Overcoming Adversity When Healing Feels Impossible: Kevin Lowe's Story (Bonus)

And that's why I want to share it with you.

So today, my friend, I'm sharing with you my interview on the Blue Sky podcast hosted by Bill Burke.

The whole hope is that maybe it can just give you a little bit of inspiration if you're struggling, can give you a little bit of hope on your darkest day, and ultimately can remind you that if life isn't quite so sunshiny, sometimes we just have to remember to look up, to get our head above the clouds, because there's always blue sky above.

SPEAKER_02: From the studios of the Optimism Institute, welcome to Blue Sky, where we share stories and insights to remind us that there is always blue sky above.

Sometimes you just have to get your head above the clouds to see it.

I'm your host, Bill Burke.

This Blue Sky episode is a special one in many ways.

Our guest, as you'll soon learn, is as remarkable as they come.

And his story is uniquely inspiring.

And for the first time ever, we'll be including a musical surprise, courtesy of our guest, at the end of the show before we close.

How's that for a teaser?

Who is this guest, you ask?

His name is Kevin Lowe, and as you'll soon hear, he's someone who has endured some of life's toughest challenges, the most extreme being losing his eyesight at the age of 17.

But he's managed to emerge with an optimistic and hopeful vision for his life and is using various platforms from coaching to podcasting to public speaking and more to spread his goodwill and infectious inspiration.

I hope you enjoy this Blue Sky conversation with Kevin Lowe as much as I did.

Kevin Lowe, welcome to the Blue Sky Podcast.

Oh man, thank you so much.

SPEAKER_00: I'm excited to be here.

SPEAKER_02: It's great to have you on.

You have a remarkable story.

You're an incredible inspiration, and we will get to some of the ways you inspire people.

Let's start, if we could, uh, with your early childhood.

Where'd you grow up?

Big family, small family, two parents.

What was your upbringing?

SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so so I was I was blessed to grow up um back in like the 80s and 90s um in East Central Florida.

Um so, so grew up in the town of Ormond Beach, right next to the more well-known neighbor of uh Daytona Beach.

And um, and so, you know, I say that now I realize how blessed I was to grow up in a childhood where we didn't have cell phones.

Um, and we we computers were were not really a thing.

And um, you know, and and so childhood was was really good.

Um, it was growing up outside, um, always playing outside with, especially with with my best friend, which was my my cousin Josh, who he was five years older than me.

He was the same age as my sister.

And um, and we were best friends, and I mean we we lived out outside of the city, and so we, you know, were always on the back of dirt bikes and three-wheelers and uh playing war.

Uh, you know, it was always me and Josh versus my sister Tiffany and and Josh's uh sister Jessica, um, you know, where we had tree forts built in the woods, and you know, and so that was that was childhood.

Um, you know, a big part of my childhood was dirt bikes.

Um, that that was something that I did with my dad.

And that was probably the one thing that kind of stayed consistent throughout my childhood, um, was dirt bikes through all the the different seasons of wanting to try different things.

Um, always came back to to dirt bikes.

And so me and my dad, we we rode dirt bikes.

We would go to a state park in uh in Brooksville, Florida called Croom.

And it literally that was second home for us.

It was like a 2,000-acre state park for nothing but dirt bikes and four-wheelers.

SPEAKER_02: Oh my gosh.

SPEAKER_00: So it was you and an older sister?

Um, yep, yep.

Me and my older sister.

And then, you know, for the dirt bikes and stuff, that was me and my dad.

It was basically the four.

So um, you know, my mom and dad, me and my older sister, um, and and grew up.

Now my parents, they got divorced when I think I was in second grade.

They they would end up getting divorced.

And so, you know, life would kind of take a little different direction.

Um, but uh, but still family, I mean, family was everything.

Families can stayed everything for me into my adulthood.

Um, especially, you know, around like my grandparents, um, my my nana, uh, especially my nana.

I mean, she she would later in in life literally go from being my grandmother to becoming one of my best friends, um, which is just awesome.

SPEAKER_02: So, so your life changed dramatically, uh, sort of mid-late teenage years.

You developed a tumor that needed to be removed.

And can you just walk us through what that was all about and then the really difficult, shocking, some ways tragic outcome of that procedure?

SPEAKER_00: Yeah, definitely.

So this was later in childhood.

So I was in my junior year of high school um and had just turned 17 years old, and we finally found out the the cause of some of these health issues I was having.

Um, and I'll put health issues in in quotes because I don't know that we really thought of them as issues.

They were just things that were off that we that my mom was never getting an answer on.

Kind of like, why was I not growing?

Why had I not gone through puberty?

Why did I have migraine headaches every day of my life?

And um the the result to those questions would come with the result of an MRI.

And the MRI would come back and show that I had a plum-sized brain tumor, um, basically right in the center of my head.

Um thank goodness it was non-cancerous.

Um, but literally they said that if this tumor hadn't been found, they said I would have been dead in six months.

Oh, wow.

And and it literally was something that was probably with me from the very beginning, um, constantly growing um all through my childhood.

And um, and so yeah, so as traumatic as it sounds, though, um, you know, luckily an hour away was, you know, Orlando, Florida.

We had the leading pediatric neurosurgeon, and he assured us everything was gonna be perfectly fine.

He said, listen, we'll go in, we'll remove the tumor.

Um, it was gonna be a big surgery.

They would have to literally cut basically like kind of remove that front quadrant of the skull and go in and basically lift up the brain um and grab out this tumor because the tumor was positioned so it was right in the center of my head.

So it had completely encased my pituitary gland.

It was in the crosshairs of the optic nerve and was now pressing on against the carotid artery.

Wow.

Yeah.

And um, but again, everything was gonna be cool.

Uh, you know, I mean, it sounded scary, but the doctor was like, listen, he's like, it's no big deal.

He's like, you'll be out of school for about three weeks.

Um, the worst news to me was he said I had to stay off of my my new four-wheeler that I just got for my 17th birthday.

He said I had to stay off of it for like six months.

And I remember thinking that was totally ridiculous.

But um, but uh, but you know, for me, man, it was like hallelujah.

SPEAKER_02: I was yeah, right.

SPEAKER_00: I was a junior in high school, I was in the middle of trigonometry with, and I was like, man, I I can remember going back to school and telling all my buddies, like, guys, see you later, suckers.

Like, I'm out of here.

And like, I'll see you guys in about a month.

And uh, and and so that was the mindset going into October 28th, 2003.

SPEAKER_02: And that was a day you have the surgery, you're coming, and even when they say everything's gonna be fine.

I mean, surgery can be traumatic, it's a big deal to get put under, and you come out of it and you have no eyesight.

SPEAKER_00: Correct, correct.

Um, so basically, the surgeon comes out after very long surgery, tells my family, and and I mean, I had I had my entire family there from both my mom's side of the family, my dad's side of the family, everyone was there.

Um, I mean, we're talking probably somewhere around 30 people or so were there.

And um, the doctor came out and let them know that everything went great.

Surgery was a total success.

Tumor was removed.

Um and and that's what we we thought, what they thought.

And then um, kind of, you know, fast-forwarding um when I finally started waking up, my mom was in the room with the uh the nurse at the time.

And um apparently I kept yanking off one of those little pulse ox machines that they put on your finger.

Um, well, apparently the the nurse was trying to get my attention and trying to to convince me to stop pulling off the pulse ox.

And and so he he pointed to the pulse socks apparently and and he said, Um, Kevin, do you see this?

Like, I need you to know stop pulling this off.

Do you see this this red light?

And my mom said that I I said, No, I I don't see anything.

And it was at that moment that he looked at my mom, and my mom looked at him, and he walked over and he turned the light switch on and off, on and off, and he's like, Kevin, do you do you see this light?

And my mom said I just kept saying, no, it's just it's just dark, it's just gray.

And so, so yeah, so I I was left completely blind um in both eyes.

Um, so no light perception, no shape, shadows, nothing.

Um we would find that I also would lose my ability to smell.

Um, I would end up having short-term memory loss for a good solid like six months.

And then also um the brain tumor completely killed off my pituitary gland, which controls all of the body's hormones.

And so um I can tell you today, all these many years later, um, that condition is honestly more of a disability than even the blindness.

Um, and that is because, you know, I have to try to control all the stuff that the body should do naturally.

I have to do with medications, which I say, thank goodness we have them.

They keep me alive, but they are a very poor alternative to what the body should do naturally.

SPEAKER_02: Incredible.

It's hard to imagine what it would be like to experience what Kevin did following the removal of his tumor.

His young life had certainly included some hardships from his parents' divorce when he was young and the health challenges that led his mother to have him checked out.

But nothing could prepare him for coming out of surgery with complete loss of his sight.

Kevin would go on to experience some extreme sadness, depression, and doubt before becoming the person he is today.

And for more on that, let's get back to our conversation.

You have such lightness in your voice and such positivity and enthusiasm, but I'm sure that you didn't snap right to that after this awful thing happened to you.

Can you can you I think all of us hearing your story would say, oh my God, what the heck would I do if I'm 17 years old and I come out of surgery and all these things have happened to me?

And I know it was not a uh you know a finger snap change for you.

It took time.

How did you get from that awful situation and persevere into the person you are today?

SPEAKER_00: You know, it was a it was exactly what you said, it was a process, and there was a very long process of grieving, of disbelief, um, although wrapped around though constantly moving forward.

Um because I um well it it was extremely difficult.

Going blind, going blind was was and is to me, for me, what I've known in life so far, the closest thing to being trapped in in uh in hell and not being able to escape.

Um I always say that it's literally like being trapped in a nightmare and you can't wake up from it.

And every night I would go to bed begging, pleading with God just to let me wake up and see again.

I could would literally just cry myself to sleep every single night, just begging God.

And yeah, every morning I'd wake up and I'd open my eyes and I'd see the same thing that I did when they were closed.

And um it was horrible.

It was absolutely horrible because of the simple fact that everything I ever knew, ever loved, was taken from me.

I had I had a truck, it was a big, beautiful forest green Ford F-150, um, big mud tires.

Uh I got it when I turned 16.

I loved that truck sitting in the driveway.

Four-wheeler I just got when I turned 17 the month before.

All of this, this entire life, this entire childhood was built around the ability for me to see.

And it was now all taken from me.

The way that I got through was two things, and it's still the two things that get me through life today, and that is my faith and my family.

Um, and and I say that there were so many nights um in those early, early years when I would literally just pray that God would give me the courage to kill myself, because I knew if I could just go to heaven, all the pain would be gone.

And you know what though?

It never went further than that prayer sobbing into my pillow because every time as I'd be praying, I would think back to my family.

And I would think, I can't do that to them.

And and I say, so literally, I am here today because of my faith in my family.

SPEAKER_02: Amazing.

And I'm sure for your family, I mean, I I am a parent, and when any parent will tell you, when your children struggle with anything, and mine, uh thankfully have never gone through anything as severe as what you have, it's really hard.

In some ways, some people compare it to it's one thing to play a sport, it's that much harder to watch your child do it.

And you're and you're, you know, it's it's it's so I can only imagine how hard this was for your parents, but somehow they hung in there with you and your family hung in there with you.

When did you start thinking about, okay, this is the hand I've been dealt.

Here's what here's how I'm gonna play it, here's what I'm gonna do, here's how I'm gonna contribute.

When did that happen?

And then so I know you were into travel agency business for a while.

Can you sort of explain how you said, okay, here's what I've got, here's what I'm gonna do.

SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so that would come way later.

Um, honestly, it was probably the better part of about 10 years before I finally came to a point where I was finally really and ready to move on with life, even if I couldn't see.

Um, there were building blocks all along that way that that helped me get to that point.

One of the biggest that I would love to just mention is the fact that um, you know, that this happened at the beginning of my junior year of high school.

Um, I never returned to school the rest of my junior year.

Um I ended up having uh a program called Hospital Homebound, where we had uh teachers would come to my house and I had a teacher who taught me school subjects, another teacher who started teaching me what I called blind stuff, like how to read Braille.

And and how to use a talking computer and stuff like that.

Um but uh it was funny though, because I was a kid who who hated school.

Like I said, the the the coolest thing about having a brain tumor was it meant I gotta get out of school for a bit.

Um but what was ironic then was the fact that from the very beginning I just kept saying that I had this goal that I just still want to be able to graduate with my class.

And um it was something that secretly my family didn't think would would probably happen.

But sure enough, um I would catch up with my schoolwork.

I would I would heal enough physically that I made it back to school for the start of my senior year.

Um, I went back just uh for one class a day.

Um, we we were on a block schedule, so we had four classes a day.

I went back for one class a day, and then I did the rest back at home with those same same teachers.

And ultimately I walked across the stage of my high school graduation.

SPEAKER_02: Oh the place must have gone bonkers, I imagine.

That had to be a highlight of your high school graduation.

I just sat through some high school graduations, nothing quite that inspiring has happened at any to date.

SPEAKER_00: That's it had to be incredible.

It it it really was, and and and so that at the time I didn't realize it, but but I looked back now and I realized that that moment was pivotal for a couple of reasons.

And one of the biggest reasons was I believe that it was God who instilled that goal in me because God wanted to show me right off the bat that even in this new life, you are still capable of achieving great things.

And that is what happened.

And so after graduation, um, I dabbled in in all kinds of things from going to uh blind services, from Division of Blind Services to the Center for the Visually Impaired, some amazing organizations that that I am grateful that were literally right in the city where where I live.

Um, I mean, there's people who travel from all over the country to come here.

And I had it in my own backyard, didn't even know it.

And um, and so I started working with them.

Um, and as the years passed, um, I would end up getting into a program that would would really kind of be the the catapult to to launch me into a new chapter of life.

And and that was a program that set me up with uh an internship um at business of my choosing, whatever I was interested in.

And so two things that I was interested in was travel and radio.

And so I ended up doing a uh six-month internship at a local travel agency, and then at the same time I did a six-month internship at a local AM radio station.

And um I absolutely loved the radio deal.

I mean, that was the coolest thing in the world.

I worked on the morning drive, and so it was an AM talk radio, and so I literally would go Monday, Monday, Wednesday, Friday, 6 a.m.

to 9 a.m.

and sat in the studio with the other hosts and and our guests and and gotten to participate in in that whole thing.

And so that was amazing.

Um, but that ended and it didn't go anywhere.

And the the travel agency thing that I was doing, interning at that travel agency, amazing people, but again, internship ends and it didn't go anywhere.

And so I was back to square one.

And um, and that's when I um started my own business.

So I I opened my own home based travel agency um that was called Better Days Travel.

And um, and it was around this time um in my life.

That the pivotal thing happened for me.

It was around that 10-year mark.

And I was listening to an audiobook.

And I remember one specific thing at the very end of this audiobook.

And it was actually an audiobook about the blind adventure athlete Eric Weinemeyer.

And he's famous for summoning Mount Everest.

Well, this particular book was about him kayaking the Grand Canyon.

And at the end of the book, it was actually the guide who had guided him down the river.

There was a part of the book, and this guide had was waiting, everybody was waiting on him for them to pack up, to leave.

They'd been on this however long, week-long journey down the Grand Canyon.

And this guide, he had walked out into the water by himself, and he stood in the middle of the water, and he faced upstream and he he had his arms outstretched and his fingers slayed.

And he let the current the water was just running through his fingers.

And he said something that completely changed my life.

In the book, he said, I'll come back someday, but for now I got more life to live.

For me, I heard that, and I remember rewinding it and listening to it again because I realized right then that I didn't have to give up on my dream of seeing again.

But right now I got more life to live.

Not until I'm in heaven.

But that's okay because I got more life to live.

And it and that was that was one of the most pivotal moments, mindset-wise, um, that really helped me tremendously.

SPEAKER_02: He begged God to let him see again and later even prayed for the strength to take his own life.

But in the end, he decided he couldn't do that to his family.

His early and ambitious goal to graduate with his classmates was key, and in the spirit of Fred Rogers' look for the helper's encouragement, let's hear it for the hospital homebound program and the teachers who worked with Kevin to keep him up to speed with his peers.

What an inspiring graduation ceremony that must have been.

Also inspiring to Kevin was the example of Eric Weinmeyer's guide who said in the audiobook, I'll come back someday, but for now, I got more life to live.

Now, back to my blue sky conversation with Kevin Lowe.

You lost your sight in 2003, if I have it right.

And so the the world's changed quite a bit in that period of time in terms of technology.

And you mentioned audiobooks, and now you are, and we found each other through this crazy world of podcasting.

So when when did uh you because I believe your first podcast was related to your travel business, is that right?

Or related to travel.

SPEAKER_00: Yes, it was.

It was so I started, I entered the world of podcasting um in in 2020, when I say everybody and their dear Aunt Sally started a podcast.

Um and and so I say the only difference between me and them is the fact that I'm still podcasting.

SPEAKER_02: Yes, right.

SPEAKER_00: It's harder than it looks.

Exactly.

And so, yes, you are right.

Um, so like you said, so I have been a travel agent.

I had my own travel agency for seven years, coming up into 2020.

And, you know, whatnot you know, that was gonna be my best year ever.

Um, and I mean, I I even had a group cruise lined up.

There was nearly 50 of us going on a cruise that October to celebrate, to celebrate the 17th anniversary of when I went blind.

Because here was the the big thing was that in, you know, me, I mean, I'm always looking for a reason to celebrate.

And so I was like, guys, I'm like, this is monumental.

I'm like, the this anniversary in particular is big.

I said, because it's happening in the year 2020, a number, of course, synonymous with vision.

I said, and the fact is, is that at that moment I would have been blind for as long as I had been able to see.

SPEAKER_02: 17 and 17.

SPEAKER_00: Yep.

Wow.

And so I had I had planned out, I had this huge group cruise for all of us, you know, along with all these other trips on the books.

And then, of course, we all know inside of a month, come March 2020, it all disappeared.

And um, and so that leads into the podcast.

And so while we were all stuck in quarantine and looking for things to do, I had decided it was finally time for me to start the YouTube channel I had been thinking about.

And so I went on Amazon and I started ordering all my equipment, and then the realization hit me was Kev, what are you doing?

You've ordered all this video stuff, and you are the last person who needs to be doing video.

You you're too subconscious about whether or not you're looking directly at the camera, you don't know if the lighting is right, and so I was just like, this isn't gonna work.

And at that moment, I'm like, my YouTube dreams are dashed, and then my sister says, Why don't you do a podcast?

And I said, And I, of course, responded to Tiffany and said, What the heck is a podcast?

And that would be my entrance into the world of audio, which I said once I realized, I said, Oh my gosh, I was designed for podcasting.

SPEAKER_02: Amazing.

Well, and and you also have that radio experience, it's basically the same thing.

SPEAKER_00: So exactly, exactly.

So it all kind of comes back full circle.

And so, yes, you were right.

It was, it started off about travel because I um I laugh and I say that God hadn't really cued me in on his plans yet.

I I thought I was still gonna be a travel agent.

So, so I was talking all about travel, and then the podcast took over my life and led me in a totally different direction.

SPEAKER_02: So it's it's had a few iterations.

The the title today is grit, grace, and inspiration.

And you embody all three.

You've been described, by the way, as having contagious optimism and genuine positivity.

And I think at this point of the conversation, that has already come through.

But tell us how you settled on that as your as your format and and what kind of guests do you have?

How do you how tell us about the podcast?

SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so the podcast is literally what the name says.

It's all about sharing the stories of those overcoming life's challenges, all with this hope and desire to inspire others to do the same.

Um, I always say that my mission, whether I'm recording a solo episode or I'm recording an interview with a guest, my whole goal is that there's somebody on the other side of the world who I'll never meet, I'll never even hear from, I'll never even know that they've ever listened to my podcast.

And yet they hear something I say or my guest says, and it gives them that inspiration to keep going just one more day.

Just like that one line in that audiobook did for me.

And um, and so that that is the podcast.

I mean, gosh, I've been going now for what, over over five years.

We're coming up on six years, and um, and and I love it.

I love it.

I love the the opportunity to get to to meet people um for the fact of inspiring me um while getting to share their story with the world um has just been truly amazing.

SPEAKER_02: Incredible.

And your tagline is turning setbacks into stages.

We all know what a setback is.

What do you mean when you say to stages?

SPEAKER_00: Yeah, so I got into the world of public speaking.

And so uh through the podcast, again, the the podcast has led me down a road.

I entered a world of coaching, I did coaching for a while, uh, which I still do on occasion, but I really was like, I really love just inspiring and motivating people, and so it led me into the world of of public speaking, and so that is turning setbacks into stages, exactly that.

Turning using what I've been through, which you know, what happened to me um was was horrible.

And I wouldn't wish what happened to me on my worst enemy.

And yet at the same time, I have to be so grateful that God chose me to be the one to go through this for the simple fact of if me having gone through what I did, being able to share my insights that I've gained, if it can help somebody else, then for me, it makes all of it worth it.

Because at the end of the day, that's all I want out of my life anymore, is I just want to be able to help somebody else who's struggling, who needs somebody to remind them that tomorrow's a new day, and to not give up on the hope and to not give up on what might lie ahead when that sun rises tomorrow morning.

SPEAKER_02: Amazing.

And I think such an important part of your story is you do make it clear that this was not an easy thing for you to pull out of.

And I imagine you still have those nights when you I don't know if you cry into the pillow, but you still, I imagine, have those.

It's not all this linear progression towards everything's great.

And I'm sure that's part of what inspires people who are going through similar challenges.

SPEAKER_00: Yeah, 100%.

Yeah, it's it's a loss.

It's a loss that I still deal with.

Yes.

Yep.

SPEAKER_02: Just as Kevin Lowe was developing his new interest in the travel business and planning to mark the 17th anniversary of losing his sight, perhaps the worst thing that could ever happen to his chosen business occurred.

A global pandemic.

Fortunately, he had tried his hand at radio, and his sister gave him the idea of starting a podcast.

This has been a perfect outlet for Kevin to work to inspire others through audio and public speaking, just as he was inspired by that book he listened to many years prior.

Speaking of audio, don't forget that musical surprise I mentioned earlier.

It's coming soon, after this final section of our conversation.

Here you and I are, you know, thousand miles apart, talking to each other through this amazing technology.

I mentioned before that these terrible things happened to you more than 20 years ago.

Can you share with us?

Because I do think it can be inspiring to folks to realize how far technology has come.

Are there are there technological advancements that have made your life at least a little bit easier since the time you you lost your sight?

SPEAKER_00: Um maybe like a whole, whole, whole lot easier.

Yeah.

Um the uh the biggest thing was the invention of the iPhone.

Especially, especially when it came out with the iPhone 3 GS, was the first iPhone to introduce voiceover, a built-in screen reader.

And so the iPhone is not only completely 100% accessible to somebody like me who's completely blind, but it has different apps that I download onto my iPhone, like an app called Be My Eyes, which allows me to um open up the app.

I can then literally just take a picture and it instantly describes whatever is in front of me.

Or I can hit the option to connect with a volunteer, and literally they have it, it works on like a network, uh almost like a social media type community of people who've signed up as helpers.

And so literally 365 days out of the year, 24 hours a day, I can be in live video feed with something almost like FaceTime with somebody through that app within like 30 seconds.

Really?

It's absolutely incredible.

Um, and so that is one example of just technology just that has been incredible.

I also have the Ray Ban meta uh smart glasses, really.

Okay, they work the same way.

Um, literally, I can you know ask it, you know, to describe whatever's in front of me or to tell me what is on this menu at a restaurant.

Um it's it's fascinating.

Technology is is absolutely incredible.

Um, and and to see the advancements in technology, even just over the time period since I went blind is remarkable.

SPEAKER_02: So, Kevin, and speaking of technology and and the way you've been able to somehow, somewhat see again, can we talk about echolocation?

Describe that to us.

SPEAKER_00: Yeah, absolutely.

So, this is probably the coolest thing, and it doesn't involve tech at all.

There's no iPhone or apps involved, it's literally just the power of the human brain.

And so I back in 2017 um had the opportunity to learn that humans can see just like bats or dolphins do using echolocation.

Um and so there was a guy, um, a friend of mine had shared a YouTube video of this guy named Brian Bushway who was riding a bicycle and doing all these things by making this clicking noise.

And so I remember I she had sent me the YouTube video and I had watched the video.

And I remember, I remember honestly getting super sad because all I remember thinking was, God, why won't you give me that ability?

Well, lo and behold, um, at the time he worked with an organization where they literally traveled around the world teaching blind people how to see with echolocation.

And so I ended up going out to his home um in Los Angeles, California.

Um, I went out there with my mom and sister, and my mom and sister they would drop me off at his house every morning.

They would go off and do tourist stuff, and I would train with Brian, who um ironically is right around my same age.

He went blind, um, kind of around the same point.

He was, I think, about 14 when he went blind, and he um had learned this skill by somebody else, and so literally he taught me how to retrain the brain's visual cortex to see through sound rather than sight.

And so, by literally making a clicking noise with just my tongue against the roof of my mouth, I threw time, and it took exactly three days for my brain to finally it all to click together.

And we were literally training inside of the uh apartment we had rented through Airbnb, and um he was teaching me how to identify corners of a room, and so I would stand face to face at the corner and I'd make this little click with my tongue, and nothing's happening, and and then I'd take a step back and I'd make the click, nothing happens, and then all of a sudden, it was like somebody turned on a light switch.

All of a sudden, the wall in front of me, I could see it.

Literally, all of a sudden, the wall turned to a fuzzy gray.

Oh my gosh, and I could literally from across the room, I could walk up to the wall and stop without ever hitting it, without ever touching it.

And then I can remember walking down alongside the wall, following the wall, and all of a sudden, though, it went from this fuzzy gray to like a deep dark like cavern.

Well, it was the doorway into the kitchen.

SPEAKER_02: Whoa, that's amazing.

So you use that today.

SPEAKER_00: If you walked into a strange room, you could click and so I use that all the time, everywhere, anywhere.

And what's amazing is it's just like a muscle.

So the more you use it, the stronger it gets.

And so now there are times when I'm not even actively trying to use it, but maybe I'm standing in the kitchen, uh cooking in the kitchen with me and my mom and my sister, and maybe something with the faucet, the water hits a dish the certain way, and it's like a light switch turns on.

And I can look over and I can see the figure of my mom standing there.

SPEAKER_02: So you don't have you're not always having to put out a sound like the clicking.

SPEAKER_00: Correct, correct.

Wow.

I mean, that is that is the that is the most precise way.

And like when I'm, you know, the the biggest, the biggest obstacle typically is you go into a public restroom trying to find your way.

Well, now I go in a couple of clicks, and I'll get a uh I call it a ping, um, off of maybe like the metal faucet of the sink.

And and I and I try to describe it as like think of a commercial for glassware.

And you know how they'll show the like the visible spark coming off to show that it's super sparkly and clean.

That's how that's how it will ping off of like the metal faucet when I make that little click with my tongue.

SPEAKER_02: That's incredible.

SPEAKER_00: Um, it completely and utterly changed my entire world for the simple fact that no longer can I only see what I can touch, but now I can preview my my world around me.

The the world literally now has shape.

And I tell everybody, no, it's not like I used to see, but it's another tool that I now have that has literally been the biggest life-changing thing, not technology related, it was just tapping into something that our brain is capable of that I had no idea about.

SPEAKER_02: Fascinating.

Okay.

So, and and I wonder too, if you've been born blind versus losing your sight when you did, if because you had almost 17 years of sight, if that helps you sort of fill in the blanks when the iPhone is describing a scene.

SPEAKER_00: Yeah, 100%.

Um Okay.

Yeah, I think, well, you know, we the biggest joke in that regard is is regarding color.

Now, I've heard some people say that that when you go blind, you you forget what color is.

Um, that didn't happen for me.

So I remember color, um, which which my family, like my mom and sister, can tell you, it makes that means that I'm the pickiest damn blind person you've ever met.

Um, so when when the when when shopping and they tell me, oh yeah, like this shirt's you know, a nice blue.

I'm like, okay, well, what shade of blue?

Okay, no, I no, I don't like that shade.

No, that's funny.

But um, but yeah, no, I I mean, I think the whole idea of somebody who's never seen before versus somebody in my perspective, it it's a totally different way, I I would imagine, of the way in which you you interpret the world.

Um and and I am extremely grateful for the fact that I did have 17 years of sight um to be able to understand better what things look like.

SPEAKER_02: It's amazing, yeah.

And and all these years later, Kevin, it's amazing to hear you say that you're you're grateful for that because you have so much that many of us just would feel down about and and pity ourselves.

So if if people want to engage with you, well, it's public speaking, tell us about the different ways.

So there's there's your podcast, there's your public speaking and your coaching.

Is this all available in sort of one place where people can find this and you?

SPEAKER_00: Yes, absolutely.

So it's all right there on my website.

Um, so they can easily go to grit Grace Inspiration.

If for any reason that's too hard to remember, you can also just go to kevinsweet.org.

Both of those will take you to the same place.

Like you said, my website's basically the central hub.

I'm not real big on social media.

And so it's basically through the podcast.

And uh they're on the website that you can get in touch with me.

SPEAKER_02: So if if there's somebody listening today who's had a setback recently or has a loved one who has, and they're just they're having those thoughts that you had, how what what sort of what are the simplest words of encouragement you could offer people in addition to going to your podcast and your website?

But if someone's been having a tough stretch based on something like that, what what are the words of of encouragement that you could provide before as our time's running out?

SPEAKER_00: Yeah.

The biggest thing is to give yourself grace.

Um what you've been through, what you're going through, whether it's you personally or somebody you love or a friend.

Just give yourself a break.

There's gonna be so many people who are gonna voice their opinions about what you should be doing.

Don't listen.

I I can tell you that is about the worst thing you can possibly do.

Because you know know you and know what's right for you.

Um the biggest thing is just to listen to yourself and give yourself the grace and understand that it's okay to not be okay.

And at some point, you're gonna reach the time when you're gonna finally be ready to move forward.

That might be in a month, it might be in ten years.

In the big picture.

Just a little time period of life.

Just realize that it's gonna get easier, it's gonna get better, but in the meantime, just give yourself grace.

Beautiful.

SPEAKER_02: Well, on that note, Kevin, I am going to thank you for this time, and thank you just for all the positivity and optimism and grit and resilience that you're putting out in the world.

You are a true inspiration.

That's an overused term, but in your case it really fits.

And I I really appreciate you coming on the show and and everything that you do.

SPEAKER_00: Oh man, well, I appreciate it so much, and it's been an honor getting to be here.

So thank you.

SPEAKER_02: Take care.

I was not aware of Apple's Be My Eyes app or any of the other advances he described.

How about echolocation?

That's something else I didn't realize was possible for humans, and it was pretty inspiring to learn more about it from Kevin.

To learn more about Kevin and his many product offerings, do check out the website gritgraceinspiration.com.

When you go there, you'll learn about something Kevin has branched into that we didn't discuss on our show.

Kalo Music.

It's a new venture he's launched where you can have a one-on-one conversation with Kevin, and from there he'll produce a professional quality song or even an album based on you.

As Kevin says on his site, this isn't just music, this is your life set to sound.

I learned about all of this shortly after our interview when Kevin sent me a new song he produced for me as a thank you gift.

I clicked on the file and was blown away.

The title of the song is Blue Sky Above, and it's terrific.

This is the musical payoff I've promised.

And right now, you will be among the first to hear this brand new song, courtesy of Kevin Lowe and KLO Music.

Here's Blue Sky Above.

SPEAKER_01: Even when you can't see through, when the clouds hang low and heavy, and everything feels overdue.

It's easy keeping eyes down when the day's been hard enough.

But there's still blue sky waiting.

There's always blue sky above.

You don't have to pretend it's easy.

You don't have to say you're fine.

Just take a breath, lift your eyes.

Cause there's always blue sky above.

Sometimes you just have to look up.

Get your head above the clouds.

Let the noise pass you by.

Still there, wide open, even when the day's big.

There's always blue sky above.

Always blue sky above.

Optimism's not a blindfold.

It's not ignoring what's real.

It's choosing where you stand when the ground doesn't feel stable.

It's believing things can bend without coming apart.

But hope's not allowed or flashy.

It's steady in the heart.

You can face the weight of this world and still believe there's more.

It's time you hope alone.

Yeah, there's always blue sky of love.

Sometimes you just have to look up.

Get your head above the clouds.

It's still there.

Always waiting on your head.

There's always blue sky of love.

Always blue sky of love.

Always blue sky above.

Lift your head not to escape the clouds.

Just to remember late on the sky.

There's always blue sky above.

No matter how long it rains, you don't need all the answers to start again.

Just a little high little perspective, a little trust in my state.

There's always blue sky above.

Always blue sky.

Always blue sky.

It's always blue.

SPEAKER_02: My huge thanks to Kevin for putting this together.

Not only the catchy tune, but also the lyrics that are so consistent with the work we're doing here at the Optimism Institute and the Blue Sky podcast.

Just amazing.

I hope you enjoyed this Blue Sky conversation with and new Blue Sky Huff song from Kevin Love.

My thanks also go out to Sound On Sound Off for their amazing help putting this special episode together.

Check out more of their incredible work at SoundonSoundoff.com.

And to Crush Graphics, creator of all graphics and cover art for Blue Sky and the Optimism Institute.

Find more of their terrific work at CrushGraphics.com.

Remember to spell Crush with a K.

Until next time, I'm the founder of the Optimism Institute and host of Blue Sky, Bill Burton.

And I thank you for listening.