Hello!
Right on-time delivery over here! Feeling good about that! Hope you've had a good weekend!
I'll keep the intro brief this week & share some tips about how to succeed under pressure based on lessons from “An Astronaut’s Guide to Life on Earth: What Going to Space Taught Me About Ingenuity, Determination, and Being Prepared for Anything.”:
- 💀 “Okay, what’s the next thing that will kill me?” – This is about negative thinking being positive during a crisis. i.e., actually anticipating obstacles and proactively preparing them can be huge, while “thinking it will all work out” can be a passive demise pitfall.
- 😅 “Sweat the small stuff” – I always tell my kids: "Failure to prepare is preparing to fail". As Eric writes in the article: "You may think you’re busy now, but you will always have more time before a problem strikes than when you’re in the middle of it."
- ⛔ “Working the problem” – This is like a shakedown ride for real life. The idea is to experience challenges safely before the shit hits the fan. Nothing tops the upper hand you'll have from having handled a headache once before already!
- 🗺️ “How can I help us get where we need to go?” – There are only three kinds of people on a team. Be competent and trustworthy, and then find the best way to be a 'plus one':
You can be a “minus one”: someone who causes problems. You can be a “zero”: someone whose impact is neutral. Or you can be a “plus one”: someone who actively adds value." – Colonel Chris Hadfield.
So being a 'plus one' in a team is certainly something you need to succeed! Here are some similarly themed truisms from previous newsletters: you can win when others win & normal speed meets every need.
As always, thank you for reading & sharing this newsletter,
Jon
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Cycling
Join us for the LEMMO x Six & Sons Party on Sept 1!
Made.Bike: for Hearts, Not Heads
Quite a few of my stateside friends & even Rotterdam-based homie Joergen from Parallel Handbuilt made it over to Made.Bike. Honestly, I really woulda loved to have made the trip! (ba dum tss) Especially with all my NAHBS nostalgia that I share with James as he romantically mused in the Escape Collective newsletter. For all of us who couldn't go, the next best thing is checking out James' coverage here.
"Made, ultimately, is about machines driven by hearts, not heads. Bikes are how most of these folks make their living, but suffice to say they’re not exactly doing it for the money. There’s a piece of each maker in everything they build, and therein lies the appeal."
p.s. Also new this week: the roots & end of Cycling Tips + birth of Escape Collective
p.p.s. I'd be remiss not to mention John & Josh at Radavist's Made coverage too!
⏰ Save the Date: Ampler Customer Day is August 31
Ideas
Ask vs. Guess Culture
There are some great tips at the end of this article. Top highlight? "Get more comfortable with people saying no to you." By this, the author, Jean Hsu, who is VP of Engineering at Range. Previously co-founder of Co Leadership, and engineering at @Medium, Pulse, and Google, which means you should ask for things that people might say no to. Like more budget or more vacation! ; )
Why Do We Have To Be So Efficient?
Pretty funny that reading an article like this almost feels dirty. But when you dig into what Jacqueline Dooley is saying, it actually makes sense:
Practice listening to someone — really listening — to what they’re saying without waiting until they get to the end. In fact, stop worrying about beginnings or endings. It’s all one long middle anyway.
Regret Is Painful. Here’s How to Harness It.
Daniel Pink found that regrets fall into four main themes:
- We regret failing to reach out to others
- lapses in moral judgment
- incremental choices that result in big consequences — like smoking or working too much
- and holding back when we should have been bolder.
The article concludes with the tip to reframe a regret by ‘at least-ing’. Go from “if only” to “at least.” i.e. Instead of "if only I had done x, y, z" to "at least I got to experience x, y, z".
Friends
Mel Webb & Cynthia Frazier Launch Detours
I met Mel & her partner Jake at the Hellenic Mountain Race & have been following what they're up to since. I really enjoyed this first episode! More about the project in Mel's words:
"Super excited to share with you our new ultra cycling and bikepack racing podcast, Detours! I’m a chronic storyteller and have been craving more female-hosted podcasts about cycling and said f**k it, I’m creating my own! What’s even better is Cynthia @watt_wagon agreed to be my cohost and I’m so stoked to be on this ride with her. We’re both idea machines and have so many conversations we’re excited to bring you — we’re only just getting started but I can already tell this is a dream team."
FAM IS FAM - SOCIAL RIDE. VELUWE | October 7th
“Our Torino Nice” – A Bikepacking Reunion in The Alps
Lucas Winzenburg
Radness
Old Man Mountain & Bikepacking Roots' Made.Bike Giveaway!
To celebrate the MADE.bike show and all of the fantastic custom painters in the bike industry, Old Man Mountain teamed up with @Tec.Gnar, @SaveThePostalService, @Spray.Bike & @ArgonautCycles
Each painter was provided with some racks and told to have fun! Now they're going to the racks away and raise some money for BIKEPACKING ROOTS!
Bikepacking Roots supports and advances bikepacking, the growth of a diverse bikepacking community, and access to and the conservation of the landscapes and public lands through which we ride.
Enter here to win!