A few years ago the great race car driver Mario Andretti was asked for his best tip for becoming a world-class racing champion. His answer was a bit surprising when he simply said, “Don’t look at the wall.”

He then elaborated by saying that your direction will follow what you focus on, so if you look at the wall you will probably hit the wall! Sage advice when you are traveling at 200 miles per hour.

I think it is also a brilliant truth that all of us in travel can put into practice. Most of us who have come into this wild industry love it because of the constant change, the never-ending opportunities to learn, the interaction with so many different types of people and the fast pace. In other words, we are operating at very high speeds and it is imperative that we do not look at the wall!

Although Mario referred to the “wall” in his comment, he inferred that the best approach to success is to keep your eyes on the primary path that you can control. Anything that pulls your attention away from the task at hand will not be productive.

This sounds easy but is in fact really difficult. For Mario, that wall was always there, as well as the temptation to glance at it. In selling travel, you can focus on being an astounding agent by providing exceptional experiences for each customer – or you can get sidetracked by walls in the form of unending lists of distractions.

I am not suggesting that you pretend these walls don’t exist or that they don’t affect your business. They are important to recognize and understand. Mario, for instance, did not have to look at the wall because he knew it was there. Through hundreds of practice laps he learned every inch of the wall so he did not have to look at it during the race.

And so it is in our industry. You should be aware of the issues that affect your clients and business – but not be distracted by them.

Although it is rare for NASCAR drivers to blame the wall for crashes, the same cannot be said of agents who may be distracted by events overseas or dips in the stock market that negatively impact their business. Nonetheless, there are always those agents who stay on track under negative circumstances and continue to drive at top speed.

Just remember – don’t look at the wall!