Margaret J. Wheatley and Deborah Frieze's book Walk Out Walk On follows ordinary people from seven communities—in Mexico, Brazil, the United States (Ohio), South Africa, Zimbabwe, India, and Greece—who have “walked out” of broken systems and dependency on outside solutions and “walked on” to build resilient, creative, and self-sustaining communities.

The book profiles “Walk Outs,” people who leave behind systems, jobs, or beliefs that no longer serve them and “walk on” into new ways of working together that foster self-reliance, imagination, and possibility.

Instead of waiting for experts or institutions, these communities use what they already have to create what they need, proving that resourcefulness, intelligence, and care exist in every place.

Each story shows how people uncover hidden strengths and creativity—within themselves and each other—by working on challenges that matter deeply to them.

Core principles include starting anywhere and following it everywhere, making the path by walking, and trusting that we have what we need. Leadership emerges naturally, progress happens at the pace of the slowest, and the future is lived into through shared action, deep listening, and mutual care.

Let’s walk out—and walk on.

“Whenever we choose to leave behind what confines us, whenever we courageously step forward to discover new capacities, then we can rightfully call ourselves Walk Outs Who Walk On.”

“When people and communities walk out, they discover they’re more gifted and wiser than they believed or had been told, that working together—even in the harshest circumstances—can be joyful, that they can invent solutions to problems that others have declared unsolvable.”

WEBSITE: Walk Out Walk On

VIDEO: Walk Out Walk On by Margaret J. Wheatley & Deborah Frieze

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