32. Walking the World for Women with Polly Letofsky

In this unstoppable conversation, Polly Letofsky shares the story of walking solo around the world for five years to raise awareness and funds for breast cancer research and how that journey became an ongoing study in human nature, resilience, and community.Polly takes us from the early spark that led her to attempt the walk, to the moment she found herself truly alone for the first time in rural Australia… and into the unexpected, life-changing support of the Lions Club. What began as one woman passing a hat in a pub turned into a fundraising network that carried Polly from town to town, country to country, and through moments of culture shock and global upheaval.Along the way, Polly reflects on walking before GPS, navigating the world as a solo woman traveler, witnessing how communities respond to illness and vulnerability, and why she never once considered quitting even when things were uncomfortable, uncertain, or overwhelming.This episode is a powerful reminder that big missions are built one step at a time, and that support often shows up exactly when you need it.In This Episode, You’ll HearHow Polly’s walk for breast cancer awareness began and why she knew it had to be about more than travelHow a chance encounter with a Lions Club president changed everythingHow Lions Clubs coordinated support up the Australian coast and across the globeWhat it was like traveling and planning routes before GPS and smartphonesWhy Polly used McDonald’s as her universal meeting point on highwaysLife as a visibly foreign woman traveling alone in rural and tribal regionsThe realities of cultural difference, discomfort, and safety on the roadHow she learned to expect pivots instead of fearing themExperiencing 9/11 abroad and relying on global service organizations for stabilityThe long road from walk → book → publishing career, including hard-earned lessons about the industryKey TakeawaysBig goals are sustained through consistency, not comfort.Community support can appear in unexpected placesDiscomfort is not the same as danger, but awareness always matters.You don’t need to know every step in advance just the next one.Grassroots action is powerful, especially when research funding is at stake.Resources MentionedLions Clubhttps://www.senseofsecurity.org/If this episode moved you:Share it with someone who believes big missions are only for “special” peopleSubscribe to Unstoppable: Stories That MoveLeave a review to help these stories reach more listenersAnd if you want to do something even bigger:This podcast supports the mission of raising $1 million for medical research. Your support helps fund real labs doing real work that saves lives.Donate today at: unstoppablestoriesthatmove.com