The Secret to success

In order to find the secret to success, you must first define success. I do not mean the dictionary version of the word, but rather what success means to the individual. If having a lot of money makes you happy, then maybe the dictionary definition is right.
The Beatles had a song called “money can’t buy me love”, and most people that don’t have money would argue that statement because they need that money to survive. But is it really the money that makes us happy, or is it the ability of being able to provide for a loved one. There is no happiness without love, and to me, success means happiness. Whether it is love for family or even your job, if there is love – happiness is sure to come.
The majority of rich people a just as unhappy as poor people because they haven’t found what truly makes them happy. A poor man working 3 jobs to provide for his family, in my eyes, can be defined as successful because he has love from his family. Another guy working 6 hour a day and making $250,000 per year could be miserable because he may not have any love from his family. So, in this case the poor man envies the rich man because the he has to work harder to get a small amount of money and the rich man envies the poor man because he has what he really wants. So, which one is successful? Well, in the dictionary’s definition, the rich man is successful. With my interpretation of success, the poor man is successful because he is happy.
I had to learn this for myself the hard way. When I was young, I didn’t have much money, and I was under the impression that success meant having a lot of money. I then decided that I would become successful by working the oil rigs. The first two months was great because I earned more money in one month then I use to earn in one year. Although I had a lot of money, I soon realized that I was unhappy. I hated my job and I never had any time to spend with my family. Every morning I would get up, go to work, and ask myself why. Twice a month I would be reminded why a work a job that I hate, but the next day the money was usually gone. I soon realized that I never made more money, I just spent more. It took a car accident to finally realize that I was wasting my life working a job that I hated. Now, I don’t have much money, but I have a family that loves me and I am doing something that I love – working on cars. I now believe that I am truly successful.
That being said, I think the secret to success is to find something you love and pursue it.

Mini the Race Car

A long time ago in a small town called Carburetor Springs, there lived a family of race cars. The family consisted of three boys and their parents. The youngest was Austin Mini and he always wanted to be a race car like the others in his family. The middle boy was Skyline and he was the world’s best drift car. The oldest of the boys was Cuda and he was the fastest quarter mile racer, in his class that anyone has ever seen. Their mother was Porscha and she was a famous street racer from the Autobahn in Germany. Their father was the legendary Henry J. Every day Cuda and Skyline would go out to practice. Mini always asked to go with them, but they would tell him that he is too little. This year was Mini 16th birth day which meant that he was legally allowed to drive on his own. Every year Carburetor Springs would throw an endurance race along the rocky pass of Route 69. This year Mini was old enough to enter, so he asked his parents if he could enter. Porscha and Henry J. thought that he had no chance in winning, but didn't want to hurt his feelings. They told him that he could enter, but not to get discouraged if he doesn't win. He then told his older brothers that he is entering the race. They both laughed at him and he turns to them and said, "I will win tomorrow, you'll see".

The very next day Mini was up before anyone in the garage and sighed up for the race. Everyone was there; Ferrari, Bugatti, Supra, Superbird, Super beetle, Firebird, Corvette, Thunderbird, Roadrunner, The Trans Am Gang, Beemer, Mustang, Jag, Deuce Coupe, Cobra, Vector, McLaren, and of course Mini’s two brothers. Minis brothers started to bug him again. Cuda said, “Well, at least you will not get last place because I am sure that Thunderbird and Mustang will break down again".
The race started and everyone blasts out of there like there is no tomorrow. Mini kept a steady pace behind the pact, but couldn't keep up. Mini did not get discouraged because he knew that the other cars would get tired soon enough. Mustang broke down going up the first hill like usual, and Mini zoomed by her. The next hill Thunderbird broke down as predicted. Cuda, Skyline, and firebird all stopped at the first service station because their tanks were already low. Mini zooms past them, but only to find them fly past him about 20 minutes later.

Around the next bend Mini noticed Beemer on the side of the road with a flat tire. Beemer has always been nice to Mini, so Mini stopped to help. Beemer didn't pack a spare, so Mini offered his. Although their bolt patterns were the same, Beemer had 18" wheels and Mini used 10" wheels. Beemer could use the spare but had to drive slower. Mini has happy because he was pleased that he could help and he now had someone to cruse with. When they finally arrived at the next service station they were both surprised to see that all the other cars were there. Mini stopped to fill his tank because it was finally running a little low. He asked the pump jack what was going on and he said that there was a rock slid a few miles away and they will clear it in the morning. Skyline and Supra were both practicing their drifts and Cuda went to sleep because he was up all night changing into his highway gears. Mini had some rally lights on his bumper, so he decided to go see how bad the slide was. Mini found an opening just big enough for him to get through. It seemed too dangerous to try to pass it at night, so Mini decided to sleep for a few hours until the sun would come up. Mini left at 5AM and the others didn't leave until 9AM because the road would be clear by then. Mini managed to squeeze threw the rock pile, giving him a four hour head start.


The next morning there was a panic at the service station, as they heard that someone made it through the pass last night. Vector and McLaren were furious because they always get first and second. Cuda and Skyline knew it was mini, so they were not worried. As soon as the pass was cleared, Vector and McLaren launched out of there like a rocket ship. All the cars barley made is passed the next service station because used up so much fuel driving so aggressive. Just before the last service station Vector and McLaren both ran out of fuel which gave Cuda and Skyline the lead. Cuda and Skyline were thrilled because they don’t usually win endurance races. One mile left to the finish line Cuda and Skyline spotted Mini a half a mile ahead. Cuda and Skyline both hit their NOS to catch up, and at the checkered flag they were all side by side. It was a photo finish and no one had a clue to who won. After the officials carefully examined the tape, they announced that Mini was the winner, Cuda in 2nd, and Skyline in 3rd. Mini was very happy, but was worried that his brothers would be angry with him. Cuda and Skyline both went to Mini and told him that they were very proud of him. This meant more to Mini then his shinny new trophy because all he ever wanted was to feel that he belonged in their legendary Racer family.

In the end Mini’s dedication won him the race, Vector and McLaren’s overconfident cost them the race, Thunderbird and Mustang’s self-fulfilling prophecy became a reality – again, and winning the race brought the Racer family closer together.

Characters for Mini Race Car

Mini.................................................................................





Cuda.................................................................................





Skyline..............................................................................





Henry J..............................................................................





Porscha.............................................................................





Beemer...............................................................................





Superbird............................................................................




Corvette.............................................................................





Supra................................................................................





Ferrari..............................................................................





Bugatti..............................................................................





McLaren.............................................................................





Vector...............................................................................





Jag..................................................................................





The Trans Am Gang....................................................................





Firebird.............................................................................





Deuce Coupe..........................................................................





AC Cobra.............................................................................





Mustang..............................................................................





Thunderbird..........................................................................





Roadrunner...........................................................................





Super Beetle.........................................................................

Just for Today List

Just for Today, I will spend more time studding.

Just for Today, I will spend my money wisely.

Just for Today, I will plan for tomorrow.

Just for Today, I will use non-vulgar terminology.

Just for Today, I will make healthier food choices.

Just for Today, I will respect those that deserve to be respected.

Just for Today, I will manage my time to accommodate for my family.

Power and Powerless

It is a great feeling to have power. Whether it is power over your employee, family, friends, or who ever. To me knowledge is power. There is not greater feeling that know something very well. Sometimes when I go to car shows older people like to argue with me on the topic of a classic car. The older guy drove these cars when he was your age, so he figures that he should know more about them then me. I on the other hand study these cars and own about 50 of them. I love to correct "know it alls", most of the time they will say something dumb and I will correct them. It is even better because I am younger then them. They may have owned one of these cars at one point in there lives, but they sure didn't know much about them. Of course it is more of a trivia based knowledge, but I still feel like I have power over them. Some times when I am traveling, I will see a car on the side of the road and ask them if I can help. Most of the time these cars are beyond roadside repair, but sometimes I can fix them. I look at it as a win win situation because the stranded people can back on the road and I feel accomplishment. I guess I feel powerful when I have the ability to help others in need. I feel powerless when I am stranded on the side of the road with no tools and nobody stopping -- don't these people believe in karma? I believe in karma. For example this winter when the roads were real bad, this truck figured he had heated tires or something went speeding by me and hit the ditch a mile down the road. If he had not passed me like an idiot, I may have stopped to help. Instead I slowed down to get his hopes up, shook my head at him and drove off. That made me feel powerful over him because I knew he needed my help and there probably wouldn't be anyone else stopping for at lease 45 minutes. I like helping people, but there is a limit. I am not about to chance wreaking my truck and freezing to help someone who has no respect for the weather conditions. He would have most liking also been unappreciative.

Ford Relies on others

One organization that really relies on each other is the Ford Motor Company. Not that I like Fords, but believe it or not Fords were once a good vehicle. Henry Ford sold his first car (model A) in 1903 for about $800. He then tried to open a factory twice, but failed. At the time vehicles were unreliable and people were skeptical on buying one. Ford built reliable vehicle, but still needed to prove it. (This is funny by the way because Fords now days are very unreliable.) Anyhow, he started building and racing his own cars, and made a name for himself. Once people had more interest in ford, he opened a new factory. Although his 3rd attempt was a success, he felt that he still needed to be more efficient. In 1913 he introduced the motorized assembly line which built cars cheaper and faster. In this assembly line, the car moved on conveyor belts and stopped in each section for the same amount of time. Each worker was assigned a specific task to be done in that time frame. For example 4 people each put 1 wheel on, 1 person installs a steering wheel, and another installs the head lamps (headlights were called head lamps at the time), and so on... This made work way more efficient, and Ford made more money which he passed on to the costumers selling Model Ts for $300 instead of $850. This also resulted in a higher demand for Ford vehicle which make Ford rely on their workers even more. In 1914, Ford introduced a $5 a day pay which was about twice the regular pay in other factories. Ford believed that the higher pay would make the workers happy, and a happy worker is more productive. Sound familiar? I think they say the same about dairy cows. Ford also believed that the pay increase would also create job loyalty. It would also make sure that the workers would come to work and be on time. This was very important because if one person was gone or even just late, it would slow down production in the whole factory. Each and every worker relied on the worker before them. The person that installs the wheel needs to rely on the person who installs the axel and also the person after him that installs the wheel nuts to hold the wheel. If the person that installs the wheel nuts was not there, the guy who installs the w heel needs to hold the wheel and install the nuts in the same time frame that he did only one job in or else production is lost. Ford had to make sure that his workers were there and productive all the time because if productivity was lost, he would have to ask more for the cars and pay the workers less money. Henry Ford was all about productivity, in fact, he painted all Model Ts black because it dried faster. Ford produced the Model T from 1908 until 1927, building 15 million cars and each car was exactly the same and only in black. Which made Henry Ford’s most famous quote; “you can have any color you like – as long as it’s black”.

Organization

When most people think of an organization, they think of charitable organizations like Heart and Stroke Foundation or non profit organizations like (MADD) Mothers Against Drunk Driving. However, when I think of organizations, I think of organized crime like The Godfather or The Hells Angels. I probably watch way too many movies. I love the Godfather movies and find the Hells Angles somehow interesting.

The name “The Hells Angles” originated from a movie title by Howard Hughes who also produced the original Scarface (1932). Hughes’ move “The Hells Angles” was about the WW1 fighter pilots. Later during WW2 a Bomber group called them selves “The Hells Angels”, and they were know to be one of the toughest squadrons in the military. The name “The Hells Angels” was worn as a badge of honor. Not everyone was able to become a “Hells Angel”, they had to earn it.

“The Hells Angels” later because one of the most recognized motorcycle club. There are currently 29 countries that they operate in. The club was founded in 1948 in a city called San Barnardino, California. In WW2 The Hells Angles were considered heros, but now that the war is over they are considered a nuisance to society. Although they mostly deal in illegal activities, most people do not know that they also organize charities such as “Toys for Toys” and blood drives. They try to use publicity to show that they are discriminated against and are harassed by the law.

I found some information about the organizational structure of The Hells Angles which reads, “ The Hells Angels organizational structure is similar to the one of the Unites States Army, such as the ranks each leader holds qualified by their special skill. The Hells Angels utilize a patch system, similar to the military medal. The meaning of each patch is not publicly known but identifies each member’s specifics actions or beliefs. The official colors of the Hells Angels are red lettering displayed on a white background and are worn on leather or denim jackets and vests. The Hells Angel’s also use a similar structure to the United States presidential structure, where there is a president, vice- president, Secretary, Treasurer, and sergeant at arms. The organization also has its own Motorcycle Club Constitution. The Hells Angels chapters in California also have their own Bylaws. The organization also has a specific formation it follows during a Run. (Abadinsky, 2003)
The Hells Angels limit memberships. Each Chapter has prospective members (“strikers or prospects”) who spend from one month to one year (striking period) on probationary status. Each prospect requires a sponsoring member who is responsible for the probationary member: “Gang members do extensive background checks on prospective members, often using female associates who have been placed in positions with public utilities, government services, and law enforcement agencies to assist them” (Abadinsky, 2003)” http://www.freeonlineresearchpapers.com/hells-angels-organized-crime
This information helps us understand the way the organizational structure works in The Hells Angels. There President is the leader of the organization which I will not name nor would I wish to know his name. This organization is very successful and is growing rapidly. Most motorcycle gangs where overthrown by The Hells Angles which is why they always have been the largest organization. In conclusion, The Hells Angles are a very large and powerful organization. They are feared by most, envied by some, and know by all. They have a great leader and a lot of followers. They even have there own laws within their organization. The Hells Angle’s organization is in fact a very sophisticated one.