Hey!
How's your weekend so far? I opted to play catch-up a bit today & took strides to get ahead as I'll be traveling early next week.
And, if you think you've seen this subject line before, you're right. Back in Feb 2019, I asked: "Fake it ’til you make it or grit it 'til you get it?" It was about, Angela Duckworth's basic formula:
talent x effort = skill
skill x effort = achievement
I have my same sentiment of preferring grit over faking it but this week recycling the headline seemed appropriate as I saw several articles recently riffing on this idea:
- one about imposter syndrome in parenting with the same title
- the NYT article at end of this issue about how Gillian Welch and David Rawlings held onto optimism in 2020
- one on faking optimism until it works by R.O. Kwon.
A quote of Kwon's worth sharing as 2020 begins to wind down with its emblematic uncertainty and ubiquitous obstacles:
"Hope is not just a feeling; like love, it is a practice. It is a verb. It is action."
Like both linked articles above posit: mind over matter, simply does matter. Especially when it comes to optimism and hope. To me, the real secret sauce is that this mindset isn't solely your own subconscious, hope is contagious too.
So, if you're anything like me and trying to bunny hop over the last two months of 2020, don't forget to keep your chin up going into 2021 and influence those around you too.
Everything that ailed us, assailed and derailed us in 2020 won't evaporate on Jan 2021 and there won't have a snowball's chance in hell for us without believing that 2021 can be marvellous.
as always, thank you for reading,
Jon
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Header image this week by Tom Jamieson for Brooks England.
p.s. Share the stoke & pass newsletter on to your friends & colleagues via a tweet, a post on LinkedIn, or a share on FB.
Cycling
Introducing the Brooks' Scape Range
The Scape range has been crafted with a purpose, to provide versatile and strong travel bags for bicycling adventurers.
We helped Brooks launch their Scape collection earlier this month but these images by my friend Tom Jamieson of my friend Rob Quirk in the mystical Faroe Islands just went live on their site. Looks awesome!
15 cycling documentaries you really should watch as lockdown lingers on
Get your mind off cancelled races with this list of films may have not yet seen or so nice you can watch twice.
cycling is for everyone
Cannondale & EF Pro Cycling work together to help increase racial diversity in cycling: two entirely new co-ed collegiate and university cycling teams will be established and supported at one Historically Black College & University and one Tribal College & University (TCU).
Ideas
Shop small; a different kind of gift guide
This holiday season, when you’re searching for a cycling related gift, remember to shop small, support independents and buy local!
Wall Street Thinks the Bike Boom is Over. And That’s the Problem.
"Several of the world’s largest bicycle manufacturers showed significant stock losses following an announcement Monday that pharmaceutical company Pfizer had discovered a promising vaccine for the coronavirus."
Why Do Virtual Meetings Feel So Weird?
“Facial expression, gestures, posture and gait, and visible arm and body movements,” wrote anthropologist Ray Birdwhistell, make up 65–70 percent of the social meaning of a conversation."
Friends
Leo Rodgers Foundation Initiative
I met Leo on a trip to visit my son and daughter in Florida two years ago at Tampa's Bro Bowl. The next year we rand into him riding around the city during Gasparilla. He inspires both me and my kids.
He's an inspiration to so many around the world. Here is a way we all can help him inspire even more!
LA Sweat partners with Blackstone Bicycle Works
I've known LA Sweat's founder Kelli Samuelson since my fixed gear days more than a decade ago. We even raced together once from Oakland to Sacramento during the Handmade Bike Show in a MASH SF alleycat.
She's been working hard to keep LA Sweat not only going as a team but now with Blackstone Bicycle Works also helping young WTF and BIPOC riders live the cycling dream
TiGr BLUE, the next step in TiGr evolution in production and available now!
In 2016, I had my locks taken by security in Dubai on my way to speak at a conference in India, it really became an issue when, on my way back to Amsterdam, I spent a few days in Bristol for the Bespoked Handmade Bike Show.
I needed a lock and Petor of Dear Susan was selling TiGr locks in his booth at the show. Bingo! I bought one and over the years have gotten to know the guys behind the brand.
Turned out TiGr made in New Jersey 20mins from my family is from. I'll be visiting them in two weeks when I'm there with my kids! :D
Radness
How Gillian Welch and David Rawlings Held Onto Optimism
The uncertainties of 2020 led the folk duo to discover a new emotional urgency in songs about the slow, challenging, beautiful heat of living.
Building on this issues theme, this long read is inspiring and doubly so if you're a fan of Welch & Rawlings like me!