Being World Class

​Pro Hard Enduro Racer: Quinn Wentzel
​Photo: Zachary C. Bako

Joel Younkins

High Performance Coach
​The Sunday Moto Success Newsletter

Ever since I was a little kid, I had an obsession with the concept of "being the best in the world." I found athletes like Michael Jordan, Barry Sanders, and Jeremy McGrath, super fascinating. It wasn't because I was front runner, it was because in their prime, they were known to be the very best at what they did. Sitting down on the living room floor watching Michael Jordan on TV clinch his 6th NBA Championship with the game winning shot. Seeing Barry Sanders rush for over 2,000 yards in a single season. And watching Jeremy McGrath become the King of Supercross was something from out of this world in my mind. 

"How can someone become the best, with all of the people in the world!?" -Is something I often thought about.

Deep down, I believe these same obsessions are what drove me into the coaching industry after my college football days ended. I knew that to be the best, you had to work hard and be equipped with the right tools. God given talent wasn't enough, you needed to take that talent and apply it, improve upon it, and want to win more than anyone else. With so much talent, so many people that "work hard," and so many resources at our fingertips, what separates the good, from the greats?

Along my coaching journey, I've studied every successful person I could. Every racer, every athlete, every coach, every successful business person who I thought I could gain some insight from, I studied what I could learn from them. I looked for patterns and trends.

I also learn from people who I feel have undershot their career and performance. Again, looking for patterns and trends of those individuals.

I did, and still do, regular deep dives on myself to reflect on past "wins and losses" and get very real with myself on why I won or "loss" in those situations to see what I thought worked and what I could improve next time. 

What I've learned from all of this, is that people who become the best in the world (or very successful), is that it's the way they live their life. They are WORLD CLASS people. It's not just because they're talented. A lot of people have talent and fall short of their potential. Being World Class is a daily mentality and commitment to being great. It has absolutely nothing to do with being talented or lucky (yes talent and right place right time help). It's a way of life, its a higher form of self expectations and excepting and owning the process of becoming something else that you currently are not today. 

In this blog, I'm going to lay out some examples of what World Class people do. So no matter what skill level you're at, you too can implement these same exact qualities into your life. I've seen VET Riders be more World Class than Pro Riders. Just because someone is a Pro Rider and you may not be, it just means they can twist the throttle more than you can. If you are a Pro Rider reading this, there's a very high likelihood that you're falling short in a few of these areas and you too can improve upon them. I know this because even people who are truly World Class, they too are constantly working on these things...They're obsessed. 

Since being World Class can apply for endless categories, the principles/concepts of being World Class remain the same. But for the sake of this blog, I will describe these in the context of a what a "World Class Racer" would look like, and how you can practice these same concepts no matter if you're a C-Class Racer, Mini Racer, or a Pro Racer.

World Class Racers are a Student of the Game
It's funny to me, the more serious or high level a racer is, the more that they take direct feedback and advice. They're super open to it, they listen, they ask questions, and they heavily consider how this information can possibly help them, even if it's one small percentage point that will move the needle, they take it seriously.

And why that's funny to me, is because racers who are "less high level," do the exact opposite. They think they got it all figured out and do a very poor job at listening and taking feedback. The common response is, "yeah-yeah" like they already know all this and the information being presented to them comes off redundant. 

You don't have to take every single bit of advice from everyone, but be willing to listen at the highest level possible. Don't talk, just take it in, absorb it, filter it, and see what can be improved. Oftentimes, things that are advised will not make any impact for you in that particular time. But down the road it may, and more importantly, you don't want to miss that one small nugget that may change the course of your career. 

What World Class Racers do, is they put a filter on who is giving out the information. This is why they surround themselves with people who they can trust and respect, because when these people speak, they listen. They take it all in and figure out what pieces they want to keep and apply for themselves.

World Class Racers Don't Chase Numbers, They Chase Their Best
World Class Racers don't set out to break records, win a certain number of races, or to win a certain amount of championships. They set out to do their very best. Yes, they want to win deep down, they know it, we all know it too. But that's in the back of their mind. It's what ultimately drives them, but the day in and day out grind isn't about a certain number. It's only about, "how can I get better and be my absolute best?" Because they know, that in order to win the championships or break any records, that it's going to take their very best. So they put 100% focus into that and they are constantly trying to improve their game.

When Jett Lawrence came out and said he wanted to break Jeremy McGrath's Supercross win record. I didn't get all butt-hurt about it like many did. In my mind, I would be surprised if that wasn't the mentality that he had. But what my concern was for him, is hopefully those words are at his deepest parts of his soul that he just decided to openly speak about. Chasing a number will never get you there. Only chasing self improvement year after year is what it will take to maybe accomplish something like 72 Supercross race wins. You don't get there because it sounds like a good idea, you get there by being obsessed with self improvement and when the dust settles, you see where things lie for you. This isn't to pick on young Jett, it's just an observation I made and a great example in this instance. I do think Jett is a World Class Racer, but like with all World Class Racers, they learn and evolve too when they're truly World Class.

Most things are way out of your control. You can only control one thing, and that is yourself. Set big goals for yourself, have short term realistic high expectations for yourself to bridge that gap to your big goal. Once you make that all very real for yourself, now let it all go and just go to work. You know deep down what you want to achieve. To get there, you have to take action day after day, and find ways to constantly improve; this is being World Class.

​World Class Racers are Unfazed
We live in a very stimulating world. Everyone's opinion is on full display. Everything is recorded and everything gets talked about and analyzed. Whether you're World Class or not, mistakes are going to happen, people will see it, and people will make their opinion about it. The lows can be low, and the highs can be high. What's important to realize is that World Class Racers don't let either of these moments impact who they are and what they're after. 

World Class Racers stay unfazed whether the sea is rough or calm. And beyond that, they stay unfazed from any and all outside drama in their life. They're unfazed from poor performances or having a string of domination. They know that, when they line up for the next race, they're never out of the fight and someone is always coming to take what they've already earned. Any given race can be the race that turns things around or it's a race for someone else to take all of the momentum, so they always remain focused at the task at hand, and not the noise around them.

Lastly, when things are going really well, success doesn't go to their heads. To them, it's normal, it's what they planned for. Everything that is happening is no surprise. Yes they celebrate, they share hugs, they pop champagne bottles, but they're not surprised it happened.

Too often, racers get into a funk for many different reasons. And they stay in that funk because someone or something outside of their control has found a way to impact their inner self. Win the inside game and it gets really easy to block out all of the noise, any self doubt, or poor past performances. I've seen racers have some success and receive some praise and all of a sudden they become "cool" and are now too cool to keep grinding and pushing. Being able to handle and cope with the highs and lows is being World Class.

World Class Racers Have the "Any Place Any Time Mentality"
A lot of people are always waiting around for the conditions to be just right. Racers specifically wait to give their best when they finally get a good start, when they're gelling with the bike/track, and when they are "feeling it." If these things aren't in alignment, you'll find them cruising around in the back in the pack instead of running up front where they belong.

World Class Racers have this 24/7 mentality that any time that they line up at any track, against any competition, with any bike, they can still get the job done no matter what. The fight inside of them is never truly dormant.

No, it's not just because they're good, it's because they've spent years and years working towards their craft and building themselves to be champions. When you've spent that long working towards something, you learn to bet on yourself no matter what the odds appear.

Yes, World Class Racers aren't stupid and just delusional (although sometimes that helps), they know how important preparation is and they will turn over every stone possible to make that happen. They have a big ego, but they know that they can't simply rely on that. But they also know that they don't live in a perfect world and just because one or two things aren't up to par, doesn't mean that they don't believe they're still good enough to get the job done. They don't make excuses, they just bring it every time that the lights are on, it's automatic, and that is being World Class.

World Class Racers are Present
World Class Racers are present in the biggest moments. The more pressure, the more present they become. They can block out all noise and hone in to every square inch of the track they're racing. They can have outside drama happening in their life, and you'd have no idea by watching them perform like a precise technician. 

They're so present that they can go back to pretty much any race in their career and remember the exact conditions, what bike setup they were running, and every little detail about that race.

When you're able to lock in to the moment, you become hyper aware of every little thing of the race (the moment). In those key moments, it locks into your memory because the moment was so clear that the experience is hard to be forgotten about. It's like the complete opposite of drinking a lot one night and struggling to remember that evening because things were blurry. 

There's an understanding, that certain moments are bigger than others. It's not just a mental concept, but an energy that is felt and recognized. It doesn't need words to describe it, it's just a vibe that is felt and understood. The more that dial gets turned up, World Class Racers dial in even harder. You don't have to tell them to dial in, they do it on their own when they've learned to recognize and build this instinctual skill. Being present when it really matters, is being World Class.


World Class Isn't for Everyone
I don't mean to sound harsh, but the reality is, that being World Class isn't for everyone. Just because everyone can be World Class, 90% or more of you reading this will not adopt this lifestyle. It's not because you're lazy or a bad person, it's because as humans, we seek comfort. It's a survival instinct that we have that most feel too uncomfortable to re-wire from ourselves. Giving yourself permission to go be great and push yourself to your own greatness, is like telling yourself you're going to be in a lot of pain. It goes against human nature that most will refuse to break against. 

Because as humans we prefer comfort over challenge, you will likely have very few people you encounter that will push you to your edges. People in general will not give you permission to go be great, nor can they even see it in you to begin with. I believe that everyone has greatness within them. It may not be on a dirt bike, it may be something that's yet to be discovered in your life at this point. But if nobody else will give you permission to go practice being World Class so that your greatness can shine in the world, I'll be the one to step up right now and be that person for you. Go be World Class!