I Was Blown Away by This Quote About Winning (First 60 Seconds) | Danica Patrick on Impact Theory

This was probably the most valuable thing I [music] ever learned in my life. When I was a kid, uh my dad, he was my [music] coach, essentially, he's my dad. You know, you're racing and you can turn around and look in the go-kart. He used to get so pissed [music] at me and he would say, "You look where your eyes go. So, look forward. Don't turn around." [music] But, isn't that a metaphor for everything? You look where your eyes go. Just like where your mind goes. Wherever [music] you set your your your point of reference on your your mental attention, your focus, that is where you're going. How are you going to have a positive life from negative thoughts? You can't, [music] cuz you're going to perpetuate more negative thoughts and you're going to attract vibrationally and frequency-wise [music] people that are thinking that same way. So, if you [music] want to expand and grow and rise and meet new people and do bigger, better things, then you've got to think about what you do want, not what you don't [music] want. So, 100% if you're looking at the wall, you're going there. [music] Hey, everybody. Welcome to Impact Theory. Today's guest is a record holder many times over and one of the most recognizable athletes on the planet. Her list of accomplishments is so long, we would need an entire show just to read them, but here are just a few of the highlights. She's the first woman ever to lead in an IndyCar race, the first woman ever to win an IndyCar race, and when she arrived on the scene, she was only the fourth woman ever to race in the Indianapolis 500. She's also the first woman to hold pole position in the Daytona 500 and she's only the second woman of all time to hold the pole position in the Indy Racing League, where she was named the Rookie of the Year in 2005 Championship. She holds a record for being the highest finishing female ever in a NASCAR National Stock Car series and she also holds the record for the most top 10 finishes by any woman in the history of Sprint Cup competition. Her fourth place finish in the Indy 500 is also the highest ranking ever for a woman. She is tough and aggressive behind the wheel and Paul Newman, an accomplished race car driver himself, said we will probably never see a female driver like her again. She was named the female athlete of the year by United Sports Academy. She's graced the cover of Sports Illustrated and has proven with her book Pretty Intense that her fitness extends well beyond the racetrack. Recently retired from racing, she's launched two companies, Warrior Clothing and Somnium Vineyard in Deer Park, California, proving beyond a shadow of a doubt that she'll be thriving long after the sound of her final lap fades from memory. So, please help me in welcoming the most successful woman in the history of open wheel racing, Danica Patrick. Thank you. Thank you for coming on. Thank you. It's a mouthful. [music] It is. Your list of accomplishments is pretty ridiculous. I did finish third at Indy one year, too. So, Shame on me. The The flagellation will be extreme, I assure you. Unfortunately, the internet helped me with some of those stats and they they led me astray. So, we will Yeah, we'll have to update that stuff. But, man, it really is crazy [clears throat] and it's extra crazy when you think about what statistically speaking makes you such a crazy underdog, which is one I'd love to know, why do you think there are so few women in racing? I mean, I think it's just a matter of your exposure. So, when you're when you're a kid, it's um I mean, racing in general's not the easiest thing to to start out doing. Um you know, you somebody has to know how to get you into a go-kart or get you into a you know, mini sprint or some kind of a some something with an engine and that's expensive, it's complicated, you have to have technical expertise in some way, which my dad had. Um so I think you have to have the exposure and then you have to think of it. You know, it's not a sport in school, right? You don't just sign up for racing, so like you would sign up for basketball or football or something like that. So I feel like it has to do with your exposure really that that gives you the idea. So for myself, my dad raced growing up uh and it was actually my sister who wanted to do it. She um she uh she was eight and I was 10 years old and there was somebody in her class that raced go-karts and they happened to live in the neighborhood, so we went down and looked at the go-karts and and we bought go-karts and the rest is history. So what is it about you and your sister? Why didn't she continue to pursue it the way that you did? Um because she got bumped around a lot. Yeah, she was getting like driven over and let's just face it, it wasn't her calling. I mean, I think that that's at the end of the day, you have to be really really passionate about something and really want something or something about it that, you know, pushes you when things get difficult and I've always said that's kind of the difference between mhm my success or me and some other people is that when it gets difficult, I try harder. That's of course going to happen, but when it gets difficult again, I try harder and there's still some that'll keep doing it. But when it gets difficult again, I try harder and maybe you're down to a few people. So there's not really a point in time that I didn't dig deeper and try harder. So yeah, she wasn't slow. She just like she was getting driven over and she just didn't really like it. What you just went through is is [cough and clears throat] like my fetish. So I want to understand what makes you the person that keeps going and going and going and digging deeper and figuring out like another gear to find when other people don't because I really I have that same thing and oh my god, like once I set my sights on something [ __ ] forget it. Literally health be damned, it doesn't matter. Like if if it is in my head that that is something I want then I will keep ratcheting up. And that's so intoxicating and it makes my life so beautiful and so joyous and I love it so much that and I know not everybody wants it, but the people that do, like I want to show them how to like dig deep. Mhm. So, how does one dig deep? You got to dream, right? I mean, I'm sure that when you find something that you love to do, you think how far could that go? And you have to you have to do that, right? You have to set some goals for yourself. Number one, you want to find things that you're good at, right? So, probably not going to be a basketball player being 5'1 and 1/2. I get that half at 5'1. You know, you've got to find things that you're really good at and can thrive. Um but then beyond that, you have to dream into how far it can go because if you don't, whether you think you can or you think you can't, you're right. So, if you haven't even thought of an idea, you for sure can't because you haven't even thought of it. Um and then, you know, then it's a matter of uh time. Your book pretty intense. You go into the mindset. Mhm. Which is a pretty [clears throat] cool way to open the book. I really like that. Mhm. Um talk to me about some of the key things that you've built into your mindset that you think have allowed you to win at such a high level. Well, I mean, you know, you you do have to believe in yourself. And I say that like hesitantly because of course I have of course I've lacked confidence from here here and there. I think that that's human nature to have some doubt. Um so I think that I think that you have to find something that you really want and you have to have that really aspirational goal far in the distance so that the little things along the way aren't such a big deal. Um you know, and and it helps pull you into the next event or the next year or the next job or the next opportunity. Um and you can also look at things as a learning experience at times other than trying to make everything successful. I think that's a really common thing that people experience and do is that you know, they they want this dream job or this dream situation and they don't just get started. Like just get going. Go to school or get a job or be an intern. Like it's probably not going to go perfect, but for sure you'll learn. You're always going to learn even from the mistakes and so sometimes the mistakes teach you even bigger lessons. So um so that ability to know that when it doesn't go well that that's all just part of the journey. Um so I found that I was really like I loved that part about about racing and about really anything um is that the journey really is the fun part because maybe you can relate when you finally arrive somewhere it's never enough anyway. Right? It's like what next? No question. Walk me through that moment. You're in a bar at like 14 or something and this is going to be right. Right, but you'll you'll know where I'm headed in a minute. I must [clears throat] have been in England. No, you haven't gotten to England yet. But you walk up to the British guy and you start asking him a bunch of questions about racing in England. You click something in his mind. He extends you an invitation when you're ready to come to England. What I want to know about is the moment that you actually decide to go to England. You said you're not a daredevil, so it's not just the devil may care attitude, but that's really ballsy. You drop out of high school, move away from your family, go live on your own at 16. Like the thought of who I was at 16, I was I would not have been ready for that. [clears throat] Um are you courageous? Is that something that you cultivate in yourself? Um did you just not think it through? Like what was that moment? I I mean as far as like the courageous part real quick, like I find a lot of satisfaction in testing my limits. So it doesn't mean I'm not scared. Like we're actually just talking about this earlier today about cutting my hair. And I'm like I've never cut my hair in my entire life and I just even the even though that's small, like I just love to push my comfort zone just to know I can. I've also bungee jumped. It's not something I love. I don't enjoy it. It's not fun. I'm scared of heights, but I love to know that I can accomplish whatever it is that I need to or want to, no matter how big or scary it is. The ESPYs, hosting the ESPYs last year, oh my god, I was like, who I'm not funny. Like, how am I going to do this? And but I said yes because it scared me as much as it excited me. And I was like, got to do it then. I mean, I I think that um you know, walking into that, it was the story about the bar. I was 14-year-old um at the Indianapolis Motor Speedway. I was in a turn two suite um which was owned by a a wealthy guy and um he was helping another driver uh Lyn St. James, a female driver. And she was kind of walking me around and helping me out. So, she sent me up there and I sat down at the bar in the suite, um ordered my kitty cocktail, and sat next to this British guy, and he was talking about racing, and you know, he's telling me I could learn more in 1 year in England than 5 years over here. And I thought, well, that sounds smart. Um and so, 2 years later, when I was 16, they had kept up with my career and they'd contacted us again and said, "Hey, we'd like to have a meeting." So, we almost didn't go. I mean, how sliding doors central. Like, we almost didn't go. It was raining out. It was a 4-hour drive each way from where we lived in Illinois. And we decided to go. And the story of my life would be that I always I feel like I always do the right Like, I can't say always. That's not true. I usually do the right thing. And so, we got in the car and we went down there, had the meeting, and then that fall, they had told me, "You know, we've been following you and we'd like to help you, you know, become a race car driver, and we'd like to send you to England." So, I went over and tested a car, went over for the for the winter and left school for a little while and did what they call a winter series race, and um and then dropped out of high school um soon after and when I was a junior. Not the greatest advocate for school. [laughter] Yeah, no, I got you. You seem [clears throat] to have an inhuman ability to focus. One, just to be a good driver, it seems like you have to have an insane ability to focus. But two, with the amount of noise that must have been around you coming into it, um to to be able to shut that out and do your thing, is that is that something that you would chalk up as an innate ability or is that something that you've worked on? Yeah, you work on that. Um I think that's probably focus at least from the standpoint of driving the car was always something I said that was a training program. The races when I was a kid were eight laps and then they were 10 and then they were 12 and then they were 20 and then they were 50 and you know, then you get into cars. So, you know, that focus grows and then all of the sudden you're at the Coke 600 for, you know, 5 plus hours or the Southern 500 or the Indy 500 for 4 hours and you, you know, that focus, you don't know how to do that out of the box. So, there's that focus um that is something that's nurtured and grown and um then the ability itself to just block out the noise. Um you know, I I feel like yes, it's possible to be insecure and I think that the reason why I didn't get insecure about the [ __ ] people were saying about me was because I was doing my best. I was trying hard. I was putting in the effort. Um there wasn't anything I wasn't prepared to do to make it all happen. And so, if you're a lazy person and you don't do what you think you should be doing, then when somebody says something bad, you're going to feel insecure cuz you know exactly how you could have done better. So, I didn't leave those things to chance. Like I didn't leave myself open for criticism in a way that would be, you know, highly insulting to me. I I did the work. Uh I think that's valuable. I think that's an important lesson if you're going to do something and not be offended when you're putting in your best work. What am I going to do? Just not like myself? I mean, there's times I don't like myself, but you know, there's the that's the alternative is to just not like yourself even though you've been doing your best, which doesn't usually happen. So, got to put the effort in. When I think about going all in on something, putting in the effort, to me it's driven by that we you said you've got to want something. Like there's got to be something that you're driven by, whether it's a dream or whatever. What makes you cultivate that? Like do you find that life is better when you have some intense thing that you're chasing? Like you've launched two businesses recently. Um there's there's obviously a sense for you of either wanting to do things that you just enjoy intrinsically or once you make it a company it seems like maybe there's something more to it than that. Like what is the organizing principle of your mind? Like for me, mine is I need to matter. That's very important to me. So, whatever I do, and I'm not saying that's good or bad. I'm saying it is true. I need to matter. I have invested a lot of putting value on that, deciding that it's something I want to care about, deciding it needs to be a part of my life. And because of that I get a huge like neurochemical reward when I do things that I see echoing through the world. So, that's a big thing for me. I always pursue that. Um do you have something like that? Like you've worked so [ __ ] hard to get where you are. Like why try so hard? Yeah. Every now and again I think to myself I could just do nothing. I'm sure you've thought the same thing from time to time. Just do nothing. In fact, people were asking me at the end of my career they're like, "Oh, these companies that are launching, is this your backup plan?" I'm like, "That's cute, but I don't really need one." [laughter] I mean, I'm just being honest. Like I have been very fortunate in my career. I don't need a backup plan, but I tell you what, really every company I have is super organic, even racing. Like it just happened. I was 10, you know? I surely wasn't funding it. So, um whether it was my wine company that started um in 2009, Somnium, it means dream in Latin. And that's because I was just standing over a grassy knoll at at um Quintessa Vineyards in uh in Napa looking south to the fog pulling down into the back into San Francisco drinking at 10:00 a.m. And uh and thinking, "God, I want something like this someday." And then it happened. That's literally what I thought, "I want something like this someday." Bought the property, that was 2006. The first vintage, '14, was sold in '17. Um long project, that's why I think a lot of winemakers are fairly older a lot of proprietors because they don't have the money to do it until they're older um cuz it's a long process. But that's Somnium, and it means dream. You know, the clothing line was just cuz I love being creative. I actually went into um the uh the company that was producing it and talked about making clothes for the racetrack. And they heard my passion for design and my interest in clothes and that whole world um the artistic side of me. And they never they never [clears throat] had a sketch of one single race t-shirt. It was all just clothes for everyday life. So, they heard my interest loud and clear um that that went bit way beyond just the racetrack. Um I mean, my book Pretty Intense was um really just beca- I I really attribute it to posting one yoga picture so many years ago on Instagram. And people loved it, and then I posted more, and it like if of everything that I do, it's really not actually the bulk of what I do, but people people see that, they love it, it resonates, they're interested, it's aesthetically pretty, you know, they and it made it gave me a reputation for being into fitness. And I'm like, "God, I've always done this. I've worked out since since 14 years old for racing." So, um that kind of started it all and then there was someone who was interested in writing a health and fitness book and I'm like, "Okay." The The question was, "Do I want to write one?" And I was like, "Yeah, I I think I have finally something to say." You know, health and fitness and wellness and waking up and and and taking care of yourself and enjoying life is um you know, really what I stand for now. So, that's a super long story of all my companies, but um bottom [clears throat] line is is they were all born from an idea or a passion. They were not like, "I want to make money. Let's do this." Now, it doesn't mean I haven't taken endorsements in the past that were about money, but it it um it doesn't mean that I will start a company unless I truly believe in it and I am ready for it and I'm ready for the work because of course it's the journey. It's not I mean if I think that if you attach yourself to I'm going to call it like a impure goal almost of making money or something like that, I think you're too short-sided and I think that um I don't I think you inherently block that actually. You make the wrong choices cuz you're thinking too short-term or too small. Do you have any rules to a journey that you're about to go on like, um I don't want to think small, I'm going to think big. It has to be fun in the moment or like what are the guiding principles that you use? Intuition. I mean, it just has to feel right. There's been plenty of projects that I've been like theoretically interested in figuring out how to make into something and um nothing has ever nothing's felt right for a few different things and um uh I think you have to learn how to identify the flow of life, which I'm definitely learning as I'm up I'm one of those people that likes to force things to happen. Yes. Force them to happen. They're going to. Um but here's the thing. Yes, you need to try harder and you need effort and you need to push at times. That's very important, but you have to learn that when you keep hitting a wall with something and oh, this isn't right and this isn't working and this is oh, that person's wrong and that's happening and oh, now with this when you start to like bump up against a bunch of those things that just don't feel like it's flowing and you kind of have to wake up and realize maybe this isn't for me. And that's kind of actually what happened with my career even was there was tons of things starting with losing my primary sponsor, which was no problem I had ever had in the past that started me to wake up to realize these other things and then to notice, oh my gosh, I have all these other companies that need attention. That could be really fun. You start finding evidence of how it's not the flow anymore. So, you know, I didn't make a huge effort. I very much was a like I was really, really letting it flow when it came to a sponsorship situation in 2017 to move forward into 18 and when things just and just didn't flow right, I'm like, it's okay. Just got to let it go. So, the way I describe my retirement is that I I had to learn how to let go. I didn't feel like I was quitting cuz I could have pushed and made it happen and compromised and taken a smaller salary or gone to a different team or something like that, but I was like, no. I'm just going to let go. And so, letting go for you, are you somebody who embraces change? Do you have a hard time with change? It certainly seemed like at the end of the career, it was relatively easy for you. I mean, I cut my hair for the first time. I'm totally good with change. I mean, this is like the epicenter of like, woah, Danica, you're totally okay with change. I think I react probably like every human being when it comes to something dramatic and big. It's somewhat uh shocking and uh scary and you're not up for it. I remember when when my sponsor had left, the first thought was, "Oh, no, I'm not ready." "Oh, no, I'm not ready." And actually Not ready to retire. Not ready to retire. And I remember thinking, "That feels good to say that. Oh, yeah, I'm not ready." Um now, that evolved and changed, but I think that um you know, it's uh you know, you really have to pay attention to the way you feel about a situation and um you know, feel if it's right for you and whether or not you need to keep keep moving. Mhm. Talk to me about how you force things. I'm guessing, judging by the outcome, that you're quite adept at figuring out how to push. Um how did you make your racing career happen? And I get there was probably a lot of intuition and um you know, opportunities presenting that you take advantage of, but where were the moments of push? How can people leverage that in their life? Cuz this is one thing that like in So, we just launched Impact Theory University. Mhm. One of the things And thank you. Psychotic about this. I think it really has potential. Hey, you're will film today. I actually love Let's just get off on a tangent real quick about about school, right? School curriculum sucks. I'm so glad I didn't waste my time with it. Because like who uses geometry? Who uses like human anatomy class? And we're not like I mean, if you want to be a doctor, please go to go to school. [laughter] Uh right? I don't want you to have some experience cutting a frog open before me, but you know, there's certain things that it's important, but you know, where's the class on Where's the meditation class? Where's the manifesting class? Like where's the Where's the real life stuff that you know, I scares me to think we're getting away from PE. I mean, a pull-up could save your life. You could fall off a cliff and need a pull-up, you know? I mean, these are the things that can really make a difference in your life. Um so, I don't know. Do you I mean, now that you're starting out in university, what are your thoughts on school? Uh my thoughts are uber intense and so I'll give you a snippet with the intense so this falls right into the line. Nice. So, my thing is I think that uh humans can't change about 50% of what they do and are and I that's why I find you and your sister so fascinating. I'd be so curious to know how much of that was the 50% that's unchangeable and how much is the 50% that is completely malleable. And the 50% that is completely malleable could change your life so radically um and there are universal principles of success. There are just certain ways that people should think and one of them, my friend, dear professor of how to push Oh, yes. is the ability to get [ __ ] done. So, the title of your biography was Dana Kirkpatrick crosses the line. Mhm. Get over the [ __ ] finish line and I find so often people, to your point, they don't want anything and so they don't put the energy to get something across the finish line and that that really [ __ ] with me. Yeah. Cuz I think that that's born of the 50% that is changeable. So, it's like over here you have something. Yes. Like you have a belief system that that you don't even realize you have. You don't realize you assimilated beliefs the entire time you were growing up. So, like somewhere along the line you decided that you could do this [ __ ] I mean, you literally said if you think you can, you can. If you think you can't, you can't. So, one you've cobbled together this really [ __ ] interesting mindset which you lay out in your book so I know it's real. Two, your life is a pretty clear reflection of the stuff. So, my thing is like since you know how to push what like what is it? I know some of it's intuition. I'm not I'm going to rob you of that answer. Beyond intuition, what is it? um it's actually the hardest one because you have to find a way to authentically not just lip service but authentically believe you can do it. Which is hard cuz doubt is I mean, how many times does our mind race about doubt? Whether it's in work or relationship or anything, you know? Um How do you deal with it? Well, first you have to be passionate about something. And then you have to set the right goal, right? The goal of like, I want to make a difference. I believe I can make a difference. Or I want to make amazing wine. I believe I can do that. I know I can do that. Um You know, you you you but you you have to You've got to use some neuroplasticity [ __ ] and get that mind changed. You have to retrain your brain and put the right uh podcasts in front of you, the right TV shows, the right people around you, read the right books, write in your journal, write down what you want. I mean, how many times have we I've Look at how many times I've written down something I want and I'm like, "Oh my god, I got it." You know? It's scary. So, I I think that there's some magic in there. Um but it's really about retraining your brain to believe something is possible. So, I think that you can fake it till you believe it. And but you but there has to be a way where you authentically believe you can do it. Do you have an example? So, the fake it till you make it thing is something really, really interesting to me and I think that um people get misled by the words. They hear fake and they think, "Oh, this is never going to work." But then it's a fundamental misunderstanding of the way the human mind works. And so, the fact that you brought up brain plasticity is extraordinary. Um Well, your brain can't tell the difference between truth and a lie, essentially. If you can visualize an experience that hasn't happened and you know, in your brain, it can't tell the difference. So, now keep repeating that and you're retraining your brain. It's pretty crazy. Did you used to visualize the races? Yeah, I did. When I was a kid in go-karts, I would sit there on the sit there on the cooler and close my eyes and I would visualize the perfect lap. Like once or twice at least. And especially before qualifying as I got older, um I would I would visualize the perfect lap of how I wanted it to go and how I wanted the car to feel. How do you deal with pressure? There's so much pressure going into a race, so many eyes on you, sponsors, dollars [clears throat] on the line. Um how do you tune that out or how do you process it? What do you do with that? Race car drivers have a big job in the sense that before the race like we entertain sponsors. You're going to do meet and greets. You're standing at the car getting photos before the race starts. So, you know, you really have to be able to compartmentalize that and then the job and be able to flip the switch back and forth between like, "Hey, how you doing? Nice to meet you. Good. You want to get a picture? Cool. All right. Hi, how are you? How are you good? Okay, cool." And it's That was a kid, by the way. And and then, you know, take your picture and then be able to get in the car and just you know? I will say that anybody I met at the racetrack and they said to me, "Oh, I know you from the race." I'm like, "Yeah." I usually remember those people probably because I was only allowing a a certain amount of mental energy to be, you know, attentive to them. Um yeah, you you have to flip the switch back and forth for sure a lot. Do you have a ritual for that? How do you actually flip the switch? Um you have to have enough emotional energy to do it, right? So, I felt like if I was tapped with the entertaining side of things, it made it harder to stay be able to get into the focused state or or kind of stay in it essentially, but like pop into these moments of when I had to do something else. For me, I have to I have to be able to maintain enough energy. So, a lot of the things that had to do with is like just knowing yourself and knowing that, "Okay, if I go out to dinner and hang out with everybody and then there's a bunch of people at the racetrack I have to entertain." Like you have to have the discretion and the and the awareness to be able to like say no to one thing or another thing or be able to go inside the bus and not feel guilty that you're not hanging out with everybody outside and just know that that's cuz you have to protect your energy if you're going to be able to do everything that you need to do that day and and essentially it came down to really just the obligations. Do you Do you have other things like that that you use to to be able to move so swiftly from one area of your life to another? Um I'm not a big fan of like 911 fire drill kind of stuff so I like to get in the mindset, right? So I like to know what I need what I have to do. Um which is a trouble which is the hard to flow because, you know, you're like, "Oh, this is what's going to happen." This is my story on expectation levels. I have this expression this saying in for myself that expectations are a mother, you know, what? Because when they're not met, you're disappointed. But I do feel like when I it helps me to get into a a mindset or a space a mental space when I set my mind on something. Another example would be like even from a broader spectrum mind situation would be when I finished racing I, you know, you know, didn't I I wasn't like when I was racing I was scared of what was going on but go to the Indy 500 this year and I was part of the broadcast and people had asked about the fear part and I was much more aware of it then because I I know what how hard it was. I know how fast we were going and I'm watching everybody do it and I'm like, "God, I was brave." Not No, not brave Danica there. Um but uh it wasn't something I allowed into my mental space. So there's certain situations I think that you have going on where you're just not allowed to think about it, right? If you've got a huge week and you're really busy, you wrap your head around that, right? Just like I had to wrap my head around everything but the fact that it was super dangerous. So I don't know. How do you shut off that This is one of those things If you want to talk about a course that you could charge a lot of money for, it would be how to when somebody tells you don't think about a pink elephant to actually not think about the pink elephant. Mhm. Cuz as you're going towards the race, your mind wants to throw up all the fear, all the danger, all of that. And if that's the one thing you can't think of, in fact, here's the example that I use. This is perfect. You can tell me this is actually true. I always tell people if you were going to be a race car driver, they tell you not to look at the wall because you're going to end up crashing into it specifically because you're looking at it. Do they actually tell you that? Do you avoid looking at the wall? When I was a kid, uh my dad he was my coach, essentially. He's my dad. Of course he's my coach. He still tries to be my coach um for anything. Um but you know, you're racing and you can turn around and look in the go-kart and he used to get so pissed at me and he would say, "And I actually used" This was probably the most valuable thing I ever learned in my life because it was more of It was a metaphor for everything. And he said, "You look where your eyes go." And I was like and he's like, "So look forward. Don't turn around." And I was like "Okay." But isn't that a metaphor for everything? You look where your eyes go. Just like where your mind goes. You You wherever you set your your your point of reference on, your your mental attention, your focus, that is where you're going. How are you going to have a positive life from negative thoughts? You can't. Cuz you're going to perpetuate more negative thoughts and you're going to attract vibrationally and frequency-wise people that are thinking that same way. So if you want to expand and grow and rise and meet new people and do better the bigger better things, then you've got to think about what you do want, not what you don't want. So 100% if you're looking at the wall, you're going there. Yeah, that makes all the sense in the world to me. So you're on the cooler, eyes are closed, you're imagining the track um and whatever the future version of that is, what is the thing that you're putting your energy into to make sure that you don't have the extra focus to let the fear in. Is it Is it truly just a visualization of the the way that the laps go, the way the car feels? Is there something else? Um and and how can people apply that to whatever they do, which probably isn't race car driving. Well, I think it applies to everything, you know? Like the the the putting your focus on what it is that you do want. So, I do obviously I don't race anymore, but you know, for me I many mornings I wake up and it's cuz I wake up really early and I'm drinking my coffee by myself. Um but I'll start writing down certain things that are working for me, but and I'll almost try and avoid the things that aren't working for me and I'll just think about what I want and feelings I want to have and goals that I have and um you know, I almost try and keep them a little broad spectrum towards an emotion or a feeling as opposed to um an attachment to a specific outcome because I'm not the universe. I don't know how it's supposed to go and who's to say that my idea of the right outcome is right. Maybe there's a better way. So, attach yourself to and your focus to the kind of feeling you want to have and the things that you want to do with your life and you know, whether it's inspire kids or you know, uh help people expand their mind or things that you want to do. Feel like you want adventure, you want you know, joy, you want passion, you want excitement, whatever it is and then let the universe find the very best way to experience all those feelings that you've set the intention for. So, it sounds like you journal quite a bit. How long have you been doing that? Um I actually remember writing a lot when I was younger. Then I didn't for a while, so that's much more common now. I find that especially I mean, I've It's been It's been years, but um more now. More since I've stopped racing, I'd say. And this is a way to control your focus. Yeah. Um that's interesting. I've never heard anybody that focuses primarily on the emotions that they want to feel. That's interesting. Do you believe in fate? Such an interesting topic. I mean, fate would assume that it's predestined. Yes. That's what I'm asking. I'm one of those people that is always evolving. And I'm happy to say that what I thought of in the past is not what I think now and I don't feel like I'm being hypocritical. I'm just learning and growing and experiencing and taking in additional information cuz you can only make decisions based on the information you have. And so when you get more, you have to be ready to make a new decision. Um so um I mean, I believe fate based on your frequency. Can you define frequency for me? Uh your sort of your your your vibration level, your energy, your that dictated by thought? Yeah. Thought and positive thoughts. I can't remember what the scale is called, but basically for the thoughts that you have, you know, the the the middle bottom being like envy, greed, fear, jealousy. And then above that middle threshold uh is love and you know, generosity and gratefulness and kindness and joy. Um those being the higher frequency energies. And so for me, I try and focus on the higher ones cuz that's what I want to attract more of. Um so I I think that if you are operating in a lower vibrational state based on your negative energy that you're your uh repeating over and over again and telling yourself certain stories over and over again and um and believing, then that's kind of your fate. Your fate will be dictated by the thoughts that you have reoccurring in your mind. Man, that was so interesting. There's a maybe not pure faith then. To give cuz I don't like to not give an answer. So No, that was amazing. I think it's hard for me to wrap my head around you don't have control. But man, I mean I believe in reincarnation. Really? Yeah, so I mean as far as like coming into this lifetime and learning certain lessons, I guess what I would feel about that is that you're when you come back into this life like you come back and you're I believe my job is to learn and grow and it shouldn't be easy. If it's difficult, you're probably getting better. Um because there's no growth without pain. Otherwise you're just status quo. So the biggest growth for me has always come through total difficulty, total challenge, total effing mess, total crying, you know, like all the stuff that's super difficult. Why do you think that is? Why through pain? And what are some lessons you've learned through pain? Well, because you're essentially breaking um you know, patterns. Um you're having new thoughts. You're having to the old ones are going to have to die. Like I always think like as far as an example would be like a relationship. You know, relationship ending is you know, sad, right? And but what if you the a better one's coming? What if that's all you thought about? Pretty good stuff then. You're like, see you. Um but we're attached to the the idea that we had in our head for so long. We're attached to We have to let the ideas and dreams that we have We have to let them die and that dying process is hard. I think that's the painful part. So is some of the pain Losing a like changing your job. You're like, I'll never see these people again and oh my god, what if I don't get a better job and what if I don't get paid and all you're thinking about is all the stuff that's bad. What if you're going to get a better job and you're going to get paid more money and you're going to meet new people and you know you're going to move to a place you'd rather live and And is that what you're telling yourself as you're going through this? Do you rapidly switch the narrative? So you had asked earlier about change and I lost my train of thought. So if it didn't sound like my answer was good, that's why. Um I lost my train of thought on change and so I immediately think like everyone else with change. I'm like, ah well, that sucks. Um but then I I I think I have the ability to flip the switch pretty quickly to it could be better than I ever expect. I have no idea how that's going to look, but how will I ever know if I don't give it a shot? It's really powerful. So looking at the level of success that you've had, I know there's going to be a lot of things. But if you had to um just put one thing about you that is like the the pinnacle trait, the thing that without that definitively everything else would fall apart. And again, knowing that it's it's actually several things, but um what would you say is at the very top? It's tough to tell the difference between a dream and determination. I don't think it really matters if you have determination without a purpose. So probably dream. I would have always said determination cuz I kind of was just doing one thing. But yeah, I just have the ability to dream into things and believe it's possible. I like that. Where can people find out more about you? Um well, I mean social media Social media is a great thing for that. I mean, you know, especially for me at this point in my career where I'm not on TV every single weekend for a few days and don't have a microphone stuck in my face. Social media is a great platform for that as far as Instagram, um which is the one I'm mostly involved on and Twitter and Facebook. We post a lot more broad spectrum stuff on Facebook. Um and then um you know, I have a website and it's all my name. And pretty soon the podcast is coming out which will just really show more of me and the things that I believe in and and also of course got to like how can I not think how the hell did I get here? And then try and share that. No, I love that. I'm super excited for your podcast. Yeah, thank you. All right. What is the impact that you want to have on the world? I want to wake people up to their potential. I want to wake them up to realizing that we could argue about this but you said 50% is there and 50% is available for your own to to make a to make a change but you know, I I would argue that anything is possible. And that we are all one decision away from an entirely different life. I couldn't agree more. Guys, endlessly fascinating. You were definitely going to want to dive into her world. It's really really extraordinary. If you haven't already, be sure to subscribe and until next time, my friends, be legendary. Take care. Danica, that was amazing. Thanks. [applause] Thank you so much. That was wonderful. If you want something, if you have a passion in your [music] heart, fire in your belly, it's going to be you. It's going to be you getting up early. It's going to be you staying up late. It's going to be you running the miles and and going to the gym and eating the kale and doing all the crap that you don't It's only going to be you.