Ali Article
While his more than 29-year battle with Parkinson’s Disease has transformed Muhammad Ali, it has given him something too – respect as a different type of fighter.
The graceful boxer who once floated in the ring merely shuffled when he walked.
His once-fiery, sometimes-poetic words gave way mostly to public silence.
But while his more than 29-year battle with Parkinson’s disease transformed Ali, it gave him something too — respect as a different type of fighter, one who persevered and stayed visible despite his debilitating illness.
Actions such as lighting the Olympic torch with a shaking hand in 1996 inspired many others with Parkinson’s to live their lives fully.
One is John Baumann, a Louisville lawyer who admires Ali as a boxer, and more than a decade ago got his autograph during a chance meeting at Louisville International Airport. Then, like Ali, he was stricken with Parkinson’s in 2003, in the prime of life.
He decided to keep working as an attorney and teaching at the University of Louisville, wrote a book published in 2011 called “Decide Success” and became a motivational speaker.
“I said I’m not going to stop my world. Muhammad Ali does that too,” said Baumann, who has two children and recently remarried. When times get difficult, “it’s focus or fold, as they say in football. … Muhammad Ali is a focus person. He doesn’t complain. He doesn’t give up.”
Ali’s status brought attention to Parkinson’s and money for research and treatment. Along with actor Michael J. Fox, Ali was a public face of the progressive neurological condition that affects up to 1.5 million Americans and about 12,000 Kentuckians.
http://www.courier-journal.com/story/sports/boxing/muhammad-ali/2014/03/26/ali-parkinsons/5085433/
John Baumann Proud Person with Parkinson’s posi-spectively in my head
Frequently if I am working with a patient in their home, a television is on in another room of the house, just loud enough to compete for my attention. Especially annoying for me, is the never ending chatter of the 24 hour news channel, especially if they are espousing views that are contrary to my own. Like heavy metal music, it makes me irritable.
Sometimes it’s the voices of others, and sometimes, it’s our own voice inside our head, that affects our mood. Particularly if we get into a period of “stinking thinking,” the end result is usually a bad mood.
Last week, I was in one of those sorts of moods much of the week. It felt like one of those weeks, where everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. If I were to detail specific events, most likely readers would think they were minor inconveniences, but, on a bad week, even the minor inconveniences turn major, and as the grievances accumulate in our minds, the result is crankiness and depression.
So, while in the midst of my week of “stinking thinking,” a package came in the mail. It was John Baumann’s book, Decide Success, and an accompanying audio CD: Reclaiming Posi-psective.
Since I spend much of my week impatiently driving in traffic, I thought it would be good to begin listening to John’s tape. He shares alot of his personal journey from, Ivy league graduate, to corporate attorney, to a proud person with Parkinson’s. Each time I turned on the car last week, it was John’s voice I heard. Annoyingly optimistic in comparison to my cranky mood. In the evenings, instead of turning on Bravo for some mindless unwinding, I began to read John’s book. Now, he was posing questions. Asking me, the reader, to do some work, do a self analysis of my strengths and weakness, and, well, basically, decide success. Despite the fact that I spend all week writing goals for patients, long term, short term, measurable goals, it’s actually been quite a few years since I’ve done the same thing for myself. But, with John’s help, I’ve begun the work.
John Baumann has now gotten into my head. Like ear worms, those jingles or songs that you can’t seem to shake from your brain, his annoyingly positive, glass half full, you can do whatever you set your mind to, voice is in my head. And, it’s making me act. I have taken step one of his success formula and begun a self-assessment. I have begun to re-focus on some goals that I have thought about and talked about for a long time, but with no corresponding action plan.
If you are stuck in your own stinking thinking, feel mired in the problems of your life, and fail to see the possibilities, I hope you will consider joining me at the end of the month when John Baumann is my guest on my monthly podcast: Voice Aerobics Talking 2 You.
You’ll have an opportunity, along with me, to ask John questions, to hear his inspiring stories, and to get a little “posified,” because, like John says: “you ain’t dead yet!”
Upcoming Podcast: Friday April 29, 2016 at 12pm EST
How to Live an Amazing Life with Parkinson’s…or any other challenge you are facing.
Guest: John Baumann
If the day you were diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, you thought it was the end of the world, you need to tune into this podcast. Why? Because, John Baumann, diagnosed with Parkinson’s at the age of 40, while practicing law, will tell you how, for him, a diagnosis of PD became a life saving event. John will reveal his success formula for living an amazing life-with or without Parkinson’s disease.
“My basic message is that, whatever hand life deals you (whether your fault or not), whatever life-changing adversity you have to endure, you still have some control over it, to not just live well, but live an AMAZING LIFE. It takes faith in yourself, discipline, determination, desire, intensity, inner strength. For me, it was having Parkinson’s disease in my 30’s; I am 54 today and have very few symptoms.
To follow the show or listen to past shows, please visit:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/voice-aerobics
Appreciate the Blog Comments
http://voiceaerobicsdvd.blogspot.com/2016/04/john-baumann-proud-person-with.html
John Baumann Proud Person with Parkinson’s posi-spectively in my head
Frequently if I am working with a patient in their home, a television is on in another room of the house, just loud enough to compete for my attention. Especially annoying for me, is the never ending chatter of the 24 hour news channel, especially if they are espousing views that are contrary to my own. Like heavy metal music, it makes me irritable.
Sometimes it’s the voices of others, and sometimes, it’s our own voice inside our head, that affects our mood. Particularly if we get into a period of “stinking thinking,” the end result is usually a bad mood.
Last week, I was in one of those sorts of moods much of the week. It felt like one of those weeks, where everything that could go wrong, did go wrong. If I were to detail specific events, most likely readers would think they were minor inconveniences, but, on a bad week, even the minor inconveniences turn major, and as the grievances accumulate in our minds, the result is crankiness and depression.
So, while in the midst of my week of “stinking thinking,” a package came in the mail. It was John Baumann’s book, Decide Success, and an accompanying audio CD: Reclaiming Posi-psective.
Since I spend much of my week impatiently driving in traffic, I thought it would be good to begin listening to John’s tape. He shares alot of his personal journey from, Ivy league graduate, to corporate attorney, to a proud person with Parkinson’s. Each time I turned on the car last week, it was John’s voice I heard. Annoyingly optimistic in comparison to my cranky mood. In the evenings, instead of turning on Bravo for some mindless unwinding, I began to read John’s book. Now, he was posing questions. Asking me, the reader, to do some work, do a self analysis of my strengths and weakness, and, well, basically, decide success. Despite the fact that I spend all week writing goals for patients, long term, short term, measurable goals, it’s actually been quite a few years since I’ve done the same thing for myself. But, with John’s help, I’ve begun the work.
John Baumann has now gotten into my head. Like ear worms, those jingles or songs that you can’t seem to shake from your brain, his annoyingly positive, glass half full, you can do whatever you set your mind to, voice is in my head. And, it’s making me act. I have taken step one of his success formula and begun a self-assessment. I have begun to re-focus on some goals that I have thought about and talked about for a long time, but with no corresponding action plan.
If you are stuck in your own stinking thinking, feel mired in the problems of your life, and fail to see the possibilities, I hope you will consider joining me at the end of the month when John Baumann is my guest on my monthly podcast: Voice Aerobics Talking 2 You.
You’ll have an opportunity, along with me, to ask John questions, to hear his inspiring stories, and to get a little “posified,” because, like John says: “you ain’t dead yet!”
Upcoming Podcast: Friday April 29, 2016 at 12pm EST
How to Live an Amazing Life with Parkinson’s…or any other challenge you are facing.
Guest: John Baumann
If the day you were diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease, you thought it was the end of the world, you need to tune into this podcast. Why? Because, John Baumann, diagnosed with Parkinson’s at the age of 40, while practicing law, will tell you how, for him, a diagnosis of PD became a life saving event. John will reveal his success formula for living an amazing life-with or without Parkinson’s disease.
“My basic message is that, whatever hand life deals you (whether your fault or not), whatever life-changing adversity you have to endure, you still have some control over it, to not just live well, but live an AMAZING LIFE. It takes faith in yourself, discipline, determination, desire, intensity, inner strength. For me, it was having Parkinson’s disease in my 30’s; I am 54 today and have very few symptoms.
To follow the show or listen to past shows, please visit:
http://www.blogtalkradio.com/voice-aerobics
Celebrity Dave Iverson
Dave Iverson, Filmmaker (Capturing Grace), public broadcasting producer and anchor for 30 years provides his thoughts on panelist John Baumann
It’s a topic we probably don’t talk about enough: the ripple effect that Parkinson’s has on the entire family, not just the person diagnosed. For the last two years, the Michael J. Fox Foundation in conjunction with Abbvie Pharmaceutical has sponsored a series of educational conferences for Parkinson’s patients and their families. The conferences feature a variety of panel presentations, but one thing that’s been missing is a session that focuses on how Parkinson’s impacts families. That’s why we recently added a session called “You, Your Loved One and Parkinson’s disease”. We’ve done two sessions so far and it’s been extremely well received. One of the reasons why it’s been successful has been the wonderfully candid contributions of the panel participants. A case in point was John Bauman’s participation at our recent Tampa conference. John was diagnosed in his early 40s and he spoke eloquently about the family challenges he’s faced, but as important, the renewed strength his marriage has given him for the journey ahead. I’m grateful to John and our other panelists for sharing their important stories.
