Welcome To The Community

Together, we’ll dive deep and find the strength to never give up because Great Things Take Time.

We all have a unique relationship with running; whether it’s everything for us, something we can’t stand, a tool in our toolbox, or the means to an end, running no doubt makes you feel a type of way.

If you were forwarded this email, you can subscribe and join the Great Things Take Time Community to get content from me every Monday.

Here's what's in today's email

• What's The Point?

• Moments with Maurice

• Collective Member Highlight

• What's Got Me Smilin'

What’s The Point?

“Somebody is being born right now who's going to be ten times better than what you’re doing. That's just the development of athletics, and that's just progress.”

Have you ever had someone say something that knocks you into reality and reminds you of the whole point? My high school track coach was excellent at this.

Now, you might feel it’s a bit harsh to be telling teenage boys that no matter how hard they work, they will never be the best, but it reminded us of why we ran.

The likelihood that one of us would win a title was small. The possibility that one of us would go on to be a professional athlete was slim, and the chance that we’d be our generation’s Usain Bolt was even smaller. 

His reminder wasn’t to stop trying or give up because, in the grand scheme of things, we might never register on a global scale. His was a reminder that we should all be working to do the best that we could. That we shouldn’t be distracted by what other people were doing, we should run as hard and as fast as we knew was possible. We should be doing it for our own personal reasons.

These words feel incredibly relevant to me in this day and age, especially because I never expected running to be this central to my life. 

I got started running as a little boy, racing my father’s friends for toy money or my cousins to prove my status. It’s where my nickname “Speedboat” came from. I ran track in high school and found a groove. Eventually, running longer distances became therapeutic, where I could process my thoughts, ask myself questions, and have a conversation with myself. Now, running is literally my job. 

When I would run on my own before it became my job, I’d run with music or run with a friend while we listened to music. There was no talking. We really just ran together because of whatever would come after the run. Clearly, my involvement with running and talking have evolved.

There have been times in my life when I have focused on running to achieve something or be competitive in an event. But now, that’s not who I am. 

Want to know some of my running truths?

I suffer during some of my programmed classes when I don’t take into account what I did the day of, or even the day before. If you’re having a hard time, I’m right there with you sharing the pain.

I’ll probably never run a marathon. Kudos to those who do, it’s just not for me. (Partly because I don’t want to suffer for that long.)

Somedays I crave the feeling of pushing myself to my limits, that’s when I get hard on myself and tell myself to suck it up and endure just a little longer. In the end, it reminds me that people telling me I can’t accomplish something at a certain age are wrong.

I go for a run that often turns into a run/walk. I don’t always aspire to be going at 100 miles an hour; what’s the point when longevity is my goal? There’s always going to be someone faster than me.

Speaking of the point, whether or not it’s running, what is your point? Why do you do something? 

When it comes to running, I do it for the post-run mental clarity, the ability to process my thoughts, a way to get outside, reminding myself of what I can overcome, and just finding a therapeutic way to move my body. I’m not the fastest and don’t pretend to be. 

What’s your point?

Moments with Maurice

If you only pause to reflect on your life for one moment today, do it now.

You can’t take it with you. How would you live if you had all the money in the world or barely two pennies to scrape together?

You shouldn’t wait to start living until you achieve something. Whether it be financial, physical, tangible, or mental, you have to prioritize the things you care most about and the people you want to share your life with. Achieving something isn’t suddenly going to unlock a new level of being.

When it comes to people, time spent with people you care about doesn’t have to be a grand show of affection or a special event. No matter your resources, your loved ones people just want to spend time together, they don’t care how that looks.

At least, the ones who really truly care the most about you shouldn’t care…

You didn’t just come here to listen to me talk… er.. write? The world is made of connections and community and you never know who is going to inspire something in you.

Name: Mitch 

Location: Brisbane, Australia, AEST

Hobbies/Interests:

Travel (this year I’m trying to see more of my own country and discover the many beautiful parts of Australia I’ve never seen in person), fitness - peloton & Reformer Pilates/ Lagree, reading, live music/theatre, eating out/cooking. 

I’ve been in education for over twenty years and the thing I’m most proud of was starting a glee club, which ended up being a bunch of disengaged and troubled girls, who despite truanting from class and getting detentions off other teachers, fully committed to our once a week sing alongs. They ended up performing two songs, which they made up their own choreography for, at the opening of the school’s Performing Arts centre. It gave the rest of the staff in the school an opportunity to see them in another light. I left the school at the end of that year and this group of students were the hardest to say goodbye to. I still remember our last glee club session, the gratitude arch of them showed for helping them develop a more positive attitude to school and life.

Also, the year I turned 40, I created a blog, each week posting one of the 40 things I learnt before turning 40. I’ve since gone back, edited it and self-published it as a book.

A Great Thing you are working on:

Building a life around myself that is positive and productive. My two values in life are optimism and service to others. My mantra is that I hope I leave things better than I found. So daily I try to do that in all spaces I’m in. I’m working on doing the things I love, despite the opinions of others (and sometimes the voice in my own head) and putting myself in challenging situations to learn and grow; surrounding myself with positive energy and learning to remove that which isn’t. 

I’m also, working on writing my second book 😬 🫣 

What do you tell yourself when things get hard, you need to find motivation, or you’re feeling down:

When things get hard, or I need motivation I try to get back to nature, take a nice river or bush walk, get to the beach to feel the sand between my toes, breathe in that salt air. And always talk it out. I know I have a group of friends and family I can turn to to chat through anything. Funnily, the last person I generally call is my Mum, because I know she always has the advice I need to hear, but don’t want to 😛 but she’s always right 🥰 

Your “hot take”:

Never let anyone kick dust on your sparkle - there’s always gong to be a hater out there, or people who question what you’re doing. Ignore them, if it makes you happy and feel good, keep doing it. Also, be curious not furious - asking curious questions rather than getting furious in a situation is the best way to get to the bottom of any problem or issue .

Ohhhh, and one more - always buy the plane ticket or concert ticket!!! ALWAYS!!!

Because no matter what, there is always something to smile about.

Behind the Scenes

Not all great things happen on-screen.

Collective Fun

Left feeling happy and full. IRL is always a blessing when so much is virtual these days.

New Ink

There was once a time when I only thought I’d have on tattoo.

Damn, They Put Their Foot In This

A different type of happy and full. Kudos to our server at STK who kept us laughing the entire night.

Not My Cars, But I Can Still Drool Over Them

Did you expect to not see cars in the Monday content?

Remember:

-Adrian