Start your engines!
It’s like thunder, the roar and they are off! The precision, the strategy, the speed and the most important factor of all = the race against others. It’s not about the cars, they are supposed to be as equal as possible, and it’s not about the race track, because it is the same track for everyone.
Just like Fast Eddie said in “The Color of Money” – “it’s about human moves”
“Days of Thunder” is one of those movies that brings it all home, the excitement, the danger, the confusion, the worry and the fear, then it all comes together and we cheer at the end because the hero has found himself, overcome and above all else, and in spite of everything else, he wins! But, and this is important – is it realistic? It could be and yet for most it is not; however, there is a hope within the story of the movie itself that lends to its appeal.
In my opinion, Cole Trickle (Tom Cruise) has the symptoms of ADHD. He gets in a car and without understanding the mechanics of the car, its tires or even the race track itself, he can drive like there is no tomorrow – and how! He is the epitome of talent and potential, the poster boy of what talent and potential is without knowledge and maturity. This is so very familiar to me and probably so many others with ADHD. Loads of potential, talent boiling over and yet not a clue what to do with it and yet some of us get lucky as Cole Trickle did in Days of Thunder, someone noticed, someone cared.
There comes a time when Cole must admit to his mentor that he does not understand cars. He explains that he gets in them and can drive, but doesn’t have a clue of how they really works and when that he is given instructions or asked to clarify a problem with the car, he just can’t. You know what is interesting about this? So many of us can identify with this type of behavior, we can do something, something amazing and yet have very little knowledge about how or why and that missing knowledge has us going through time wishing and hoping for things to come together, we know we can do it, we know it is within us, but for some reason it always stays just beyond our grasp. Sound familiar? If we watch the movie close enough, we realize that Cole is embarrassed and ashamed because he knows that he does not understand enough, but he does not realize that this is what is holding him back or that there is a way for him to understand certain things. His mentor is insightful and understanding enough to not try and teach Cole a way that he will never understand, but instead goes with the way Cole’s brain works and decides to help Cole understand certain things in a way his mind can easily comprehend. Does any of this sound familiar?
The world is so caught up in conveyer belt developed minds and standards set the same for everyone and anyone, jacks of all trades etc… that the world is now missing out on some of the greatest minds of our time. Who is the Einstein of our time? It seems that every generation has an Einstein, but who is really our Einstein, today? Anyone stand that far out? I can’t think of anyone at the top of my mind and I doubt if anyone else can, there are some worthy prospects but none of them are above the rest, they are all quite near each other and nothing within the range of Benjamin Franklin or Da Vinci or Einstein – and by the by, all of those names of the past are considered to have had ADHD!
If you’re a business owner, a manager or a principle or a teacher or a parent, take a closer look and perhaps you have someone with ADHD, maybe you have a Cole Trickle in your midst that could revolutionize something or anything. Consider mentorship instead of punishment, consider coaching instead of ridicule, and consider understanding instead of chastisements. The dividends could go beyond your wildest expectations. That’s not really what our world is about nowadays, but that doesn’t mean it shouldn’t be and it doesn’t mean it can’t be rewarding.
GO Speed Racer GO!
What do you think would happen if Jerry Bruckheimer took the director brothers Wachowski, of Speed Racer and The Matrix, under his mentorship? – oh my, oh my! See what I mean with that idea alone?
~Bryan
