What an exciting morning here in Hawaii!

I got up early (yes, we’re six hours behind Eastern time during the Summer) to watch Danica Patrick , a true contender race car driver in the 89th annual Indy 500 held in Indianpolis this year.

Her qualifying speed of 227.004 mph was fourth fastest, earning her the top starting position by a woman in the race’s history.

“Danica Patrick, 23, the only woman in the 33-car lineup and only the fourth female to race in the big event at the Brickyard in its 89-year history, is squarely in the spotlight heading into the 500-mile race.” ~ reported by The NY Daily News via RSS feed, May 29th, 2005.

Danica lead in the last 12 laps in the Indy 500 race this morning - and almost won her first ever Indy race - while still a rookie! - She made history as the first woman racer to lead one lap in the Indy 500 - let alone leading a total of 14 laps!!!!

Danica Patrick became the first woman to lead the Indy 500 on the 56th lap! She kept herself in the top 5 positions during the majority of the first part of the race. Despite some setbacks, rookie mistakes, including a minor accident, she still pulled off a bold move and wound up being the race leader again, held that position in the last 8 laps of the race, and could have very well won the Indy 500 with as little as a half gallon more of fuel!

Although Danica Patrick wound up placing 4th place when the Indy 500 race was over, she showed the world what she was made of, and I predict her taking first place in the not too distant future. Danica Patrick is the fastest female in the Indy 500, and she’ll soon be the fastest racer.

With all the obstacles Danica overcame throughout the race - including an engine stall in the pits, a 360 degree spin out, a bump from another racer’s tires, then later in a minor accident — she continued to recover, gain her composure, stay focused and came back, again and again. Going from 16th place to 8th place during laps 79 - 151, she later took the lead in the final 10 laps, with a courageous move that came with the risk of running out of fuel in the last lap.

It was a risky and bold move approved by her championship coach, Bobby Rahall, and it proved the perfect move that got her in the final four on the last lap. A race I’ll remember forever - and fortunately, others will too, as she made history today, and will go down in immortality in the history books - not just the race car books where the winners go ever year.

The underdog makes bold moves

Danica Patrick certainly won in my book today, and in the hearts of millions who watched and cheered on. Whether fans of the sport were at the edge of their seats in their living rooms, like my husband and I, or out of their seats standing in the Indianpolis stadium, everyone was impressed with the feat she pulled off today.

She had an entire stadium filled with standing fans and admirers who respected what she did in the final 12 laps. No one - I repeat - NO ONE was seated, and the crowd was cheering her on, men and women alike, whether they were fans of hers or Andretti fans, they were waving their caps and cheering for what she accomplished today…

Ahhh… what an awesome and exciting race!!!

Danica Patrick has led an interesting life that has served to develop her skills in the racing industry.

What you can take away from Danica’s performance as a small business owner

Her focus, determination and ability to handle an Indy car as fast as the next guy is an example for all small business owners who experience a “stall” in their business, or get into an accident with a business move that doesn’t pan out as well as they’d hoped.

Keep this in mind:

A stall doesn’t mean defeat.

Failures and mistakes don’t mean defeat. Even the risk of running out of funds (or fuel) should not stop us from pursuing our goals with every ounce of energy we’ve got. It’s tough mentally, but you need to focus ONLY on one thing — winning.

You can’t make determinations of your future based on one time incidents because you just never know. And Danica Patrick, a 23 year old woman from Illinois certainly just proved that today as she raced her heart out.

Let her inspire you to keep going forward in your business - even when you think the chips are down. You just might make history.

PS: Post your comments if you tuned in to this race, and share your thoughts and predictions. Where do you see Danica Patrick in the next 3-5 years?

BTW: If you happen to know Danica, and you’re reading this, let her know that I’d love to interview her in an upcoming Effective Entrepreneur Radio Show. If she’d like to inspire other women to pursue their big goals, and share her strategies for success, send her our way. I’d love to meet this amazing woman!

Deborah Micek
The Business Communication Coach
Business Owners Coaching Club

The © Copyright to all audio, video, images, and text are held by RPM Success Group Inc. and licensed under a Creative Commons License.