Just Start Walkin'

If you doubt that how you show up in the world can make any difference, think again.

John was not on anyone's radar in 1971.  But a huge oil spill in the San Francisco Bay prompted him to take action to save the environment.  But doing what?  He had no skills, no college degree.  And how?  He made a simple choice: he chose to stop riding in vehicles fueled by petroleum products.  He walked everywhere for everything, hundreds of miles, in all kinds of weather.  He even refused to ride in the ambulance after a bad accident and walked to the emergency room!   He got a lot of notice.  His action stirred a lot of people...to anger!  Well, we do tend to project our fears and guilt onto others, don't we?  He would argue his point of view for five years until he realized he was tired of arguing.  On his 27th birthday, he decided to keep silent for one day.  For the first time in his life he began to hear people.  Really hear them.  It felt so peaceful.  He kept silent for a second day.  And a third.  And...

Seventeen years later never uttering a sound, and with all of his energies focused on environmental science, he had completed a bachelors degree, a masters degree, a doctoral degree, taught at a university, worked in the coast guard, and wrote the US regulations on oil spills at the exact moment of the Valdez oil spill.  He was now on the radar.  For 22 years he was walking, biking, or sailing wherever he needed to go. For 17 years he got his degrees, taught his courses, and did his jobs in sign language and notes.  At every turn people were there to make things possible for him because his commitment was so extraordinary and his honesty so compelling.  On the 20th anniversary of Earth Day, he finally resumed speaking and the following year became a UN goodwill amabassador. 

He is John Francis, PhD, and his book Planet Walker is the product of his odyssey.  He encourages us to follow our vision no matter how crazy it may look; to do so with compassion; and when the time comes to evolve, let go of who we used to be and become someone new.  Listen to his talk on TED.com

As he laughingly muses, imagine someone telling you exactly how you can make a difference.  "You just start walkin' east.  Get out of your car and just start walkin' east...Yeah, and shut up too!  You're gonna make a difference, buddy!"