Finding Mastery with Dr. Michael Gervais Head of Mercedes-Benz Motorsport Toto Wolff on Risk, Innovation, and Winning
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Apr 26, 2017 
Toto Wolff, the Head of Mercedes‑Benz Motorsport and part-owner of the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team, discusses his inspiring journey from difficult childhood to elite team leadership. He shares how trauma fuels ambition and the importance of resilience, competition, and objective results in sports. Toto emphasizes the need for a culture that embraces challenges and the role of self-awareness in managing ego. He also reveals his methods for goal setting and the significance of introspection, illustrating that true mastery is about self-mastery.
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Early Hardship Shaped Drive
- Toto Wolff grew up in Vienna with a Polish mother and Romanian father while his father battled brain cancer for ten years.
- That early hardship and family strain shaped his drive and resilience into adulthood.
Trauma Often Fuels Elite Drive
- Wolff observes top performers often carry childhood trauma or humiliation that fuels exceptional ambition.
- He argues resilience from adversity helps create the rare half-percent of elite achievers.
Go Toward Problems, Not Away
- Face anxiety and problems directly rather than avoiding them, like leaning forward when skiing downhill.
- Use that forward approach to turn adversity into growth and avoid the paralysis of avoidance.