Patrick Henry Hughes!

I have introduced you to a number of young people who are making a difference, and I want to do it again. Welcome to young Patrick Henry Hughes. Patrick was born without eyes and a condition which made it impossible for him to straighten his arms and legs.

He has an amazing will and inner strength that is difficult for me to describe. Despite his disability, he was playing the piano at nine months! Besides being a student at the University of Louisville, he and his father are members of the Marching Band. Yes, his father! His father pushes Patrick's wheelchair through the routines as Patrick plays his trumpet.

In 2007, his family was chosen to receive a new house from the Extreme Makeover Home Edition television show. He has spoken on four continents and all over the country. He has written one book so far and has two CD's of his piano playing. It truly is an extraordinary story! To learn more about young Patrick, visit his website by clicking here.

I first learned of Patrick when a friend sent me this video which aired on ESPN. Check it out:




What do you think?

I welcome your comments.

Later,

Mike

Another Young Protegee

In my last post, I introduced you to young Severn Suzuki. Now, I want to share another youngster who has found his talent at an early age. His name is Quinn Sullivan and is now ten years old.

My friend, speaker, author and fellow blogger, Earl Hipp, has an excellent blog on man-making and is focusing on helping men to mentor young boys on their journey to manhood. You can learn more about Earl, and read his blog by clicking here.

Today, he posted this two-year-old video of Quinn Sullivan playing blues guitar with the legendary Buddy Guy. I want to share this video with you to show how another young person has found his amazing talent at an early age. Watch the passion Buddy Guy puts into mentoring this young boy. After watching this, see if you don't agree with me that Quinn has real talent:



I wonder if he will be the next Johnny Lang?

As always, I welcome your comments.

Later,

Mike

Eight Years Ago Today

Eight years ago today everyone in the United States claimed everything changed and it will never be the same. I don't believe it anymore. We have all heard the phrase, "The more things change, the more they stay the same."

A friend posted this video a few days ago, and I saw it on my Facebook Home Page. Twelve-year-old Severn Suzuki gave this speech at a United Nations Conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in June 1992. What I find amazing about it is, it could be given today and nothing has changed in seventeen years!

Check it out:



Young people can often put things in such a simple perspective you cannot argue with them. I believe Severn did just that! How can one argue with her points?

She has grown up to be an environmental activist, speaker, television host and author. According to Wikipedia, " ... she has spoken around the world about environmental issues, urging listeners to define their values, act with the future in mind, and take individual responsibility." You can read more about her by clicking here.

Listening to her reminded me of young, Dalton Sherman, whom I wrote about in my October 1, 2008 post. You can read that post and watch his speech by clicking here.

Like Dalton, Severn found her passion at an early age. Now, she's almost thirty and is making her passion her career. I can certainly relate! It is great fun to watch young people develop into adults. I love it!

There are two things going on here:

1. The content of Severn's speech
2. Finding your passion

I look forward to your comments.

Later,

Mike

You Need To See This

Imagine you are standing on a small stage in the middle of an arena filled with over 20,000 teachers, staff and administrators, and you are the keynote speaker for the back-to-school convocation of the Dallas Independent School District. How do you feel? Oh, and there's one more thing, you are ten years old!

Your name is Dalton Sherman and this is what you said:



A friend sent me this video the other day and didn't suggest I post this, he said, "You have to post this."

He was right. This precocious young boy gave me shivers up my spine, and that's hard to do because I'm paralyzed! I certainly couldn't have done this at ten. I couldn't do this today!

He has a gift and I hope he is nurtured and taught well to enhance his gift so he reaches his fullest potential. In my opinion, he has a tremendous future as a professional speaker. I wish him well, and I plan to follow him as best I can. With YouTube, that should be fairly easy.

I look forward to your comments.

Later,

Mike