Choice, Tastebuds, Milk Bottle Deliveries, Maestro, Tony Rock
The Weekly | Brigadoon
April 22, 2018
Curation and commentary from Marc A. Ross
Reporting from Amsterdam, The Netherlands
The Weekly = Enterprise + Culture + Sport + Policy
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ROSS RANT
Make the choice
Desiree Linden is an American marathoner and could be the most inspiring runner I have ever known.
In 2017 it appeared she might have peaked.
Instead, in 2018 she became the first American woman to win the Boston Marathon in 33 years, finishing the race in 2 hours 39 minutes 54 seconds.
Linden, a two-time Olympian, placed fourth at the 2017 Boston Marathon and was burned out on the sport. And tired. After three marathons in the previous 14 months: the Olympic Trials (second place), the Olympics (seventh place), and then that fourth at Boston. She didn’t feel like running again until the end of September. Five months off, during which, she said, “I hated everything about running.”
But she wanted to win the Boston Marathon, and she made no secret of that goal.
Her desire to run the course in Boston was the reason she started running marathons in the first place. She has a golden retriever named Boston and had another named Miles who died last year.
So last Monday, she was back on the course in Boston attempting to complete her goal.
But before the race more hurdles, as Linden thought about dropping out as she wasn’t drinking enough fluids and was afraid of getting cramps in her legs. Add a weather report of strong winds and the coldest temperatures in 30 years, this year's Boston Marathon would be even more challenging than usual for her and the rest of the field.
Linden now lives and trains in Northern Michigan and resides closer to the North Pole than the Equator. So the NorEaster that bore down on the course in Boston with its horizontal rain and freezing temperatures is ordinary training weather for many months in the Great Lakes state, but many runners found this climate to be the worst running weather in decades.
Linden's ability to persevere and succeed in exceptionally miserable physical circumstances is remarkable.
Linden's ability to persevere and succeed in exceptionally challenging mental circumstances is remarkable.
To succeed in 2018, Linden had to find a deeper gear to compete.
Her pinned Tweet displays where she finds this deeper gear:
"Some days it just flows and I feel like I’m born to do this, other days it feels like I’m trudging through hell. Every day I make the choice to show up and see what I’ve got, and to try and be better.
My advice: keep showing up.
#MondayMotivaton #TogetherForward"
I don't think any advice can be more profound.
Make a choice to show up and keep showing up.
You might just achieve your goal.
FIVE ARTICLES TO READ
The world's 50 greatest leaders: Fortune's annual list of the thinkers, speakers, and doers who are stepping up to meet today’s challenges. https://for.tn/2HLHmHv
Earbuds and tastebuds: Does chocolate taste better if you're listening to Pavarotti? Ad Age looks at how marketers are pairing music and sounds with different tastes. http://bit.ly/2EXEJPU
The 11 keys to keeping the band together: On the occasion of their 12th album and 27th year together, Sloan shares their wisdom on how to make musical matrimony last. http://bit.ly/2JUmVsU
Scientists accidentally create mutant enzyme that eats plastic bottles: Scientists have created a mutant enzyme that breaks down plastic drinks bottles – by accident. The breakthrough could help solve the global plastic pollution crisis by enabling for the first time the full recycling of bottles. The new research was spurred by the discovery in 2016 of the first bacterium that had naturally evolved to eat plastic, at a waste dump in Japan. Scientists have now revealed the detailed structure of the crucial enzyme produced by the bug. http://bit.ly/2viTVaV
Why glass milk bottle deliveries are back: As concern over plastic pollution rises, a pint-sized revolution is taking place on doorsteps across the UK. https://on.ft.com/2H27qB7
DOCUMENTARY
Maestro: The documentary is an intimate, unprecedented glimpse into the life of a renowned conductor and a vibrant, contemporary portrait of the world of classical music. For a period spanning two years, a film crew follows Grammy award-winning conductor Paavo Järvi and an array of brilliant musicians across the globe. The resulting footage captures the pressures of self-expression, the rush of performance, and above all, the power of a universal language. Järvi studied at the famed Curtis Institute of Music with Max Rudolf and Otto-Werner Mueller, and at the Los Angeles Philharmonic Institute with Leonard Bernstein. Järvi was music director of the Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra from 2001 to 2011.
PODCAST
James Altucher Podcast - Tony Rock: Tony always wanted to be a comedian. From the moment he listened to Richard Pryor, George Carlin, and Bill Cosby, he was inspired. But he didn’t know them. When his brother started doing stand up, it changed everything for him. “The guy in the next room is doing it. Now it’s real,” Tony said. Because those other guys (the ones Tony grew up admiring) were just ideas to him. He was inspired by Chris. And because of him, he became immersed in the comedy scene. Now, 24 years later Tony’s made this “idea” of comedy into a reality. And a career. On this podcast, Tony share his process and explains how these same techniques can be applied to your own project or side hustle. How you take an idea from the drawing board and put it in action.
