When the going gets tough, the tough get going. It’s not an easy stroll to become the best in the world at anything, but it’s even tougher when you come from humble beginnings. However, that, as well as being a minority, wasn’t enough to stop the courageous Lewis Hamilton.

The Lewis Hamilton we have seen and see today is glamorous and shiny. He has a net worth of $285 million; he drives for one of the best teams in the F1 universe, and he has brand endorsement deals for companies like Bose and Tommy Hilfiger.

But neither Rome was, nor was Lewis built in one day. The young boy from Stevenage who loved to race his RC cars and go-karts had to go through a lot of ups and downs. Not just the ups and downs of the sport, but also the challenges of discrimination.

A lot to take for a child. Yet he reached the top, he attained his goals and ambitions. He dominated F1 for years on and is one of the GOATs to ever race.

Lewis, speaking on the Masterclass platform, explained the mentality behind his rise.

He said, “Don’t give up, keep pushing. Every time you’re coming from the back of the grid because my go-kart wasn’t very good. I’d make up a couple of places then you touch someone and you fall back three places. Get back on it, and keep pushing. Don’t give up.”

“Even when I’m last in a race I feel like I can still win the race. Even if I don’t win the race, it’s the journey…. As long as I’m moving forward, that never give up mentality has held me through so many places, and has most of the time got me to the front,” said Lewis.

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His mentality and hard work got him here. Nothing was handed to him on a silver platter. If there was anyone you had to learn from about mentality, it has to be him.

Lewis Hamilton struggled with being ‘different’ but he found power in it

To suffer from racist abuse at any time in your life is a jarring experience. And Lewis has suffered the vitriol right from his childhood. But he explains how he didn’t allow the abuse to put him down. He found power from it; he derived strength from it.

“My message to you is when you feel like you’re the only one or you feel like you don’t fit in, that’s not a weakness that’s an asset that’s a strength.”

“It took me a long time to understand that when I was a youngster when I was coming through school and coming to those kart races that being different is not a bad thing at all. The fact is we are all unique and different in our own ways, and I like to think we are all shooting stars and we all have an unimaginable amount of ability and talent.”

“We get in the way of ourselves sometimes, but challenging yourself, continuously challenging yourself, and never giving up is the core of how I do what I do.” 

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Hamilton’s story has been an inspiration to many and will continue to be. His Masterclass is really a masterclass.