March 27, 2025 • 50 mins
In this powerful episode, we're joined by Kevin Lowe, an inspirational speaker and podcast host who shares his remarkable journey of losing his sight at 17 and discovering an entirely new way to "see" the world.
Through launching his own travel agency, creating a podcast during the pandemic, learning how to 'see' through sound and now inspiring others through speaking, Kevin exemplifies resilience in its purest form. His personal equation—"faith plus family equals a life worth living"—reminds us all to identify what gives our lives meaning, especially during our darkest moments.
Kevin's story isn't just about overcoming blindness—it's about transforming limitation into possibility and finding purpose in pain. As he puts it, "Through the vulnerability of the brain that I became blind, but it's also through the power of the brain that I learned to see again."
Follow Kevin's journey on his podcast "Grit, Grace and Inspiration" or learn more about his speaking at kevinspeaks.org.
If this episode hit you in the heart and you're ready to turn your own adversity into strength, I want to personally help you. Book a free 30-minute coaching consult call with me (yes, WITH ME—not some team member).
Visit my website here to submit for a coaching call with me!
CLICK HERE to ORDER my book "Okay. Now What?" - How to Be Resilient When Life Gets Tough.
Want to download a free chapter of my book to give it a read first? CLICK HERE.
To hire me to speak at your organization or next event, visit https://www.kategladdin.com/
Introduction to the Episode (00:00:00)
Kate Gladdin welcomes listeners and introduces the theme of personal resilience.
Introducing Kevin Lowe (00:01:06)
Kate introduces Kevin Lowe, discussing his background as an inspirational speaker and blind visionary.
Kevin's Journey Begins (00:02:00)
Kevin shares the timeline of his blindness, marking 21 years without sight.
The Diagnosis (00:02:43)
Kevin recounts his life in 2003 and the medical issues leading to his brain tumor diagnosis.
The Tumor Discovery (00:05:04)
Kevin describes the shocking moment his mother received the news about his brain tumor.
The Severity of the Condition (00:07:07)
Discussion of the tumor's impact and the urgency for surgical intervention.
The Surgery Announcement (00:10:05)
Kevin recalls the reassurance from his neurosurgeon about the surgery and recovery expectations.
Surgery Day (00:12:46)
Kevin reflects on the day of his surgery and the changes it would bring.
Waking Up Blind (00:14:17)
Kevin describes the moment he realized he was completely blind after surgery.
The Aftermath of Surgery (00:15:06)
Discussion of the complications and challenges Kevin faced post-surgery.
The Realization of Blindness (00:16:49)
Kevin shares his emotional struggle and repeated realization of his blindness.
Learning to 'See' Again (00:18:34)
Kevin discusses discovering echolocation as a method to navigate the world as a blind person.
Training in Echolocation (00:19:15)
Kevin explains his training experience with Brian Bucci to learn echolocation techniques.
The Process of Retraining the Brain (00:22:39)
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
Welcome to. Okay. Now what?I'm your host, Kate Gladdin.
(00:03):
Episode 34.This is a show for people who
know life doesn't happen to you.Life happens, and the impact it
has is up to you. All right.Hello. Hello beautiful people.
Welcome to another episode,which is one of my favorite kind
of episodes where I get to bringa special guest on.
(00:26):
And I'm really excited to, uh,to share this guest with you all,
because, you know, I record thispodcast because too many people
are out in the world thinking, oh,my life is the way it is because
of the things that have happenedin my life, my circumstances.
And of course, I'm recording thisshow to really reveal to you guys
that it isn't what happens to us,but how we choose to respond,
(00:49):
who we choose to be in ourcircumstances that determines our
life experience, our happiness,and really what we're able to
contribute to the world. So I.As soon as I came across this special
guest story, I absolutely wasexcited to bring him on to the show.
So without further ado,allow me to introduce to you
inspirational speaker,blind visionary, and podcast host,
(01:13):
Mr. Kevin Lowe. Welcome to the show.Well, I am excited to be here.
Thank you for having me. And uh.Oh my God, this feeling is mutual.
Uh, you know what?There's, like, love at first sight.
And even when you're blind,I think it happens. Like, love it.
First voice, I guess. Oh, yes. Yes.Well, I'm glad you're at the fan
(01:34):
of an Aussie accent.I know that got me some brownie
points with you. So, um.Yeah, 100%. Yeah.
You don't have a boring accentlike me.
But no, I, uh,I love the American accent so much.
I'm married one, so there you go.Love it. Oh, absolutely.
So, Kevin, tell us, um,you know, I mentioned in there,
(01:55):
and I don't I'm not sure if peoplecaught it, but blind visionary.
So yes, that's right.I think you touched on it just
now that you have, um,not had your sight. What is it?
For about over 20 years now sinceyou lost your sight? Yeah, correct.
So October of last year, um,was, uh, my 21st anniversary of
(02:16):
being completely blind. Wow.Okay, so as you can already hear,
guys, this guy is full of life andenergy and all things enthusiasm.
But as you heard,he's been living without his
sight for over 20 years now.So let's begin at the beginning.
It's a pretty good place to start,so take us back.
I'm guessing it was about 2003or something.
(02:36):
Then, um, when was it that, like,what happened, um, that caused you
to, uh, to lose your sight? Yeah. So.So exactly. It was a year was 2003.
Um, and at that time,I was in the start of my junior
year of high school, um,so was was almost to that, you know,
infamous senior year of high schoolthat we all look forward to.
(02:59):
Um, and, you know,at this point in my life,
you know, I say like, you know,it was it was kind of like that,
you know, scene from the movie when,like, everything was like,
perfect. Everything's going great.Um, you know, I finally had, like,
found that awesome group of,like, friends that that I really,
you know, love that we did stuff,you know, outside of school with, um.
I, uh, I always say I had my mypride and joy, uh, was my, uh, Ford
(03:24):
F-150 that I got when I turned 16.Uh, and, uh, I mean, you want to
talk about love at first sight.That was love at first sight.
Um, and, uh, and so, I mean,I had had my truck.
Um, things were going great.Um, everything was going good.
And, um, and then though I hadsome things that I'm going to call
(03:47):
medical issues, but I'm going to putmedical issues in, in quotation marks
because I don't really think thatme or my family thought of them.
Is something as a medical issue.They were just things, weird things.
The fact was, here I was I was17 years old, um, junior year of
high school, I wasn't growing.I had never gone through my
(04:09):
growth spurt.I had never gone through puberty.
Um, the pediatrician,he always just kept telling us that,
you know, I was a late bloomer.Um, you know, not.
Don't worry about it.Everything is fine.
Um, I also had migraineheadaches all the time.
I mean, from, I think the time Iwas in middle school is when the
(04:29):
migraines really started really bad,and and, I mean,
every single day I would come homefrom school with a migraine and, um,
and so it was just things like that.And so finally, um, my mom and
grandmother were the ones who kindof had enough of being told that,
you know, there was nothing toworry about and got me in with a,
(04:51):
uh, a different doctor.Just a normal, uh, family, um,
Doctor Who?He actually finally looked at the
the whole picture and he realizedthat something wasn't right.
And, um, and so that would kind ofset forth a set of dominoes to start
dropping, um, one after another.And the big one came with, um,
(05:15):
the news of an MRI result.Um, so that doctor had sent me
to a specialist.The specialist sent me for an MRI,
and the MRI came back with somethingthat none of us ever expected.
And that was the news that I hada brain tumor. Mhm.
Um, now, my mom was the one who.She was the one who got the call
(05:40):
from the doctor on a Friday evening.Um, she was actually on her way to
meet me and, um, my stepdad, um,uh, our boat that we were going
to take up to Saint Augustine,Florida. Um, so we live. Oh, gosh.
About an hour south of SaintAugustine.
And so we're going to take the boatup the intercoastal waterway up to
(06:03):
Saint Augustine for the weekend,one of my favorite trips.
And so what I didn't know, though,was that on the way to meet us, my
mom got a call from the doctor, and,um, he he asked if she was driving,
which she said yes, and to whichhe asked her to please pull over.
And, um, that's when he deliveredthe news that, um, that the results
(06:28):
came back from the MRI and that theywere worse than he ever expected.
Um, as a matter of fact, he had,um, on the other line, the, uh,
leading pediatric neurosurgeon,um, in the country, um,
for me to get scheduled becauseI had a plum sized brain tumor,
(06:50):
um, position basically right inthe center of my head.
Um, so it was it had completelyencased my pituitary gland.
Um, was in the crosshairs of theoptic nerve and had begun pressing
against my carotid artery. Oh.Now we would find out that it
(07:12):
was thankfully non-cancerous,but they literally said that
without its removal, I had it mostsix months to live. Oh my gosh.
What was because of the arterywent like it was starting to.
Yep. Yeah. Because yeah.Because of it pressing on that
carotid artery.Um, and so I remember my mom,
she waited to tell me until wegot up to Saint Augustine, and.
(07:35):
And I can remember so vividly, um,even so long ago, I can remember
me sitting down in the the hullof the boat, and I was flipping
through a dirt bike magazine,and, um, and I remember my mom,
she she came down and, and shesat down across from the little
dinette and she told me the news.And, um, I don't remember the
(08:00):
conversation, but what I remember is,going from that moment, my mind
kind of goes into snapshots and.And I can remember running,
running up the dock, um,and my flip flops, uh, running up
the dock as fast as I could allthe way to the top of the Marina.
And then the next snapshot in mymemory is me leaning with my arms on
(08:25):
the the metal railing, staring out atthis just picturesque Marina, um,
full of powerboats and sailboats, alljust underneath of the the infamous
Saint Augustine Bridge of Lyons.And, um, I remember I was so upset.
I was so just confused and lostand and I didn't even understand
(08:47):
then what was going to happen,because, I mean, it was just the
simple fact of I had a brain tumor.I mean, I never, I never thought
in a million years something likethat would be wrong with me.
I mean, yeah, you just thinkit's going to be nothing.
It's going to be just somethingstupid. Yeah, yeah.
No, that just it always happensto other people, right?
(09:07):
You kind of think,especially when you're that young.
Still too. Exactly, exactly.I mean, at that point,
I had never heard of anybodyhaving a brain tumor.
Um, and, um,and so it was it was scary.
I remember, um, I got real upsetand I remember my, I think,
I think my grandparents ended updriving up there, and I believe it
(09:30):
was them that I went home with.I ended up not staying on the
boat because I was just so upset.And, uh, so I went back home.
But, um, but from that point forward,then, um, once we met with the
the surgeon, the neurosurgeon,um, he really put all those,
like, fears and worries aside.Um, he let me know that he's like,
(09:52):
Kevin, I do these kind ofsurgeries all the time.
He he literally he's like,we'll go in. We'll remove the tumor.
Um, he said, you'll be back toschool in three weeks.
Um, everything's going to beperfectly fine.
And yeah, it's like, okay, awesome.And so because I was curious if
(10:13):
you knew yet you were going tolose your vision,
your vision in the surgery, but thatwasn't really a risk that they saw.
Um, so ironically, ironically,if you've ever had surgery before,
they have to disclose all thepossible risks involved. Okay.
Um, which I always say there's like,you know, like a certain percentile,
(10:34):
we're going to cut off your arm,even though we're messing with
your head, you know.Well, well, would you believe that?
I don't remember any of them, exceptfor the last one that he said that
there was a 1% percent. There was.There was a 1% chance of becoming
blind. 1%. Oh my gosh. Wow.It wasn't even in the equation.
(10:58):
And, um, it just it wasn't.And and so I had fun with it.
Um, me and my personality.I named my tumor Bob. Bob the tumor.
Um, very, uh, very original that Bobthe tumor. But that's a fun one.
Life's too short not to havesome fun.
Yeah, it's so literally we had agoing away Bob party, um,
(11:22):
with my family.Everybody got together for this
big celebration of and, um, in,in at school. Of course. At school.
I mean, I just told you, he said Iwas going to be out of school for
three weeks. I'm like, Hallelujah.I'm like, that's the best news
I've ever heard in my life.And, um, it's so of course,
at school I'm, you know,like last day of school telling
(11:44):
all my friends like, Sayonara,suckers. Enjoy trigonometry.
So it's so true at that age.Oh my God. Yeah.
And so, um, so that was the mindsetgoing into surgery on October 28th.
And um, and I can remember, um,I remember that morning, um,
(12:05):
so I had to check in to thehospital the day before and, um,
the morning of, um, October 28th,2003, um, the surgeon came in and
apparently I cracked some type ofjoke, asking, be sure he had eaten
his Wheaties that morning, and, um,and, um, everybody was ready to go,
(12:27):
and, um, they, uh, they wheeled meback to the operating room and,
um, you know how I say, if I knewthen what I know now, I don't know
that I could have allowed him topush me through those doors. Um.
Um, because when they push methrough those doors,
(12:50):
everything in my life would change.Um, my mom and dad,
they were the ones who walked with meback to the to the operating room.
And if I knew then that I wouldnever see them again.
I don't know that I could have everstopped staring at their faces.
Mhm. And, um, the surgery happened.Um, it was a obviously a very long,
(13:18):
intense surgery, but the,the doctor came out, he told my
family that everything went great.Um, he said they were able to get the
get the tumor out with no problems.Just everything went perfect.
And then I woke up and, um.But I woke up now.
(13:39):
Now I will preface by sayingthat going into the operating
room is where my memory stops.Well, my memory doesn't pick up
until weeks.Um, maybe month, uh,
month or so later being back home.Um, because I would, I would end up
(13:59):
remaining in the ICU for two weeks,um, with everything going wrong.
But, um,the biggest thing was when I woke up,
they realized I couldn't see, um,so I was left completely blind,
um, in both eyes.And so I say, completely blind
(14:20):
because, um, I've learned thatthere's actually a, uh, large, um,
degree of, of blindness that goesfrom people who are completely
blind to people who are whatthey call it visually impaired,
who can still see something. Yeah.Um, and a very small percentage
is completely blind.I became completely blind.
(14:42):
Um, so no shapes or shadows orlight or dark.
Just complete and utter blackness.Wow. Um.
I also lost my ability to smell.I would end up having short term
memory loss for for a solid sixmonths.
Um, my family may even joke thatI still have some today. If the.
(15:05):
If they're being jerks. Yeah.Um, and, um.
And, um, I dealt with that and thenall these other medical issues that,
again, we had no idea I would faceis the the brain tumor completely
killed off my pituitary gland.And your pituitary controls all
(15:25):
the body's hormones.And so, um, it would take a long
while trying to get medicationsfigured out to start replacing
everything, you know, that the bodywas doing at least a little bit,
um, but now not doing it all.And so getting our medicines and,
I mean, that's still a balancingact that I deal with today, and
(15:47):
we'll deal with the rest of my life.Um, but all these things were
going wrong when, again,we thought it was just a speed bump.
I literally thought this tumorwas okay.
Finally, an answer to all theseproblems, and we get rid of it,
and I get back on with life.And then October 28th happened,
(16:12):
and, um, everything changed. Wow.Oh, uh, so many, like,
twists and turns in that,in that story. And I just.
I'm curious what was because yousaid you lost, um, you know,
your memory and that for about amonth or so after your surgery.
What was that moment when itreally dawned on you, like,
(16:36):
do you remember, like, how longit was after the surgery for it
to really sink in that the lake,or when you really understood
and they told you straight out,like you're completely blind and
it won't be coming back. Um.So I love a good story and I wish
I had a good story, you know,like that one pivotal moment.
(16:56):
I don't I get the same question.I'm like, not really.
It was just lots of, like, thingscoming together, but. Yeah, but but.
What actually is the truth is,um, I had it happen every single
morning when I would wake up.Oh, yeah. Right.
Because every single night I wouldgo to bed and I would cry myself
(17:19):
to sleep, praying, begging,pleading with God to please,
please, please in this nightmareand just let me see again.
And I would beg him to pleasejust let me wake up in the
morning and be able to see again.And I would even get to a point
(17:42):
where I would just beg God,don't let me see anything else.
Just let me be able to see thefaces of my family.
I don't care about anything else.Just let me get to see them.
And every single morning I'dwake up and I'd open my eyes and
I'd see the same thing that Idid when they were closed. Wow.
(18:02):
Yeah. Oh that's hard. Yeah.Would they realization hitting
you over and over again?Um, but let me ask you this
because I've, um.Through taking a peek at your story,
there was a life changing experience,though, where you did learn kind of
how to see again in quotation marks,I guess, in a way that you never
(18:25):
would have imagined.But your prayers somewhat got
answered.Tell me more about how you do now.
See in the world. Yeah. So, um.God, God, I always say God.
I mean, as a person with with,uh, very deep faith.
Um, by faith is the only waythat I'm here today. Um, God.
(18:48):
God works in some mysterious ways.And, um.
And 14 years after losing myeyesight, um, I and I mean,
in all that time in between,I would, would get help at
different blind centers.Uh, center for the Visually impaired,
Division of Blind Services.All these teachers who would teach me
(19:09):
how to use a cane to get around,um, in all these different skills.
But I always could only,quote unquote, see,
but what my fingers touched. Mhm.Um, until 2017 and in 2017, um,
I learned about a guy namedBrian Bucci.
(19:32):
Now, at the time,Brian worked with an organization
called World Access for the blind,and they were traveling around
the world teaching blind peoplehow to see using echolocation.
Now, when I heard about this forthe first time, my mind was blown.
(19:54):
And actually,when I first heard about it,
it was by somebody who had shared aYouTube video with me of Brian Bucci.
And in the video,I didn't know anything about him
teaching other people how to do this.I just knew it was focusing on
what he could do as his blindguy who could see like a bat and
(20:15):
all this stuff and and Iremember it was so amazing.
Yet I was so upset because all Ikept thinking was, God, why?
Why can't I have that ability? Mhm.Well fast forward um,
would find out that I could, thatthis organization is teaching blind
(20:35):
people how to use that collocation.And so I, um, through this whole
series of crazy events,including setting up the first ever,
like, GoFundMe campaign to tryto to help raise money because I
was going to have to travel outto Los Angeles, California for,
um, for ten days, um, to train.And all this in the GoFundMe
(20:58):
campaign, like, raised all themoney for me in like three days,
um, through everybody's.Support. And rallying around me.
And, and it was amazing.And, um,
to go do something that we've beenled to believe is impossible.
Um, and sure enough, though, um,I went out there and don't think
(21:20):
that I went to some, like,science laboratory or something.
Literally, my my mom and sisterwould drop me off at, uh,
Brian's house every morning.And me and him,
we we would just work around hishouse and his neighborhood.
Now, Brian is just a couple ofyears older than me.
He also went blind later in life.I think he was around like 14
(21:43):
when he went blind. Mhm.Um, and so we're both very similar,
similar personalities.Um, which you know, we have become
amazing friends since then,but so we would literally be these
two blind guys walking aroundhis neighborhood as he's trying
to teach me to see what he sees.And, um, in the whole way it works
(22:04):
is by doing a click of your tongueagainst the roof of your mouth
and that little popping noise.I eventually would retrain the
brain's visual cortex tointerpret that echo into images,
and so. Is incredible. Wow.I did not realize that's how it
(22:28):
worked. So yeah. Oh my gosh.I love the human brain and the
neuroplasticity of it.I never fails to blow my mind
how we can retrain it.So it's That's incredible.
Yeah, it was mind blowing,and I remember, I remember
before I ever went out there,I remember talking to him on the
phone multiple times, and one ofthe times I asked him like, well,
how long is it actually going totake for me to be able to do this?
(22:52):
And he I remember he said,he said typically on day three
is when people have it click.Well, sure enough, sure enough,
day three on this day, insteadof me going over to his house,
he came to the Airbnb apartment wehad rented. Again, my mom and sister.
They went off to do theirtourist stuff in Los Angeles.
(23:13):
Yeah, and we had him.We're working inside the apartment
and, uh, we were working onidentifying corners of the room.
And so all of a sudden, I'm doingthis technique where I'm like, face
to face with the corner of the room,and I make the clicking noise,
and I'm listening,and I ain't saying nothing.
(23:35):
And so then I'm. I click again.Well, then all of a sudden I back up.
All of a sudden,something's coming into focus.
All of a sudden I could back upacross the room and I could see
the wall in front of me.It was like this fuzzy gray cloud in
(23:56):
front of me, and I could literallyusing the clicking technique.
I walked across the room to thatvery corner, could stop right in
front of it. I'm not using a cane.Could stop without hitting it.
I then could follow the wallthat I'm seeing.
I followed it along until all ofa sudden it was like this deep,
(24:19):
dark black opening.What was the opening into the
kitchen? Um.That moment would change my life
from that day forward.Because no longer can I only see
what I touch?Yeah,
but I've literally now retrainedthe brain to see through sound.
(24:41):
And so it is amazing as the factof it is a muscle.
So it constantly gets strongerthe more you use it,
the longer time goes by.And so today,
I can tell you that many times I'mnot even trying to activate it,
but other noises around me will.And so there are many times standing
(25:06):
in the kitchen, um, you know,maybe cooking and I'm in there and
all of a sudden, because of theway the fossa is hitting a dish
in the sink, it's literally likeall of a sudden somebody turns on
the light switch and I can lookaround and I'll be in there with
my mom or my sister cooking,and I look and I can see them.
I literally can see their entirefigure, um, standing right there.
(25:31):
Um, it's it's Absolutely amazing.Um, you know, I said that, um.
No, it's not like I used to see.And are there still days that I
still dream of seeing again?Yeah, but I tell you what, boy.
Um, to go for 14 years with nothingto now getting to see the objects
(25:56):
around me, the shapes and everything.It's absolutely life changing.
Yeah, yeah.I can't even imagine, like, just
the way that feels like it defieswhat's possible. But I don't know.
I just love when you hearstories about.
Yeah, like,if someone had told me that, like,
two truths and a lie and what'spossible with the human brain,
(26:18):
I would have been like,that's the lie that doesn't.
That's not what happens.But, um, there you are.
And just how quickly it happenedto like, neurologically,
they tend to say it takes about 63days to form new neural pathways in
your brain. Yet yours was there.Like just able to pick that up
so quickly. I, um, I love that.Is that like a common training
(26:41):
technique? Help now?Like, is it become,
like more mainstream than it wasback in 2017 to help people with
vision problems? Or.Um, it is a little bit,
but still not prevalent.Um, now, I'm not real big into a
lot of the big blind organizations,so they may have adopted it more
(27:02):
than I know of.But, um, the last time that I've,
I've ever been aware, um,it's almost like they tend to view it
like I remember back in the day,like doctors, they never believed
that chiropractors were real doctors.Like they were something. Yeah.
And it's almost like they view itlike that and alternative and.
(27:24):
Yeah. Yeah.And I'm like,
you don't understand. Yeah.What is what this is,
is life changing for somebodywho is was blind.
Um, and to me, I wish and hope thatevery blind organization that has
anything to do with training anyblind person on mobility would
(27:45):
learn how to train other blindpeople in this technique because,
um, I mean, like I said, I mean,the just the simple fact that I
can preview my environment as I'mwalking, you know, I don't have to
wait until my cane hit something.No, I can literally see the shape
of the car parked in front of me.Um, you know, I mean, I,
(28:08):
you know, walking into, you know,a public space by myself, you know,
I can literally see the the wallsor the columns or the tables,
um, you know, it's it's. Yeah.It's incredible. Yeah.
Helps you definitely navigatethe world.
Um, just with more confidence,I'm sure.
(28:29):
Like, just being able to to seethat little bit more.
And is it true that we had toanswer this for me?
This could be something that I heardjust as a kid, as a, you know,
one of those things that people say,but do your other senses,
like you mentioned,you lost your sense of smell.
So obviously not that one.But when you lose a sense,
the other senses become stronger,like you're hearing better
(28:54):
because you can't see.Does that amplify how well you hear,
or is that just a myth that Ibelieved all these years?
Yeah, no,I think I think it's 100% true.
Um, and, um, yeah, I remember my,my family, they would marvel after,
after I went blind of how much Iwould hear, um, and, and, and I mean,
(29:16):
I can remember they would,they would joke.
They're like, there's no morewhispering around Kevin.
Or, you know. Wow. That's crazy.Yeah, it's a crazy.
I just, um, you know,our human bodies are vulnerable and
fragile in so many ways, but justalso how resilient and adaptable
and flexible they can be. Uh, yeah.To to continue to be able to navigate
(29:40):
the world truly blows my mind.And so I, you know, not all of us
are facing this same challengeof blindness or a disability or
some sort of physical ailment.But we've all got things that, uh,
I guess we feel aren't possiblefor us or are holding us back.
And then I, you know, you're showingyou there's a will. There's a way.
(30:01):
Like, never stop searching for a waythrough it or to a way to improve
your abilities or your circumstances.So it's just such a powerful message
in that, um, with what you justshared. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely.
You know, and I think, I thinklike the the really cool thing
about it is it's in my situation,it is through the vulnerability
of the brain that I became blind.But it's also through the power
(30:24):
of the brain that I learned tosee again. Yeah. Yeah. That's.
Yeah. It's crazy. Yeah.Yeah I love that. So inspiring.
So not only is that inspiringthat you and you know, it was
through your own effort and hardwork to that didn't just come in,
bite you on the butt one day and say,hey, I'm going to help you see again.
Like, that's the thing.You know, you made choices.
(30:45):
You chose to step up.You chose to ask people for help,
which is so heartwarming.You know how much people come around
and you know, with the Go Fund Me andyou chose to go across the country,
you chose all these things isthrough your choices as well.
Not just the brain,but also your courage and commitment,
um, to make that happen.But I also found inspiring here,
hearing that, you know, uh, youhaven't just sat around in life and
(31:07):
going, woe is me. And I can't see.So therefore I can't do the things
that most people do with their lives.In fact, I've heard that you used to,
you know, you launched and runyour own business for many years.
So tell me a little bit about whatthat like, how did you go from being
blind to now running your own travelagency for so many years? Yeah.
(31:28):
So I, um, so the travel business was,was really kind of cool.
Um, how it came about, it was,it was very this kind of natural
progression, I guess,when I think about it.
So it all started with, um,with one of the organizations I
mentioned earlier, uh,center for the Visually Impaired.
They offered a job readiness program.And, um, so I signed up for that only
(31:52):
based on the fact that at the end,they promised to set you up with
an internship at a localbusiness of your choosing.
And so I did the three monthinternship, which I joke and say
it was kind of like blind daycare.Um. It's amazing. Yeah.
It was it was pretty elementary.Um, but, uh, but I at least made
(32:16):
some friends with some, like the,a couple of, like, really old
guys who were in there and.Uh, we. At least had a good time.
Well, at the end of that, uh,little job readiness program,
They, you know, would set you downand tried to figure out like,
well, what are you interested inand doing as a career?
And, you know,it was hard for me because, you know,
(32:37):
everything that I ever loved,um, in life ever maybe was,
was thinking about doing career wise,you know, was gone because all
of it relied on vision.Um, you know, I was somebody
very I was beginning to drawingin architecture and design, um,
and all of that.And so I really wasn't sure what the
(32:59):
world I would do, but there weretwo areas that I had interested,
and one was travel, the otherwas radio. And, um, it's so low.
Behold, they would set me upwith an internship at a local Am
radio station w ndb a m 1150.Um, listen. To you professional.
(33:22):
And, um, and so I did an internshipthere, and at the same time I did an
internship at a local travel agency,and, um, I, I fell in love with both
of them. I mean, radio was awesome.I literally they didn't have a clue
what the world even do with me.Um, they.
They,they first had me set up inside of,
(33:42):
like, a little separate audio booth,and, and I was supposed to just be,
like, researching news storiesfor them to talk about.
Well, it didn't take long before theyjust brought me into the main studio
and have me chiming in on all theconversations. Oh, that's so fun.
So. So that was cool.But the the travel agency was,
was good too, because the reason Iwas thought about being a travel
(34:04):
agent was simply because travelingwas one thing that I realized that I
always love traveling growing up.Um, and I realized that after going
blind, traveling was even moreimportant to me because no longer
could I just see the destinations onTV and to truly go and experience
it and be. There. Right? Yeah.And so I did the internship at
(34:28):
the travel agency.Both of those were great.
But at the end of the day,they didn't go anywhere.
Um, neither one wanted to tohire me or do anything with me.
And so I was kind of back to squareone when I ended up learning about
the idea of starting my own business,my own travel agency.
And so that opened in January of
(34:51):
Um, it was called Better Days Travel.And, um, I, I oh, my gosh,
it was amazing for me.Um, I got to not only build a brand,
um, to have my own business,to be an entrepreneur,
but I also at the same time,got to start interacting with,
with all these amazing people byclients booking anything from
(35:14):
honeymoons to to big group cruisesfor churches and all these different
trips. I mean, it was awesome.And, um, and so I, um,
I did that for the next seven years.Um, up until the pandemic, um,
and, uh, the pandemic of 2020,of course, that was going to be
my best year ever.Uh, turned to, like,
(35:36):
the worst year ever. And. Yeah. Yeah.And and, you know,
and then that would, you know,bring me into a whole new
chapter of my life and and whatI would start doing career wise.
But, um, you know,being a travel agent was great.
Um, it was, it was really goodfor me because it gave me purpose
every single day. Um, yeah.And that's something that I think
(35:59):
is so important is through allthis time, I mean, I'm still even,
even so many years later.Um, you know, I mean,
it was ten years later,after becoming blind, that I
started the travel business. What?Still, though, every every day,
though, is just learning to livein this new life.
(36:19):
Um, and so it was good for me tohave that to focus on.
And, um, but I never found,like, amazing success.
I mean, yeah, I would do good,but I it always just felt like I
was doing it.But in the back of my mind,
I knew it wasn't really what I wasmeant to be doing, but I had no idea
(36:41):
what else I should be doing. Yeah.And and then, you know,
the pandemic kind of made thatchoice for me. Yeah.
I feel yeah, it's kind of thetrajectory of my career too.
It's like,this is what I thought I wanted.
And then that came along and itdid make us, you know,
it was pivot points.But I think, again, it was how you
choose to respond to it is whatyou're going to create from it.
(37:03):
And I love now that you'veyou've dug deep and you have
made that career transition.And so what is it that is your
purpose now in your career that'sdriving you forward? Yeah.
So I think my whole purpose rightnow is, um, I finally Realized
that the way I could make senseout of all that happened to me.
(37:28):
All the hurt, the disappointment isif I could figure out how to use
what happened to me to be a benefitto somebody else, then for me,
it makes all of it worth it. Mhm.And the biggest life for me is
being able to make somebody laughand smile, to inspire them,
(37:49):
mostly to inspire them enough that nomatter what they're going through,
maybe I can give them that littlebit of motivation, encouragement,
inspiration to just keep goingone more day. Yeah.
And, um, and so the way I get to dothat is through my own podcast that,
you know, started out is just aquarantine project idea, um,
(38:14):
which, you know, I mean,I started a podcast when I didn't
even know what a podcast was. Um.I, I originally had all intentions
of becoming a YouTube sensation.Um, yes.
And and I literally when we werein the, uh, in the lockdown
quarantine 2020 travel agencytook a total dive. Um, yeah.
(38:37):
I was like,time to start that YouTube channel.
And so I started ordering stuffoff of Amazon.
And then I always say I'm like, yeah,blind people have light bulb moments.
And I had my light bulb. Moment.When all of a sudden the light
bulb came on.Kev, if you don't have somebody
here to help film you,what are you going to do?
(38:57):
And I've learned it, and I've learnedan important lesson is that the
less that you can rely on others,the better off you are. Um.
So I was, of course,my dreams were were totally crushed.
And then my sister said, well,why don't you do a podcast?
And I'm like, well,what the heck is a podcast?
And, um,so that led me down this rabbit
(39:20):
hole of learning about podcasts.And I realized, oh my gosh, podcasts
are my jam. It's the world of audio.I'm like, God,
designed to be for podcasting.Yes he did. Yeah. And yeah.
And so so that's what I started,the podcast, um, uh,
that was originally all about travel,quickly turned into inspiration
(39:43):
and motivation and quickly thenbecame this amazing, um,
opportunity for me to just getto use what I've gone through,
what my guests have gone throughto be a help to others.
And so, um, through podcasting,it's led me into a public speaking.
Um, and it's just been this amazing,effortless path that all got started
(40:09):
by something out of my control.My my business be ruined.
Um, and yet I always say,I mean, sometimes I believe, um.
God kind of get sick and tiredof us not having the courage to
do it ourselves.So he's like, I'm just going to go
ahead and shut the door for you andlet you open a new one. So yes.
(40:30):
Yeah, I've definitely I've had thosenudges or sometimes it's a little bit
more like a slap in the face for me,like, all right, all right,
I hear you, I hear you, I'm doing it,I'm doing it. That's incredible.
Um, and before I, uh,we finish up and you can let people
know where to find your podcastand more inspiration from you.
Uh, I heard you say one thingjust now that I personally loved.
(40:52):
And, uh, that was, you know,just keep going one more day, like,
that's all we have to keep focused.Like, if we could just make it
through today, then, you know, wecould worry about tomorrow, tomorrow
and and just keep going through.Because sometimes I think we feel
we look too far ahead and we feeloverwhelmed by all the future.
Whatevs.But it's like,
just keep going one more day.But is there another motto or saying
(41:14):
that is personally helped you throughthe, uh, the hardest hottest days
that you've faced in your life. What?What's those, uh,
that motto that you could sharewith others for inspiration today?
Um, yeah, it's it's a motto thatI actually created, um,
right after I became blind.Um, now, ironically, um,
(41:34):
I was a kid who I, I was not a fan ofschool in any way, shape or form.
Um, and yet, for some reason,I chose a motto in the form of a
math equation. Um, yeah.So I, um, I created an equation
for myself, my own self motto.And that was faith plus family
(41:55):
equals a life worth living. Mhm.And so for myself, what that means
is, is on the darkest day when to behonest, I, I wanted to die so bad.
I wanted God to give me thecourage to kill myself so bad.
Because I knew that once I got intoheaven, I'd be able to see again.
(42:18):
And the only reason I never took it astep further than that very thought,
that that very prayer at night wastwo things my faith and my family.
Um, it was because of my familythat I knew I could not do that,
because what would that do to them?And it was through my faith that
(42:41):
I had the power to keep going.And so that is where today I
always encourage everyone tocome up with your own equation
to equal life worth living.Because the fact is that I'm
obviously not the only one who'sgone through stuff.
And I believe all of us,if you're here on this earth,
(43:02):
you've been through some reallyhard times and life is not easy.
And so I encourage everybody to tocome up with your own equation.
Maybe it's one thing. Two things.Three things. For myself.
It's my faith and family,but come up with those that I call
your base and that will equal the alife worth living and that will get
(43:24):
you through the darkest of days.I love that so much.
What's your equation to a lifeworth living?
And I love that it's personal.Like you can personalize it
directly to what it's meaningfulto you because we all do,
you know, find different thingsmeaningful and different things
that give us purpose.But getting really clear on that.
So, yeah, on the tough days whenyou want to throw in the towel,
(43:47):
you want to give up. Uh, yeah.You find that reason to keep holding
on one more day, as I was saying.So absolutely perfect way to finish
up the episode with such powerfulwords of of inspiration and purpose.
For those who want to keep theinspiration going with you, Kevin,
tell them, uh, where can we find youryour podcast and learn more about,
(44:09):
uh, your speaking, uh,events and stuff like that?
Absolutely, absolutely.Well, first and foremost,
it has been an absolute joy toget to be here to your podcast,
to speak with you, to thank you.And, um, for anybody interested.
And, uh, if you haven't heardenough from me already, um, you can
you can go check out my podcast.It is called grit,
Grace and inspiration.Um, you can easily find it on the
(44:33):
website grit, Grace, inspiration.com.And, um, I mean, there will take
you to all the different placesyou can get on my email list.
I do a weekly email called WhereGrit Meets Grace.
Uh, so we'd love to have yousign up for that.
And, um, and then if by any chanceyou're like, you know what?
I wonder if this guy would begood speaking at my organization,
(44:56):
association, business,whatever it is,
maybe you're part of a organizationthat has a conference coming up.
Um, definitely go check outKevin's speaks.org.
Um, and, uh,that will give you all the
information and to me as a speaker.So, uh, again, like I said,
if you haven't heard enough ofme already, You could go, um,
check out me for the podcast orfor speaking. Absolutely. Love it.
(45:20):
Everyone go check that out.And, Kevin, I've got, uh,
one last question to ask you about.Apparently, on the anniversary
of the day you became blind.You enjoy going Outback
Steakhouse for dinner.So tell me more about what takes
you to Outback Steakhouse onevery anniversary. You know what?
(45:40):
It didn't even hit me.No wonder you're so compelled.
It's the one thing we talkedabout that ties back to your
amazing reaction.I was like, because I find it
hilarious because that place isatrocious, trying to be Australian,
but they try so hard.Like, it's just hilarious how much
it is not Australian in my eyes,but it's kind of endearing and I
(46:01):
always I enjoy my nights there.So I think it's hilarious that,
yeah, it connects us back to theAussie part.
So tell us,what is the connection there?
You're saying just because theysay they got Aussie fries and
they talk with their fakeaccents and have kangaroos on
the wall that it's authentic.And sheilas for the girls
bathroom and stuff. It's so bad.So yeah, so that is the anniversary
(46:26):
of occasion because so I mentionedearlier that I had to check into the
hospital the day before surgery.Well, that night, um, we, you know,
we're going to get dinner.Um, Kevin does not do hospital food.
Um, and so. Don't blame. You.And so I wanted to Outback
Steakhouse.And so literally my, uh, sister went
(46:49):
out and got takeout from Outback, um,for everybody and brought it back.
And so they're in my hospitalbed and my little gown, um,
I had my outback dinner, and so.So we have made it a thing that
every anniversary, um, sometimesit's it's a big group of us.
(47:12):
Sometimes it's just a few of us andsometimes we don't even go there.
But maybe we'll grab takeout.Yeah, but we always do.
Out back on the anniversary.And, uh, a lot of people always
think it's a little bit weird.They're like, I don't understand,
why are you celebrating that?You went blind.
And I'm like, I'm like, I'm notcelebrating that. I went blind.
I'm like, that surgery saved my life.Mhm. Yeah.
(47:35):
You know, um, and um, and so it's,it's a celebration of life.
Um, the anniversaries are,are never easy. Um, yeah.
They just always bring back aflood of emotions.
But Outback just kind of ties itall together.
And it gives us this one thingthat just kind of makes it all
feel like home.And, uh, so whether it's,
(47:57):
it's fake Aussie accents or not,um. I think the flaming.
Onions are blooming onions orwhatever.
I'm like, we don't even eat onionslike that. We've never fried onions.
In our lives. Like I don't.That's not a thing like we call
shrimp prawns and like, it's just,uh. Yeah, it's it's it cracks me up.
I God love them, but. Yeah.Well, I am so glad we got to end
(48:21):
today's, uh, interview with Takiabout about Outback and how it's
not Australian at all, so.Yeah, well, who would have thought.
All those years ago that you'dbe on an Australian podcast, uh,
one day sharing that story?So it's kind of cool how things
come full, full circle.And I'm beyond grateful just for
everything you're doing in the worldbeing such an example of what is
(48:44):
possible when, yeah, you focus onwhat you you can control and you make
brave choices day in and day out.And yeah, like you said,
you're you're turning a blind spotinto breakthroughs like I love when I
saw that that tagline for you becauseyou're living an example of that.
So thank you so, so much, Kevin,and best wishes on the the journey
(49:04):
of the the speaking adventure.It's, uh, quite the journey,
but I know you'll be amazing andimpact so many people are.
I thank you so much. Hey you.Thanks so much for tuning into
the show.If you enjoyed listening along,
but you still thinking, ah, Kate,how do I actually put all of this
into practice in my own life with myown situations? I totally get it.
(49:27):
This stuff is somewhat simple intheory, but a lot hotter in practice.
Which is why I offer one on onepersonalized life coaching for women
just like you, who are ready toget unstuck and the overwhelm and
take back control of their life.That's right. I know that's you.
Let's get back to creating alife body, relationship and
(49:48):
career that you love.Visit Kate gladdin.com for more
details on how we can coach togetherand for extra inspiration in between
episodes, make sure you join me onInstagram. It's at Kate Gladdin.
Welcome to. Okay. Now what?I'm your host, Kate Gladdin.
(00:03):
Episode 34.This is a show for people who
know life doesn't happen to you.Life happens, and the impact it
has is up to you. All right.Hello. Hello beautiful people.
Welcome to another episode,which is one of my favorite kind
of episodes where I get to bringa special guest on.
(00:26):
And I'm really excited to, uh,to share this guest with you all,
because, you know, I record thispodcast because too many people
are out in the world thinking, oh,my life is the way it is because
of the things that have happenedin my life, my circumstances.
And of course, I'm recording thisshow to really reveal to you guys
that it isn't what happens to us,but how we choose to respond,
(00:49):
who we choose to be in ourcircumstances that determines our
life experience, our happiness,and really what we're able to
contribute to the world. So I.As soon as I came across this special
guest story, I absolutely wasexcited to bring him on to the show.
So without further ado,allow me to introduce to you
inspirational speaker,blind visionary, and podcast host,
(01:13):
Mr. Kevin Lowe. Welcome to the show.Well, I am excited to be here.
Thank you for having me. And uh.Oh my God, this feeling is mutual.
Uh, you know what?There's, like, love at first sight.
And even when you're blind,I think it happens. Like, love it.
First voice, I guess. Oh, yes. Yes.Well, I'm glad you're at the fan
(01:34):
of an Aussie accent.I know that got me some brownie
points with you. So, um.Yeah, 100%. Yeah.
You don't have a boring accentlike me.
But no, I, uh,I love the American accent so much.
I'm married one, so there you go.Love it. Oh, absolutely.
So, Kevin, tell us, um,you know, I mentioned in there,
(01:55):
and I don't I'm not sure if peoplecaught it, but blind visionary.
So yes, that's right.I think you touched on it just
now that you have, um,not had your sight. What is it?
For about over 20 years now sinceyou lost your sight? Yeah, correct.
So October of last year, um,was, uh, my 21st anniversary of
(02:16):
being completely blind. Wow.Okay, so as you can already hear,
guys, this guy is full of life andenergy and all things enthusiasm.
But as you heard,he's been living without his
sight for over 20 years now.So let's begin at the beginning.
It's a pretty good place to start,so take us back.
I'm guessing it was about 2003or something.
(02:36):
Then, um, when was it that, like,what happened, um, that caused you
to, uh, to lose your sight? Yeah. So.So exactly. It was a year was 2003.
Um, and at that time,I was in the start of my junior
year of high school, um,so was was almost to that, you know,
infamous senior year of high schoolthat we all look forward to.
(02:59):
Um, and, you know,at this point in my life,
you know, I say like, you know,it was it was kind of like that,
you know, scene from the movie when,like, everything was like,
perfect. Everything's going great.Um, you know, I finally had, like,
found that awesome group of,like, friends that that I really,
you know, love that we did stuff,you know, outside of school with, um.
I, uh, I always say I had my mypride and joy, uh, was my, uh, Ford
(03:24):
F-150 that I got when I turned 16.Uh, and, uh, I mean, you want to
talk about love at first sight.That was love at first sight.
Um, and, uh, and so, I mean,I had had my truck.
Um, things were going great.Um, everything was going good.
And, um, and then though I hadsome things that I'm going to call
(03:47):
medical issues, but I'm going to putmedical issues in, in quotation marks
because I don't really think thatme or my family thought of them.
Is something as a medical issue.They were just things, weird things.
The fact was, here I was I was17 years old, um, junior year of
high school, I wasn't growing.I had never gone through my
(04:09):
growth spurt.I had never gone through puberty.
Um, the pediatrician,he always just kept telling us that,
you know, I was a late bloomer.Um, you know, not.
Don't worry about it.Everything is fine.
Um, I also had migraineheadaches all the time.
I mean, from, I think the time Iwas in middle school is when the
(04:29):
migraines really started really bad,and and, I mean,
every single day I would come homefrom school with a migraine and, um,
and so it was just things like that.And so finally, um, my mom and
grandmother were the ones who kindof had enough of being told that,
you know, there was nothing toworry about and got me in with a,
(04:51):
uh, a different doctor.Just a normal, uh, family, um,
Doctor Who?He actually finally looked at the
the whole picture and he realizedthat something wasn't right.
And, um, and so that would kind ofset forth a set of dominoes to start
dropping, um, one after another.And the big one came with, um,
(05:15):
the news of an MRI result.Um, so that doctor had sent me
to a specialist.The specialist sent me for an MRI,
and the MRI came back with somethingthat none of us ever expected.
And that was the news that I hada brain tumor. Mhm.
Um, now, my mom was the one who.She was the one who got the call
(05:40):
from the doctor on a Friday evening.Um, she was actually on her way to
meet me and, um, my stepdad, um,uh, our boat that we were going
to take up to Saint Augustine,Florida. Um, so we live. Oh, gosh.
About an hour south of SaintAugustine.
And so we're going to take the boatup the intercoastal waterway up to
(06:03):
Saint Augustine for the weekend,one of my favorite trips.
And so what I didn't know, though,was that on the way to meet us, my
mom got a call from the doctor, and,um, he he asked if she was driving,
which she said yes, and to whichhe asked her to please pull over.
And, um, that's when he deliveredthe news that, um, that the results
(06:28):
came back from the MRI and that theywere worse than he ever expected.
Um, as a matter of fact, he had,um, on the other line, the, uh,
leading pediatric neurosurgeon,um, in the country, um,
for me to get scheduled becauseI had a plum sized brain tumor,
(06:50):
um, position basically right inthe center of my head.
Um, so it was it had completelyencased my pituitary gland.
Um, was in the crosshairs of theoptic nerve and had begun pressing
against my carotid artery. Oh.Now we would find out that it
(07:12):
was thankfully non-cancerous,but they literally said that
without its removal, I had it mostsix months to live. Oh my gosh.
What was because of the arterywent like it was starting to.
Yep. Yeah. Because yeah.Because of it pressing on that
carotid artery.Um, and so I remember my mom,
she waited to tell me until wegot up to Saint Augustine, and.
(07:35):
And I can remember so vividly, um,even so long ago, I can remember
me sitting down in the the hullof the boat, and I was flipping
through a dirt bike magazine,and, um, and I remember my mom,
she she came down and, and shesat down across from the little
dinette and she told me the news.And, um, I don't remember the
(08:00):
conversation, but what I remember is,going from that moment, my mind
kind of goes into snapshots and.And I can remember running,
running up the dock, um,and my flip flops, uh, running up
the dock as fast as I could allthe way to the top of the Marina.
And then the next snapshot in mymemory is me leaning with my arms on
(08:25):
the the metal railing, staring out atthis just picturesque Marina, um,
full of powerboats and sailboats, alljust underneath of the the infamous
Saint Augustine Bridge of Lyons.And, um, I remember I was so upset.
I was so just confused and lostand and I didn't even understand
(08:47):
then what was going to happen,because, I mean, it was just the
simple fact of I had a brain tumor.I mean, I never, I never thought
in a million years something likethat would be wrong with me.
I mean, yeah, you just thinkit's going to be nothing.
It's going to be just somethingstupid. Yeah, yeah.
No, that just it always happensto other people, right?
(09:07):
You kind of think,especially when you're that young.
Still too. Exactly, exactly.I mean, at that point,
I had never heard of anybodyhaving a brain tumor.
Um, and, um,and so it was it was scary.
I remember, um, I got real upsetand I remember my, I think,
I think my grandparents ended updriving up there, and I believe it
(09:30):
was them that I went home with.I ended up not staying on the
boat because I was just so upset.And, uh, so I went back home.
But, um, but from that point forward,then, um, once we met with the
the surgeon, the neurosurgeon,um, he really put all those,
like, fears and worries aside.Um, he let me know that he's like,
(09:52):
Kevin, I do these kind ofsurgeries all the time.
He he literally he's like,we'll go in. We'll remove the tumor.
Um, he said, you'll be back toschool in three weeks.
Um, everything's going to beperfectly fine.
And yeah, it's like, okay, awesome.And so because I was curious if
(10:13):
you knew yet you were going tolose your vision,
your vision in the surgery, but thatwasn't really a risk that they saw.
Um, so ironically, ironically,if you've ever had surgery before,
they have to disclose all thepossible risks involved. Okay.
Um, which I always say there's like,you know, like a certain percentile,
(10:34):
we're going to cut off your arm,even though we're messing with
your head, you know.Well, well, would you believe that?
I don't remember any of them, exceptfor the last one that he said that
there was a 1% percent. There was.There was a 1% chance of becoming
blind. 1%. Oh my gosh. Wow.It wasn't even in the equation.
(10:58):
And, um, it just it wasn't.And and so I had fun with it.
Um, me and my personality.I named my tumor Bob. Bob the tumor.
Um, very, uh, very original that Bobthe tumor. But that's a fun one.
Life's too short not to havesome fun.
Yeah, it's so literally we had agoing away Bob party, um,
(11:22):
with my family.Everybody got together for this
big celebration of and, um, in,in at school. Of course. At school.
I mean, I just told you, he said Iwas going to be out of school for
three weeks. I'm like, Hallelujah.I'm like, that's the best news
I've ever heard in my life.And, um, it's so of course,
at school I'm, you know,like last day of school telling
(11:44):
all my friends like, Sayonara,suckers. Enjoy trigonometry.
So it's so true at that age.Oh my God. Yeah.
And so, um, so that was the mindsetgoing into surgery on October 28th.
And um, and I can remember, um,I remember that morning, um,
(12:05):
so I had to check in to thehospital the day before and, um,
the morning of, um, October 28th,2003, um, the surgeon came in and
apparently I cracked some type ofjoke, asking, be sure he had eaten
his Wheaties that morning, and, um,and, um, everybody was ready to go,
(12:27):
and, um, they, uh, they wheeled meback to the operating room and,
um, you know how I say, if I knewthen what I know now, I don't know
that I could have allowed him topush me through those doors. Um.
Um, because when they push methrough those doors,
(12:50):
everything in my life would change.Um, my mom and dad,
they were the ones who walked with meback to the to the operating room.
And if I knew then that I wouldnever see them again.
I don't know that I could have everstopped staring at their faces.
Mhm. And, um, the surgery happened.Um, it was a obviously a very long,
(13:18):
intense surgery, but the,the doctor came out, he told my
family that everything went great.Um, he said they were able to get the
get the tumor out with no problems.Just everything went perfect.
And then I woke up and, um.But I woke up now.
(13:39):
Now I will preface by sayingthat going into the operating
room is where my memory stops.Well, my memory doesn't pick up
until weeks.Um, maybe month, uh,
month or so later being back home.Um, because I would, I would end up
(13:59):
remaining in the ICU for two weeks,um, with everything going wrong.
But, um,the biggest thing was when I woke up,
they realized I couldn't see, um,so I was left completely blind,
um, in both eyes.And so I say, completely blind
(14:20):
because, um, I've learned thatthere's actually a, uh, large, um,
degree of, of blindness that goesfrom people who are completely
blind to people who are whatthey call it visually impaired,
who can still see something. Yeah.Um, and a very small percentage
is completely blind.I became completely blind.
(14:42):
Um, so no shapes or shadows orlight or dark.
Just complete and utter blackness.Wow. Um.
I also lost my ability to smell.I would end up having short term
memory loss for for a solid sixmonths.
Um, my family may even joke thatI still have some today. If the.
(15:05):
If they're being jerks. Yeah.Um, and, um.
And, um, I dealt with that and thenall these other medical issues that,
again, we had no idea I would faceis the the brain tumor completely
killed off my pituitary gland.And your pituitary controls all
(15:25):
the body's hormones.And so, um, it would take a long
while trying to get medicationsfigured out to start replacing
everything, you know, that the bodywas doing at least a little bit,
um, but now not doing it all.And so getting our medicines and,
I mean, that's still a balancingact that I deal with today, and
(15:47):
we'll deal with the rest of my life.Um, but all these things were
going wrong when, again,we thought it was just a speed bump.
I literally thought this tumorwas okay.
Finally, an answer to all theseproblems, and we get rid of it,
and I get back on with life.And then October 28th happened,
(16:12):
and, um, everything changed. Wow.Oh, uh, so many, like,
twists and turns in that,in that story. And I just.
I'm curious what was because yousaid you lost, um, you know,
your memory and that for about amonth or so after your surgery.
What was that moment when itreally dawned on you, like,
(16:36):
do you remember, like, how longit was after the surgery for it
to really sink in that the lake,or when you really understood
and they told you straight out,like you're completely blind and
it won't be coming back. Um.So I love a good story and I wish
I had a good story, you know,like that one pivotal moment.
(16:56):
I don't I get the same question.I'm like, not really.
It was just lots of, like, thingscoming together, but. Yeah, but but.
What actually is the truth is,um, I had it happen every single
morning when I would wake up.Oh, yeah. Right.
Because every single night I wouldgo to bed and I would cry myself
(17:19):
to sleep, praying, begging,pleading with God to please,
please, please in this nightmareand just let me see again.
And I would beg him to pleasejust let me wake up in the
morning and be able to see again.And I would even get to a point
(17:42):
where I would just beg God,don't let me see anything else.
Just let me be able to see thefaces of my family.
I don't care about anything else.Just let me get to see them.
And every single morning I'dwake up and I'd open my eyes and
I'd see the same thing that Idid when they were closed. Wow.
(18:02):
Yeah. Oh that's hard. Yeah.Would they realization hitting
you over and over again?Um, but let me ask you this
because I've, um.Through taking a peek at your story,
there was a life changing experience,though, where you did learn kind of
how to see again in quotation marks,I guess, in a way that you never
(18:25):
would have imagined.But your prayers somewhat got
answered.Tell me more about how you do now.
See in the world. Yeah. So, um.God, God, I always say God.
I mean, as a person with with,uh, very deep faith.
Um, by faith is the only waythat I'm here today. Um, God.
(18:48):
God works in some mysterious ways.And, um.
And 14 years after losing myeyesight, um, I and I mean,
in all that time in between,I would, would get help at
different blind centers.Uh, center for the Visually impaired,
Division of Blind Services.All these teachers who would teach me
(19:09):
how to use a cane to get around,um, in all these different skills.
But I always could only,quote unquote, see,
but what my fingers touched. Mhm.Um, until 2017 and in 2017, um,
I learned about a guy namedBrian Bucci.
(19:32):
Now, at the time,Brian worked with an organization
called World Access for the blind,and they were traveling around
the world teaching blind peoplehow to see using echolocation.
Now, when I heard about this forthe first time, my mind was blown.
(19:54):
And actually,when I first heard about it,
it was by somebody who had shared aYouTube video with me of Brian Bucci.
And in the video,I didn't know anything about him
teaching other people how to do this.I just knew it was focusing on
what he could do as his blindguy who could see like a bat and
(20:15):
all this stuff and and Iremember it was so amazing.
Yet I was so upset because all Ikept thinking was, God, why?
Why can't I have that ability? Mhm.Well fast forward um,
would find out that I could, thatthis organization is teaching blind
(20:35):
people how to use that collocation.And so I, um, through this whole
series of crazy events,including setting up the first ever,
like, GoFundMe campaign to tryto to help raise money because I
was going to have to travel outto Los Angeles, California for,
um, for ten days, um, to train.And all this in the GoFundMe
(20:58):
campaign, like, raised all themoney for me in like three days,
um, through everybody's.Support. And rallying around me.
And, and it was amazing.And, um,
to go do something that we've beenled to believe is impossible.
Um, and sure enough, though, um,I went out there and don't think
(21:20):
that I went to some, like,science laboratory or something.
Literally, my my mom and sisterwould drop me off at, uh,
Brian's house every morning.And me and him,
we we would just work around hishouse and his neighborhood.
Now, Brian is just a couple ofyears older than me.
He also went blind later in life.I think he was around like 14
(21:43):
when he went blind. Mhm.Um, and so we're both very similar,
similar personalities.Um, which you know, we have become
amazing friends since then,but so we would literally be these
two blind guys walking aroundhis neighborhood as he's trying
to teach me to see what he sees.And, um, in the whole way it works
(22:04):
is by doing a click of your tongueagainst the roof of your mouth
and that little popping noise.I eventually would retrain the
brain's visual cortex tointerpret that echo into images,
and so. Is incredible. Wow.I did not realize that's how it
(22:28):
worked. So yeah. Oh my gosh.I love the human brain and the
neuroplasticity of it.I never fails to blow my mind
how we can retrain it.So it's That's incredible.
Yeah, it was mind blowing,and I remember, I remember
before I ever went out there,I remember talking to him on the
phone multiple times, and one ofthe times I asked him like, well,
how long is it actually going totake for me to be able to do this?
(22:52):
And he I remember he said,he said typically on day three
is when people have it click.Well, sure enough, sure enough,
day three on this day, insteadof me going over to his house,
he came to the Airbnb apartment wehad rented. Again, my mom and sister.
They went off to do theirtourist stuff in Los Angeles.
(23:13):
Yeah, and we had him.We're working inside the apartment
and, uh, we were working onidentifying corners of the room.
And so all of a sudden, I'm doingthis technique where I'm like, face
to face with the corner of the room,and I make the clicking noise,
and I'm listening,and I ain't saying nothing.
(23:35):
And so then I'm. I click again.Well, then all of a sudden I back up.
All of a sudden,something's coming into focus.
All of a sudden I could back upacross the room and I could see
the wall in front of me.It was like this fuzzy gray cloud in
(23:56):
front of me, and I could literallyusing the clicking technique.
I walked across the room to thatvery corner, could stop right in
front of it. I'm not using a cane.Could stop without hitting it.
I then could follow the wallthat I'm seeing.
I followed it along until all ofa sudden it was like this deep,
(24:19):
dark black opening.What was the opening into the
kitchen? Um.That moment would change my life
from that day forward.Because no longer can I only see
what I touch?Yeah,
but I've literally now retrainedthe brain to see through sound.
(24:41):
And so it is amazing as the factof it is a muscle.
So it constantly gets strongerthe more you use it,
the longer time goes by.And so today,
I can tell you that many times I'mnot even trying to activate it,
but other noises around me will.And so there are many times standing
(25:06):
in the kitchen, um, you know,maybe cooking and I'm in there and
all of a sudden, because of theway the fossa is hitting a dish
in the sink, it's literally likeall of a sudden somebody turns on
the light switch and I can lookaround and I'll be in there with
my mom or my sister cooking,and I look and I can see them.
I literally can see their entirefigure, um, standing right there.
(25:31):
Um, it's it's Absolutely amazing.Um, you know, I said that, um.
No, it's not like I used to see.And are there still days that I
still dream of seeing again?Yeah, but I tell you what, boy.
Um, to go for 14 years with nothingto now getting to see the objects
(25:56):
around me, the shapes and everything.It's absolutely life changing.
Yeah, yeah.I can't even imagine, like, just
the way that feels like it defieswhat's possible. But I don't know.
I just love when you hearstories about.
Yeah, like,if someone had told me that, like,
two truths and a lie and what'spossible with the human brain,
(26:18):
I would have been like,that's the lie that doesn't.
That's not what happens.But, um, there you are.
And just how quickly it happenedto like, neurologically,
they tend to say it takes about 63days to form new neural pathways in
your brain. Yet yours was there.Like just able to pick that up
so quickly. I, um, I love that.Is that like a common training
(26:41):
technique? Help now?Like, is it become,
like more mainstream than it wasback in 2017 to help people with
vision problems? Or.Um, it is a little bit,
but still not prevalent.Um, now, I'm not real big into a
lot of the big blind organizations,so they may have adopted it more
(27:02):
than I know of.But, um, the last time that I've,
I've ever been aware, um,it's almost like they tend to view it
like I remember back in the day,like doctors, they never believed
that chiropractors were real doctors.Like they were something. Yeah.
And it's almost like they view itlike that and alternative and.
(27:24):
Yeah. Yeah.And I'm like,
you don't understand. Yeah.What is what this is,
is life changing for somebodywho is was blind.
Um, and to me, I wish and hope thatevery blind organization that has
anything to do with training anyblind person on mobility would
(27:45):
learn how to train other blindpeople in this technique because,
um, I mean, like I said, I mean,the just the simple fact that I
can preview my environment as I'mwalking, you know, I don't have to
wait until my cane hit something.No, I can literally see the shape
of the car parked in front of me.Um, you know, I mean, I,
(28:08):
you know, walking into, you know,a public space by myself, you know,
I can literally see the the wallsor the columns or the tables,
um, you know, it's it's. Yeah.It's incredible. Yeah.
Helps you definitely navigatethe world.
Um, just with more confidence,I'm sure.
(28:29):
Like, just being able to to seethat little bit more.
And is it true that we had toanswer this for me?
This could be something that I heardjust as a kid, as a, you know,
one of those things that people say,but do your other senses,
like you mentioned,you lost your sense of smell.
So obviously not that one.But when you lose a sense,
the other senses become stronger,like you're hearing better
(28:54):
because you can't see.Does that amplify how well you hear,
or is that just a myth that Ibelieved all these years?
Yeah, no,I think I think it's 100% true.
Um, and, um, yeah, I remember my,my family, they would marvel after,
after I went blind of how much Iwould hear, um, and, and, and I mean,
(29:16):
I can remember they would,they would joke.
They're like, there's no morewhispering around Kevin.
Or, you know. Wow. That's crazy.Yeah, it's a crazy.
I just, um, you know,our human bodies are vulnerable and
fragile in so many ways, but justalso how resilient and adaptable
and flexible they can be. Uh, yeah.To to continue to be able to navigate
(29:40):
the world truly blows my mind.And so I, you know, not all of us
are facing this same challengeof blindness or a disability or
some sort of physical ailment.But we've all got things that, uh,
I guess we feel aren't possiblefor us or are holding us back.
And then I, you know, you're showingyou there's a will. There's a way.
(30:01):
Like, never stop searching for a waythrough it or to a way to improve
your abilities or your circumstances.So it's just such a powerful message
in that, um, with what you justshared. Yeah. Yeah, absolutely.
You know, and I think, I thinklike the the really cool thing
about it is it's in my situation,it is through the vulnerability
of the brain that I became blind.But it's also through the power
(30:24):
of the brain that I learned tosee again. Yeah. Yeah. That's.
Yeah. It's crazy. Yeah.Yeah I love that. So inspiring.
So not only is that inspiringthat you and you know, it was
through your own effort and hardwork to that didn't just come in,
bite you on the butt one day and say,hey, I'm going to help you see again.
Like, that's the thing.You know, you made choices.
(30:45):
You chose to step up.You chose to ask people for help,
which is so heartwarming.You know how much people come around
and you know, with the Go Fund Me andyou chose to go across the country,
you chose all these things isthrough your choices as well.
Not just the brain,but also your courage and commitment,
um, to make that happen.But I also found inspiring here,
hearing that, you know, uh, youhaven't just sat around in life and
(31:07):
going, woe is me. And I can't see.So therefore I can't do the things
that most people do with their lives.In fact, I've heard that you used to,
you know, you launched and runyour own business for many years.
So tell me a little bit about whatthat like, how did you go from being
blind to now running your own travelagency for so many years? Yeah.
(31:28):
So I, um, so the travel business was,was really kind of cool.
Um, how it came about, it was,it was very this kind of natural
progression, I guess,when I think about it.
So it all started with, um,with one of the organizations I
mentioned earlier, uh,center for the Visually Impaired.
They offered a job readiness program.And, um, so I signed up for that only
(31:52):
based on the fact that at the end,they promised to set you up with
an internship at a localbusiness of your choosing.
And so I did the three monthinternship, which I joke and say
it was kind of like blind daycare.Um. It's amazing. Yeah.
It was it was pretty elementary.Um, but, uh, but I at least made
(32:16):
some friends with some, like the,a couple of, like, really old
guys who were in there and.Uh, we. At least had a good time.
Well, at the end of that, uh,little job readiness program,
They, you know, would set you downand tried to figure out like,
well, what are you interested inand doing as a career?
And, you know,it was hard for me because, you know,
(32:37):
everything that I ever loved,um, in life ever maybe was,
was thinking about doing career wise,you know, was gone because all
of it relied on vision.Um, you know, I was somebody
very I was beginning to drawingin architecture and design, um,
and all of that.And so I really wasn't sure what the
(32:59):
world I would do, but there weretwo areas that I had interested,
and one was travel, the otherwas radio. And, um, it's so low.
Behold, they would set me upwith an internship at a local Am
radio station w ndb a m 1150.Um, listen. To you professional.
(33:22):
And, um, and so I did an internshipthere, and at the same time I did an
internship at a local travel agency,and, um, I, I fell in love with both
of them. I mean, radio was awesome.I literally they didn't have a clue
what the world even do with me.Um, they.
They,they first had me set up inside of,
(33:42):
like, a little separate audio booth,and, and I was supposed to just be,
like, researching news storiesfor them to talk about.
Well, it didn't take long before theyjust brought me into the main studio
and have me chiming in on all theconversations. Oh, that's so fun.
So. So that was cool.But the the travel agency was,
was good too, because the reason Iwas thought about being a travel
(34:04):
agent was simply because travelingwas one thing that I realized that I
always love traveling growing up.Um, and I realized that after going
blind, traveling was even moreimportant to me because no longer
could I just see the destinations onTV and to truly go and experience
it and be. There. Right? Yeah.And so I did the internship at
(34:28):
the travel agency.Both of those were great.
But at the end of the day,they didn't go anywhere.
Um, neither one wanted to tohire me or do anything with me.
And so I was kind of back to squareone when I ended up learning about
the idea of starting my own business,my own travel agency.
And so that opened in January of
(34:51):
Um, it was called Better Days Travel.And, um, I, I oh, my gosh,
it was amazing for me.Um, I got to not only build a brand,
um, to have my own business,to be an entrepreneur,
but I also at the same time,got to start interacting with,
with all these amazing people byclients booking anything from
(35:14):
honeymoons to to big group cruisesfor churches and all these different
trips. I mean, it was awesome.And, um, and so I, um,
I did that for the next seven years.Um, up until the pandemic, um,
and, uh, the pandemic of 2020,of course, that was going to be
my best year ever.Uh, turned to, like,
(35:36):
the worst year ever. And. Yeah. Yeah.And and, you know,
and then that would, you know,bring me into a whole new
chapter of my life and and whatI would start doing career wise.
But, um, you know,being a travel agent was great.
Um, it was, it was really goodfor me because it gave me purpose
every single day. Um, yeah.And that's something that I think
(35:59):
is so important is through allthis time, I mean, I'm still even,
even so many years later.Um, you know, I mean,
it was ten years later,after becoming blind, that I
started the travel business. What?Still, though, every every day,
though, is just learning to livein this new life.
(36:19):
Um, and so it was good for me tohave that to focus on.
And, um, but I never found,like, amazing success.
I mean, yeah, I would do good,but I it always just felt like I
was doing it.But in the back of my mind,
I knew it wasn't really what I wasmeant to be doing, but I had no idea
(36:41):
what else I should be doing. Yeah.And and then, you know,
the pandemic kind of made thatchoice for me. Yeah.
I feel yeah, it's kind of thetrajectory of my career too.
It's like,this is what I thought I wanted.
And then that came along and itdid make us, you know,
it was pivot points.But I think, again, it was how you
choose to respond to it is whatyou're going to create from it.
(37:03):
And I love now that you'veyou've dug deep and you have
made that career transition.And so what is it that is your
purpose now in your career that'sdriving you forward? Yeah.
So I think my whole purpose rightnow is, um, I finally Realized
that the way I could make senseout of all that happened to me.
(37:28):
All the hurt, the disappointment isif I could figure out how to use
what happened to me to be a benefitto somebody else, then for me,
it makes all of it worth it. Mhm.And the biggest life for me is
being able to make somebody laughand smile, to inspire them,
(37:49):
mostly to inspire them enough that nomatter what they're going through,
maybe I can give them that littlebit of motivation, encouragement,
inspiration to just keep goingone more day. Yeah.
And, um, and so the way I get to dothat is through my own podcast that,
you know, started out is just aquarantine project idea, um,
(38:14):
which, you know, I mean,I started a podcast when I didn't
even know what a podcast was. Um.I, I originally had all intentions
of becoming a YouTube sensation.Um, yes.
And and I literally when we werein the, uh, in the lockdown
quarantine 2020 travel agencytook a total dive. Um, yeah.
(38:37):
I was like,time to start that YouTube channel.
And so I started ordering stuffoff of Amazon.
And then I always say I'm like, yeah,blind people have light bulb moments.
And I had my light bulb. Moment.When all of a sudden the light
bulb came on.Kev, if you don't have somebody
here to help film you,what are you going to do?
(38:57):
And I've learned it, and I've learnedan important lesson is that the
less that you can rely on others,the better off you are. Um.
So I was, of course,my dreams were were totally crushed.
And then my sister said, well,why don't you do a podcast?
And I'm like, well,what the heck is a podcast?
And, um,so that led me down this rabbit
(39:20):
hole of learning about podcasts.And I realized, oh my gosh, podcasts
are my jam. It's the world of audio.I'm like, God,
designed to be for podcasting.Yes he did. Yeah. And yeah.
And so so that's what I started,the podcast, um, uh,
that was originally all about travel,quickly turned into inspiration
(39:43):
and motivation and quickly thenbecame this amazing, um,
opportunity for me to just getto use what I've gone through,
what my guests have gone throughto be a help to others.
And so, um, through podcasting,it's led me into a public speaking.
Um, and it's just been this amazing,effortless path that all got started
(40:09):
by something out of my control.My my business be ruined.
Um, and yet I always say,I mean, sometimes I believe, um.
God kind of get sick and tiredof us not having the courage to
do it ourselves.So he's like, I'm just going to go
ahead and shut the door for you andlet you open a new one. So yes.
(40:30):
Yeah, I've definitely I've had thosenudges or sometimes it's a little bit
more like a slap in the face for me,like, all right, all right,
I hear you, I hear you, I'm doing it,I'm doing it. That's incredible.
Um, and before I, uh,we finish up and you can let people
know where to find your podcastand more inspiration from you.
Uh, I heard you say one thingjust now that I personally loved.
(40:52):
And, uh, that was, you know,just keep going one more day, like,
that's all we have to keep focused.Like, if we could just make it
through today, then, you know, wecould worry about tomorrow, tomorrow
and and just keep going through.Because sometimes I think we feel
we look too far ahead and we feeloverwhelmed by all the future.
Whatevs.But it's like,
just keep going one more day.But is there another motto or saying
(41:14):
that is personally helped you throughthe, uh, the hardest hottest days
that you've faced in your life. What?What's those, uh,
that motto that you could sharewith others for inspiration today?
Um, yeah, it's it's a motto thatI actually created, um,
right after I became blind.Um, now, ironically, um,
(41:34):
I was a kid who I, I was not a fan ofschool in any way, shape or form.
Um, and yet, for some reason,I chose a motto in the form of a
math equation. Um, yeah.So I, um, I created an equation
for myself, my own self motto.And that was faith plus family
(41:55):
equals a life worth living. Mhm.And so for myself, what that means
is, is on the darkest day when to behonest, I, I wanted to die so bad.
I wanted God to give me thecourage to kill myself so bad.
Because I knew that once I got intoheaven, I'd be able to see again.
(42:18):
And the only reason I never took it astep further than that very thought,
that that very prayer at night wastwo things my faith and my family.
Um, it was because of my familythat I knew I could not do that,
because what would that do to them?And it was through my faith that
(42:41):
I had the power to keep going.And so that is where today I
always encourage everyone tocome up with your own equation
to equal life worth living.Because the fact is that I'm
obviously not the only one who'sgone through stuff.
And I believe all of us,if you're here on this earth,
(43:02):
you've been through some reallyhard times and life is not easy.
And so I encourage everybody to tocome up with your own equation.
Maybe it's one thing. Two things.Three things. For myself.
It's my faith and family,but come up with those that I call
your base and that will equal the alife worth living and that will get
(43:24):
you through the darkest of days.I love that so much.
What's your equation to a lifeworth living?
And I love that it's personal.Like you can personalize it
directly to what it's meaningfulto you because we all do,
you know, find different thingsmeaningful and different things
that give us purpose.But getting really clear on that.
So, yeah, on the tough days whenyou want to throw in the towel,
(43:47):
you want to give up. Uh, yeah.You find that reason to keep holding
on one more day, as I was saying.So absolutely perfect way to finish
up the episode with such powerfulwords of of inspiration and purpose.
For those who want to keep theinspiration going with you, Kevin,
tell them, uh, where can we find youryour podcast and learn more about,
(44:09):
uh, your speaking, uh,events and stuff like that?
Absolutely, absolutely.Well, first and foremost,
it has been an absolute joy toget to be here to your podcast,
to speak with you, to thank you.And, um, for anybody interested.
And, uh, if you haven't heardenough from me already, um, you can
you can go check out my podcast.It is called grit,
Grace and inspiration.Um, you can easily find it on the
(44:33):
website grit, Grace, inspiration.com.And, um, I mean, there will take
you to all the different placesyou can get on my email list.
I do a weekly email called WhereGrit Meets Grace.
Uh, so we'd love to have yousign up for that.
And, um, and then if by any chanceyou're like, you know what?
I wonder if this guy would begood speaking at my organization,
(44:56):
association, business,whatever it is,
maybe you're part of a organizationthat has a conference coming up.
Um, definitely go check outKevin's speaks.org.
Um, and, uh,that will give you all the
information and to me as a speaker.So, uh, again, like I said,
if you haven't heard enough ofme already, You could go, um,
check out me for the podcast orfor speaking. Absolutely. Love it.
(45:20):
Everyone go check that out.And, Kevin, I've got, uh,
one last question to ask you about.Apparently, on the anniversary
of the day you became blind.You enjoy going Outback
Steakhouse for dinner.So tell me more about what takes
you to Outback Steakhouse onevery anniversary. You know what?
(45:40):
It didn't even hit me.No wonder you're so compelled.
It's the one thing we talkedabout that ties back to your
amazing reaction.I was like, because I find it
hilarious because that place isatrocious, trying to be Australian,
but they try so hard.Like, it's just hilarious how much
it is not Australian in my eyes,but it's kind of endearing and I
(46:01):
always I enjoy my nights there.So I think it's hilarious that,
yeah, it connects us back to theAussie part.
So tell us,what is the connection there?
You're saying just because theysay they got Aussie fries and
they talk with their fakeaccents and have kangaroos on
the wall that it's authentic.And sheilas for the girls
bathroom and stuff. It's so bad.So yeah, so that is the anniversary
(46:26):
of occasion because so I mentionedearlier that I had to check into the
hospital the day before surgery.Well, that night, um, we, you know,
we're going to get dinner.Um, Kevin does not do hospital food.
Um, and so. Don't blame. You.And so I wanted to Outback
Steakhouse.And so literally my, uh, sister went
(46:49):
out and got takeout from Outback, um,for everybody and brought it back.
And so they're in my hospitalbed and my little gown, um,
I had my outback dinner, and so.So we have made it a thing that
every anniversary, um, sometimesit's it's a big group of us.
(47:12):
Sometimes it's just a few of us andsometimes we don't even go there.
But maybe we'll grab takeout.Yeah, but we always do.
Out back on the anniversary.And, uh, a lot of people always
think it's a little bit weird.They're like, I don't understand,
why are you celebrating that?You went blind.
And I'm like, I'm like, I'm notcelebrating that. I went blind.
I'm like, that surgery saved my life.Mhm. Yeah.
(47:35):
You know, um, and um, and so it's,it's a celebration of life.
Um, the anniversaries are,are never easy. Um, yeah.
They just always bring back aflood of emotions.
But Outback just kind of ties itall together.
And it gives us this one thingthat just kind of makes it all
feel like home.And, uh, so whether it's,
(47:57):
it's fake Aussie accents or not,um. I think the flaming.
Onions are blooming onions orwhatever.
I'm like, we don't even eat onionslike that. We've never fried onions.
In our lives. Like I don't.That's not a thing like we call
shrimp prawns and like, it's just,uh. Yeah, it's it's it cracks me up.
I God love them, but. Yeah.Well, I am so glad we got to end
(48:21):
today's, uh, interview with Takiabout about Outback and how it's
not Australian at all, so.Yeah, well, who would have thought.
All those years ago that you'dbe on an Australian podcast, uh,
one day sharing that story?So it's kind of cool how things
come full, full circle.And I'm beyond grateful just for
everything you're doing in the worldbeing such an example of what is
(48:44):
possible when, yeah, you focus onwhat you you can control and you make
brave choices day in and day out.And yeah, like you said,
you're you're turning a blind spotinto breakthroughs like I love when I
saw that that tagline for you becauseyou're living an example of that.
So thank you so, so much, Kevin,and best wishes on the the journey
(49:04):
of the the speaking adventure.It's, uh, quite the journey,
but I know you'll be amazing andimpact so many people are.
I thank you so much. Hey you.Thanks so much for tuning into
the show.If you enjoyed listening along,
but you still thinking, ah, Kate,how do I actually put all of this
into practice in my own life with myown situations? I totally get it.
(49:27):
This stuff is somewhat simple intheory, but a lot hotter in practice.
Which is why I offer one on onepersonalized life coaching for women
just like you, who are ready toget unstuck and the overwhelm and
take back control of their life.That's right. I know that's you.
Let's get back to creating alife body, relationship and
(49:48):
career that you love.Visit Kate gladdin.com for more
details on how we can coach togetherand for extra inspiration in between
episodes, make sure you join me onInstagram. It's at Kate Gladdin.
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