“We come nearest to the great when we are great in humility.
– Rabindranath Tagore
Oh, humility. We’ve all be taken down a step or two in life. Tagore felt it if he was able to say this. And like Tagore, Allen Berg lives it – on both sides.
Berg was a Formula One race driver. And when I use those words, I’m cognoscente of the fact that most people interpret that to mean “he raced some funny looking cars”. But there’s a huge difference between Formula One and everything else.
Formula One: Just Being There is Huge
Formula One is, by a significant margin, the pinnacle of motorsports. There are other great motorsports, absolutely. But Formula one means you’re in the best 20 racers in the world. Not like the NBA, where making it there means you’re among the best 3-400 basketball players in the world. It’s more like making the NBA All-Stars. The starters in NBA All-Star games are household names, just like the top-ten Formula One drivers are housefhold names everywhere else in the world. If you’re in F1, you’re NBA All-Stars level good at racing and attaining sponsorship.
And yes, there are those flat-earthers who feel racing isn’t a sport. That’s fine. Don’t fall off the edge looking for the cameras that faked the moon landing.
Racing Senna: Humbling
For the rest of us, understand that Berg raced Senna throughout his career. For those who don’t know, Senna is the Michael Jordan of Formula One. Okay, Berg didn’t beat Senna, but he did get on the track with him. And that’s the first side of Berg’s humility. He’s always quick to unequivocally explain that he was no Senna, he just raced with him. But still, just being there is a big deal.
And then there’s the other side of Berg’s humility. Many people feel that racing a car is like driving a car around the streets, fast. In fact, it’s just about the opposite of what most people do.
Teaching the Next Senna: Teaching Humility
So when Tom-Cruise-wannabes show up at Allen’s school with something to prove, driving their Lamborghini, Allen has to quickly get their attention with the reality they don’t yet grasp. In this way, Allen makes a living out of teaching humility. And having been a motorsport instructor myself, let me clarify this for you: it’s not easy.
And the consequences are stark. If Senna or Clark, the best the world has known, can be taken from us, it can happen to anybody. If Allen doesn’t quickly get the attention of his hothead of the day, the result can be catastrophic. And yet, Allen takes on this challenge day after day.
If you want to learn from a real Formula One driver, in the best cars, on the best tracks, check out Allen Berg Racing Schools. It will be worth everything you invest.