A friend recently messaged me after seeing one of my videos and said, “I love the Lego space shuttle behind you. I remember you’re a big space nerd.”
Well, yes, I am. But what they didn’t see was the other Lego rocket on the shelf — my Saturn V. It’s always had pride of place at home, and for good reason.
Not just because I’m fascinated by space, but because it’s the perfect reminder of what it takes to break free from old habits.
The Saturn V and the pull of gravity
Here’s the thing about the Saturn V:
- The first stage was nothing but raw power. It didn’t even reach space — it just burned through fuel to break free from Earth’s gravity.
- The second stage lifted the rocket higher and faster, finally getting it into low Earth orbit.
- And here’s the fascinating part: once the hard work was done, the third stage only needed a relatively small push — the Trans-Lunar Injection — to send the tiny command module, service module and lunar excursion module on a half-million-mile round trip to the Moon and back.
To get to the moon was actually almost effortless, compared to the energy it took to break free of the huge gravitational pull of the earth.
Clubs and the pull of old habits
Clubs are no different. The pull of, “We’ve always done it this way,” is like gravity. Breaking free takes huge energy — fixing governance, stabilising finances, sorting membership, setting up systems.
But once you’ve invested that effort, huge as it seems, achieving huge things suddenly feels easier. A small push can carry you an incredible distance, so long as you’ve done the hard work to break free of the ‘gravitational pull’ of your old habits.
The view is worth it
Astronauts said the hardest part of going to the Moon wasn’t the journey itself — it was breaking free from the gravity of Earth. Once that was achieved, the rest became relatively easy.
Clubs face the same truth. Breaking away from old habits, fixing compliance and stabilising finances feels exhausting. But that’s the gravity you have to overcome. Once you’ve done that, the extra push to grow and thrive often takes far less effort than you think.
And just like the astronauts said — the view from up there makes it all worthwhile.
Breaking free is tough. But staying grounded by old habits is tougher in the long run.
So the question is: what ‘gravity’ is holding your club down, and when will you put in the effort to break free?
✍️ Michael Connelly is a self-confessed space nerd who sees rocket science in everything, from grassroots sport to not-for-profit governance.
For more insights, follow me anytime @nfpmichael.
