Show Transcript

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Kevin Lowe: Is there any chance that by you clicking play on today's episode,

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Kevin Lowe: you might be feeling weighed down by the challenges of life?

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Kevin Lowe: Maybe you're really just looking for some inspiration to keep you moving forward,

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Kevin Lowe: because to be quite honest, you're kind of over it.

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Kevin Lowe: Well, today, my friend, we're going to draw inspiration from Andy Berger,

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Kevin Lowe: a guy who turned profound loss into a purposeful life.

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Kevin Lowe: He created a nonprofit organization named after his sister. It's called Jody's Climb for Hope.

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Kevin Lowe: And through what I learned from Andy, we're going to learn the power in doing for others,

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Kevin Lowe: in living for something bigger than ourselves, and how even just writing a name

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Kevin Lowe: on a water bottle, how it can all fuel us to overcome any mountain that life may put in our path.

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Kevin Lowe: Today, my friend, is episode 365.

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Kevin Lowe: Today is the day that we have you overcoming those mountains,

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Kevin Lowe: all thanks to the lessons learned from Andy Berger.

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Kevin Lowe: Hey, I'm your host, Kevin Lowe, and you are listening to Grit,

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Kevin Lowe: Grace, and Inspiration.

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Kevin Lowe: After I finished sitting down and interviewing Andrew Berger,

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Kevin Lowe: who I introduced to you in our previous episode, that would have been episode

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Kevin Lowe: 364, I couldn't get this theme out of my head, this idea of living for something bigger than ourselves.

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Kevin Lowe: If you heard his story, you will know that throughout his life,

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Kevin Lowe: he suffered unimaginable loss.

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Kevin Lowe: We went into it all in depth, but just as an overview, at a very young age, he lost his mother.

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Kevin Lowe: Later, he would lose his father. And up until his sister turned 44, he had her.

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Kevin Lowe: He had Jodi. And then, tragically, due to cancer, he would lose Jodi as well.

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Kevin Lowe: Now, luckily, Andy, he would find the love of his life, and they would get married.

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Kevin Lowe: Now, unfortunately, what they didn't know was just a short time later,

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Kevin Lowe: his wife would be diagnosed with MS.

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Kevin Lowe: And what I found so compelling, so amazing, so inspiring about Andy was that

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Kevin Lowe: even through all of this, what did he think to do?

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Kevin Lowe: He thought of ways of giving back, of doing something bigger,

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Kevin Lowe: creating something bigger than him, bigger than any of them,

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Kevin Lowe: something that could help others, that could leave an impact on the world.

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Kevin Lowe: And that's when he created Jody's Climb for Hope.

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Kevin Lowe: What I hope you take away from his story is that our greatest hardships can

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Kevin Lowe: also become our greatest source of inspiration and purpose.

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Kevin Lowe: Now, I know sometimes that can be easier said than done. It depends on who you are.

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Kevin Lowe: It depends where you are at in this chapter of life.

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Kevin Lowe: Obviously, if you are hurting, if you are sad, let yourself be sad. It's okay.

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Kevin Lowe: But at some point, maybe you feel like Andy and you feel like, I need to do something.

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Kevin Lowe: What a way to keep the memory of his sister alive.

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Kevin Lowe: Then by attaching her name to a fund like Jodi's Climb for Hope,

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Kevin Lowe: an organization that has raised millions of dollars for medical research.

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Kevin Lowe: It's absolutely incredible.

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Kevin Lowe: Now, obviously, sometimes when we all think about this idea of living for something

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Kevin Lowe: greater, doing something big like this, it all sounds great.

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Kevin Lowe: But then, of course, we get caught up in the everyday shuffle of life.

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Kevin Lowe: We get caught up in all the rough stuff, the hard things we're dealing with.

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Kevin Lowe: And so often it can foreshadow anything that we maybe we've dreamed about or we've planned.

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Kevin Lowe: But what Andy taught us is that true resilience, it's not just about bouncing

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Kevin Lowe: back, but rather it's about pushing forward.

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Kevin Lowe: The only way that any of us are going to climb to the top of the mountain is one step at a time.

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Kevin Lowe: And when we conquer that mountain with a purpose, well, then my friend,

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Kevin Lowe: it gives it a whole new meaning.

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Kevin Lowe: So whether it's you supporting a loved one, fighting for a cause you believe

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Kevin Lowe: in, whatever it is, it's something bigger than you. It's bigger than any of us.

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Kevin Lowe: When we have something bigger that we're fighting for, it gives us a whole new

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Kevin Lowe: reason to wake up in the morning.

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Kevin Lowe: We have something that we're fighting for, that we're passionate about.

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Kevin Lowe: It's a purpose-driven life.

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Kevin Lowe: Just imagine, my friend, imagine

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Kevin Lowe: getting to wake up in the morning with a fire burning in your soul.

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Kevin Lowe: It's like a fuel that you've been given overnight.

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Kevin Lowe: So excited to get to do what you're doing that day.

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Kevin Lowe: Now, yeah, maybe you're still living your normal life, but you also now have

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Kevin Lowe: this new passion, this new purpose for living.

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Kevin Lowe: And as I said, that's exactly what Andy did. He created this organization that

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Kevin Lowe: not only shares the memory of his sister, but it leaves an impact on the world.

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Kevin Lowe: Now, one story that Andy shared during our interview, which,

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Kevin Lowe: again, if you haven't heard his interview yet, please do yourself a favor and

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Kevin Lowe: go back and check out episode 364.

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Kevin Lowe: It is definitely one that you want to hear. But he told one particular story

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Kevin Lowe: that really caught my attention.

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Kevin Lowe: He was coming down off of, I believe, Mount Whitney. He was totally spent, exhausted, so tired.

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Kevin Lowe: And it's always he explained on the way down where most accidents happen.

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Kevin Lowe: And being extremely exhausted and tired, that didn't make things any easier or safer.

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Kevin Lowe: And even at points when he felt like he had nothing else to give,

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Kevin Lowe: he didn't give up. he kept pushing forward.

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Kevin Lowe: Why? Because he wrote his children's names on the two water bottles he carried.

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Kevin Lowe: And every time that he would pick one arm up to take a drink, he would see their name.

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Kevin Lowe: And that, my friend, is what gave him the inspiration, the purpose,

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Kevin Lowe: the drive to get down from that mountain safe.

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Kevin Lowe: Was that he had those reminders written there on the water bottle of a reason

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Kevin Lowe: why It was his purpose, his driving force of why he had to get back down that

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Kevin Lowe: mountain safely so that he can get back to his children.

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Kevin Lowe: What this illustrates is that when you have something or someone worth fighting

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Kevin Lowe: for, it can push you far beyond what you ever can imagine you could be capable of.

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Kevin Lowe: This idea of living for something bigger, it's not just a catchphrase.

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Kevin Lowe: It's not just a cool quote.

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Kevin Lowe: It's not just something cute to put on a t-shirt.

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Kevin Lowe: No, it's more than that.

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Kevin Lowe: It's about this idea of taking ourselves out of the equation.

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Kevin Lowe: So many times we get so focused on us, how we feel, what we want,

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Kevin Lowe: what we don't like, what made us upset today.

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Kevin Lowe: Instead, we switch the focus to a bigger picture. My friend,

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Kevin Lowe: I'm here to tell you that when you have something bigger you're fighting for,

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Kevin Lowe: something bigger than any of us that you're living for,

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Kevin Lowe: all the other little stuff that you deal with day to day just seems insignificant

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Kevin Lowe: because you have a bigger mission at hand, something bigger than any of the little things going on.

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Kevin Lowe: That, my friend, honestly, what a life to live, a purpose-driven life.

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Kevin Lowe: Now, one thing that I want to make clear is, yeah, Andy, he's climbing mountains,

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Kevin Lowe: taking groups, climbing mountains.

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Kevin Lowe: But it doesn't have to be such a grand gesture. You don't have to create an

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Kevin Lowe: entire nonprofit organization in the name of someone.

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Kevin Lowe: It doesn't have to be big like that at all.

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Kevin Lowe: Because this is just as important in the small everyday actions that you take.

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Kevin Lowe: It's found in the everyday acts of kindness.

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Kevin Lowe: Of you just being a good person, helping out those around you,

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Kevin Lowe: saying hello to your neighbor, smiling, bringing their trash can up,

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Kevin Lowe: grabbing the mail for them.

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Kevin Lowe: It's the little acts of kindness we do that can make an impact on the world.

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Kevin Lowe: And I think the biggest thing here is to realize that you matter.

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Kevin Lowe: You can make a difference in this world. Each and every day that you wake up,

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Kevin Lowe: my friend, is a new opportunity for you to leave your mark on the world.

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Kevin Lowe: Just one person at a time.

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Kevin Lowe: You don't have to be on TV. You don't have to make the news.

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Kevin Lowe: All you have to do is just show up, giving it your best, being sure that you're

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Kevin Lowe: showing up in service of others.

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Kevin Lowe: You want to help somebody else out. And in turn, my friend, it creates this

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Kevin Lowe: amazing feedback loop, this positive feedback loop, where the more you do for

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Kevin Lowe: others, the more you fight for something bigger, the better you're going to feel in return.

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Kevin Lowe: So the whole point in today's episode is to just get you thinking a little bit bigger.

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Kevin Lowe: Bigger than you or me or anything else. Something big.

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Kevin Lowe: Andy created Jody's Climb for Hope. An organization, as I said,

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Kevin Lowe: that's raised millions for medical research.

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Kevin Lowe: But what is it for you? What are you living for?

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Kevin Lowe: What is it that gets you out of bed in the morning with a smile on your face

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Kevin Lowe: and a determination to conquer whatever mountains are in your way because you

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Kevin Lowe: have this purpose you're fighting for.

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Kevin Lowe: If you don't know what that is or you don't have it, well, my friend,

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Kevin Lowe: I hope today's episode gives you the inspiration to find it,

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Kevin Lowe: to figure out maybe exactly what that is.

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Kevin Lowe: And of course, I remind you, if you didn't listen to my interview with Andy

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Kevin Lowe: Berger, please do yourself a favor and go back and listen to it.

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Kevin Lowe: His story about him, what he's gone through, and more importantly,

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Kevin Lowe: what he's overcome is absolutely awe-inspiring. I know it changed my life,

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Kevin Lowe: and I can only hope that it can change your life as well.

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Kevin Lowe: So with that, my friend, remember, we all serve a purpose in this life.

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Kevin Lowe: It's just up to us to fulfill it.

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Kevin Lowe: So get out there and enjoy the day. Make a difference. Live for something bigger.

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Kevin Lowe: And hey, if you know you're tackling a big mountain, don't forget to write a

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Kevin Lowe: name on a water bottle to give you a reason to get down from that mountain.

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Kevin Lowe: Until next time, I'm your host, Kevin Lowe. And this, of course,

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Kevin Lowe: was another episode of Grit, Grace, and Inspiration.

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Kevin Lowe: If anything said today inspired you, made you think of someone,

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Kevin Lowe: please share today's episode with them.

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Kevin Lowe: Share it on Facebook, Instagram, social media.

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Kevin Lowe: Tell your friends about it. Maybe you know somebody or a group of people who

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Kevin Lowe: need to hear today's message.

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Kevin Lowe: It would mean the world to me to have you share it with them.

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Kevin Lowe: And with that, I'm out of here. You have an awesome day. And I will see you in our next...

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