Former IndyCar Driver Sam Schmidt On The Power Of Purpose

When faced with a setback, we’re taught to push through and persevere. But what happens when we’re faced with something so difficult the challenge seems insurmountable? 

That’s what happened to IndyCar driver Sam Schmidt, but he didn’t slow down or stop—he sped up. 

Sam had just won his first IndyCar race in Las Vegas. He was on top of the world. But a few months later, he crashed into a wall at a track in Orlando. The accident left him paralyzed. 

Faced with a different life than he’d planned, Sam decided to take control of his future. He worked on his recovery while also co-founding champion racing teams. He started the Conquer Paralysis Now foundation, Driven Neuro Recovery centers and he and I co-wrote the book No Finish Line together—all to help others.

“Racing is my passion,” Sam told me on a recent episode of the Corporate Competitor Podcast. “But Driven Neuro Recovery and my foundation is clearly my purpose.”

For Sam, living as a quadriplegic didn’t end his competitive drive—it reshaped it. Far from defeated, he learned to find the winner’s circle in new imaginative ways. 

Sam’s fortitude and resilience drove him to commit to himself every single day, exercising, advocating and refusing to give into a condition that would have otherwise destroyed his life. 

“I’ve seen plenty of people walk out of hospitals and do amazing things,” Sam explains. “But if they didn’t try, it wasn’t going to happen.”

He talks about all this and more in our interview, including:

• Where there’s a will. For Sam, there is always a way to overcome an obstacle. He’s the same person who used an exoskeleton to dance with his daughter on her wedding day. But Sam knows it takes action to achieve what you want. “If you do nothing, nothing will happen,” he says. 

• Invent the future. After his accident, Sam traveled the country with his race team, which included visiting hospitals to talk with patients. That led him to connect with Arrow. Together, they invented a car that can be driven without arms or legs. “We want anybody, regardless of their ability, to be productive members of society,” Sam explains. 

• Don’t give up. Sam has had many opportunities to give up along the way. But each time, he hit the gas and moved forward. Maybe it’s his racing nature. Whatever the reason, Sam says that good things happen to those who persevere. “I didn’t want to look back in five years, no matter what condition I was in, and say I didn’t do my utmost to overcome,” he says.