Photo by Elia Pellegrini on Unsplash
“The first level of serious,” I love that phrase. Thanks to our guest in this episode for that quote. It makes a great title for this article and those are great words to live by. Mike Drolet, an Olympic level commissionaire (judge) for mountain bike races, has visited with us once before, last Fall. It is always a pleasure to chat with him.
In this episode, we talk about his recent award from the UCI, for International Commissionaire of the year 2021. In that vein, we talk about the highlights for him in 2021 as an International Commissionaire. The first highlight, of course, was his participation in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which were held in 2021 due to the Covid 19 outbreak. His second highlight was his participation in the Mountain Bike World Cup at Snowshoe, West Virginia. His third highlight was something that I was totally unaware of – his involvement, along with a colleague from New Zealand, in creating and administrating an online training course for commissionaires wishing to judge races at the international level.
We then get into an in-depth discussion on spending for gear in your chosen fields of endeavor, be it sport or music. He offers some unique and helpful insights on spending for gear and sundry equipment when you are serious about your passions and hobbies. Being a cycling expert and aficionado, his insights on spending for cycling equipment are truly inspiring and enlightening. Part 2 of our interview (to be released soon) will feature a much more detailed talk about properly equipping oneself for the serious cyclist or would-be cyclist. It’s a balancing act. You need to spend serious money if you are serious about certain hobbies and activities, but there are limits. We also get into that in this interview.
My take: investing in higher quality equipment is a covenant with yourself and a declaration to yourself and your peers. If you’re a fan of Napoleon Hill’s “Think and Grow Rich,” as I am, the thought of declaring yourself as serious to your peer group, will resonate with you, especially as it relates to your Mastermind Group. Surrounding yourself with like-minded people will invigorate you and encourage you to dedicate yourself to your field of endeavor. Investing in higher grade equipment will help get you the next level and will declare to yourself and your peers that you are serious about your craft.
My passion, other than music and guitars, is photography and videography. When I spent close to $3000 for my first full frame camera, I felt a sense of pride and dedication to my craft. It was my commitment to strive towards excellence and continuous improvement. Admittedly, good equipment won’t necessarily make you better but as Mike says in the video, “you will no longer be fighting your equipment and you will avoid creating bad habits” as you participate in the activity that puts fire in your belly.
I hope you enjoy watching this video as much as I did making it. As always, your comments, critiques, and suggestions are always welcome. As you watch the video, please click SUBSCRIBE and click on the BELL to make sure you get updated when I release a new video.
Above all, have fun as you learn, practice, and do.
To check out our first interview about Mike’s experiences as a Mountain Bike Racing Commissionaire, please click on the link below:
To check out Part 2 of this initial interview, click on the link below:
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