• February 21, 2023
• By Homework Help Global
• In The Homework Help Show
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NASCAR driver Amber Balcaen graces The Homework Help Show for a second time since her first interview in 2019. The Canadian-born third generation racecar driver now resides in North Carolina to pursue her racing career. Amber continues to inspire as she tells us how she persevered through naysayers telling her she’ll never make it and how she proved everyone wrong and succeeded as a woman in male-dominated sport.

From Dirt To Asphalt

You can say that Amber Balcaen was literally born to race. Coming from a family of dirt track racers, she became the first Canadian female NASCAR winner. The Winnipeg, Manitoba native now resides in North Carolina USA where NASCAR is based and works with Icon Direct.

Amber and her family were all dirt track racers. Regardless of her family’s roots in race car driving, nothing was simply handed to her. She took up dirt track racing as a hobby and eventually turned that into a full blown career all on her own hard work and determination. According to Amber, the transition from dirt track racing to asphalt racing was quite the learning curve. She says she had to relearn everything like the type of cars NASCAR drivers used, what the cost of getting into the sport was, and which teams were good or bad.

Despite all the hardships Amber had to figure out early on in her career, she advises anyone who wants to try to get into racing not to be discouraged. There’s a lot of trial and error involved but it isn’t impossible. All that it entails in her own words is to “work a little harder.”

The Importance of Family

Amber doesn’t shy away from admitting that coming from a family of racers had its advantages especially for her very niche career. Unlike other sports, racing is not the easiest to get into. For starters, racing is an expensive sport. It requires thousands of dollars in safety equipment and then investing in the kart itself. Amber says her biggest obstacle in joining the NASCAR roster was the financial aspect of it.

Her family’s support and knowledge on the sport came in handy and was her edge in transitioning to being one of the most iconic NASCAR racers. She had cousins to help her find karts and her father taught her everything she needed to know about fixing and setting up cars.

Not everyone gets the privilege of learning the game from their family. Some students don’t even get the support from their family when following their passions or goals. To that Amber says, “never let others dictate the decisions you make for yourself.” Pursuing a passion not everyone understands initially is a harder route to take but it’ll definitely be more rewarding once you prove yourself. Amber even notes an instance when she had people laugh in her face when she said she wanted to become a NASCAR racer. Today, she’s one of the most famous women racers in the US and Canada. Regardless of nonbelievers, Amber says you’ve got to find support within yourself if not from your family. It’s also important to surround yourself with people who do believe you to help build that conducive environment for you to thrive in.

Making NASCAR History

In 2016, Amber Balcaen made NASCAR history as the first Canadian female to win a NASCAR-sanctioned race in the US. At just 30 years old, Amber is now also the CEO of her own company, Amber Balcaen Racing Inc., and has solidified her platform as a successful influencer. The female NASCAR driver emphasizes mental toughness in persevering in a male-dominated sport. To succeed not just in racing but in any path, sports-related or male-dominated, Amber underscores not just the importance of physical toughness but of mental toughness. She even goes on to tell on The Homework Help Show that more than the physical aspect of a sport, proper mentality is what truly gets you through. A strong mental state is imperative for her to bring in pre-race, during her race, and even after. Being mentally tough allows you to turn your weaknesses into strengths. It allows you to assess the areas in which you can improve more. She says whether you’re an athlete, into business, or any other career, being mentally strong is what sets you apart and beyond.

Amber has definitely become one of the best female racers in the game because of her discipline. The way she’s developed mental toughness through the years is by putting herself in hard situations and getting out of your comfort zone. To succeed in anything, Amber says you’ve got to keep the promises you make to yourself. Just as determined as she was in becoming a NASCAR driver, she’s kept that drive and catapulted herself to the place she’s always envisioned herself to be in.

We talk more about how important mental health is on The Homework Help Show. Learn how to keep your mental hygiene in a previous episode where we interviewed Shalmali Jadhav.

Finding The Right Motivation

“No one has motivation 24/7” says Amber and no truer words have been said. Working towards a goal in life is rarely linear. Even showing up as your “best self” can be easier said than done. An advice Amber tells us is to work on discipline which cultivates confidence. Negativity from others and even yourself is inevitable, but once you work on your mental strength as Amber advises, nothing else will matter.

Being a female NASCAR driver among a majority of men, Amber has found the right motivation through strength. Not only do you need to work on motivating yourself to be the best athlete or businessperson, you’ve first and foremost have to work on your individuality. Once you work on yourself and build that confidence, nothing can tear you apart. Amber highlights personal development which you can build in many ways. Whether it’s as simple as working out, reading, or meditating, it’s important to work on your personal development. To succeed and maintain the right motivation, you’ve got to do things to keep your mental state in a positive space.

How Amber Balcaen Practice Self Care

Self care is important especially for someone as busy as NASCAR driver, Amber Balcaen. She says Sundays are usually saved for rest. A work-life balance was tricky to achieve for Amber around the time of her interview where she was even racing on Sundays. According to her, balance between work and rest was hard to find especially at the level she’s at where she’s constantly pushing herself to achieve higher goals.

For Amber, her best ways to practice self care is by reading, meditating, and journaling. She calls these activities her “non-negotiables” and dedicates at least 10 minutes of her day to meditating. Another 10 minutes is for journaling and visualizing. Self care doesn’t have to take too much time or be too extravagant. It could be as simple as saying affirmations and being grateful for simple things you get to enjoy in life.

To students who want to know the best ways to practice self care when you’re busy with school, Amber emphasizes the importance of making time for yourself. Even an hour a day to just walk outside or spend time in nature is so beneficial. Exercising especially is so good for the body as it releases endorphins. It’s great for students to practice since they spend a lot of time sitting in class or in libraries being sedentary. If you’re a student too busy to practice self care, try delegating some of your work by getting help from a professional writer. Homework Help USA specializes in custom-written essays where we match the perfect writer for the job.

Learn 250 ways you can practice self care as a student from a previous blog.

Secrets To Success

When asked what the secret to success is, Amber simply stated, “never giving up.” There were plenty of times, thousands even, when Amber thought of giving up. She said that if she had, she definitely wouldn’t be where she is now. Pushing yourself through mental blocks and doubts are hard to do in the moment but so rewarding in the long run.

Regardless of any career path you choose, struggle is inevitable. These are lessons you’ve got to learn according to Amber. The work doesn’t just go into your professional life or your relationships with others, but most importantly to yourself. Remember to be good to yourself so you can be good to others. Working hard and persevering will be your pillars to success.

Another thing Amber shares is never being afraid of failure. Failure is not the end, rather a redirection to the better path that will lead you to your goals. It’s also helpful to visualize and believe in your capability to achieve whatever you set your mind to. That along with hard work is what will set you up for success. Believe in yourself, do the work, and never give up and you will definitely succeed.

Listen In To Amber Balcaen’s Full Interview On The Homework Help Show

If you haven’t listened to the full Amber Balcaen interview, make sure you’ve listened to her 1st interview with us. The 32nd episode of The Homework Help Show can be heard on all major streaming platforms like Google Podcasts, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, and Anchor FM. The video version of the podcast is also out now on YouTube!

Amber’s success could not have been possible without the help and support of those who believed in her along with her own mental toughness, discipline, and hard work. Everyone, in order to succeed, needs to depend on others for help and that’s what we hope to be for students starting out! If you’re feeling overwhelmed with work, Homework Help USA has an extensive list of services you can check out. You never know, we might just have exactly what you’re looking for along with blogs that will help you find motivation, inspirations, and useful tips!

FULL TRANSCRIPT FROM OUR PODCAST INTERVIEW WITH AMBER BALCAEN BELOW

Amber [00:00:03] People don’t believe that you can do things until you’ve already done them. You know, when I said I’m going to go be a NASCAR driver? People laughed at me. They laughed in my face. They thought I was crazy. And it took me a really long time to get here, you know, years and years and years. But now I’m here. And that time was going to pass anyway. So it really doesn’t matter how long it takes you. It doesn’t matter if people don’t believe in you, you just leaving themselves. You can’t expect others to believe that you can do it until you’ve already done it.

Patricia [00:00:43] Hi, everyone. We were gone for a while, but welcome back to The Homework Help Show. I’m your new host, Patricia, and this podcast is your one stop shop for advice, motivation and inspiration. So whether you’re in the journey of your educational career or have finished that season in your life, there’s always a lesson we hope to impart. Today we have a very special guest who is actually featured on our fourth episode of the podcast. She is a third generation race car driver from Winnipeg, Manitoba. She is the first Canadian female to win a NASCAR sanctioned race in the USA. She is a business graduate and president of her own company. Please welcome the talented and inspirational Amber Balcaen.

Amber [00:01:27] Hi. Thank you for having me.

Patricia [00:01:29] How are you? How have you been?

Amber [00:01:32] Good. It’s been very busy. We are heading towards the end of our season, but we’ve been racing every single weekend. The last weekend we actually raced twice in one weekend, which is very unheard of for NASCAR. So it’s just. That’s why I’m doing the interview in my vehicle right now, because this season is absolutely nuts. But yeah, it’s been good. I’m living my dream, so I can’t really complain.

Patricia [00:01:56] I love that. You know what? We’re so appreciative that you took time to come back to our podcast. Are you still in Manitoba at the moment?

Amber [00:02:05] No. So I’m from Winnipeg, Manitoba, but I actually live in North Carolina. This is my sixth year living here now. I like to describe it as if you want to be a country music artist, moved to Nashville, you want to be an actress, move to Hollywood. If you want to be a NASCAR driver. North Carolina’s where all the big shops are, the big teams are, and where the NASCAR headquarters is.

Patricia [00:02:27] Oh, so you’ve been there for six years. That’s so exciting. What would you say would have been like the biggest changes that happened to you since you’ve been on the podcast? That was back in like 2019 when you were first on our podcast?

Amber [00:02:41] 2019. Oh, wow. Yeah, A lot has changed since 2019. I in 2019, I was working towards what I’m doing now. I was trying to find sponsors, I wasn’t having luck with sponsorships, that was right before COVID as well. And when COVID happened, I had found sponsorship to race, but then the sponsors wanted to back out because of the uncertainty with COVID. Thankfully, I kept at it, and a year later I found a sponsor big enough to race in NASCAR’s Arca Menards series, which has always been my dream, so that for the last eight years, I’ve been working towards racing in a national NASCAR series, and this is my first year racing in a national NASCAR series. So it’s very exciting for me. I get to race the full season, all 20 races. I travel all over the USA, racing for my team, Red Jones Racing, my primary sponsors Icon Direct, which is an RV parts manufacturer out of Manitoba, which I think is so cool because I’m a Canadian driver. I have a Canadian co-owned team and also a Canadian sponsor, and I’m also the only Canadian driver in the series. So that’s really special for me to kind of represent Canada in this national NASCAR series. And my car’s red and white, so it’s very Canadian.

Amber [00:04:07] Yeah, yeah, exactly. But yeah, so the the biggest difference was before when you had me on, I was really working towards my my dreams and my goals. Now I’m finally kind of.

Patricia [00:04:18] Realizing it.

Amber [00:04:20] So hard. Yeah, yeah. But of course, as always, once you achieve one goal, you set a higher one. So keep setting more goals and reaching them. But I’m extremely thankful and grateful that I never gave up because now I’m here.

Patricia [00:04:36] Yeah. And it’s so nice that you’re working alongside other Canadians even though you’re in the US. That’s so amazing, You know, having a piece of your hometown there with you. So yeah, we discussed like last time you were on the podcast, how you know, you learned, you applied everything you learned in business school in regards to getting sponsors and securing business deals. I just wanted to ask if you weren’t a race car driver, what do you think you would be doing now, or what kind of business would you have maybe put up?

Amber [00:05:05] I think something that I would like to do when I do retire from racing is probably work with other drivers on the mental aspect of the sport or even the business aspect as well. Just how to deal with sponsors, how to keep your partners happy, how to conduct yourself in interviews or with media and branding. But also, like I said, the mindset. I really have focused a lot this year on not only the physical aspect of the sport, but the mental aspect of the sport. And I truly believe that if you can be mentally strong and physically strong as an athlete, that’s all that matters. And I think the mental is almost even more important than the physical, because the mental is what gets you through it. And it it’s so important to your mindset walking into the race to the start of the race to mid-race, to end the race to after the race and there is a good race or bad or is how you can come back from that and how you can shift your mindset and how you can find the positives and be able to assess yourself, to turn your weaknesses into strengths and just figure out how you can continually improve and get better. Because that’s really what all I mean does matter. If you’re an athlete, a business person, you’re all you start to get better. So I think self-assessments huge on a performance standpoint, but also your mental standpoint as well. If you can be mentally strong and mentally there at all times, you’re able to control all the other aspects.

Patricia [00:06:43] I love that you say that about mental strength and giving that advice because I wanted to ask you, like for young women out there, because racing is such a male dominated sport, what would you say to young women who want to succeed? And like any male dominated arena.

Amber [00:06:58] I would say work on your mental toughness, honestly. And I think how you develop mental toughness is by doing hard things, putting yourself in difficult situations, stepping outside of your comfort zone, being disciplined. You know, we don’t no one has motivation. 24/7. Not everyone wants to go to the gym every day or wake up and do what they need to do, and that’s when discipline comes into play. It’s taking away that into clarification for what you want in the future and what you want long term and actually achieving those goals. So I think it’s super important to keep the promises that you make to yourself. If you say, I’m going to wake up every day at nine or seven or five, whatever it be, then you have to do that. You have to show up as your best self and give it all your all, every single day. And I think having discipline really helps cultivate confidence. And then that confidence helps build mental strength. And I think that mental strength is probably one of the most important things in life and something that I don’t think is really talked about enough. But yeah, if you are mentally strong, you’re, you’re confident in yourself, then everything else that happens, it it’s irrelevant. It doesn’t matter if your coworkers or people or fans are saying anything negative about you because you know who you are. And I think that’s really important when you’re in a male dominated industry is is to stay strong and know that you’ve earned your place. You work hard to be there, you’ve developed the skills needed, you’re disciplined, you’re focused, you’re confident in yourself. So just keep working at being the best you can be in both the professional realm of things in business, but also and individually as a person. You know, your personal development is is huge. And whether that whether that means working out, meditating, reading, whatever you need to do to keep your mental state in a really positive place and super important.

Patricia [00:09:01] I love that. That’s really amazing. It’s not just like for women out there, it goes for anyone really like to show up and do the work. Yeah, and I love that. I asked you, like, what would you do if you were in a race? And it was still kind of tied into everything? Because I really feel like that’s your passion. You’re a third-generation racer, would you say coming from a family of racers had more or fewer advantages?

Amber [00:09:26] I would say more advantages because racing is a really hard sport to get into. You know, probably the number one question I get in DMS is how do I get into racing? And it’s like, well, it’s it’s such a loaded question because it’s very different than other stick and ball sports in the way that you can’t just, you know, put on t shirt and shorts and grab a soccer ball, go on to field and start kicking around. You have to buy thousands of dollars of safety equipment and then, you know, a go kart that’s thousands of dollars. And then you have to find what tracks you can go to race at, what types of cars, what types of tracks, what classes there’s. So many different forms of racing, different types of racing, and so many different ways to get into it, but. The thing is obstacle is the financial aspect of it. And that’s always been my biggest obstacle in racing, is finding the money to be able to do it. Where most sports you can go to Walmart and buy a $20 soccer ball and a pair of shoes and you’re good with racing. Unfortunately, it’s not like that. So because I grew up in a racing family, it was easier transition for me to be like, okay, well my cousin’s race go kart, so I really know how to get into go karting and my dad knows how to set up my go kart. He’s taught me how to clean bearings. He knows how to show me how to fix the chain and what tire pressures to run. And of course, all of that has advantages. Having someone who’s already knowledgeable in the field. But it doesn’t go to say that you can’t still be successful if you don’t come from a racing family. No one in my family roots, NASCAR, no one. They all race. They were local dirt track racers. So when I decided to go from, you know, local dirt track racing as a hobby into NASCAR, as a full blown career, I knew nothing. I had to learn all of this. I didn’t know what types of cars were the starting cars to get into NASCAR or how much it costs or what teams were good or bad. There was so much trial and error and figuring out how to do it that I don’t want anyone to be discouraged if they are thinking about getting into racing because you can do it. It’s just you got to work a little harder.

Patricia [00:11:40] Yeah. So you must have had like, you know, some privilege in there, but you really took it a step further than anyone else in your family, and that’s really commendable. I don’t feel like a lot of people have that type of family support, you know, and a lot of people like a lot of like younger generation now. They’re like into like different career paths. You know, that doesn’t necessarily mean going to school. So I wanted to ask, like, to young students, what would your advice be to those who want to pursue passions but don’t have the support of their family?

Amber [00:12:16] Yeah, that’s a really great question. You know, I’ve always believed in this saying never let others dictate the decisions that you make for yourself. You need to do what’s happy for yourself. If you do not pursue what sets you on fire, what you’re excited and passionate about, and what purposes you will never be happy in life. You will never feel fulfilled and you’re never going to get to see what your potential is. And I think that’s why we’re here in this world, is to see what our potential can be. We should always be great, always be chasing our full potential. And I know it’s hard when others don’t support you, but the person that we’re going to become pursuing this different path or this difficult path is going to build you into someone that you’re truly proud of. And that is one of the best feelings you can get. And it’s going to take a while for them to see that. And unfortunately, people don’t believe that you can do things until you’ve already done them. You know, when I said I’m going to go be a NASCAR driver, people laughed at me. They laughed in my face. They thought I was crazy. And it took me a really long time to get here, you know, years and years and years. But now I’m here and that time is going to pass anyways. So it really doesn’t matter how long it takes, you know, it doesn’t matter if people don’t believe in you. You just believe in yourself. And you can’t expect others to believe that you can do it until you’ve already done it. And then when you do it, you can say, See, see you guys. I told you so. But no, it’s it’s really important to pursue what you want to do. And if your parents aren’t able to support your loved ones, you know, just find that support within yourself and get around people who are supportive of you.

Patricia [00:14:00] That’s so great. Honestly, like, the only validation you need in life is yours, you know, because a lot of people will say people will hate you regardless. You know, you’re doing well if you’re doing bad, you know, just like do it for you. That’s such great advice. I feel like a lot of our students will really relate to that. So, I mean, you did tell me you’re in North Carolina right now, am I correct? Yeah. And that’s where you filmed your show Racing Wives, right? What was it like? What was it like filming that? Because like when we had you on the podcast, it hasn’t had an aired yet the show. What was that like? Yeah. So what was that like as you told us about how what was the show? How, how was it?

Amber [00:14:43] So it was only one we only did one season. We actually filmed it in 2017, I think it aired in 2019 and it was a whirlwind. It was very different. It was a lot of fun, but it was very stressful. I’m almost happy it didn’t go to a second season because it was very stressful just having all these producers and people around you all the time. It’s like, you know, laying you in what to do and what to say. And then you have all these people judging you and commenting on you and things that might have not actually happened that way or were misconstrued or portrayed a certain way. So that aspect of it was a little stressful, but I’m happy now that I’m just getting to focus on racing and I’m super thankful for that opportunity. It was it was a lot of fun and I got to experience things I would have never got to if it wasn’t for the show. But I’m definitely enjoying my life right now, just being, you know, racing every weekend and just being on TV on race weekend.

Patricia [00:15:52] So not the entertainment side anymore because you were the only non wife and the only real racer in the show.

Amber [00:15:59] Yeah, no, I do. I do really enjoy TV. I think you would just have to be done a little differently. I would like to have a little bit more control of of what is shown on TV or just a different kind of circumstance. But I, I do enjoy television and entertainment. It’s fun, but I like racing a lot more.

Amber [00:16:22] So you did tell me you and your family, you all started from like dirt track racing since you transitioned into asphalt racing and doing that professionally, do you still have time or do you still take the time to do dirt track racing or no?

Amber [00:16:39] Not really. We actually do have two races on dirt this year, which is really neat. So technically I do still get to dirt races, but even dirt track racing cost a lot of money, so I would have to put extra money into dirt track racing where right now I’m just trying to develop my skills off pavement and I’m really enjoying it. I love my team and all the different tracks that we get to go to and it requires a lot of time, a lot of effort, a lot of preparation. So I’m just focused on that right now.

Amber [00:17:09] Okay, But do you miss it because that’s where you started? I mean, would you say that’s where the passion started, like being on the dirt track?

Amber [00:17:17] Yeah, it definitely started there. But I, I enjoy moving on to new chapters of my life and experiencing new things and new challenges is challenging in different ways. So of course there are parts of dirt track racing I miss, but right now I’m just living in the moment and enjoying what I’m doing right now.

Amber [00:17:38] I love that for you. So what would you say are you like top three favorite things about racing?

Amber [00:17:43] Oh, that’s a good question. I’m I’m going to say everyone is the fans and like just the family of racing in general. They’re just so great and they’re so supportive and they’re just behind you no matter what. If you have a good race or bad race, like they just they got your back and that that feels really good. Number two, for me, it’s just the feeling that I get in the car being free, you get this feeling of euphoria like you can’t experience through anything else because you are forced to be in the present moment when you’re in a race car because you’re going, you know, 190 mile an hour and you’re just so locked in and in the zone and you’re you’re so focused that you don’t have time or energy to think about anything else. You’re just so focused on what you’re doing in the car. I think that’s the the part of it that I’m so addicted to is just that feeling of freedom and presence and living in the moment and just it’s I call it my drug of choice. Like it’s like it’s like a drug and a.

Patricia [00:18:47] Healthy drug.

Amber [00:18:49] Addicted to it. And you’re like, this is awesome. And I just I really love going fast. Third thing about racing is how challenging it is. Some days I hate how challenging it is. Other days I’m like, This is why I love it because it is so challenging and I think if you’re not challenged, then it gets boring and racing never boring because you’re constantly challenged. And I think that is kind of what keeps pushing you forward. This is that bit of challenge.

Patricia [00:19:19] Do you guys do like extra training outside of like in being in the race or like being in the car? Like what other things do you do to prepare you for like a race? Or like, What kind of training do you do that doesn’t really necessarily involve you like driving?

Amber [00:19:32] I have a pretty constant training regimen. Essentially, I train with a driver specific trainer physically every day. So like endurance, strength, cognitive training. So I actually will do things like perception, peripheral, different types of cognitive training because so much is happening so fast in the cars and you need to be alert and all reaction time to be really fast. So cognitive training, physical training. And then I also utilize a system called iRacing, which they are direct replicas of each of the racetracks that will be going to you. So I can actually go on the simulator and practice on the track before getting to the track in real life. So that really helps learn the track, especially because this year I’ve never been to any of these tracks before. They’re all brand new to me, so it really helps in preparing for these races. And then also I work with driver coaches that will kind of give me pre-race notes and really kind of just dissect the track that will be going to its critics. What I can expect, what I can expect the car to do, what it feels like, the speeds, everything there is to know about the track. So a lot of preparation goes into that, into each race. Never mind what my entire crew is doing in the shop to get the cars ready for the races. But it’s a very extensive preparation during the week in order to get to the track and be ready for race day.

Patricia [00:21:08] I wanted to ask you to like, you know, how like other like in sports, like some people have like their lucky jersey or, you know, like some pre sport rituals before, you know, going in there. Do you have any like pre rituals you do before getting on the race track?

Amber [00:21:26] Yeah, the way I put my safety equipment on, I put it on the same way all the time. But I’ve had extremely bad luck lately in racing, so I got to switch something off.

Patricia [00:21:40] Yeah, maybe something new. So you’re able to juggle so many things. You know, you being a race car driver or influencer president of your own company. How do you juggle so many responsibilities and how do you make time for yourself?

Amber [00:21:55] I would say my daily planner is lifesaver. Like I, I write everything out in my planner. It just or else I’ll forget it. As far as me making time for myself, that’s something I struggle with a little bit. Yeah. I don’t know what you want to like. Oh, you better.

Patricia [00:22:15] Be on the road.

Amber [00:22:16] Yeah, Yeah. Usually. Usually, though, I try to give myself Sunday to kind of either rest or do something. But lately we’ve been racing on Sundays, so we haven’t really had much of a day off. But I do get out of racing a little bit here and there, but it’s a constant working at finding a balance. But it’s it’s hard to have a balance when you are at this level and want to do really well and achieve things, you know, the works required.

Patricia [00:22:47] So would you say you’re like a workaholic then? Because like, you know, I feel like it’s really important to, you know, take a step back sometimes in order to not be burnt out. We see that to a lot of our student audience, you know?

Amber [00:22:59] Yeah, no, I would say I’m a workaholic. I really enjoy what I do. But if I know that I’m burnt out and I need a day of rest, I’ll do.

Patricia [00:23:14] What are your favorite ways to self care? Like when you do have the time.

Amber [00:23:18] I love. Yeah. I actually read and meditate and journal every single day. Those are like my non-negotiables. Like I read ten pages of self-development book. I meditate for at least 10 minutes, usually either in a form of meditation or visualization. And then I also journal for, I would say, around 10 minutes a day as well, whether it be affirmations or what I’m grateful for or just quotes or messages that I’ve received that I really want to think about more and make sure that I have that in my journal. I don’t know what I would do with all those three things. Like those three things are very important to me.

Patricia [00:23:57] I love that I’m I’m so big on affirmations too, and like meditation and like what it does to your soul. You know, sometimes you just need to like that. I like to call it like clearing the cachet of, like, your soul, you know, like really big on meditation. That’s really amazing. So for students, because, you know, we’re talking about being burnt out and like being overworked and all that. So what would, what advice would you give students who feel overwhelmed with responsibilities in and outside of school?

Amber [00:24:27] I think. Just making time for yourself, even if it is just an hour a day to another thing. A dimension. Go for a walk outside. Like just being outside, being in nature, your head moving your body is so good. Exercising releases, so many endorphins, and it just makes you feel so good. So I would say give yourself at least an hour a day to whether it’s, you know, take a walk, workout, read, meditate, journal, visualize whatever you need to do to kind of bring yourself back to your center and feel grounded and at peace. Then I think that’s really important.

Patricia [00:25:04] I love that. Thank you for sharing that. Something else I would love for you to share is what do you think is the secret to success or what do you think you’ve done? Or what is your secret to success?

Amber [00:25:16] Oh, it’s simple. Just never giving up.

Patricia [00:25:18] Just pure hard work and dedication.

Amber [00:25:20] Don’t give up. It sounds so simple, but there’s thousands of times that I thought about giving up. And if I did, I wouldn’t be where I am today. So you got to push through those mental blocks, those doubts. You’re going to fail a lot. You’re going to make mistakes. You’re going to struggle. But you have to just keep pushing. You have to learn the lesson. You have to keep working on yourself, not only your job or your relationships or whatever skills you’re trying to develop, like work on yourself, work on being the best human you can be, and to be good to people, be happy for others, be excited for other successes, want other people to win just as much as you want yourself to win. Just be a good person. And I think things come a lot easier when you have that envy, that jealousy, that, Oh, why do they have an idol yet like that is just blocking everything away from you. You need to feel happy and at peace and grateful for everything you have while working towards what you want. You know, I think that gratitude mixed with discipline of continuing to work harder on yourself and your goals will lead to happiness with you. Especially if you’re going after that, that purpose that you seek.

Patricia [00:26:35] That is really good secrets to success, because a lot of people really get discouraged with the thought of feeling that they don’t even try, you know? But you just have to like, really persevere through that. Like hard work takes you like where you want to go.

Amber [00:26:49] And the thing about failing is I think that most people are afraid to fail, not really themselves because. But they’re afraid to fail because they’re afraid of what others think of failing or what others may think of them, or to have others see them fall on their face. I’ve fallen on my face so many times, and so is anyone who’s ever done anything great, you know, So you can’t be worried about what other people think about what you’re doing. You just have to do what’s best for you. And if you’re not worried about failing that don’t care that other people might see you fail because it’s part of it. And again, the person that you become and the journey, it’s going to be even better than what you’re actually chasing. I am so proud of the first five because I took it the hard route and I had so much struggle. This struggle build you into the person to be proud of. And if you’re someone who’s watching right now and you’re like, I don’t know who I am and I don’t love myself and I don’t know what I’m capable of, and I don’t think I can do it. And I I’m not confident, not if you have all those feelings about yourself. Just keep going. Because when you keep going and you keep pushing through things, confidence, doubt comes up, goes away, fear goes away. All of those things that you don’t feel good about, they get stripped away because you are constantly working out, being a better person, getting to where you wanna go, and you learn so much. Not only do you learn a lot about the field that you’re in, the job that you’re in, or the relationship, but you learn about yourself along the way and that’s something you learn in school. Like that’s just it. That’s through experience. So the more you push yourself to go out of your comfort zone and achieve what you want to achieve, the more proud you become of yourself as a person and the happier you.

Patricia [00:28:40] Yeah, because a lot of people like, especially on social media, you know, everyone’s like trying to put their best foot forward. Like everyone’s just so scared to even try anything that’s like relatively new or something that’s scary because, you know, everything is so publicized now. It’s like a different world being on social media. You know, a lot of people are scared. So I feel like a lot of people really relate to that. You know, like just you can’t when you’re in such a negative headspace, you almost start to believe yourself. And that’s where affirmations really come handy. You know, you have to like almost like you have to, like, put that thought out there. Like you have to believe it in order to, like, manifest that reality, you know?

Amber [00:29:21] Absolutely. And I completely agree. But you also need to mix that with action as. Well. So you need. You need to. Yes, I. I do affirmations as well. I read. I do everything to be like, All right, you can do this. You can. But at the same time, you still need to put action towards that. You know, if I if you say, all right, I want to be a millionaire, I can. I’m doing everything I can to be a millionaire. I’m attracting all that. But it’s to me. But if you just sit there on the couch and watch Netflix all day, then, you know, if the belief and action have to coincide. You have to have the belief in yourself, but you also have to take action.

Patricia [00:30:01] Yeah, absolutely. You really have to do the work. You can’t just like imagine stuff to happen. It’s not going to manifest like that. You really have to like. I think it’s more so like getting the inspiration and and believing that you can do that in order to realize how to get there. You know?

Amber [00:30:18] Exactly. You need to see it before you believe it. And you have to have a clear vision for what you want in life before you can get that. So that’s why I love visualization, because I really in my visualization, I think about like, all right, where am I going to be in five years from now? What do I want my house to look like? What do I want? What team do I want to be race or do? What tracks or what? How am I winning? Am I how am I waving the flag in victory lane? How? Like I think of all the details and like once you can see that, I think of walking the red carpet at the is because I received the Woman Athlete of the Year award. Like you have to dream big. You have to have that for yourself and then work every day to be that person.

Patricia [00:31:03] Yeah, it’s all about goal setting. Yeah. Soon the school, the school year is going to start soon in Canada. To all of our student listening right now to the podcast, is there anything you’d like to say to them is like advice or like the school system we’ve had during COVID? It was very difficult. A lot of people were like doing, you know, Zoom classes and everything. So for a lot of people and a lot of students all over the world, it’s like their first time doing like face to face classes again. So do you have any advice for any of our student listeners?

Amber [00:31:35] Um, I would say embrace the that you can connect with people again. Like, I think it’s so beautiful. But another thing I love for racing is being with my team at all every weekend and just creating friendships with them and working together and just enjoy having that camaraderie again. You know, we really missed that during COVID. And the thing about school is you guys can share notes and work together on projects, fun things like that. So I would say just try to enjoy it as much as possible.

Patricia [00:32:08] Yeah, that’s so true. Where did you go to school, by the way? In Canada.

Amber [00:32:12] So I went to Red River College in Winnipeg.

Patricia [00:32:15] So what kind of student would you say you were like back in…

Amber [00:32:19] I tried really hard. I was good at subjects like English marketing, entrepreneurship. I wasn’t very good at accounting statistics, wasn’t very good at that kind of stuff. But I tried really hard. So I’d say like on average I was probably like a B plus student, but if I didn’t try, I would have been like.

Amber [00:32:40] Yeah, it’s like if I put in the right effort, I know I can get there, but I’m just like, I’d rather be a little chill. Okay, I love that. Like, I.

Amber [00:32:49] Was like marketing at A’s, but in accounting. I see. So, you know, it kind of showed you probably like a B-plus student. But I also don’t do like, I would never put your worth on your grades. Like, there’s you know, I think the one thing I think that school really helps teaches everyone is discipline and routine and knowing that the work has to be done. So it makes you study, it makes you get your work done, it makes you work. But I don’t think anyone should also ever say, oh, I’m not good at school, so I’m about to be good because that’s not true.

Patricia [00:33:28] Yeah, that’s so true. Because a lot of people like, you know, you see people who didn’t even finish school and go on to be successful people. It’s not really like the basis of like success or like how you’re going to be. Yeah, but it does have a lot of like advantages to it, you know, like it’s still super important. I feel like a lot of the generation now that, you know, they want to be like YouTuber, like influencers, but like, you know, what would you say to like those people who, like, think school isn’t necessary anymore?

Amber [00:33:59] You don’t know how much longer this time of influencers is going to be around, for We really don’t. Things are always changing, constantly changing, and you still need to have skills of some sort in the real world. I think one thing if I could go back to school that I would change is instead of studying to memorize things for test, I would. Study to learn. I love learning now and I wish that I had this mindset of being excited to learn when I was in school. Because I think sometimes with school you get so focused on just having to pass the tests that you forget to actually care about the material that you’re learning and actually genuinely want to learn it and understand it and take like the memory of it. I think that would be my advice if I would go back. I wish I would just want to learn things more from a place of understanding things rather than just memorizing them so I can get good grades, not just.

Patricia [00:35:03] Yeah, for the sake of passing because like, learning never stops. You think learning stops after school. It doesn’t. You just it’s when you grow up, you realize, Yeah, like you really want to learn more. You want to grow as an individual. You want to constantly, like, learn new things. And like as students, you don’t really, like, have that mindset yet because yeah, a lot of a lot of it. It’s like, do this to pass or like, you know, do this for good grades.

Amber [00:35:30] So yeah.

Patricia [00:35:31] Yeah, that is really good advice for students.

Amber [00:35:34] Don’t ever stop learning like I used to have that mindset to. I’m like, okay, well, once I’m done school, I don’t have to read any more to learn any more. But realistically, not whatever field of work you go it you To be the best in that field requires constant learning. There are I am contemplating about racing there NASCAR Cup series champions that are still constantly learning about racing that to be the best, that whatever you want to be requires constant learning. Know that when you’re at school it’s not going to stop.

Patricia [00:36:06] That’s so true. We know that you serve as an influence to so many, but who would you say is the most influential person in your life?

Amber [00:36:14] So the most influential person in my life, I would say, is Andy Frisella. He is the CEO of one of the companies that sponsored me first form. He has his own podcast on books. He created a program called 75 Hard, which is the mental toughness program that I completed last year. And overall, the last eight years I’ve been following him. I think he’s had the probably greatest influence and impact on helping me achieve what I’ve achieved, that he’s not like a personal best friend or anything is, you know, he’s just someone like Tony Robbins or someone who’s really good at helping change people’s lives. So I would say him. And then also my parents are just super supportive and I’m really lucky to have them.

Patricia [00:37:00] That is so sweet. So what is next for you in your career? Like, what are your next goals? Like what? What are your next plans like? What can we expect? Like as your fans? Like, what can we see from you in like the next few years?

Amber [00:37:14] I will. I hope to become the first female to win a national NASCAR ARCA series race. So that’s number one on the list. But yeah, I think I have no plans of slowing down anytime soon. So I would say just climbing the NASCAR ranks and we’ll see what else things bring to it.

Patricia [00:37:34] Absolutely. Like you’ve you’ve grown so much from when we last had you on the podcast. Like, I don’t doubt that you will blow up even more. And you know, like you said, you have goals and you set your goals and you work towards them. So I don’t really doubt that you’ll, you’ll achieve that. So I want to wish you good luck on that.

Amber [00:37:52] Thank you. Thank you so much. And I appreciate you having me on the show again.

Patricia [00:37:57] Yeah. So, yeah, that pretty much wraps up our podcast. Thank you once again for taking the time to inspire our audience and coming back on the podcast. We wish you the best and good luck on all that you do. Do you have any socials that you want to plug or like events? Where can people see you?

Amber [00:38:14] Yeah, for sure that you can follow me @Amberbalcaen10 on facebook, Instagram, Twitter, TikTok, A-M-B-E-R-B-A-L-C-A-E-N-10.

Patricia [00:38:25] All right. So I just want to say thank you as well to our amazing listeners. We will be sharing links to Amber social media down in the description. And if you haven’t listened to Amber’s first episode on the podcast, be sure to listen to that as well. I’ll be linking that down below as well. Follow us on Instagram @HomeworkHelpGlobal. We’re also on Facebook, Twitter, TikTok, That’s also @HomeworkHelpGlobal. Don’t forget to like events. Subscribe to our YouTube channel and thank you again so much, Amber, for being here. We appreciate it.

Amber [00:38:54] Thank you for having me.

Patricia [00:38:56] Bye. Have a good day.

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