The Power Transformation Podcast
Some people survive their hardest seasons. Others use them to thrive and become someone entirely new.
This show is for the ones who choose the second option.
The Power Transformation Podcast is a Top 3% globally ranked show where entrepreneurs, thought leaders, and everyday people are vulnerable and transparent about what transformation actually costs and what it produces. They share the stories behind their stories, the moments that are rarely spoken of yet changed everything and the crucial decisions that rebuilt them.
Host Alethea Felton is not a bystander to hard things. Born with Crohn's Disease and a rare liver condition that once left her critically ill, she overcame a severe stutter and navigated the grief of losing her two closest friends to cancer before they reached 40.
Instead of remaining in her pain, Alethea not only had a 20 year award winning career as a public school educator as well as doing entrepreneurial ventures on the side, a few years ago she became a professional speaker and certified transformation specialist because she refused to let adversity be her final word.
Every episode of The Power Transformation Podcast delivers practical tools for leveling up and becoming stronger mentally, emotionally, personally, and professionally.
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The Power Transformation Podcast
80. From Loss of Sight to Clear Life Vision with Kevin Lowe
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When life throws a curveball, some may falter, but not Kevin Lowe. This remarkable man transformed a harrowing diagnosis into a beacon of hope and inspiration when an unexpected turn of events in 2003 left Kevin totally blind following a life-saving surgery. However, Kevin did not just survive this challenge, but he thrived and chose to develop a new perspective on life including becoming a purpose-driven life coach and podcast host who encourages people to create a life where their dreams come true.
Join Us as Kevin:
- Shares key life lessons he's learned throughout his journey living with blindness;
- Describes how the ARISE process equips his life coaching clients to experience the transformative power that lies on the other side of adversity;
- Discusses how he connects people deeply as they share stories of overcoming life’s challenges and realizing their potential for greatness through his top 2% ranked podcast "Grit, Grace, and Inspiration"; and
- Explains the significance of family, friendship, and faith as key influences in fortifying his strength and resilience over the years.
The power of believing in that which seems impossible, the strength drawn from community, and the hope that resonates in every step of Kevin's ongoing voyage. Join us as we celebrate this extraordinary individual whose life is not just a story of survival, but a testament to the triumph of the human spirit.
Connect with Kevin:
Episode 80's Affirmation:
I am inspired with inner vision and a drive to achieve what I want for my future.
I invite you to leave a positive message with your insights, feedback, or uplifting message.
Thank you for listening to The Power Transformation Podcast with Alethea Felton. One to two episodes are released weekly, so follow/subscribe and share. Your feedback is welcomed and valued!
Intro and Getting to Know Kevin Lowe
Alethea FeltonWhen I think of inspiration in human form , kevin Lowe comes to mind . Kevin has such a remarkable journey of how he experienced a life-changing situation to his physical health , yet he chose to make the very , very best of it With that . I am so honored today to have Kevin Lowe as my guest on episode 80 of the Power Transformation Podcast . Join me for this experience . That's what this interview is a true experience of how to overcome not just obstacles , but overcome something so serious that it forces you to change your entire life . But yet , for the good . Have you ever faced a challenge that seemed hopeless ? Yet you think that you have the power to change your life for the better , no matter the obstacles you face ? Well , if so , then you're in the right place .
Alethea FeltonI'm your host , alethea Felton , and welcome to the Power Transformation Podcast , where we explore the incredible true stories of people who have overcome adversity and created meaningful lives . So prepare to be inspired , equipped and empowered , for the time is now to create your power transformation . Hey y'all , I am thrilled that you have joined me today and I welcome you to this episode of the Power Transformation Podcast . I am Alethea Felton , and if you are new , I welcome you to this movement . We are changing lives here through these incredible stories of real life people just like you and me who are making the very best of every day that they get , and I always begin this podcast with an affirmation For those of you who are my longtime listeners thank you . And we are going to show the new folks how it's done . Where I say the affirmation once and then you repeat it , I am inspired with inner vision and a drive to achieve what I want for my future .
Alethea FeltonOkay , y'all , I am so thrilled today to have this guest with me . Have you ever just talked to a person before and your entire world lights up just from hearing their voice ? Well , this is how I would describe Kevin Lowe , who is my guest today . Hey , kevin .
Kevin LoweWhat's happening , so excited to be here .
Alethea FeltonWhat's happening , so excited to be here . So mine ranks in the top 5% , but y'all , I'm trying to get like Kevin because his ranks now in the top 2% of all podcasts . I'm going to get him to actually share all about it . But first of all , kevin is a purpose-driven life coach . That is powerful in and of itself and there's more to Kevin that I'm going to get him to share . But , kevin , what I like to always do first is just a random icebreaker question just to let the audience know more about you , and then we will go into the core or the crux of the actual interview . And so , kevin , this is what the question is Kevin , thinking back on your childhood summers , what is one of the favorite things you used to do as a kid during your summer vacations ?
Kevin LoweSo that would be me and my dad , we so . I was big into riding dirt bikes and that was something me and my dad did together . And so every summer we would go to Brooksville , florida , and we would camp at the state park 2000 acres middle of nowhere , hot as all get out , not a bit of water in sight , and yet we would spend all week long doing nothing but riding dirt bikes through that entire forest , camping with my dad , and that is my favorite memories of childhood summers .
Alethea FeltonOh , that sounds really fun and exciting , and I'm an outdoorsy person so I can just imagine that I've actually never driven or rode in a dirt bike , so I might have to try that one of these days . You never know , that's right . So , kevin , if a person were to ask you about yourself or you knew this man named Kevin Lowe , kevin , how would you answer this ? Who is Kevin Lowe ?
Kevin LoweOh , I would describe Kevin Lowe as a heart driven , proud-to-be mama's boy , even though he's a big dude , and somebody who loves life and , even more so , loves my family . Relationships meeting people mean more to me than anything else , and besides that , it's just somebody who loves good food , who loves Southern barbecue , and you know I just love making the most out of life .
Alethea FeltonIndeed . And Kevin , you mentioned Florida . So for our audience to know you just a bit more , is Florida your hometown state ?
Kevin LoweIt is , it is so . Hometown for me is right next to Daytona Beach , florida .
Alethea FeltonOh , that's nice . That's really , really nice . Okay , so , kevin , what is so amazing about you ? So , kevin , what is so amazing about you ? And I've got to give a shout out to John Narrow , who is a longtime friend , business coach , et cetera , for connecting us . And John has known me for 14 years and he knows what type of a person I am and the type of people I would really gel with . So when he asked me if he could introduce us , I said , hands down , yes , and I mentioned earlier that you're a purpose-driven life coach , kevin . What exactly is that ? What do you do ? Who do you help ? But , more importantly , kevin , how did you decide that you wanted to be a purpose-driven life coach ?
Kevin LoweYeah . So first thing , kind of what the title even is sounds kind of fancy , which is what I like you better say so , that's right , you better say so .
Kevin LoweThat's right , yeah , but it's honestly . It's because I believe at the core of any of our lives should be our life's purpose , and I believe if we all want a life of fulfillment , we should figure out what our life's purpose is and then try our best to design and build our life around that purpose . To design and build our life around that purpose . That whole thing came out of really my own story , my own journey , paired with my podcast , which the podcast where I got to start having these amazing conversations with people , and it was through my guests that my guests kept telling me you need to be a coach , you need to be a coach . And I'm like , okay , I guess I need to be a coach , and , um , and so I , you know , explored the whole thing , you know , life coaching and and all of that , and and I really kind of carved out this , this niche of of purpose-driven life coaching
Navigating Life's Challenges
Kevin Lowe.
Kevin LoweBut , even more specifically , like , the ideal person I work with is , I say , like that 40 year old woman who's at a point in her life where she kind of feels like she's supposed to be doing something more , like there's got to be more out there . I mean , from the outside , she's got it all . She's got a good job , she's got a family , but yet she feels just like there's something missing , and I believe wholeheartedly that this life is way too short . Tomorrow is never guaranteed , so if you feel like you're meant for more , you're supposed to be doing more well , then I believe you better do your darndest to chase that down and start living out that life that you were meant to live . Start living out that life that you were meant to live . And so I love working with her to identify her purpose and then , like I said , to try and figure out how we build that life around that purpose , so that she can go to bed at night feeling fulfilled , feel like she's making a difference in the world , and that's the person I love helping so much .
Alethea FeltonWow , that is amazing and so purpose driven . We hear a lot about people seeking here on this earth and we have a mission to fulfill . That's what I believe wholeheartedly . But , kevin , one thing I haven't yet divulged to the audience and I don't have the actual topic name yet in terms of the actual episode title . So it might be in the title , it might not , but I think this is a good transition into what led you down this path . In other words , kevin , a huge part of your testimony and journey and story is something incredible , and what I mean is something huge and large , but now it's mightily incredible . Something incredible happened to you that led you to where you are now . Share with us that portion of your journey .
Kevin LoweYeah , absolutely so , tying in together with what we were just talking about , this whole realm of coaching that I'm in with this purpose-driven life coaching , I believe that our purpose is , most of the times , discovered within the hardest thing that we've walked through in life , that many times . That's where our purpose can be found . For myself , that's exactly the case . At the time that we're recording this episode together , I'm just over 20 years after my life changing forever , and that was back in 2003 . I was 17 years old , um , a junior in high school . Life was going great . I had , I had the biggest , tallest truck in my high school . Um , it was a yeah it was a four .
Kevin LoweYeah , it was a forest green Ford F one 50 with eight inches of lift , 38 inch TSO super swampers . You know it was baby . It was good . She was good for cruising down the beach or out in the woods , you know , pulling out my buddies in the mud . But um , life was going . Life was going great , um , until it wasn't .
Kevin LoweAnd that came with the news that I had a brain tumor . The way we found out about that is because I was 17 years old . I hadn't hit my growth spurt . I'm still only like short , I'm five foot three . Okay , Hadn't gone through like full-blown puberty .
Kevin LoweI had headaches every day of my life . I drank my mom would tell the doctor she's like he drinks more than any human you've ever seen . I had all these things going on that you know . My mom and grandmother finally were the ones who they're like something's not right . And so the pediatrician , he kept just blowing it off that I was a late bloomer , everything was fine , and so mom , mama's no best .
Kevin LoweAnd so they , my mom and grandmother , they finally were like we got to do something . So they got me to a new family doctor and he would take one . Look at me one , look at my chart and pull my mom out to the hallway and tell her . He said you know , listen , he's like I don't . And my mom got the call on a Friday evening and it was the news that the MRI results came back and , as the doctor told my mom , it was worse than he ever expected . I had a plum-sized brain tumor that had completely encased my pituitary gland , was in the crosshairs of my optic nerve and was now pressing against my carotid artery . Wow , we would find out that without having this tumor removed , I had at most six months to live .
Alethea FeltonSix months Six months , six months . Okay , pause here . I'm going to let you continue , Kevin . If you hear that you have six months to live and you heard that , what in the world was going through your mind during that time ?
Kevin Lowethe world was going through your mind during that time . I think a whole lot of shock was the biggest thing , but at the same point , though , we finally found the answer to the problems that I've been dealing with my entire life . Okay , was this brain tumor ? And so what that meant was , luckily , the tumor I will mention . The tumor was non-cancerous , um , which was a total bonus , but we , luckily , an hour from my home , was the leading pediatric neurosurgeon in the country , um , an amazing , amazing man , and we met with him . He let us know , he's like , listen , he's like .
Kevin LoweI do these all the time he said we'll go in basically , remove basically , kind of like the front part of my skull , um , and get the tumor out , and um , he let me know that I'd be out of school for about three to four weeks and which I was like .
Alethea FeltonI was just about to say I'm sure you were excited about that part .
Kevin LoweYeah , so . So you better bet my butt was back at school . I immediately dropped out of trigonometry and , you know , told all my buddies , know , see you later . Suckers . I'm out of here for a month and , uh , and during this time , a little sign of my personality . Um , I took the opportunity .
Kevin LoweI named my tumor bob bob the tumor oh my god and so me and my family , my whole family , before surgery and stuff , we had a huge going away Bob party in which everybody came over to my aunt and uncle's house and , you know , just celebrated , and so that's the mindset going into Um that this is a speed bump , a bump in the road . Surgery was scheduled for October 28th 2003 . I checked into the hospital the day before . Um spent the night there , all this preparation for surgery . Next morning comes the , the doctor . Uh , he comes into the room , check on me , see if we're ready to go .
Kevin LoweI apparently crack a joke , you know asking if he had his Wheaties for breakfast . And then we went to the operating room and I always say that I remember my mom and my dad . They , they were the only two who went with me back to the , to the OR and um . I always say then that if I knew then what I know now , I don't know that I could have ever been pushed through those doors . I don't know that I ever could have stopped staring at the faces of my mom and dad , because once I went through the operating room doors , everything in my entire life changed , and that was the surgery was a success .
Kevin LoweIt was a long surgery , but the doctor would come out and tell my whole family waiting there that everything went great , that I was , you know , in recovery and you know the whole surgery was a success . They got the tumor out and um , and so everything was supposed to be good . And then it was only maybe a day or two after surgery when I was , you know , really starting to wake up and my mom was in the room with the head nurse and I was very , apparently very combative . I had a lot of sodium issues , and so they said that I kind of turned into like the Incredible Hulk .
Alethea FeltonWow , yeah , I mean , I mean there's an .
Kevin LoweThere's an entire like interview just about that experience . Oh really Okay , oh yeah , but um , but at this moment it was just my mom and the head nurse and the head nurse he had the pull socks , a little thing that they put on like your toe or finger . Well , apparently , apparently , I kept ripping it off .
Kevin LoweOh my gosh and so , and so the head nurse . He says to me and and now I have no memory of this is coming from my mom , but she says that . He says to me , kevin , do you see this ? And it had , I guess , like a blinking red light on it . He's like do you see this light ? He's had , I guess , like a blinking red light on it . He's like do you see this light ? He's like you , don't mess with this , do you see this ? And I said no , no , I don't see anything . At that moment he looked at my mom and mom looked at him . He walked over and turned on the light switch and turned the light on and off , on and off . And he said Kevin , do you see this ? Do you see the light ? And I said no , no , it's just black , it's just black .
Kevin LoweAnd that is when they found out that I was left completely blind . We would come to find out that I was not only left completely blind , I also lost my ability to smell . I would suffer from short-term memory loss for six months and I would have a host of all these other medical complications that we had no idea about related to the fact that I have no , no pituitary . The tumor completely killed off that pituitary . So now I have to start taking all these medications medications that I still take today to replace what the pituitary does naturally , which I always say . Medicines are great , but they are a very poor alternative to what God designed the body to do . And um and so um , but that was . That was the moment .
Alethea FeltonThat was the moment when our world stopped spinning for me and my entire family kevin , just real quick a random question did your um scent or smell ever come back ?
Kevin Loweno , nope smell never , never returned um wow yep , yep , so it's now 20 years later . Um I'm , I still have no , no light perception , shape , shadows , nothing . I Completely blind and no smell either . Yeah .
Alethea FeltonDid that affect your taste buds ? Because I've often heard and honestly I'm not sure how true this is , but I've heard that your sense of smell can also affect taste buds . Did it affect that also ?
Kevin LoweIt did very much so . So like , for example , I remember after surgery like I always I we drank Coke and I loved me a Coke . Well after surgery . It was torture because I would crave a Coke , but it would taste flat .
Kevin LoweOh , I see , yes , now , okay Now over time it came back in the form that you know . Today , I mean , I drink way more Coke than I should , but you know , and I enjoy it . But my , you know , because a lot of people they do think that if you can't smell then you can't taste and , um , I can't totally explain it , other than the fact that , um , I feel like god was like you know what we're gonna . At least let you be able to taste some stuff , because I know you love food and , um , you know , but my , my taste , so I could taste everything , except for my taste is not like super keen , like , for example , like I drink , like Gatorade .
Kevin LoweOkay , and you could , and you , if you gave me two kind of similar flavors of Gatorade , I wouldn't tell be able to tell you which one was which you know Okay . Yeah , yeah .
Alethea FeltonAnd so this leads me , kevin , to asking you and of course we are going to get more into the coaching aspect but what were some of the most ? Yes , you've talked about , of course , scent , smell , things like that but what would you consider were some of the most significant challenges you faced while adjusting to life without sight , and how did you develop the resilience to overcome them ?
Finding Purpose Through Adversity
Kevin LoweUm , I think one of the hardest things that has been is the lack of freedom . Um , you know , I had my own truck . I could go as I pleased , I could go where I wanted . Becoming blind took that freedom away from me , um , and in many ways I felt like for a long time I was kind of taken back to a child .
Kevin LoweUm , I can remember my mom . She would drop me off at my Nana's house , um each morning , like she would do when I was a little kid , and she would go on to work and I would stay with Nana all day . Um , because I I never , I never went back to school the rest of that junior year , um , instead , I had a teachers who came to my Nana's house , um , a teacher who taught me my school subjects , another who taught me how to read Braille and in the , in a computer that talks , and then another one who taught me how to get around and um , and uh , yeah , and so I would spend the days with nana , which nana um there's been . There's been so many blessings that I have gained because of what happened to me that I know that if it wasn't for this that so many of these things wouldn't happen , and one of those is the fact that I got to become best friends with my nana , with my grandmother .
Alethea FeltonOh , how beautiful .
Kevin LoweShe is somebody I'm blessed the fact that I mean only live about five minutes from her and my papa but I talk to my nana every single night . I call her , um , somewhere between about 7 , 30 and 8 . I know her schedule pretty well . That's beautiful , yeah , yeah , and um , and so , so , yeah , so , so , nana . Nana was a big part of that healing journey , um , which , honestly , it took a long time , uh , both healing physically from the effects of the brain surgery and then even longer emotionally .
Alethea FeltonAnd you're a man of faith , and that's something that we have in common . Both of us are saved and are followers of Jesus Christ . And my question is , kevin , at any point did you feel anger , resentment , frustration , even towards God ? Did your faith waver at any moment ? Or has this actually gotten your faith to be much stronger ?
Kevin LoweUm , through the years , um , it has made my faith so much stronger . Now I can tell you that , for the first gosh long while after this happened , I can remember every night , um going into bed and this , this was even a while after surgery , cause I actually have memory of it , um , cause my memory didn't doesn't pick up until probably about a month after surgery being back home , but I can remember laying in bed at night and I can remember praying , and I can remember laying in my bed with my face in the pillow just sobbing every night , and every night I would just beg God , beg him to let me see again . And there were times I would get so angry and I would tell him I was so angry , but every single time I always stopped and I would always ask for his forgiveness , because I always told God , god , please I didn't mean it Please forgive me , cause I knew I couldn't do this without him .
Alethea FeltonYeah , yeah .
Kevin LoweAnd um and I I'll even share that um right after coming home from the hospital , um , when I don't have any memory of it , my , my mom always tells the story that she , she asked me one morning , um , who I talked to when I go to bed at night . He said she's like Kevin , I always hear you talking . Who are you talking to ? And she said I told her , told her a Jesus that he's always there with me , that he's always there with me . And you know , faith , relationship with God . It got really hard , I know , especially for my mom and my sister , where they it kind of turned them away from God , but in this beautiful , ironic way it was through me that I brought them back .
Kevin LoweOh my gosh and yeah .
Alethea FeltonSo how does this personal journey I'm going to transition more into the coaching aspects of it , because you don't use this as a crutch . Despite having certain limitations and certain challenges , as does every human being , you've actually transformed pain into purpose and you are really making a huge difference in the world . And so , kevin , how does this personal journey of overcoming such adversity and what could be seen as an obstacle , as well as developing a new , fresh perspective on life , how does that influence your coaching and the guidance that you provide to your clients ?
Kevin Loweum , I mean , it's honestly , it's at the , it's at the base of everything I do , um personal life and and working with clients is I , um am lucky enough that I can look back on my life and I can see where me becoming blind was in the plan all along .
Inspiration in Everything
Kevin LoweI can see that the first 17 years of my life were spent preparing me for what was to come , and I have to believe that God knew that I was a person who I would go through this and I would turn it around to use it for his good , for his glory .
Kevin LoweYeah , and um , over time , um , many , many years , you know , I would be able to move on with life and and I finally learned to love life again , even if I couldn't see it . And , and you know , see it . And you know , I realized , especially in the past you know , four years really , since I started the podcast I realized a superpower that I have is the ability to connect with people , even complete strangers , and I believe that that comes from the fact that I can't see them . My mind doesn't immediately form an opinion about who this person is . I literally have to talk to them . I have to hear their voice , hear what they have to say , to be able to understand who this person even is , and it is through all of this that you know . Honestly , I discovered my own purpose .
Kevin LoweAnd that is , using what I've gone through to be an inspiration and motivation to others to overcome their own challenges and helping my clients to discover their own purpose and you know hidden inside of those challenges , they've already been through in life , you know , and yeah , I don't know if I answered your question , but I'm hoping I did .
Alethea FeltonYes , you did . Like I said , offline we are having a conversation . There's no right or wrong here , it's all good , it's all good . And so one of the ways that I know that you do that and , as a coach , I don't want you to give away all of your trade secrets , because , although we , as coaches , are giving people , we want paying clients . So therefore , I ask that , because one of the ways that you do this is that you use something that's called the Arise process . I do know that . I saw that on your LinkedIn , but without going into too much detail because , again , this is your signature type of program . But what made you decide to come up with that acronym , using the word ARISE , and how does that process empower people to navigate through their challenge , discover their purpose , as well as emerge even stronger ?
Kevin LoweYeah , yeah . So the word arise is just powerful in of itself and I believe that when I'm working with somebody , they're obviously at a point in their life when they want more , and so helping them arise to that level that they want to be at . And so , yeah , that is kind of like a foundation . Step is , with anybody I work with , is taking them through that process of all in the effort of helping them to identify their life's purpose , cause you know , a lot of us you know , I mean , we think we know , but maybe we don't know what in the world our purpose is . It's kind of a big , big idea to to tackle , and that foundation that I've created is is a really what I love to say is just a heart driven , heart centered conversation with my clients .
Kevin LoweI am not one of those coaches who is just like strong and mighty and makes you feel intimidated . Um , I am , I am all about it . It's a conversation with somebody and helping them to understand them yourself and ultimately hoping to let them see themselves the way that I do . Um , that , getting to see them for who they really and truly are , yeah , and so so my whole thing is taking somebody through that process of figuring out their purpose and then , depending upon where they are in their life , what they're looking to do whether it's changing careers , whether they're just looking to add something or take away something , but literally getting to then get creative and design an entire life based with that purpose at the center .
Kevin LoweAnd you know and I feel like if we want a life of fulfillment , you know we have to keep our purpose front and center always .
Alethea FeltonKevin , in all of the clients that you work with , can you share a generalized success story meaning , of course , still keeping confidentiality and things but can you share a success story of a client that you know experienced a significant or pretty big transformation after working with you and what do you think contributed to their breakthrough ?
Kevin LoweYeah , so I'm trying to think of of a to describe it . So this was a woman who worked in the healthcare industry . She was a nurse and she had been working as a nurse for quite some time . And I think a lot of people in the healthcare profession right now can kind of feel burned out with work and the way that the healthcare industry has kind of gone .
Kevin LoweAnd this woman was one of them who , even though she was doing amazing things at work , she came home and she just felt like she was meant to be doing something more , and so through working with her , we were able to figure out kind of that purpose and understand a deeper understanding of what she really loved about her career and how could we do more related to that . And for her it was really more about working with the children as like an advocate , helping them more than just nursing . It was that , and so she actually would end up changing . She didn't have to start her own business , she didn't have to , you know , do anything , but she just changed roles basically at her hospital , becoming more of like a patient advocate and doing something that that lights her up , um , you know , and so that's the the kind of stuff is is helping that person .
Kevin LoweLike I said , you know , sometimes it is people wanting to be like I want out of what I'm doing and you know , I want to be an entrepreneur , to do something different . But other times maybe it's the fact that you'll like what you're doing , but you just feel like you're meant for more , and so maybe all it takes is a few little changes , a little tweak here and there , and you can have that life that you love again .
Alethea FeltonHave the life that you love again , and you said something that lights you up . So she was able to find something that lights you up , and I think this is so important because I think this is just my own personal opinion . I think so many people just live day in and day out doing the same mundane things over and over again , because that's what's expected of them to do , but it begs the question are they really living a life or doing something that lights them up ? So , kevin , what lights you up ?
Kevin LoweUm , this right here , what lights me up is getting to share my story in the hope that I can inspire somebody somewhere in the world to not give up on the chance to live and to love life , because , let's face it , this life is really tough .
Alethea FeltonAnd what ?
Kevin Lowelights me up is the thought that maybe something I can say , something that I can share about my own journey , could have an impact on somebody else , and that's the kind of stuff that lights me up is hoping to be an inspiration to others . That's just , that's the stuff that makes the day really good .
Alethea FeltonAnd you say hoping to be . I know , in the short time I have known you , you are truly doing that . You are a true inspiration to me . So you can keep hoping it , but I'm telling you , brother , it's already happening . You know what I mean .
Family, Friendship, and Podcasting Journey
Alethea FeltonAnd so something also that resonates with me and your journey is when we had our first call several weeks ago about the importance of your family and your support system . I'm blessed also to have that and I know that on the call we had to have that and I know that on the call we had , while you love everybody in your family I'm just going to preface that in case siblings and parents but you spoke so highly to me about your mom and tell me , kevin , what is it about your mom that truly just lights up your world and how has she really played a huge part in this new chapter of your life ?
Kevin LoweSo you know , you could honestly say when we talk about God's plan , when we talk about God's design , you could really say that it started way back when with my parents , so my mom and dad , they were young . When they had my sister , who's five years older , my mom was , I think , still in high school . She was only 17 . Then five years later they had me , and so I've got to have parents who are pretty darn young even . You know , growing up Um and through that I've been lucky enough that I got to become friends with my parents .
Alethea FeltonOh , I love that .
Kevin LoweAnd um and as an adult , as today , the my best friend in the world is is my parents , is my mom , is my dad and my mom . She's just . She's one of those people who she doesn't think she's amazing .
Kevin LoweShe doesn't think that she's incredible . And , yeah , I tell her all the time that I wish so badly that one day she would see herself like I see her , because she is one of the most amazing people . And , and , to be honest , I , um so often I , I , I thank God , um for what has happened , um , for the fact that this journey I've been on . It's not been easy , it's been torturous at times , but it has given me so many blessings , like I spoke of earlier , and one of them is getting to become best friends with my family , whether my Nana , whether my mom , my dad , my sister . It is absolutely amazing .
Kevin LoweAnd , and so my mom , I mean , she just , she's silly . She doesn't think she's silly , but she's a , she's just , she's amazing , she's just . I love her to pieces and , um , it's honestly , it's just , it's just my whole family , everybody is , is who they are , and I am just so blessed to have the family that I do because , honestly , I remember back right after becoming blind , after all this happened , I remember I created an equation for life and it was faith plus family equals a life worth living .
Alethea FeltonOh yes .
Kevin LoweAnd that I knew on my hardest day , when I wished it would all end , because I didn't want to have to endure the pain anymore . It was always those two things I always said it was because of my faith , because of my relationship with my creator that I kept going and it was because of my family that I did . And it's just those two things , my faith , my family . They are the bedrock of who I am .
Alethea FeltonAnd they definitely embody inspiration . They definitely embody what it means to have inspiration . And , kevin , I say that because you have this accident , you end up losing your sight . You make the best out of a challenging situation . You say , okay , I'm going to be a coach now . But , kevin , you ain't stopped there . You going to go ahead and decide , the audacity of you to start a podcast in the world , and what like ? Wait a minute , he started , wait a minute . He can't see how he going to start a podcast . Y'all , I'm telling you .
Alethea FeltonThose are the questions people will wonder , and it really leaves little room for excuses for those of us who are sighted . Kevin , grit , grace and inspiration oh , my goodness , that title right there Real Talk gives me chills . There , real talk gives me chills . When did you develop this concept of a podcast ? What caused you to ? Because , in my experience , as I told you , when I started mine , I hadn't even listened to podcasts . But what caused you to say I'm going to start this podcast ? What led you to naming it that and what is your hope for the podcast in terms of what effect do you hope that it has on your listeners' lives ?
Kevin Loweso , now that you've built it all up , I'm going to tell you the real story .
Kevin LoweOkay , please keep it real . So so you , you know , like that scene in a movie or maybe in your real life , I don't know when when it's the scene of , uh , the , the two guys at a bar , and and the guy sees this real hot chick and he's like , oh , man , and the buddy's like a man , and the buddy's like , and then all of a sudden though , she's like , making them think , oh , yeah , she's attracted , and then she's like , oh , but here you would love my , you know , ugly friend oh so , so .
Kevin Loweso , to be honest , podcasting was the ugly friend , um , because so this was back during the height of the pandemic , um , when we were locked away in quarantine and I decided it was finally time for me to start that YouTube channel I had been dreaming about . And so so , literally , I started ordering all this stuff off Amazon for doing a YouTube channel , you know , and I'm getting so excited about it , until the stuff started coming in from the from Amazon . Excited about it , until the stuff started coming in from the from Amazon . And it hit me one day and I thought , kevin , if you don't have somebody sighted , you can be there with you every day to video you , to help you out with all that . I'm like you ain't going to be able to do this on your on your own .
Kevin LoweAnd one thing I've learned , and the one thing I've learned is the less you can rely on others , the better off you are , and so I didn't think of that , but it's true , it's really true . So I was super upset , so upset about this whole idea dream I had went bust . And that's what my sister , Tiffany , said Well , why don't you do a podcast ? And my response what the heck is a podcast ?
Alethea FeltonGo ahead , tiffany , look at you .
Kevin LoweYeah , and so she tells me about the podcast and my response well , that sounds like a lame alternative to a YouTube channel .
Alethea FeltonNo , you didn't , oh wow .
Kevin LoweBut then I started listening to podcasts . I had never listened to a podcast before , but on my iPhone I actually find the little podcast app and I start listening to podcasts . And now I'm like , hmm , maybe this could work . So now I'm listening to podcasts about how to start a podcast , like , hmm , maybe this could work . So now I'm listening to podcasts about how to start a podcast . And so May of 2020 is when I started my podcast .
Kevin LoweOriginally it was called the Lowdown on Life and Travel . Yeah , because at the time I had been a travel agent . I had owned my own home-based travel agency since 2013 . And so , in the height of the pandemic , when everybody wasn't traveling , I thought , oh , you know what , I'll do this podcast to keep the idea of travel , the dream of travel , alive . And so that's how I started it .
Kevin LoweAnd then , as I say , quickly the podcast took over my life and it led me on this new direction that I never saw coming . But I learned an important , important rule for life is that so many times we wonder am I on the right path , am I doing the right thing ? And the time that I was a travel agent , I mean , I enjoyed it . I got to build a brand . I got to book vacations , do amazing honeymoons for couples , but I worked it .
Kevin LoweIt was a struggle . When I started podcasting it was like I was on a river floating on my back , flowing down the river , and I can remember so many times in the middle of interviews and this , these interviews , they , they quickly switched from travel to to getting into people's stories and more you know , inspirational stories about people's lives . And I can remember so many times in the middle of the interview just silently praying , just thanking God for having me right here in this moment , and I would say , god , I don't know where you're taking me , but I know it feels right , so I'm going to stick with it . And , um , and eventually that river that I'm floating on my back would lead me to rebranding the podcast eventually to Grace and Inspiration .
Kevin LoweAnd with the whole mission of the podcast is what I kind of said earlier is to inspire the person on the other side of the world who I'll never meet , I'll never hear from but , they hear something I say or my guest says and it makes them think you know what , if they can do it , so can I and so , and so that tells them right , then you know what ? I'll give it another shot , and um , that's and that's the mission behind my podcast . The podcast , I realized , unlike YouTube , I was designed for podcasting . I was like the world of audio is the blind man's jam , and so it was just amazing and I kept having these interviews with people and at the end of the interview , when we would end recording , I kept having my guests tell me they're like you don't understand . They're like you ask questions that no one has ever asked me before . Or I had a woman say she's like you see parts of my story that no one but my therapist has ever asked me about before .
Kevin LoweWow , and you know , of course , my humor . I always say well , you should start being interviewed by more blind people . But you know , because I'm like , I'm like it was perfectly evident why I would ask that question . I mean , I didn't do anything , you know , mind blowing , but apparently I did , and um and uh , and so that's just this natural evolution that it's all taken and um , I love it so much . The podcast has just been this amazing passion of mine and it's just , it's awesome . I get to be creative . You know , before I went blind , I was a very much visual person . I loved drawing , I loved all things you know visual and getting to do a podcast , now I get to use that creative side through my voice , through audio , yeah and um , and it's really pretty darn cool .
Alethea FeltonWow , oh my gosh , Kevin . And just a brief comment on this because I know our time is winding up , but even when you mentioned about the fact that you were a travel agent with your own travel business , keep in mind you were once sighted , so please understand what I'm about to say . But that blows my mind , and I'm sure other people as well , because they're saying how in the world are you having this passion for travel and helping people with travel , and you can't see these places in the vacations ? And that's what's so amazing about it is that my point is y'all you don't have to see in order to have clear vision . You don't need eyes in order to really see , and sometimes , I would even dare say sometimes people who aren't sighted see more clearly than those of us with eyes .
Alethea FeltonAnd so I think that's what's so beautiful about your journey is that we all go through something in life . We all have some type of experience . It might not be a health challenge like how Kevin and I have , but it's something that we go through that shapes our life , molds us and helps us to be who we are today . And so , Kevin , say that a listener right now is feeling really stuck in their current circumstances and is really , frankly , struggling to even take a first step toward making a positive difference in their life . They may see where they want to go , but just are stuck and don't know how to get there . What would you tell them ?
Kevin LoweMy first thing is to give yourself grace , to give yourself a break , to let yourself understand that you are amazing even where you are right now , and I would encourage you to just let yourself sit in it until you're ready to move forward , at which point we turn to grit and , whatever the situation is , you know exactly what you need to do . We all do deep inside . Sometimes it just takes the courage to do it , and so I encourage you , if you need to lean on support from somebody , from a friend , from a coach , somebody to encourage you to take the next step , to get unstuck , all in the reality that what you're going through today , in the grand scheme of things , it's just a bump in the road .
Kevin LoweIf you can get past this bump . You can get back to living and enjoying life like it was meant to be .
Alethea FeltonWow . Get back to enjoying life
Transformation Through Adversity and Gratitude
Alethea Feltonas it has . This journey of just not losing sight , but journey of being a coach , a transformation slash , purpose life , a purpose driven coach , as well as a podcaster of this amazing podcast , grit , grace and Inspiration . What is it about you now that you never thought that you were able to accomplish or be ? In other words , what has this taught the most about yourself ?
Kevin LoweOh , wow . You know , I don't even know how to answer that other than when all of this happened and in the years following it was easy to understand that all my dreams were gone . Everything I ever dreamed of for the future was no more . And it's really amazing today , even though I'm blind , that I get to wake up every morning excited about the day ahead . Even though I'm blind , I get to keep going , I get to love life , I get to experience this world in a whole new , amazing way . That has only been made possible because of what happened to me and you know , I never would have realized that I would get to this point in my life and in some weird way , I have to be grateful that it all happened like this , because I don't know that I'd be the same person I am today .
Kevin LoweI wonder sometimes if this didn't happen , would I still call my Nana every night at eight o'clock ? Would I tell you that my mom and my dad are my best friends ? I don't know that I would , and understanding that family faith are the most important two things you can have in this world , I have to be grateful , at the end of the day , for the way it's all worked out .
Alethea FeltonThat is wow . Just the fact of you saying would you call your Nana every night , that is yeah . That's something to really think about , and that's one of the richest gifts that you can have is to be able to call her every night . You know , wow , kevin , what's next for you ? Do you have any projects going on ? Do you have anything coming down the line that you want to tell us about ? And also , how can people learn more about you , connect with you ?
Kevin Loweso tell us all of that information yeah , so um ideas for for kind of future . What's coming up is you know you're going to be the first person I've ever even I want to do a Ted talk .
Kevin LoweAnd um , and I'm realizing that might be an amazing way to get my message out into the world , and so that's kind of on my horizon now . Um and um , as far as how people to connect with me , honestly , best place is through the podcast , which I've actually made it like super easy . You can text my first name , kevin , to 33777 . Again , text Kevin to 33777 . And that will give you a link that will let you find the podcast on your favorite app of choice . Um , so that's super easy and really it's through the podcast where if I got anything new happening , you better bet it's going to be on the podcast where you're going to find out about it and so . So that's really kind of like my center hub right there .
Kevin LoweAnd , um , you know , the other thing is is , um , you know , if anybody ever , just you know , has something going on , um , and they feel like you know what this guy , maybe he would understand and be a good person to talk to , please also reach out . Um , we can certainly have like a little virtual coffee date , um , whatever , and in that that I would invite you to go to gritgraceinspirationcom slash coffee , and so that is gritgraceinspirationcom slash coffee , and you can just schedule a free like 30 minute little virtual coffee date , and I would love just to be able to provide you as much value and help as I possibly can .
Alethea FeltonWow . Well , thank you , I'm going to have all of that in the show notes , but also just the fact that people can reach out to you , because there might be people that listen to the podcast who are not sighted and they may not be able to see the actual show notes . So I'm glad that you went into that much detail about it and , kevin , I look forward I'm going to already speak it into existence that I look forward to hearing your TED Talk and keep us posted with all of that as well , and I am so glad that we have connected . We're definitely going to stay in touch . You are inspirational and I just hope and pray nothing but continue blessings , peace , protection , creativity and so much abundance over your life . Kevin , it was an honor to have you as my guest today .
Kevin LoweOh , my goodness , thank you so much . You have no idea how much this has meant to me , how much this has just totally brightened my entire day . You are an amazing woman yourself , and it is a true honor to get to sit down and talk with you yourself .
Alethea FeltonAnd it is a true honor to get to sit down and talk with you . Thank you so much , kevin .
Closing Thoughts
Alethea FeltonI can't begin to tell you how grateful I am to Kevin and for him taking time with us on the Power Transformation podcast . And isn't his story absolutely out of this world ? And I am believing that he is going to grace Ted with his presence on a TEDx TED Talk stage , and so I'll be sure to keep you posted as to when that happens for him . We're going to go ahead and close out with our affirmation . I'll say it once and you repeat it I am inspired with inner vision and a drive to achieve what I want for my future . If you enjoyed today's show , then you don't want to miss an episode . So follow the Power Transformation podcast on Apple Podcasts , spotify or wherever you usually listen , and remember to rate and review . I also invite you to connect with me on social media at Alethea Felton , that's at A-L-E-T-H-E-A-F-E-L-T-O-N . Until next time , remember to be good to yourself and to others .