Sign up FAST! Login

Why Everyone From Beethoven, Goethe, Dickens, Darwin To Steve Jobs Took Long Walks and Why You Should Too


Stashed in: #TED, Steve Jobs, #health, Zuck!, Marc Andreessen, @jack, Meetings, Meditate, Awesome, Standing, Walk Jog Run Sprint Bolt, Health Studies, health!, Darwin, Walking

To save this post, select a stash from drop-down menu or type in a new one:

LOL be careful when you go for a walk or Marc Andreessen might run you over!

One day, when Marc Andreessen, the money man behind such tech giants as Facebook, Twitter, and Zynga, was out driving around his home in Palo Alto, California, he nearly hit a crazy old man crossing the street.

Looking back at the fool he had nearly run over he noticed the trademark blue jeans and black turtle neck. “Oh my god! I almost hit Steve Jobs!” he thought to himself.

It was Jobs that day, out on one of his many walks around the Palo Alto area, where Apple are based. Steve Jobs was famous in the area for his long walks, which he used for exercise, contemplation, problem solving, and even meetings. And Jobs was not alone. Through history the best minds have found that walking, whether a quick five minute jaunt, or a long four hour trek, has helped them compose, write, paint, and create.

love this little story.

Me too. I'm really glad he did not hit Steve Jobs. 

Just 30 minutes of walking each day is enough to dramatically reduce your risk of heart disease, colon cancer, breast cancer and dementia.

Nilofer Merchant TED Talk on Moving Meetings:

We sit 9 hours a day and sleep 7 hours a day. Ouch. 

Yeah Darwin!

Another Victorian heavyweight that enjoyed a ramble around Kent was another Charles, Charles Darwin. Darwin had a gravel path installed at his home, not unlike a race track, that he would walk around each day as he thought about problems. The number of laps he did depended on the difficultly of the problem at hand. He would stack stones at the start of his walk and the knock them down one by one as he went round, describing the difficulty of the problem as a three, four, or five-flint problem.

Jack Dorsey and Mark Zuckerberg approve this message.

Mark Zuckerberg, the founder of Facebook, in particular is very fond of a walking meeting. If you are lucky enough to be being considered for a high up position at Facebook, don’t expect to be interviewed by Zuckerberg in his office. No, the man will take you on a tour of the campus, pointing out the different divisions and sounding you out about your experience and thoughts on the company. His piecè de résistance is to finish the walk and talk meeting on a promontory overlooking Silicon Valley and the other tech giants, telling you that he is bigger, better, and richer than all below, in true super-villain style. Presumably you get pushed off if you decline his offer.

Jack Dorsey, co-founder of Twitter and now heading up digital finance company Square, takes all new hires at Square for his ‘Gandhi walk’ on their first Friday. This is an epic walk through the streets of San Francisco to the Square offices while he espouses on the guiding principles behind Square.

so cool!  i live on a park with a 1-mile loop trail and i step out on it when i get on the phone.  i am surprised how many laps i end up walking without noticing... and it always helps conversation and thoughts go smoothly.

Sounds like you already have the good habit, Emily.

You May Also Like: