The American English definition of "make it worth someone’s while" is: "to pay a reward to someone for doing something".
Ultimately every aspect of what I do day in * day out is meant to be worth my while & that of our clients, their prospects and the publications we pitch.
How do you make sure what's worth it to you is worth it to others too?
- Play to your strengths | i.e. “I’m great at leading but lousy at numbers. So rather than teach me remedial math, get me a good finance partner.” (for Twotone that's: consolebv.nl)
- Solve Problems | Mark Manson, NYTimes bestselling author of The Subtle Art of Not Giving a Fuck: suggests "The bigger the problem, the more meaning one will feel" Zeroing on the problems you solve is 1/2 of creating meaning.
- Help Others | the 2nd half, he says is helping others:
This is the biggie. As humans, we’re wired to thrive on our relationships. Studies show that our overall well-being is deeply tied to the quality of our relationships, and the best way to build healthy relationships is through helping others. In fact, some studies have even found that giving stuff away makes us happier than giving stuff to ourselves. Go figure.
Speaking of miles and the rewards for going the distance, we covered a lot of ground at & outside the office this week:
- Our client Speedvagen kicked off their European Scout Tour here in Amsterdam yesterday. London is next!
- Today I spoke at Shimano EMEA in Eindhoven with Stefan from PR.CO thanks to regular reader Ben.
- Friday Frank & I fly to Basel for our client OBST&GEMÜSE's 8th Birthday. (RSVP on FB)
- Michel wrapped up our project with local startup Momice. They now have a well oiled outbound sales process in place
- We onboarded our first intern, Raphaël, from Marseille, France. He'll be working with us for two months. Stoked!
As always, thank you for reading!
with appreciation,
Jon
❤️ this? Please tweet it, share on LinkedIn or post on FB. ⠹⠁⠝⠅⠀⠽!
Cycling
Miles for Smiles | "The whole race we will ride together because together we are stronger."
People create amazing stuff: reusable space rockets, heart tissue grown from spinach leaves, advanced AI and so on. And yet there are still issues that, unfortunately, haven’t been solved, like how to cure multiple sclerosis.
My friend Eva Synnestvedt Hansen is riding 737 km, from Copenhagen to Skagen, to raise funds and increase awareness about multiple sclerosis with Benjamin Andresen. Learn more & support their effort here.
Cycling industry podcast gets 50,000 downloads in April
The 11-year-old Spokesmen podcast had its best ever month, with 49,630 downloads in April. The industry show is now hosted by BikeBiz executive editor Carlton Reid, who has been with the podcast since it started in 2006.
Speaking of podcasts:
- VeloNews' Fast Talk Podcast, Nº17: The art and science of the breakaway
- The Athletic's Transmissions podcast is already on its 4th episode!
- not a podcast but still! Paul Components Interviews Jan Heine of Bicycle Quarterly
Trek Bicycle president slams Trump on corporate taxes, failed leadership, and 'America First theory'
Apparently, aero isn't everything. Taking a stand counts too. A great talk John Burke of Trek did in 2016 about “12 Simple Solutions to Save America” is here on Youtube. If you're American, give it a listen.
Startups
The Gig Economy Celebrates Working Yourself to Death
Jia Tolentino on how the gig economy, exemplified by startups like Lyft and Fiverr, has further normalized very low pay with no insurance or benefits. On that note, its not just freelancers: it’s not what you spend – it’s how hard you work that has become a the new status symbol.
The rich used to show how much they could spend on things they didn’t need. Today, a public display of productivity is the new symbol of class power
5 New Ways to Get Instagram Followers in 2017
Thanks to Maarten of Merci Cycling for the heads up on this one!
Meet Relive, a startup that uses data to turn your outdoor activities into 3D animated videos
Relive, a Dutch startup that has been flying a little under the tech media radar until now. Thanks to Steve O'Hear of TechCrunch, that has changed.
Steve also has a great Revue!
Sales
The Creative World’s Bullshit Industrial Complex
Don’t fall into the trap of being an expert before you’re ready. We have enough of those.
"Technology can rob you of your mastery. Automation can rob you of your value."
How to Become Insanely Well-Connected
"The best way to be highly influential is to be human to everyone you meet."
Long read but worth it! Some teasers:
- Convey genuine appreciation.
- Listen with intent.
- Use humility markers.
- Offer unvarnished honesty.
- Blue-sky brainstorm.
- End every meeting or conversation with the feeling and optimism you’d like to have at the start of your next conversation with the person.
- Don't fake it till you make it.
How to Automate Content Curation with Zapier, Pocket, Buffer and Google Sheets - Tomorrow's Harvest
Learn how to automate content curation with a workflow that combines Zapier, Buffer, Pocket and Google Sheets. Save time and deliver more valuable content.
Radness
#onthenorway 2017 by #onthenorway
Follow the photographers @elle_pilou and @der_gerlacher on a 3.125km roadtrip through western norway: instagram.com/onthenorway
Bonus: @der_gerlacher, my bud Constantin, recently shot Podia's Spring Summer '17 collection. This video captures him talking about what it takes to shoot cycling.