Episode Summary

Why does a kid just out of college decide to walk across America? Andrew Forsthoefel shares his unusual journey of discovery – what he did and how he did it – unveiling a family history he had refused to come to terms with until deep into his walk. In this episode of the Sydcast, a story of forgiveness, love and hate, and how telling a compelling story can transform culture.

Syd Finkelstein 

Syd Finkelstein is the Steven Roth Professor of Management at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth College. He holds a Masters degree from the London School of Economics and a Ph.D. from Columbia University. Professor Finkelstein has published 25 books and 90 articles, including the bestsellers Why Smart Executives Fail and Superbosses: How Exceptional Leaders Master the Flow of Talent, which LinkedIn Chairman Reid Hoffman calls the “leadership guide for the Networked Age.” He is also a Fellow of the Academy of Management, a consultant and speaker to leading companies around the world, and a top 25 on the global Thinkers 50 list of top management gurus. Professor Finkelstein’s research and consulting work often relies on in-depth and personal interviews with hundreds of people, an experience that led him to create and host his own podcast, The Sydcast, to uncover and share the stories of all sorts of fascinating people in business, sports, entertainment, politics, academia, and everyday life. 

Andrew Forsthoefel

Andrew Forsthoefel is a writer, speaker, and peace activist living in the Pioneer Valley of western Massachusetts. After graduating from Middlebury College, he was ready to begin his adult life, but didn’t know how. So he decided to begin a cross-country quest for guidance, during which time he would try to see everyone as his teacher, worthy of being listened to.

After his year-long walk across America, Andrew began telling the stories of his transformative journey. He co-produced a radio documentary about this project which was featured on "This American Life," and his memoir, Walking to Listen, tells the full tale and is now being assigned as required reading by schools and libraries across America.

Andrew now writes and speaks about the discipline of trustworthy listening and its role in the work of reconciliation, transformational resistance, and peace-making at the personal and collective levels. He is a guest teacher at high schools and universities across America, offering workshops that train participants in the work of becoming a trustworthy listener. His work is a contribution to the collective project of learning how to be alive together with love, by listening—united by our diversity, empowered by sharing the unavoidable vulnerability of being human, and freed by opening up to ourselves and one another.

Insights from this episode:

• Benefits of being able to relate to your past in a constructive way.
• Details on how being alone forced a change in Andrew’s perception of life and how he relates to others.
• Strategies on how to make a journey for yourself.
• Benefits of learning lessons when they are presented and using them to better yourself.
• How to transform a culture by changing the dynamic of how power is perceived.

Quotes from the show: 

• “It became clear that my understanding of what deep, trustworthy listening actually was, was quite limited and therefore my ability to do it was also limited.” – Andrew Forsthoefel
• “The journey, on foot, all the way across America was kind of my apprenticeship to actually finding out what a life can become if one is listening first.” – Andrew Forsthoefel
• “In some senses you can conceptualize the college journey as a four year coming of age ritual.” – Andrew Forsthoefel
• On beginning his walk: “To set out into the unknown, totally unsure of what’s to come, but entirely sure that I was on my life’s songline.” – Andrew Forsthoefel
• “We have, in some ways, been culturally trained to be afraid of the unknown.” – Andrew Forsthoefel
• “The idea of forgiving people is part of multiple religions for good reason, but it can be really hard to do that.” – Syd Finkelstein
• “I think forgiveness is sort of a mystery as to how it happens.” – Andrew Forsthoefel
• On forgiveness: “Intention is not the same as action.” – Syd Finkelstein
• When someone offers you a gift: “I have come to believe there is a responsibility to receive that (gift).  It is a way of saying to someone that: You have gifts to give.” – Andrew Forsthoefel
• “Sometimes you tell the deepest truths to people you don’t know because it is so much safer.” – Syd Finkelstein

Resources:

This American Life: Hit the Road

Amazon: Book - Walking to Listen 

Amazon: Audiobook: Walking to Listen

Audiocast: Living to Listen

Podcast: Living to Listen

Stay Connected:

Syd Finkelstein

Website: http://thesydcast.com

LinkedIn: Sydney Finkelstein

Twitter: @sydfinkelstein

Facebook: The Sydcast

Instagram: The Sydcast

Andrew Forsthoefel

Website: Living to Listen

Facebook: Andrew Foersthoefel

Twitter: @forstho

Instagram: @forstho

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This episode was produced and managed by  Podcast Laundry (www.podcastlaundry.com)