HOLLYWOOD, Florida–How much potential does any person have to make a difference in this world, and does that potential diminish as they grow older? The socially correct thing to say is that anyone can help to end poverty or human trafficking and that your age has nothing to do with your ability. Do we as a society really believe this, however? Wars continue, children are still without schools, and countless diseases are without cures. As for the older generation, if you do a quick Google search, you will easily find articles encouraging them to believe that their lives are not, in fact, over and that they can be full of meaning. It stands to reason, then, that some of us have doubts about what we can do and what our lives will look like in our sixties and beyond. Walking 85,000 Miles to Aid Humanity and Have Fun, by adventure race-walker Tom Kline, seeks to show its readers that there is no need to doubt: we can all make a difference at any age as soon as we decide to take action.
The Book Refutes the Idea that a Problem Can Be Too Big for One Person to Impact.
Today, by scanning the headlines, anyone can see that some of the most popular causes supported by volunteers, including feeding the hungry and finding a cure for Alzheimer’s, affect millions around the world. That scale can, understandably, feel overwhelming, and it causes people to wonder whether one person really can make a difference on such a level.
Walking 85,000 Miles to Aid Humanity and Have Fun aims to prove that the answer to this question lies in what you are willing to do, no matter how small you may feel compared to the issue. Kline, it must be said, was part of circles whose members were relatively powerful, as he was a White House Fellow and executive at Pfizer. Yet, the book emphasizes that his main asset was not his connections but instead his legs, and it chronicles how Kline walked thousands of miles across dozens of countries to bring attention to malaria, gang violence, drug addictions, and juvenile diabetes.
The point, of course, is that while most people will not have the ability to make policies that can affect change, if they are willing to look at themselves differently, they may discover they are more powerful than they realized.
Readers Will Also Discover Passages that Assert that Your Potential Does Not Diminish As You Get Older.
With the biological reality that your muscles atrophy as you age and the threat of Alzheimer’s and dementia, the golden years can have a negative image. Walking 85,000 Miles to Aid Humanity and Have Fun, however, paints a different picture, one in which you can keep making an impact if you choose to.
Perhaps some of the most thought-provoking passages are those that talk about Kline’s return to Vietnam in 2019. At 74, Kline completed a 176-mile walk more than 49 years after he served in the war. Along the way, he hung out with a former South Vietnamese soldier, sharing beers; paid his respects at Phu Hong, a village destroyed by the North Vietnamese government; and dined with a wealthy gentleman farmer.
It is these experiences that may convince the older generation that their ability to make an impact is as strong as it was when they were younger. Nearly fifty years had passed since Kline was a soldier in the Vietnamese jungle, yet he was able to sit down with the country’s citizens, learn about them, and contribute to Vietnam and the United States being on a different path, one that may be more productive for everyone.
About Tom Kline, the Author of Walking 85,000 Miles to Aid Humanity and Have Fun
A lifelong race-walker, Tom Kline is a former Pfizer Inc. executive, White House Fellow, and Vietnam Veteran. He has used his passion for walking and for travel to bring attention to charitable causes and to inspire people of all ages to take action. He is an in-demand motivational speaker and believes deeply that no matter your age, it is never too late to effect change if you are willing to take concrete steps. Finding a cure for malaria and ending the suffering of millions of people around the globe is his passion.
What Does the Book Mean for Those Who Believe Potential Is Determined by Age and Power?
85,000 Miles to Aid Humanity and Have Fun will challenge those of us who believe that our potential has a shelf life or that graying hair makes us powerless. What would the world be like if more of us saw the power in the ordinary and refused to see age as an impediment?
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