#14: 'If You Help One Person, Then Your Life Mission Has Been A Success' (Part 2 of 2)

Some stories begin with a grand plan. Others begin with a pair of old running shoes pulled from the back of a closet.

In the second half of my conversation with Jim from Missouri, we move from the rural communities he has spent decades writing about to the deeply personal ways he has learned to keep moving through uncertainty, heartache, pain, and possibility.

If you haven't yet heard Part 1, I hope you'll go back and listen. There, Jim shares the lessons he inherited from his father, the broken cars and motorcycles that taught him how to learn by doing, the crossroads where he chose college over the comfort of a familiar job, and the family tradition of reading books around the dinner table. Those stories lay the foundation for this conversation: a life shaped by curiosity, hard work, self-reliance, and the belief that ordinary people are capable of far more than they imagine.

In Part 2, Jim reflects on more than four decades of telling the stories of rural Missouri. He remembers a Chicago engineer who left the rat race, taught himself to make boots, and built a life where his children mattered more than the pressure of a waiting customer. Years later, when a reader arrived after saving for a decade to buy a pair, the bootmaker honored the original price—even though his work had become far more valuable.

Jim also takes us inside places few people ever see: a nighttime fish-gigging tradition on a Missouri river, a pristine cave sparkling like it had been covered in diamonds, and rural businesses whose futures changed because someone took the time to tell their stories.

Jim believes storytelling can help people succeed. It can introduce a craftsperson to a wider community, help a business recover after disaster, and preserve traditions that might otherwise disappear.

That spirit of service extends far beyond Missouri. Jim shares what it was like to travel with electric cooperative crews to communities in Bolivia, Guatemala, and Jamaica that had never experienced electricity. He remembers the moment people flipped a switch and watched a light come on for the first time—and how their faces seemed to brighten with it.

Then Jim turns toward one of the most personal chapters of his life. During a season of profound heartache, he found an old pair of high school running shoes and began climbing a hill near his home. On the first day, he couldn't make it far. The next day, he went 10 feet farther. Then another 10 feet. Eventually, those small steps carried him through 5Ks, marathons, trail races, and a 50-mile run.

Along the way, running became more than exercise. Jim began turning long races into prayers, dedicating each mile to someone carrying a burden of their own. By focusing on the struggles of others, he found perspective, gratitude, and a way to turn his own pain into something generous.

This episode is a reminder that progress doesn't always look dramatic. Sometimes, it's simply replacing "I could never" with a more hopeful question: What adventures might I have along the way?

Sincere thanks to Lee Williams for his fantastic production of this and every episode of Perennial Pen.

In this episode, we explore:

• How Jim's four decades in journalism introduced him to people whose stories needed to be told
• A self-taught Missouri bootmaker who chose family, craftsmanship, and generosity over the rat race
• Why storytelling can help rural businesses survive, recover, and grow
• The quiet coordination and shared tradition of fish gigging on a Missouri river
• Jim's journey into a pristine cave that few people would ever see
• The ingenuity, hard work, and community spirit Jim has witnessed across rural America
• Bringing electricity to communities in Bolivia, Guatemala, and Jamaica
• What people living with very little taught Jim about happiness, gratitude, and what truly matters
• The can-do spirit of electric cooperative linemen responding to impossible terrain and natural disasters
• How an old pair of running shoes helped Jim begin moving through a season of heartache
• The power of going just 10 feet farther than the day before
• Turning marathons and long-distance runs into prayers for other people
• Why the words "I could never" deserve to be challenged
• What a Vietnam veteran and endurance cyclist taught Jim about adventure, healing, and possibility
• How "relentless forward progress" can help us continue through failure, uncertainty, and change

Reflection Question

Where in your life have you been telling yourself, "I could never ... " -- and what would it look like to take one small, intentional step forward today to say, "Actually, I could ... ."

More About Jim

Jim McCarty is Editor Emeritus and Special Projects Manager for Rural Missouri. Across more than four decades, he has helped preserve and share the stories, skills, traditions, businesses, and people that give rural communities their character.

Meet the Rural Missouri staff:
https://ruralmissouri.org/staff/

Learn more about Jim McCarty through the Missouri School of Journalism:
https://journalism.missouri.edu/alum/jim-mccarty/

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