From a very early age I have found myself breaking things down, opening them up, taking components out and re-purposing them. 

I have made a habit of trying to fix electronics that broke down around the house, just as well as engine toys, such as the remote-controlled cars and boats, I owned with my brother as kids. 

I also had an uncle who introduced me to motorcycling from a very young age and as you imagine, I learned a thing or two about mechanics, engines and how to fix … say a transmission fault because my younger brother insisted on riding my bike, and proceeding to cause said transmission fault. 

The passion of motorcycling grew within the family and, forward many years later, I have found myself taking apart motorcycles and re-building them into unique, machines.

Off-course, he who says custom builds almost always says competition and subsequently competition means winning … success or failure. 

At this point, you’re probably wondering: well, what can I learn from a motorcycle competition experience?

Three lessons exactly, that you can apply, revolving around the understanding of success and failure: 

1. Leave no room for compromise: I don't want to over-philosophize it, but my very recent participation in the Australian Pipeburn "Covid Custom Motorcycle Show" has somehow made me come to a realization I was up to a point conceitedly trying to ward off, and that is the idea of "compromise". The outcome of the show made me realize that to succeed, one must make no compromises, yet also compromise. We are all unique and individual in one way or the other, and the measurement of success varies upon how we choose to play out that uniqueness and individualism, if at all, and which unit of measurement and tool we use to gauge that success. What counts more, individual success, or mass success? How much are we willing to compromise? Do we lose on individualism for mass appeal, or risk the latter in order to stay true to oneself? Tricky questions, and a trickier balancing act. 

2. Success is in the eye of the beholder: What I have come to learn through my personal experience in retrospect is that while beauty is in the eye of the beholder, similarly is success too perhaps. In the same way that I saw my custom bike build as a success not only through my eyes, but also through the eyes of a certain amount of like-minded individuals, it at the same time failed to garner mass general appeal to make it a tangible success, and that is the cost of not having been flexible with my own idealistic concept and approach, while making a lot of compromises on quality and finish.

3. Who determines success: individual success is me being supportive of myself and walking to the beat of my own drum and perhaps that of a few followers and supporters. That might work well when you are working for yourself, or for that handful of people/supporters. But when the judges have other criteria to measure success by, then you must take that into account and “build your custom” to the liking of the masses. Experience and feedback are key enablers of understanding what elements of your personality and individuality are right to garner mass general appeal and for “judges” to perceive success with the same eye.

In Conclusion: whether you are building a custom bike or working on a project with different team members in the corporate world, you must always be conscious of these three elements to insure a successful outcome. Most things in life are relative, and a question of perception. You may see yourself as a successful person but your boss and colleagues may see things differently. Always take a moment to align on what is unique and personal versus what guidelines or standards others are pegging your work against.

If you take your development seriously, and seek growth and success; and if you are committed to change and transforming into the best version of yourself; then Get in Touch and so we can start your transformation… Here’s Good News: You can Make It!

Written by Youssef Azmi. Founder of Rider Cult -Motorcycle Lifestyle for Here’s Good News, a training and development company dedicated to your personal and professional growth, offering learning modules, coaching sessions and personal training. Like this blog? Share and Subscribe to never miss a post. Fill in your details in the get in touch tab and receive a courtesy call to start building your dreams and achieving your goals and Here’s Good News: You Can Make It!