Latest from Tommy Spaulding

After my parents had my sister Lisa and me, they were told they could no longer have children. But my mom and dad decided they were not done growing their family, so they adopted an eight-month-old girl from South Korea. It was a bold and beautiful thing to do in a...

As the Roman poet Virgil once wrote, “Trust not too much to appearances.” This was true two thousand years ago and it’s still true today. We have cliches in our heads about who someone is—or how they ought to be—solely based on their appearance. For instance, what...

As I’ve written about many times before, I wasn’t exactly the best high school student in the world. I got rejected from just about every college I applied to except, East Carolina University. When I showed up for my first day of class back in the fall of 1988, I was...

Last year, I met a wonderful guy named Tyler Erickson at my annual Men of Faith retreat, where I take twenty-five faith-based leaders on a three-day excursion to a beautiful part of the country. In 2022 we celebrated the retreat’s ten-year anniversary in Washington...

As we begin 2023, I find myself reflecting on how I can grow as a leader, spouse, parent, and friend. Perhaps you are asking yourself similar questions. What has been coming to my mind—and my heart—over the last few days are two opposing questions that bookend our...

This past weekend, Jill and I took our daughter, Caroline, to visit Philadelphia. Yesterday, we spent the day touring the beautiful campus of Villanova University – one of Caroline’s top choices to attend after she graduates high school in 2024. We also took the...

An excerpt from The Gift of Influence, Tommy’s newest release, now available wherever you buy books! I’ve been blessed to meet thousands of virtuous people in my life, people who devote themselves to the service of others. You will go on to meet many of them in this...

Every month I meet with an incredibly exceptional group of heart-led leaders. We call our forum Iron Works, from one of my favorite proverbs: “As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another (Proverbs 27:17).” Each month we fly to a new city, have dinner, open...

Let me tell you about a man named Walter Isenberg. I’ve known Walter for many years. He and his wife, Christie, are generous donors to the National Leadership Academy, and their daughter Nicole was one of the very first graduates of our program. Walter is one of the...

Back when I was growing up in New York State, I didn’t listen to much else besides Billy Joel, the Eagles, and Journey. Whenever country music came on the radio, I’d immediately change the station. It wasn’t until about twenty years ago that I realized what country...