Every day, my daddy told me the same thing. 'Once a task is just begun, never leave it till it's done. Be the labour great or small, do it well or not at all.'
Quincy Jones may know more than a thing or two about getting things done. If you haven't heard of him, he's an American musician, producer, conductor, arranger, composer and film producer. He has amassed 79 Grammy Award nominations, 28 Grammys and seven Oscar nominations in his career. He is one of the most influential jazz musicians of the 20th Century and produced the biggest selling album of all time, Thriller. Boom!
I came across an interview about some of the things he's learned in his time. Three of the many anecdotes that stuck out for sharing are here:
"Nelson Mandala always told me, “Quincy, the collective is always more important than the individual.” It’s not “I me mine” but “we us they”. And I learned that very early. That's what the big band's all about. It's only as strong as the weakest member."
"Mark Twain said: “Anger is an acid that can do more harm to the vessel in which it is stored than to anything on which it is poured.” That's a very profound comment because we can freak out and get angry, but that protest, vandalism and violence doesn't work. We’ve gotta be smart now, to steer this turkey in the right direction."
I made every mistake on the planet but that’s how you learn. I was in Europe with my big band in 1957/58. Instead of taking the paid transportation home after the contract I kept them on for some more gigs. 26 years old and I kept 33 people in Europe for ten months. It gotto the point where I almost committed suicide in Helsinki. It was that painful. I had no manager, no agent, nothing. It took me seven years to pay off that money.
I also just learned a documentary about his life was released last year. So, I'll watch that now. : )
As always, thank you for reading!
with appreciation,
Jon
p.s.
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📷: Hagbard Celine ✨🤙🏻
Cycling
Ampler Bikes raises €2.47 million in five days to “tackle urban commuting”
In the last 24 months the team at Ampler have:
- grown from 8 to 36 members
- taken the number of Amplers on the road from ~300 to 3500+
- generated more than 6.5m € in sales
- become profitable
- opened the first Ampler flagship store in Berlin
- and, now are close to moving into their new bicycle assembly factory, which will lift the production capacity to 25 000 units per year within three years!
Why I Ride My Bike to Work, by the Prime Minister of the Netherlands
With its sweeping views over the sparkling Hofvijver pond, the Binnenhof – the Gothic castle in the heart of The Hague that houses the States General of the Netherlands – is quite something.It's little wonder Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte enjoys commuting to his office there. And recently he's made the journey by bike as often as possible.
If you follow me on insta, then you saw I was rolling around The Hague, where Minister Rutte rides to work, yesterday. I know we're spoiled with our cycling infrastructure in The Netherlands but it wasn't always this way!
Cars Are Death Machines. Self-Driving Tech Won’t Change That.
The best way to make streets safer?
Fewer cars.
Startups, Sales & PR
The State of Work
Key Takeaways:
• Modern work is more technologically driven, complex and interdependent than ever before. This creates a fundamental challenge for all teams and workers worldwide: aligning around a common set of goals.
• Aligned workers, we found, are those who feel connected to their company’s vision and strategy. Equipped with this insight into the bigger picture, they approach their work with optimistic purpose and feel empowered to take action.
• Unaligned workers, by contrast, are disconnected from their company’s strategic objectives and more pessimistic about its future. They are more likely to operate in silos and feel less empowered to seize business opportunities.
• Organizations can nurture alignment through a clear strategy, frequent communication of that strategy, and a thoughtful approach to information overload. When people understand how their work fits into the larger whole, organizations can tackle even the most difficult challenges.
A Wandering Mind: How Travel Can Change the Way You Think
Most people travel as an observer, and as a result, “see” a lot. When you travel as an active participant, the experience can transform the way you think, and how you see the world.
Why I always bring a bike! Or borrow if I have to!
5 Philosophy Principles for Modern Life
Another way to think about this is to reject an obsession with connectivity and instead pursue a bigger sense of empathy. All our social media apps excel at connecting us to more people, more information, more things to do, but that doesn’t always translate to us stepping outside of our own world to understand someone else’s.
I recently subscribed to Rob Estreitinho's Salmon Theory. So far, it's good!
Friends
Adeline O'Moreau
My friend Adeline is a designer that likes to make things which matter to other humans, make them smile, or make their lives nicer.
Bikepacking Journal Issue 03
I met Lucas at the Berlin Bike Show some years ago and last year, he slept in my treehouse and gave me tips for riding in Kyrgyzstan. You should get his magazine!
Must Do Rides: Malmo
Nice to see Ebbe & Patch pop up on the Strava blog!
I've gotta get to Malmö!
Radness
2019 Autumn Edition Pathfinder Giro!
Since 5 years, The Pathfinder Giro is one of my very favorite rides in The Netherlands . The next one is coming up on Sunday, October 13!
There will be 4 routes on the most beautiful narrow gravel and cycle paths around Eindhoven. Suitable for MTB, Gravel, CX and road bikes. Register per team (3-10 people) by sending an email to: mail at yorit.info