KennethBow's Blog

If there ever was a tale of American Leadership and perseverance, it is that of Abraham Lincoln.

Lincoln was born into poverty in 1809.

Throughout his life he continually faced setbacks and defeats.  He twice failed in business, lost eight elections, and suffered a nervous breakdown.

Defeat and failure were often beckoning him, inviting him to quit, but he refused that invitation, and his story is one of extraordinary perseverance.

This is the sketch of his life:

In 1816, Lincoln’s family was forced out of their home, and he had to go to work to support them.

In 1818, his mother died.

In 1831, he failed in business.

In 1832, he ran for the Illinois House of Representatives and lost.

In 1832, he lost his job.  Later that same year, he decided he wanted to go to law school, but his application was rejected.

In 1833, Lincoln borrowed some money from a friend to begin a business, but by the end of the year he was bankrupt.  He spent the next seventeen years paying off that debt.

In 1834, he ran for state legislature again and lost.

In 1835, Lincoln was engaged to be married, but his fiancée died and it broke his heart.

In 1836, Lincoln suffered a total nervous breakdown and was confined to his bed for six months.

In 1838, he sought to become Speaker of the state legislature and was defeated.

In 1840, he sought to become elector and was defeated.

In 1843, he ran for Congress and lost.

In 1846, he ran for Congress again; this time he won and finally made his way to Washington.

In 1848, Lincoln ran for reelection to Congress and lost.

In 1849, he sought the job of land officer but was rejected.

In 1854, he ran for Senate of the United States and lost.

In 1856, he sought the vice presidential nomination at his party’s national convention.  He got fewer than one hundred votes and lost.

In 1858, he ran for the United States Senate again and lost again.

Then in 1860, Lincoln decided to run for president….

I mean, based on what?

His track record?

He won and went on to become one of the greatest presidents in the history of the United States and one of the finest models of leadership in modern times.

In a speech, Lincoln said, “The path was worn and slippery.  My foot slipped from under me, knocking the other out of the way, but I recovered and said to myself,

‘It’s a slip and not a fall.’

Prov. 24:16 For a just man falleth seven times, and riseth up again: but the wicked shall fall into mischief.

Failure is never final.

If you have failed, get up and try again.

“Life’s real failure is when you do not realize how close you were to success when you gave up” Anonymous

“The only real failure in life is the failure to try” Anonymous

“My imperfections and failures are as much a blessing from God as my successes and my talents and I lay them both at His feet”  Mahatma Ghandi.

“Failure is the tuition you pay for success.” Walter Brunell

“I don’t know the key to success, but the key to failure is trying to please everybody.” Bill Cosby

Thanks for reading today!

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Luceat lux vestra is latin taken from the fifth chapter of Matthew’s gospel.  It means “Let your light shine”

Thirty days ago tomorrow Martyn Ballestero encouraged me to write a blog.  I was hesitant.  He had seen great success with his blog, in my opinion. He persisted in encouraging me, and even set up my blog to get me started.

So here I am, on the brink of thirty days later, very surprised at how many wonderful people have taken time to visit my blog.

I would like to take this moment to say thank you.  I know you all lead busy lives.  It is so gratifying to have people visit and leave comments.  I thank you.

Writing this blog has given me a new perspective on life.

We all need a new perspective at least once in our lives!

In the late 1960’s there was a young man who had a dream of becoming a famous musician.  He knew what he wanted so he dropped out of high school and began to play his music. He was one credit short of his diploma.  His thought was, I am not going to Columbia University, I am going to Columbia records!

The opportunities came slowly.

He found himself playing in small dirty clubs.  He was playing his music to drunks night after night.  This was not his dream!

He had dreamed of playing to sellout crowds across America.  He dreamed of his music in the stores.  He even had the courage to dream of playing to a packed baseball stadium.  No one had ever thought of that or dreamed it.

It was not an easy road.  He had come on difficult times.  He was broke.  He was a failure.  His only joy in life was his girlfriend.

He and his girlfriend slept in laundromats to save hotel bills.  Finally one day she got sick of all the travel and failures.  She had dreamed of being married to a famous musician and singer. This was not the life she had dreamed of.  She left him.

This young man felt like there was nothing left in life for him. The night she left him he made an attempt to commit suicide. He drank a bottle of furniture polish and a bottle of vodka.  The next day, very sick, he checked himself into a mental institution.

Less than three weeks later he checked himself out.  He was a new man. He was refreshed and excited about life. He was cured!

He had not been given any medication of any kind. It was not anything the doctors or nurses had said to him.  The mental patients had cured him!

They told him how gifted he was, and they made him believe he could have so much more from life!

He was given a new perspective on life!

He walked out of that mental institution resolved to pursue his dream.  He would do whatever necessary to achieve that dream.

Three years later he wrote a song called “The piano man”.  Today most people in America have heard of Billy Joel.

June 22 and 23, 1990, Billy Joel played to sell out crowds of ninety thousand people at Yankee stadium.

Billy Joel has become the sixth best-selling recording artist and the third best-selling solo artist in the United States.

Billy Joel had Top 10 hits in the 1970s, 1980s, and 1990s and has 33 Top 40 hits in the United States, all of which he wrote singlehandedly.

He is also a six-time Grammy Award winner, a 23-time Grammy nominee and has sold over 100 million records worldwide.

Billy Joel

We all need a new perspective at least once in our life.

I have a new perspective because you have read my blog.

Thank You!

Luceat lux vestra!

Thanks for reading today.

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What?

To play an instrument?

To sing?

To be a soul winner?

To be independently wealthy?

Itzhak Perlman

Itzhak  Perlman plays the violin.

He might just be the greatest violin player on earth today.  In fact, he might be the greatest violin player in history.

When he plays, it is so much more than music.  It is an experience.

Was he born with some rare gift no one else has ever possessed?

Why don’t you decide!

Every morning Perlman wakes up at five-fifteen.  He showers, has a light breakfast, and begins his morning practice session, which lasts four and a half hours. He has lunch, reads for  a while, exercises then begins his afternoon practice session, which lasts for four and a half hours. In the evening he has dinner with his family and relaxes.

This is his schedule every day of the year except on days he plays concerts.

On concert days he wakes up at five-fifteen, showers, has breakfast and then practices for four and a half hours. He then has lunch, reads for a while, exercises, and then takes a ninety minute nap. When he wakes up he gets dressed and goes to the concert venue.  They perform a sound check, and have a brief rehearsal.

Forty-five minutes before the concert Mr Perlman goes to his dressing room and locks the door.  Two security guards are posted outside his door, no one is allowed in under any circumstances!

What do you think he does?

He prays.

Itzhak Perlman prays.

He spends one minute asking God to help him play the violin that night.  He spends the other forty-four minutes praying for the people who will attend the concert that night.  He does not doubt God will help him play the violin brilliantly for the concert. Why?

Because Itzhak Perlman plays the violin brilliantly for nine hours a day, every single day, day in and day out, in an empty room,  for nobody but his God!

Itzhak keeps his part of the bargain.  He has passion, dedication and faith. Therefore he has confidence God will keep His part of the bargain.

Itzhak Perlman makes people cry when he plays the violin, and they do not know why they are crying. He makes people feel and hear things they have never felt or heard before. He shares his excitement and passion through his music.  He motivates people.  He touches people.  He moves people. He changes people. He makes a difference in people.

Itzhak Perlman has found a way to touch other people’s lives, to raise them up, to share his passion.

Listen to the theme from “Schindler’s list”, and you will feel the passion.

Several years ago Perlman agreed to attend a charity event  in Vienna, after one of his concerts. Tickets were five hundred dollars each. The guests were allowed to speak to Mr. Perlman and get his autograph.

One man entered the roped off area where Perlman was and stretched out his hand to shake hands. The man said, “Mr. Perlman you were phenomenal tonight. You were absolutely amazing.”

Perlman smiled and said “Thank you.”

The man said, “All my life I have had a great love of the violin, and I have heard every great violinist, but I have never heard anyone play the violin as brilliantly as you did tonight”.

Perlman smiled and said nothing.

The man continued, “You know Mr. Perlman, I would give my whole life to be able to play the violin like you did tonight”.

Perlman smiled once more and said,”I have”.

Itzhak Perlman at the White House

What would you give to….

• Be a soul winner
• Be a prayer warrior
• Be an intercessor

I would give anything to be able to…..

Thanks for reading today!

( Perlman was born in Tel Aviv, in what was soon to be Israel, where he first became interested in the violin when he heard a classical music performance on the radio. He studied at the Academy of Music in Tel Aviv before moving to theUnited States to study at the Juilliard School with the great violin pedagogue, Ivan Galamian, and his assistant Dorothy DeLay.

Perlman contracted polio at the age of four. He made a good recovery, learning to walk with the use of crutches. Today, he generally uses crutches or an Amigo POV/Scooter for mobility and plays the violin while seated.

The world falls in love with music when Itzhak Perlman takes up his violin. A superstar by any standard and a rarity in the classical field, Perlman has taken hold of the public imagination as few violin virtuosos ever have, bringing joy to millions with his playing. Having lost the use of his legs after falling victim to polio at the age of four, Perlman always sits as he plays. But he never fails to bring audiences to their feet.)

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