5-5:10PM: Instead of the usual intro…. Let’s talk about next year. What do you want?
For tonight’s page… Think about systems and practices you have in place to get you to what you want.
5:10-5:30PM: Goals and how we get ourselves to satisfying them…. HOW?
FTP: More than a how…. Understanding of self and seeing what you envision as truth before even the first step toward it, that’s what should be thought.
5:30-5:50PM: Tom Foreman….. What is he communicating in his book so far?
-For me… it’s Newness. Something developing from what’s around you, and surprising yourself with new steps and new music about your day.
5:50-6:10PM: What does it take to be a runner, to push yourself to do something (Doesn’t have to be running…)?
-It doesn’t “take” anything, in my opinion. You do it, or you don’t.
6:10-6:20PM: What ONE idea connects all three of these books? Sedaris, Irby, Foreman…..
Ideas:
-Relatability
-Observation
-Where you are, what you’re doing
-Heroism
-Kindness
-Truth
-Family
-Love of one’s own story
-Love
-Fear
-Strength
-(YOUR IDEA HERE…)
6:20-6:30PM: CLOSE…. What’s on tonight’s page?
ASSIGNMENT: Keep reading Mr. Foreman’s book. I recommend having it done by the end of next week. Start working on the prompt above, the ‘one connecting idea’…. Your final paper of the semester will be a position on this one idea. Start brainstorming, playing with ideas.
ASSIGNMENT: Look at all the research you’ve done on the three authors. Your final paper will require THREE outside sources to support your position. And, a works cited page. For now though, just gather all your research.
#professormikey 
I have really enjoyed reading Mr. Foremans book. I can feel his love for his daughter and his family. I like his style of writing, it is easy for me to read and follow.
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agreed. He just seems like he would be such a warm and inviting man
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What’s the dominant idea in his work, do you think?
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Hard work
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YES!!!!!
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I think the dominant idea is to encourage his readers to do what they love. Try new things, work hard to accomplish what you would like to accomplish.
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To be completely honest, I haven’t grab on to anything yet. I been trying to reread pages to see if I can grab an idea or something nothing has stuck yet
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I’m really enjoying his story. It’s so cute and heartwarming but also there’s a message in there about not giving up, that it’s okay to slack, no matter the amount of time, it’s just getting back to it that’s important. And his relationship with his daughter is so sweet and he’s just such a dad. Everything he does during this was mostly for his daughter and he also just got to do something he forgot he loved on top of it.
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Glad you’re enjoying it Nina!!!
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Yessss Gianina! For me the fact he accepted doing it with his daughter was also a way to bond with her. I love it. And his family support… I just love it
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One of my favorite parts so far was his interaction with Mitt Romney in the elevator. Such a funny remark
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I know!!!
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that mustve been so embarrassing with all his running gear on and everything
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I would have been more embarrassed for Romney lol, cuz clearly Foreman was right about his running
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So was he suppose to come onto our zoom today?!?!
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Haven’t heard back from him. He gave me his # but I didn’t want to bother him with a text, even though he told me to text him. lol
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hmmm bummer. Maybe he will respond.
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Aww I told would love to talk with him and even Ronnie!!
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He hasn’t read my email yet, which means he’s busy. He has been extremely responsive so far. I’ll text him tomorrow..
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I think the dominant idea is to encourage his readers to do what they love to do. Try new things, work hard to accomplish what you would like to accomplish. When you set your mind to do something you should be able to finish it.
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Make yourself happy…. another idea I get from his pages.
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yes! happiness is sometimes everything.
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Yes!!
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I haven’t been convinced that running is all that great yet, since I have been into track and personally hated anything more than half a mile on or off the rubber, however I think I relate to his idea of overcoming. I think he understands that to overcome something, if that is a marathon, reltationship with family member, journalist, dad, whatever it might be. You have to work and focus a real amount of your energy to complete it. I feel that most importantly he tries noting that this challenge to overcome is always going to be around…
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Running is the symbol, not the thesis….
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YES perfectly put
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Thank you!! Again, just an idea… 🙂
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it seems pretty important to tom especially his mental state. It’s at least apart of him that’s why I relate it to him…
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Mr. Foreman’s book is a great example in how to achieve a goal. He is working hard to get where he want. Even during the half marathon he did in New Orland on chapter 8. When his daughter was feeling good, he kept saying that she was fine because he knew she could finish the marathon. That was their goals and she did it. He kept training every day, it doesn’t matter how the weather was or how late it was. This is so freaking inspiring
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Great example!!!
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YES!!! I couldn’t have said it better!!
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How much we acknowledge where we are in life, I think is a dominant idea in this book. Meaning, understanding that you won’t be around forever and while you’re here you need to fully appreciate your own presence.
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he is just saying that for him running has allowed himself to appreciate his own presence on a higher level, and for others just to find something that they can do that it doesn’t have to be running.
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Yes! That is something that goes through my mind a lot especially during this pandemic. As much as I hate to say it I know there is a chance my grandma might not survive her pancreatic cancer, but I will continue to cherish every moment I get with her. I have learned to live life like its your last day on earth. Enjoy it!!!
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“But when people say you have to figure out your priorities, they are right. You can be good at a lot of things, but you can’t always be good at a lot of things at the same time. Running could wait. You couldn’t.” this is one of my favorites quotes from the book. When his daughter asked him why he stopped running knowing that he love doing so. He put what he liked aside and look at him right now. Doing what the always like with someone he loves
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Love this!!
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Hold on guys… have to hold the 2 month-old. I’ll be observing and respond as best I can… sorry!!
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I love the start of the book where he describes his injuries to see where the title fits in. Foreman seems very optimistic despite not running a marathon for sometime he accepts and doesn’t train very well. He also manages to connect with the reader because he takes on a challenge most above the age of 35 would hesitate to even consider. The story that got me the most was him running the back roads with his future wife and almost passing out of exhaustion to try and show off. The kind of motivation it takes to even attempt something like that with someone you don’t know very well shows just how dedicated to finishing things Foreman is.
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Yeah he sounded like a madman for that one. Very dedicated person which is very inspiring
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To be a ‘runner’ you have to push yourself and stay motivated. You can’t half ass it, you got to give it your all and don’t stop until you’re finished.
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so true
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I think that’s great advice for anyone, runner or not. If you have a goal push yourself and go for it. Don’t half ass, give it your all, and don’t stop until you’re done
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What questions do you have for Mr. Foreman, should he show up???
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i’d like to ask him what his lowest and highest point was on his journey
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Great questions, Gwen!!!
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I would ask him what kept him motivated. And if he have any tips lol
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HOLY SH/T!!!! He messaged me….
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omg don’t freak out ! stay cool
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lol…. I know!!!
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That is so exciting!!!
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Trying to schedule a call with Mr. Foreman tomorrow.. will let you all know. Wow….
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I think to do anything, you just need dedication and drive, If you can get started and stay with it the rest will follow
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How ironic!!
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Thats so exciting he responded! Maybe Thursday he will be on here?
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Lets be clear on what it takes to be a runner . I honestly think everyone here is a runner , 1 because everyone has goal, and has scores to raise .
2. Need some classes to pass to you goal.
3. It’s like a video game , if you don’t play and play and play and gain experience you won’t be able pass the level. And what are you doing there is pushing your self to be better at the game .
4. Life is just like a marathon , if you don’t risk it you will never know what you are capable of .
I mean I just think .
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Good ideas here…
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To be a runner you have to have in mind that for run you just need your legs and your motivation. And even though the motivation can come from the outside, the truth motivation comes from the inside. “You may not be there yet but you are closer than you were yesterday”
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to be a runner requires dedication and hard work to be really good at. if you’re not careful you can hurt yourself. I ran track in highschool and one of the biggest things about running is setting a good pace for the distance you’re going. I was a sprinter so i would give 100 percent over the course of 12 seconds. To apply this to the real world set a pace to match the goal you’re trying to reach some goals you have to take a bit slower than others like buying a house compared to eating a whole pizza by yourself.
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What does it take to do anything? Be a winemaker, a doctor, CPA, business owner….?
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motivation !
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And where does one find that?
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interest, dedication, and drive. Starting with those leads to the follow through
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YES!!
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Keep moving toward “it”. Baby step, big step. Keep working and motivated. And most important believe on yourself. Like my friend says “fake it until you make it.”
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There is heart, there is soul, there is mind… then, there is just the action itself.
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Being a runner you should start out slow, make sure to not run four miles on your first day. Train your body to be able to handle the mentality and strain on your body. Believe in yourself and drive yourself to do your best.
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And I think running is just a way he puts he tries to tell us about life. That you work your whole life for things you want to do and you’ll get them if you give that dedication to the things you want but as people say, lifes a marathon not a race, pace yourself
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This makes me realize how running should be approached virtually the same way as anything you have an interest for. You start slow and train yourself to handle the new and unknown road. New things will strain you mentally and/or physically so you just need to believe in yourself to accomplish what you want.
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Agreed I like the way you put that
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Accomplishing anything requires dscipline. Consistency. Passion. Love. and Motivation. Each one has lots of planning and blockades that you have to overcome to achieve all of them.
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discipline is key!
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It also is one of the hardest ones, sometimes managing or supporting yourself is harder than other people around you such as maybe your loved ones…
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I was on the track team freshman and sophomore year and I got to say there wasn’t a whole lot of motivation. It was pretty much completing training to hold your ground during meets. I didn’t end up doing track junior and senior because my shin splints made it painful to try and make any real progress in getting faster. At that point I just couldn’t push through the pain in fear of greater injury but otherwise running is a very do or don’t sport.
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Honestly to have that mentality of not giving up and to keep going to tell yourself to not quit and keep striving
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I think the most common thing among the three books and author is relatability. All these authors say thing that make it easy to relate to your own life and the obstacles you are facing at the time. I can say I personally related to all authors one way or another considering that they are all so different and unique
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Is there another word similar to “relatability”?
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one thing i can connect all three authors to is truth. All 3 tell their own version of it with mixed results to get us to understand and interpret it. With Sedaris he tells us what life is like through his eyes a homosexual male. With Irby its what her life is like as a black women. For the third author I haven’t had a chance to get and or read the book however if i had to guess he relates to the notion of truth somehow from some personality and or physical trait about him and how that makes him different than everyone else.
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My word, for all 3 books, honestly…. LOVE.
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Agree! Love is the biggest key for motivation in my opinion
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Love is something they all have in common. Whether it’s love for writing, love for running, and love for the people around them.
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Well said, Nina!!! Write this!!!
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just loving something in general was a seemingly important thing to do in order to find what your looking for.
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YES.
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For me the three books are connected by being your truth self, motivation and achievement.
Sedaris wasn’t famous this whole time as we know. But he kept doing what he loves and here he is now. Irby was the same! And with Foreman even though this book is not about his career, he is showing his strength to achieve something in his personal life.
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What do you mean ‘wasn’t famous’…?
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it took a little while for him to be recognized as a writer. But he knew that he loved wiring and he never gave up.
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All the authors have their own way of preaching self worth, that we can do the things we want, be the people we want, and be the change we want to see.
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What’s on the page???
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Know your truth and thats the first step towards accomplishing your goals
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One Word that connects Irby, Sedaris , Forman is Pursuing to what makes you be who you are today.
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Would love to see this explained!!
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Sedaris, Irby , Foreman they didn’t had an easy life as growing and each of them explain their struggles they had, to now talk about them with laughter
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I want to talk about love how how to find more love in the things I feel the opposite about in my life.
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Love of writing, love of yourself, love of NOW.
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Today’s page will be , running against the marathon of life .
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Cool!
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On tonights page i am going to write about Mr. Foreman.
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Tonight’s page: whenever I feel lost on what I want or what my goals should be, I should ask myself where my love is and what can I do with it.
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One thing all three authors have in common is the idea of observation incorporated into a meaningful message. What I mean by this is using observational comedy or using observation point out the flaws or strengths in an idea. Since observation is such a broad subject there isn’t really a limit as to how it can be used and interlinked. It’s arguable observation is what makes a commonality in all authors to be able to observe and put emotions into words.
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Tonight’s page: explore the idea about love that connects all three of the books for the next paper
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Tonight’s page is about how to deal with goals that I don’t necessarily enjoy doing. An example is how I plan to get through finals projects since they can be tedious and boring.
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