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My husband’s biggest hobby is something most people have never heard of. It’s called “24 Hours of Lemons.” It’s endurance racing (like Le Mans) but for cars that frankly don’t look roadworthy (hence Lemons). Most teams are amateur racers and engineers, and most of the cars are somewhat cobbled together. My husband’s team’s car is an extreme example. It’s truly Frankenstein’s monster — a 45-year-old Triumph Spitfire body with a Triumph GT6 roof and a Ford Ranger engine under the hood — and the judges seem to love them for it.

The race they compete in annually just happened, and even though, with two kids in tow, I usually only last about an hour watching (and the car is sometimes broken for all or part of that time), I always walk away amazed by the folks that participate in this (sort of scary) sport. I realized this time that the things that amaze me are so broadly applicable that Meaghan has actually written about all of them on The Mentor Blog. Here are a few that come to mind:

– Long-Term Thinking. My husband’s team added a massive wing on the back of the car for this race. Apparently, it had its intended effect of making the car feel actually responsive and less “squirrelly,” so they felt more comfortable driving the car harder. But this is an endurance race with unreliable cars. They tried to resist the temptation to up their lap speed. The upside of a few more laps in an hour was not worth the risk of a time-consuming repair that keeps them off the track (and not doing any laps) for many hours (that said, see below).

Meaghan concluded a Mentor Blog called “What I Wish Someone Told Me” with the reminder that billing an obscene amount of hours to the detriment of all else in life can be a recipe for burnout. Sometimes you may need to remind yourself that this is your career — not just your job today — and that the deal of the day can’t keep taking precedence over your health and relationships.  

– A Growth Mindset. Of the six members of my husband’s team, not one of them has a degree or professional background in automotive engineering. They have learned hundreds of new skills they didn’t have before and they did it in front of people! In some cases, track side with other teams watching. (Ahh!) They might have been afraid of failure and embarrassment, but they didn’t show it and it didn’t stop them.

My inclination to learn and perfect something privately seemed like a strength to me when I was younger. Now I try to see when it is holding me back (it’s even the reason I didn’t like going bowling until my 20s) and recognize when I’ve developed skills that can translate to other roles and contexts. I was inspired my Meaghan’s “why not try it?” approach, and I’ve been trying to channel that energy myself!

– Optimism & Resourcefulness. This was the second race where his team won the award for “Heroic Fix.” It goes to the team that successfully tackles a repair (or, in their case, three repairs) and gets back on the track after everyone thought it wasn’t possible. Some teams with devastating damage “throw in the towel.” In fact, when we leave, we spectators often see a few broken lemons on trailers in town leaving the race early. But optimistic racers (like my husband!) set aside their disappointment about being towed off the track and realizing they didn’t pack the particular part they need. They walk the paddock looking for teams that have spare parts, tools or even skills that the team with the broken car doesn’t have . . . yet! (This is a collaborative more than competitive league — and most teams are willing to share!)

I was reminded of Meaghan’s blog about setting aside the things we can’t control and focusing on what we can change — sometimes we need to give ourselves the pep talk we need and get to it!

If you don’t already, go sign up to receive The Mentor Blog in your inbox to benefit from Meaghan’s valuable and entertaining career wisdom — without all these unnecessary automotive analogies. The blog is available to members of TheCorporateCounsel.net. If you’re not already a member, sign up to take advantage of the no-risk “100-Day Promise” — during the first 100 days as an activated member, you may cancel for any reason and receive a full refund.

Finally, unrelated to the law at all, but for your viewing pleasure, here is the aforementioned “lemon.” I hope you have a great weekend and make some lemonade!

– Meredith Ervine