passion.emotion.victory

On April 17, 2009, Helio Castroneves was acquitted of tax evasion. He was staring down up to six years in prison if found guilty. Can you imagine the whirlwind of emotion that would go through your head if you thought you were about to lose your freedom? Freedom isn't something we often think about. We have it, and we take it for granted. Once something happens that puts that freedom in jeopardy, everything changes.

Racing was the last thing on Helio's mind just weeks ago. All he cared about was his freedom. He was granted his freedom, or as he says "his life back" on April 17th. Just 37 days after he got his life back, he got back to his "regular" life driving race cars at over 200 miles per hour. It was the Indy 500. The biggest race of them all. Everyone knows the Indy 50o. People who hate racing know the Indy 500. It's that big of a deal. For an open wheel racer, it is the ultimate. Helio had previously reached that pinnacle twice, in 2001 and 2002. Now, after his life took turns that he never would have imagined, he was back at the wheel in the greatest race of them all.

He won. 37 days ago he didn't even plan on being in the race. He just hoped to be able to live his own life, free from the bondage of prison. On Sunday, he once again reached the absolute top. In our world it would be like getting to the point in our careers that we had always wanted to be. Achieving the ultimate goal that we had always set out to achieve.

Things were different this time for Helio in victory lane. He had been there twice before, but never under this circumstance. The only reason I have said what I have said to this point is because of this: the passion, the raw emotion that comes out of this man in his post race interview is just amazing. Check it out on this clip: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RlrtlH8U3Yc. If you don't want to watch it all, just forward to the 3:15 mark. The passion that this guy has for his fans is inspiring. The arms up with fists clutched moving them back and forth is victory at its best. You can not beat raw emotion. He thanked the people in his life and his fans for giving him his life back.

This victory was more than just about winning a race. Helio was also celebrating his life, his freedom. It made me think about regular ol' folks like us. We should celebrate like this. We should celebrate with our friends when great things happen to us. Our friends are our fans. We shouldn't have to almost have our freedom taken away to celebrate having it. We need to celebrate the everyday victories in life. When something great happens, party. Be thankful for it. Celebrate like you just won the Indy 500 because in your life, it might just be as big. Celebrate your life. Celebrate your success. Celebrate that job promotion. Celebrate with you friends when great things happen to them. Celebrate with your friend when he realizes that his loved one is going to be okay. Celebrate with your friend when she gets out of rehab and finally realizes that she can stop. Celebrate with your husband when he finally gets the respect and honor that you have always known he deserves. Celebrate with your wife when she realizes that everything is going to be okay! We all make each others life's happen. Without our friends/fans, where would we be? I think we should not only be there for our friends when life is kicking their butts, but also when the opposite happens. Celebrate the big victories in life. Celebrate the small victories in life. Celebrate having a life. Just celebrate! It's okay to do it. You don't have to win the Indy 500 to have a big party. Celebrate what you are thankful for as if it might not always be that way because, it won't always be that way. As you know, life is full of ups and downs. We all have bad things that happen to us. But at the end of those bad things, we need to celebrate coming through on the other side. I guarantee you when Helio thought he could loose his freedom, he wasn't thinking about the bad days in his life. He was just thankful for having a life and being free to do with it as he pleased. That's why you see the passion, the emotion, the relief in him after the race.

Look, maybe a few months ago you were diagnosed with cancer. Maybe yesterday you found out that the cancer is gone. Maybe today you realized that you were going to be a grandpa and you felt like celebrating because you were going to be able to be part of your grandchild's life. CELEBRATE. That is a pretty drastic example of bad going into good. It doesn't have to be that drastic to celebrate. It could be something as little as getting an A on a test, passing a physical, or finally get getting the lawn mowed.

All I am saying is celebrate the life that has been given to you because who knows when it will be gone or taken away.