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Welcome to your weekly boost of inspiration from the shop floor. Torque Authority is not your average industry blog—it's a spark fired from the shop meant to reignite your drive, your grit, and your purpose.

Each edition delivers a hint of humor and a dose of inspiration drawn from real moments under the hood—lessons on leadership, resilience, and persistence.

The aim of this newsletter is to help you build a highly skilled, confident, and high-paying automotive career—on your terms. Find out how in our Skool Community Torque Authority Hub!

You’ve probably had seasons where life gets loud, stress piles up, and your mindset slips into the background while you just try to keep up. In moments like that, stepping back and recalibrating isn’t a luxury — it’s survival.

Recently, I went through my own reset: a mindset tune-up and a tech detox (as much as any of us in the automotive world can realistically disconnect, lol). Part of that reset included sitting through a Tony Robbins seminar — not for hype, but for clarity. Instead of quick motivation, what hit me was something much deeper.

I realized we’re often trying to solve the wrong problems — we’re all chasing better strategies to make the automotive service industry better, when the real fix starts inside: change your state, rewrite your story, and the strategy takes care of itself.

We think the answer is always a better strategy. Better workflow, better equipment, better pay plan, better leadership.

But here’s the truth Tony laid out — and once I saw it, I couldn’t unsee it:

Strategy comes last.

To really change results, you first change your state, then you change your story, and only then change your strategy.

Let’s break that down.

Your state is your physical and emotional condition — your breathing, your posture, your energy, your focus.

If you roll into work already frustrated, tired, and mentally fried, it doesn’t matter what strategy you use — your brain’s running on low voltage.

Before you touch a tool, check your own system first.

Take 30 seconds to reset.

Straighten up. Breathe deep. Move your body. Take a walk.

You can’t fix a car when your own “control module” is in a logic-lock state.

Professionals know this: when your state changes, your thinking changes.

The story is the meaning you assign to what’s happening.

“I’ll never figure this out.”
“Nobody here respects my time.”
“This customer’s impossible.”

Sound familiar? We all tell ourselves stories like this — but those stories decide what we see and what we miss.

Try this instead:

“This is data I haven’t connected yet.”
“I’m the kind of tech who always finds the answer — no matter what.”
“This customer just wants clarity — I can give them that.”

Same situation. Different story. Totally different outcome.

The best diagnostic tree in the world is useless if your mindset is shorted out. Once your state and story are right, now you’re ready for strategy.

In a calm state and with a constructive story, suddenly the strategy becomes obvious. You think clearer. You communicate better. You troubleshoot faster.

In our world, that means the most powerful tool in the bay isn’t the scope, or the scan tool, or even the lift — it’s the technician who knows how to control their own state and story before turning that wrench.

Before you ask, “What’s the best way to fix this?”
Ask yourself:

Do it in that order — and you’ll be amazed how many “impossible” jobs, conversations, and days suddenly become manageable.

Remember: professionals don’t just know the right strategy — they know how to put themselves in the right state to use it.

This one rolled into the shop with a complaint that made my eyebrows try to exit my forehead: “At 65 MPH, the steering wheel shakes so hard it nearly rips out of my hands.”

Great. Nothing like a vehicle that tries to establish dominance on the interstate.

This SUV had already eaten a new steering rack and a full road-force balancing session. Yet it still behaved like it had a personal vendetta against human wrists.

The technician on the case, Jesse, inherited this R.O. the same way you inherit a stray dog: you didn’t ask for it, but now it’s definitely your problem.

We set out to duplicate the concern. Sure enough—around 65 MPH, with adaptive cruise on and the slightest brake application, the steering wheel started throwing elbows like it was late to a hockey game.

Vibration analysis confirmed a solid T1 vibration, about 17 Hz, spiking up to 60 mG. That’s not a “little shake.” That’s a “why does my steering wheel feel like a jackhammer?”

And here's the kicker: the problem only danced for us under very specific conditions—adaptive cruise + braking. We basically had to set a highway booby trap to make the issue show itself.

After coming back to the shop, I had an interesting thought— what if this was being caused by a brake caliper dragging? I hopped out of the car and took a good look at all 4 rotors with my thermal imaging camera.

Sure enough, the right front brake rotor was reporting temps north of 320°F after a short drive, while the LF sat at a polite 204°F. If rotors could talk, the right front would be yelling “I’m doing ALL the work!” This was a caliper hanging on harder than a toddler with separation anxiety—dragging the brake just enough to create uneven application and a full-body shudder at highway speeds.

Once we pinpointed the diva in the RF corner, the fix was straightforward: new caliper, new flex hose, fresh rotor, the whole supporting cast of hardware, and a deep-clean of the hub surface. Lubricated everything properly, reassembled, and sent it back out for a road test.

Smooth. Straight. Civilized. The steering wheel retired from its UFC career, and this SUV finally decided to stop assaulting its driver.

Lessons Learned:

Another reason for my recent absence from this newsletter: I’ve been running what I’ll call a mental recalibration challenge — a month-long break from all the noise: no social media, no scrolling, no constant input.

Like pulling a fuse to reset a module, I needed to reset my own mental circuits.

The other morning, that reset was tested hard.

I woke up foggy, head pounding, and my 4-year-old was already melting down. I snapped, got impatient, and the morning spiraled — small frustrations stacked up like misdiagnosed codes.

After breakfast, he wanted to help me with the dishes. Instead of feeling grateful, I got more irritated when he told me I was “doing it wrong.” His little emotions boiled over, mine did too.

Then something in me said, pause.

So I did.

I knelt down, hugged him, and apologized for being short with him. He cried. I held him until he stopped. That simple act — connection instead of control — reset both of us.

Later on, I headed to work and promptly took the wrong freeway on-ramp. No big deal — until I missed the next exit on the turnpike which added 25 minutes to my drive! That’s when the self-talk started:

“How can I be so stupid?”

My chest tightened, my pulse kicked up, and I could feel the frustration taking over. But this time, I caught it.

I went back to the framework I’d been practicing during this mental recalibration:

When I did that, something amazing happened.

The anger didn’t win. It softened.

I started thinking about how far I’ve come — how I handle stress now compared to a year ago — and gratitude started to take over. I felt proud, calm, and even emotional.

Here’s what clicked for me in that moment:

When you’re grateful, fear loses its grip.
When you’re afraid, gratitude disappears.
You get to choose which one stays.

Every tech knows that stress doesn’t always show up as a major failure — sometimes it’s the little things: the comeback job, the seized fastener, the parts delay, or the advisor who “forgets” the key piece of information you needed on the R.O.

Here’s how to handle it like a pro — not just emotionally, but strategically:

That’s not “feel-good talk” — that’s emotional control, and emotional control is the hidden diagnostic tool of every great technician.

Because when you control your state, you control your story — and that means you can finally control your strategy.

So, the next time the day starts slipping sideways, remember this simple practice:

This is how you keep yourself tuned for the long haul.

Torque Authority Hub is where technicians rise above the grind. Learn to think like a leader, work with purpose, and earn with confidence — alongside a community that pushes you to lead, not just follow.

T. W. Mulder, Founder of Torque Authority

Helping technicians think sharper, lead stronger, & earn what they’re worth.