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37. Sally's Hotline: Small Steps, Big Goals with Tom Pedersen
Text me. I’d love to hear from you! Can you relate to anything we said? What do want to hear more about?
In this edition of Sally's Hotline, we hear from the unstoppable Tom Pedersen, a lifelong runner and retired teacher who is back on the roads after a stroke and six-bypass open-heart surgery. Rather than dwelling on what the experience took from him, Tom shows up with hard-won wisdom about how to tackle the things in life that feel too big to start.
Tom's advice is simple, practical, and deeply lived: every overwhelming goal, whether it's training for a marathon, recovering from surgery, or finishing an attic renovation for your daughters, gets conquered the same way. One step at a time.
In This Episode, You'll Hear:
- Why the first step doesn't need to be big... it just needs to happen
- How Tom applied this philosophy with students facing overwhelming challenges over 25 years in the classroom
- The attic renovation story: a promise to his daughters that became a three-year project he figured out as he went
- Why having a meaningful "why" is often what finally gets you moving
Key Takeaways:
- Overwhelming goals become manageable when you focus only on the next step
- Progress compounds. Those "insignificant" early steps add up to something significant
- Asking for help along the way isn't a weakness, it's part of the process
- A promise to someone you love can be the most powerful motivator of all
- Getting started is always the hardest part, and always worth it
If you want to hear Tom's full story, including running marathons after a stroke, surviving six-bypass heart surgery, and chasing the Six World Marathon Majors, listen to his full story on episode 36 of Unstoppable: Stories That Move.
Support the Mission:
Unstoppable: Stories That Move is a podcast with a purpose to raise $1 million for medical research to help fund cures for cancer and other diseases. With NIH budgets being cut, your support matters more than ever.
Donate today at unstoppablestoriesthatmove.com or mail a check to: PO Box 12, Afton, MN 55001, USA
View all episodes
By Sally Hed DahlquistText me. I’d love to hear from you! Can you relate to anything we said? What do want to hear more about?
In this edition of Sally's Hotline, we hear from the unstoppable Tom Pedersen, a lifelong runner and retired teacher who is back on the roads after a stroke and six-bypass open-heart surgery. Rather than dwelling on what the experience took from him, Tom shows up with hard-won wisdom about how to tackle the things in life that feel too big to start.
Tom's advice is simple, practical, and deeply lived: every overwhelming goal, whether it's training for a marathon, recovering from surgery, or finishing an attic renovation for your daughters, gets conquered the same way. One step at a time.
In This Episode, You'll Hear:
- Why the first step doesn't need to be big... it just needs to happen
- How Tom applied this philosophy with students facing overwhelming challenges over 25 years in the classroom
- The attic renovation story: a promise to his daughters that became a three-year project he figured out as he went
- Why having a meaningful "why" is often what finally gets you moving
Key Takeaways:
- Overwhelming goals become manageable when you focus only on the next step
- Progress compounds. Those "insignificant" early steps add up to something significant
- Asking for help along the way isn't a weakness, it's part of the process
- A promise to someone you love can be the most powerful motivator of all
- Getting started is always the hardest part, and always worth it
If you want to hear Tom's full story, including running marathons after a stroke, surviving six-bypass heart surgery, and chasing the Six World Marathon Majors, listen to his full story on episode 36 of Unstoppable: Stories That Move.
Support the Mission:
Unstoppable: Stories That Move is a podcast with a purpose to raise $1 million for medical research to help fund cures for cancer and other diseases. With NIH budgets being cut, your support matters more than ever.
Donate today at unstoppablestoriesthatmove.com or mail a check to: PO Box 12, Afton, MN 55001, USA