Back in 2018 Running Insight featured a seven-part series on writer, artist and leadership consultant in the world of run retail Tom Griffen’s walk across America. At various points along his route – Phoenix, El Paso, San Antonio, Austin, Little Rock, Huntsville, Cleveland (TN), Chattanooga, and Brooklyn – Tom stopped to chat at length with store owners and teams. In each of the seven articles, Tom told his story in the pages of Running Insight while doing his best to summarize theirs, too.
He put into practice what he believes in most: When we know each others’ stories we have a deeper chance to connect. His trip, in fact, was themed by such authentic connections. The kindness of strangers became the breadcrumbs leading him across America.
Well, now Griffen has written a book about his journey:
With a Good Heart: A Walk From LA to Brooklyn.
Lugging a heavy backpack and wearing a fresh pair of running shoes, Griffen ceremoniously dipped his hands into the Pacific Ocean, bid farewell to loved ones and began an eastbound journey toward the opposite coast. His reasons for walking were largely unclear, but he was sure of one thing — he couldn’t wait for the chance to tell people he had walked all the way across the continent.
Griffen’s plans, however, were thwarted by a sidelining injury that spiraled him into an abyss of self-doubt. Until one day he recalled an interaction with a man he had met weeks earlier at a California crosswalk. This memory inspired Tom to reframe why he was walking in the first place.
With a Good Heart is the story of Griffen’s walk across America, but it’s also the story of so much more —kindness, intentionality, human connection, and all the sort of stuff that matters the most.
Now for just $20 readers can share that journey with him: https://www.lulu.com/search?adult_audience_rating=00&page=1&pageSize=10&q=tom+griffen
Griffen lives in Spokane, WA. For speaking and reading engagements with your staff and/or customers, or to talk with Tom about how your all-star team can raise the bar a little bit higher, visit tomgriffen.com or connect with him on Instagram @tomgriffen.