โWhatโs taking her so long?โ I thought as I waited, gripping the handlebars of my bike.
After what felt like 30 seconds, my wife, Manon, finally appeared, flying down the trail with a loud “๐ฌ๐ถ๐ต๐ฎ๐ต!”
It was summer 2013, and we were in the Vallnord Bikepark in Andorra, racing down mountain bike trails.
These weren’t just regular bike paths; they were ๐ฑ๐ผ๐๐ป๐ต๐ถ๐น๐น ๐๐ฟ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ธ๐ filled with jumps, drops, rocks, and obstacles that would make any riderโs heart race.
I was improving with every ride, getting faster, more confident.
But hereโs the kicker: each time I looked back to wait for Manon, it took ๐น๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐น๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ.
At first, I’d have to stop for 30 seconds… then 20… then 10… until one day, she was right there with me.
๐๐ฎ๐บ๐ป, ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฎ๐ ๐ถ๐บ๐ฝ๐ฟ๐ผ๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ณ๐ฎ๐๐.
Fast forward 11 years, and Manon is now the ๐ฟ๐ฒ๐ถ๐ด๐ป๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐ ๐ฎ๐๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ช๐ผ๐ฟ๐น๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐บ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ผ๐ป ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ผ๐๐ป๐ต๐ถ๐น๐น ๐ ๐ผ๐๐ป๐๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป ๐๐ถ๐ธ๐ถ๐ป๐ด. And not just onceโsheโs claimed that title ๐ณ๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐๐ถ๐บ๐ฒ๐ already.
๐๐ผ๐๐ฟ ๐ฅ๐ฎ๐ถ๐ป๐ฏ๐ผ๐ ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ๐๐ฒ๐๐! We could practically wallpaper a room with them.
She is sooooo much better than I am. Great to see!
So how did she do it?
๐ญ. ๐ง๐ผ๐๐ฎ๐น ๐๐ฒ๐ฑ๐ถ๐ฐ๐ฎ๐๐ถ๐ผ๐ป
Manon hardly rides for ยดordinaryยด fun. Her idea of fun is training hard.
She commits fully to becoming the best. Early mornings, long days, and endless practice (on the tracks and in the gym).
It wasnโt always glamorous. She faced setbacks, bruises, broken bones, and failures, but her focus never wavered.
๐ฎ. ๐๐ผ๐ป๐๐ถ๐๐๐ฒ๐ป๐ฐ๐ & ๐ง๐ฟ๐๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐ฃ๐ฟ๐ผ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐๐
Improvement didnโt happen overnight though.
Manon knows that small, consistent efforts stack up over time. Even on days when progress feels slow, she stays consistent, trusting the process.
Consistency might sound boring, but itโs the secret to growth.
๐ฏ. ๐ฃ๐๐๐ต๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ฒ๐๐ผ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ผ๐บ๐ณ๐ผ๐ฟ๐ ๐ญ๐ผ๐ป๐ฒ
Every time she gets better, she seeks out bigger challenges.
She pushed herself to do things that felt uncomfortable at firstโharder trails, bigger jumps, faster speeds.
But thatโs where the magic happens.
Growth doesnโt come from staying in your comfort zone.
๐ฐ. ๐๐ฒ๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ด ๐๐ต๐ฒ ๐๐ฒ๐๐ ๐๐ผ๐ฎ๐ฐ๐ต๐ฒ๐
Like most champions, Manon didnโt do it alone.
She surrounded herself with the best MTB coaches, people who could push her and help her see what she couldnโt.
She considers me her 24/7 mental coach ๐
Having experts in her corner helped her accelerate her progress.
These are some of lessons that inspire me in business and in life as well.
I hope they help you too!
(PS: Want to check out the crazy stuff she does? She is on Insta: ManonHooijschuur)
๐ ๐ W๐ถ๐ณ๐ฒ ๐ถ๐ ๐ฐ๐ซ ๐ช๐ผ๐ฟ๐น๐ฑ ๐๐ต๐ฎ๐บ๐ฝ๐ถ๐ผ๐ป. ๐๐ฒ๐ฟ ๐ฐ ๐ง๐ถ๐ฝ๐ ๐๐ผ ๐๐ฒ๐น๐ฝ ๐ฌ๐ผ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ฐ๐ฐ๐ฒ๐ฒ๐ฑ ๐ถ๐ป ๐ฆ๐ฝ๐ผ๐ฟ๐๐, ๐๐๐๐ถ๐ป๐ฒ๐๐ ๐ฎ๐ป๐ฑ ๐๐ถ๐ณ๐ฒ…
