car did not start and his teammate started strong to take the pole.

As the previous day, Pietro remained calm and pulled away, driving consistently, preserving the tires and ending again on P2 to become World Champion. I often say that Breakthrough is a design - and once again, the design worked wonders for Pietro. As part of his prize for winning, he got to stay in the UAE to test a Porsche LMP1 among experienced drivers. Pietro and his teammate beat the times of F1 World Champion Fernando Alonso, making a strong impression in the racing world. When he returned to Charlotte, NC, we celebrated together with his family (his father Gugu, his mother Juliana, his brother Enzo - and our friend Caio Campos). I will cherish forever his gift of the replica of the helmet he wore for the victory.

Resiliency: A terrible test of mental strength and a remarkable recovery

Becoming World Champion was not the panacea that Pietro had originally envisioned. Due to careless management by a third party, there had been no in-depth conversations for him to join a racing team in 2018, so he had no confirmed opportunities in the short term. From January through March, Pietro took matters in his own hands and masterfully lined-up tests and seats in teams in Japan Super Formula, WEC and IndyCar, with a chance to race the Indy500. The Japan experience was tough due to the long travel time and the difficulties in communicating with team staff, who did not speak fluent English. In April, he raced IndyCar for the first time with the Dale Coyne Honda Team, crashing out in Phoenix after 40 laps - his first time in an oval. He was disappointed, but the U.S. media had taken notice of his fast times in practice and qualification, and the collaborative relationship with his team.

When the time came to test the WEC car (an LMP1) in Spain, it had some issues of reliability. At the qualifying session in Spa, Belgium in May, the same car broke a switch that locked the steering wheel and catapulted Pietro against the wall of the famous Eau Rouge turn. He broke both legs and had to be airlifted to get an operation that same evening. When I saw the video and heard his helpless screams, I cried in desperation. It’s unfathomable to watch your client in excruciating pain, so young and so hopeful, but at least alive. The Belgian doctors implanted a titanium rod in his right leg and rebuilt his left ankle. All dreams and plans came to halt, brutally and unexpectedly. Several motorsports experts and family members kindly reached out to me and we all agreed that Pietro would do everything possible to be in a cockpit in record time.

When he was stable, Pietro flew to Indianapolis to meet with the best specialist in race car accidents in the world, Dr. Terry Trammel. He stayed for several weeks in a loaned motorhome right on the grounds of the Indy500 track, close to his passion, surrounded by his family, the rehabilitation experts and his peers - some of whom had recovered from accidents as well (as his IndyCar teammate Sebastian Bourdais). The rehabilitation involved long hours of specific exercises with therapists, massages, bone stimulation and swimming. It took Pietro twelve weeks to be able to walk with a dolly where he rested his right leg. There were two fundamental goals for him to recover: 1) To know why the accident had happened; and 2) To get into a race car as soon as possible.

By mid-June, he was being fitted into the cockpit of his Dale Coyne Honda Team IndyCar #19 and in July he was ready to race in the last five races with consistent performances. Medically, it probably was too early for Pietro to return to racing, but he couldn’t wait - and he surprised everyone. Fitted with a custom graphite boot, he could exert the required breaking force - which requires much higher pressure than in a street car. His team also made the necessary ergonomic adjustments to his seat. The media paid attention and he received constant praise for his courage and perseverance, especially by ESPN commentators who marveled at his competitive skills.

Getting to Formula One: a tale of persistence, skills and values

In September, Pietro’s future was uncertain, as there were no contracts lined up. He was gradually healing his leg through innumerable hours of therapy. He was still in pain and the x-rays still showed a separation in the bones of the right leg. In addition, world-class racing is an extraordinarily expensive sport in which the driver has to come to the team with millions of dollars in sponsorship money to sit in a car. Time was running out to raise the required funds and he felt is IndyCar results would not be sufficient to convince team owners to confirm him for 2019. But there was still an important option to consider… Pietro had met several times with Guenther Steiner (Team Principal of F1 Team Haas) and the possibility of becoming a test and reserve driver had emerged.

Pietro and I met for coffee at our regular hangout and analyzed the situation. I believe that expanding perception and shifting viewpoints is of critical importance to arrive to Breakthrough. For me, the most important factor was that his courageous recovery was telling a much larger and profound story than the results. The record is important, but his professionalism, conviction and dedication to his craft were signaling the racing world that he’s one of a kind.

Over the course of almost three hours, our conversation explored all possibilities and opportunities. I was pleased to notice that, at the end, Pietro’s mood had changed and he understood that the invitation that Guenther Steiner had extended him was based on his character, values, work ethic, skills and potential than his results. A few weeks later, Pietro and I had lunch and talked about his options. Suddenly, and in a completely serendipitous manner, we see Guenther Steiner walk towards us. I watched him talk to Pietro in an upbeat and positive manner, as if he was already his leader, indicating that he would be extremely valuable in his role and that he expected him to meet the team in Austin and then test in Abu Dhabi at the end of November. When Guenther left, we sat down and I told Pietro that back in September I was right, that he was being hired for who he is and for why he races, not only for how he does it and all possible commercial considerations. He smiled and I could see that he had internalized his new reality.

After a satisfactory test in Abu Dhabi, his first time driving an F1 car at speeds close to 300 kph (and the best day of his life, so far), Pietro flew to Japan to negotiate a possible slot in a new team, if they can add a third car. Racing Japan Super Formula will be important for him, so he can continue honing his skills at speeds similar to F1, while he supports Team Haas through the entire 2019 calendar. It has been an extraordinary year, one that a Mental Toughness Training expert like me could frame as the template for becoming resistant, strong, resilient, flexible and fast under pressure - both in competition and in life. Pietro has undergone a mythical transformation through “The Hero’s Journey” and now is in a position to share the bounty of wisdom with all of us. It’s been a year marked by Breakthrough in all its phases: Imagine, Improve, Inspire and Ignite - and now there are new moonshots for him to strive to, reach and enjoy.

What you can learn from Pietro’s Breakthrough and apply:

• IMAGINE: You might want to set up a goal that extends at least 300% beyond your current situation. Analyze where you are now and explore what stretch goal could be attainable if you invest time, effort and find support to get it. What do you want to do that represents a Breakthrough and why? What would you do that you can’t stop yourself from attempting?

• IMPROVE: You need to live today in the way you expect to live when you attain your goal by feeling, thinking and doing what your new identity would require. You need to declare yourself “in training” and refine your knowledge, skills, attitudes and habits that will determine your success every step of the way. What does your Breakthrough situation require you to do?

• INSPIRE: You inspire yourself by understanding how to operate in your Ideal Performance State, by modeling the success of those who have gone before you and by recalling your most successful moments in life. You also become aware that as you move forward towards your Breakthrough, you inspire others who might be looking at how you manage your quest. What is the set of feelings, thoughts and behaviors that represent your Success mindset? What are you willing to do when reality and facts confront you? In which ways are you prepared to be resilient and continue moving forwards towards your dream?

• IGNITE: As you define your path to Breakthrough, you start getting feedback on your performance and impact on your environment. You are leading by example and you become a reference for others. In your role, you are now igniting changes in perception and behavior, and perhaps starting a positive trend. Embrace this role: you are in Breakthrough territory. Spend time envisioning your next Breakthrough, one that is significant and leaves a legacy. What’s the story worth telling about your path to Breakthrough that can help others Imagine, Improve, Inspire and Ignite positive change? How is your world (and the world at large) better because you got what you wanted?

• Get Started - Download your Breakthrough Design Exploration Chart

Enzo Fittipaldi: “I Want to Win the Championship!”

When I met Enzo, we were celebrating Pietro’s conquest of the World Championship. It was a wonderful lunch in December 2017 with their parents and Caio Campos, our common friend married to my former client Michelle, who had introduced us. I watched Enzo, sitting besides me, stay quiet and enjoy the moment. I noticed he had ordered something different from everyone else (we were at a steakhouse). After an hour or so, I asked him: “So, Enzo, what do you want? What’s your big dream?” He didn’t pause, he just told me point blank: “I want to win the Championship!” Everyone was taken aback by his assertiveness and there were smiles all around the table. I realized that Enzo had an unstoppable desire boiling inside him and that he was anxious to let it free. One could not ignore the pressure of the name Fittipaldi and not having a Championship, but Enzo impressed me as wanting to be fully himself.

A few weeks later, I was asked to start working with Enzo to help him achieve his moonshot. He trains year round at the Ferrari Development Academy in Maranello, Italy, where the factory is located. Only a few young drivers from around the world are selected each year to join the elite program. They are supported by a capable team of trainers and have access to the most sophisticated technical equipment, such as racing simulators, to refine their skills. Enzo fulfills his high school commitments online with the help of a tutor. All medical testing is done regularly and the organization reports to the parents regularly.

Enzo’s training and racing calendar for Formula 4 was packed, with only a few rare breaks on weekends and in the summer. He would be racing both the Italian and German Championships, representing 41 races in total. The training planning had to be precise, with clear objectives and milestones. We met on a weekly basis online, analyzing each detail of his racing experience to discover where he could have advantages. We also discussed how to get along better with his Ferrari teammates and his Prema Team engineer. Enzo learned how to access his Ideal Performance State on demand and under pressure, and we refined every element that might contribute to it. Racing F4 at over 200 kph requires focus to react in milliseconds, so visual intelligence (focus, fast recognition, pattern recognition and decision making) comes into play. His thinking became both tactical and strategic, which helped calm down his anxiety when he was challenged during the race and reduced the number of mistakes. Sleep patterns, diet, planning for personal time, recovery, variety and intense fun were also fundamental components of his performance plan.

The results started to appear, first in irregular patterns, and from the summer break onward in consistent, remarkable victories. At the same time, his rivals became more aggressive, but only one was the real contender to the title, both in the Italian and German Championships. Two times he was hit by other drivers who intended to pressure Enzo into making mistakes. In one occasion, he kept his hands on the steering as he hit a wall and the impact broke his right hand. He said nothing, taped it tight and kept racing, letting it heal on its own rather than being forced to take time off. Again, I was impressed by his determination to succeed.

Enzo finished third in the German Championships, where the Prema Team had trouble getting the right settings for the car. By the time the last race of the Italian Championships arrived in Mugello, Enzo was ranked second with a small difference in points to bridge. His position was being challenged by one of his young Prema teammates who had made great improvements. I created a music video in which I edited the best scenes of his racing career and all his pole positions and victories till that point (the soundtrack was enormously powerful and emotional). I asked Enzo to watch the video every day for two weeks. We huddled through several sessions to identify all relevant factors that could lead to the win. Most importantly, he had to qualify in pole position to create distance with his two fastest rivals. There was a chance it could rain, so we also considered that Enzo loves the rain and that he’s always demonstrated an advantage. He delivered and qualified in pole position twice in a masterful way.

On the first race, his main rival (Lorandi, the only Italian contender) hit him and took him out in the early laps. Not only that: for the second time in the year, the impact of the steering against his right hand injured him and, as before, rather than being forced to withdraw he taped it and moved on. Thanks to poetic justice, Lorandi could not finish the race as in the last lap he had to quit due to serious damage. The Championship remained at a standstill, as neither Enzo nor Lorandi got points. Yet, Enzo’s teammate Caldwell, ranked 3rd, got closer to both.

In the second race, under the rain, Enzo took off from pole position but Lorandi used his speed to catch up and, in an incredibly dramatic finish, Enzo won by one third of a second in a photo finish. Initially, there was doubt about the ending, but the officials confirmed Enzo’s triumph by 0.28” - a massive relief. His extraordinary effort was rewarded the next day on the third race, in heavy rain, where Enzo used again his pole position to remain at the top after a series of accidents which forced the organizers to end the race with the safety car at the front. It was an incredibly tense ending as so many things could have gone wrong in an inundated track. I screamed and cried like I haven’t done it in a long time, probably since I celebrated one of my own victories as a tennis player four decades ago.

AN EPIC FINISH - 2ND RACE IN MUGELLO - ENZO WINS BY 0.28”

THE SWEET TASTE OF VICTORY - A FLOOD OF EMOTIONS

Enzo has grown as a race car driver and as a young man. He’s certainly matured and he feels the difference. He recognizes he has learned to love the pressure and find joy in competing under the most varied circumstances, always pumping himself up from positive emotion. He has a sense of humility and a personal code of conduct. He sees himself as a lifelong learner, choosing to start his next season as a blank slate, to be a sponge for all the new concepts he’ll have to assimilate. As his coach, I could not have asked for more: pressure is a privilege and only Champions understand what it means to enjoy it. He’s the Formula 4 Italian Champion, a prestigious title that means a lot for those on the path to Formula One. Next, he will be racing in Formula 3 in Europe and Asia. Another opportunity for Breakthrough… and new levels of wisdom to inspire others to grow.

enzo (l) and Pietro (r) with emerson fittipaldi

two great champions, the best under pressure - and their whisperer

What you can learn from Enzo’s road the the Championship and apply:

• Commit to Your Vision: for both Enzo and Pietro, there’s no doubt about what their True North is. They both want to get to become Formula One drivers, like their grandfather Emerson. Their commitment involves creating a firewall behind them, as if there’s no option but to keep moving forward. Failure means only failing forward, failing better, ensuring that every experience becomes a learning opportunity to refine their Breakthrough strategy. How can you ensure your commitment to your vision?

• Work from Your Strengths: Enzo’s year was plagued by obstacles, negativity from others and the stigma that his prestigious last name determines his destiny. From day one, we recognized (as with Pietro) that we would be working with sub-optimal situations and transforming them into extraordinary solutions. By focusing on his strengths, Enzo overcame substantial challenges, overwhelming his weak areas with his determination to succeed. How are you going to become a phenomenal solutions designer? What strengths are going to take you through the fire?

• Grit is Stronger than Talent: Enzo is a talented and resourceful driver, a great reader of people, opponents and situations. He’s eager to connect with others in a genuine fashion and follows a disciplined regimen. Enzo understood that the strength of his character and his grit were his best tools to excel in a rudely competitive environment. In June, he took me by surprise when he concluded that all of our work together was “to find out who I really am, to figure out my real identity.” I congratulated on his epiphany and committed myself to supporting his quest. How does your struggle to solve challenges manifest your identity? How do you become better by competing for what you want?

• Find the Joy in Every Challenge: The confident competitor understands that challenges are stimulants for personal and professional growth. Enzo arrived to the conclusion that “being in the moment” and “in the zone” represent an opportunity not only to solve the puzzle but also to become a better solutions designer. Rather than feeling bogged down by the intense opposition he faced, he shifted his focus to a growth mindset: whatever came his way was good for him, it made him tougher. How are you interpreting the challenges you face? How many approaches do you use to shift your mindset into high, positive emotion?

• Execute when it matters: It would have been easier and more comfortable for Enzo to declare himself runner-up in the Italian Championship when the pressure was mounting. However, he knew that complacency was not an option: only winners get a seat at the table and enter conversations for top teams and large sponsors. He decided that he would do whatever was required to win, starting with putting together exceptionally good qualifying laps to ensure a pole position. And he did it: the results came because he invested everything he had learned about mental toughness from day one. It all came to a point: standing at the P1 step at the podium. What must you do to create the framework that allows you to execute flawlessly under pressure? What would be “the win” for you?

• Get Started - Download your Breakthrough Design Exploration Chart

  I look forward to assisting you in the design of your Breakthrough Strategy

[Download] Your Breakthrough Exploration Chart

A few moments of introspection have led to Breakthrough ideas and extraordinary solutions. An Eureka! moment is the result of a series of connections between possibilities and opportunities. You can now get your Breakthrough design process started by Downloading a one-page thinking tool. The average workout is approximately 15 minutes. [Click to DOWNLOAD]

Living Your Highest Goal

What is Your Highest Goal?  Why does it matter? Who benefits from it besides you?  

Here's a valuable exercise for you to find out.  Here's what to do...

1. Read the excerpt of "The Highest Goal" by Michael Ray (Stanford University) [Read]
2. Go through the exercise suggested in "The Highest Goal" article and then answer these Questions:

On Your Worldview:

• What is the question that defines who I am?  
• What is my motivation to do what I do and for whom?  
• In which ways do I create a path for others to grow and prosper?

On Your Purpose:

• How am I indispensable to the world?  
• How does my life story end and how will others say I've contributed?  
• What's the phrase I want everyone to hear and share?

On Your Vision:

• Whom do I inspire and why?  
• What do I want them to do with me and why?  
• What is my rallying cry?  
• Who's following, who doesn't and why?  
• What's enough and why?

On Your Impact:

• How do I know that what I do matters to others?  
• What specific feedback keeps me on-track and on-mission?  
• What do I need to do more of - and less of?  
• In which ways can I magnify my contributions?  
• If my "doing" ever stops, what would remain?

Find more inspiration by reading "The Tao of Richard Saul Wurman" [Read]  - Richard Saul Wurman is the founder of the legendary TED, TEDMED and WWW Conferences, and an example of someone living The Highest Goal.  

Download a poster on Breakthrough Thinking

To understand how you can align the answers to these Questions into a Leadership Performance Strategy, or a way to design your Legacy, or to facilitate a Career Transition, contact Carlos Salum.