A couple of weeks ago I offered a working list of lessons learned from the bike ride project. To my surprise, I keep learning new stuff as I work on my manuscript.
Here are a few additions to my list with some additional commentary on the last item. Let me know what you think.
Dreaming is great, but at some point you have to START
Focus on your strengths because that’s where you can make the most difference
You are a single one-degree miracle away from totally altering the trajectory of your life
A God-sized dream is a precious gift to be held in open hands
The numbers we use as ‘measurables” rarely reflect the true purpose of what we’re doing
Speaking of numbers:
On the last day of the ride we reflected on several numbers.
- 1500 miles
- 8 weeks
- 9 states
- 37 averaged miles per day
- 51 miles on the longest day
- 9 mph average speed
- 13 mph best average speed for a single day
- 26 speaking events
- More than 3,500 people reached in speaking venues
- More than $40,000 raised for hungry children
- More than 800 children fed for an entire year
- More than $25,000 raised in sponsorship for the ride
- Less than $15,000 in actual ride expenses
Those numbers matter. In business terms they’re the “measurables.” You can create charts and graphs and do calculations with them. They’re important indicators or a track record if I wish to seek funding for future rides. This project required payments for gas, food, lodging, and equipment. The only place realities like this can be ignored is called Fantasyland.
The numbers are important measures. But they don’t measure what was important about Rich’s Ride. We might have done better in all of these areas and still been unsuccessful. And the numbers might have been significantly worse on a ride that was a smashing success.
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I’d love to hear your thoughts and responses. Please leave a comment here.
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