Customer Reviews

I Am Potential: Eight Lessons on Living, Loving, and Reaching Your Dreams

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

If you saw the Hughes family on the ABC TV show "Extreme Makeover: Home Edition" this past February (2008) you may have wondered who they were and why they where chosen. The bigger story is however much deeper and more loving and certainly one that is most inspirational. The book " I Am Potential: Eight Lessons on Living, Loving, and Reaching Your Dreams" is a wonderful true life tale as told to Bryant Stamford by Patrick Henry Hughes and his father Patrick John Hughes. It goes well beyond just telling you who this family is and what makes Patrick Henry so special - it gives depth to the family experiences and gives the reader a look at something very special indeed.

This book is about how a young man, who has not only over come his disabilities, but inspired a community; and now, he inspires an entire nation with his positive zest for life. It also shows how his father coped and dealt with it and how the whole family made it work. This is one of those feel good stories that would make a great feature movie by Disney. The story is uplifting and not about what is wrong, or what someone cannot do. It is a positive message that makes the greater family of mankind feel better.

I enjoyed reading the book but I also found it impossible not to love this young man and to wish him all the best. He may be in a wheel chair and unable to see with his eyes - but he is moving others at light speed towards something much greater within their own selves. The book has a spiritual message without any lectures or ego driven, self-serving attitudes - it is honesty and pure love!

This book has gotten the highest book rating of FIVE STARS from "The American Authors Association" and is on my short list of recommended must read books! I give this my personal endorsement. This is a book that all family members can read.

Thank You Patrick Henry!!! Thank you for sharing your wonderful story with the World. Thank you for allowing us to know you and your delightful family. Thank you for all that you have done to help the Crusade for Children, the March of Dimes, etc., etc.,. But mostly, thank you for inspiring both the physically able, and the disabled into being the BEST person we can be. God doesn't make mistakes. We were made the way we are, for a reason. I think, Your purpose is to share your many special gifts with the World. Through you, we see the World in a new light! Shine on, Shine on Patrick Henry!!

Patrick Henry Hughes and his dad, Patrick John Hughes, have combined to provide a most inspirational story, "I Am Potential," about facing the unthinkable and overcoming obstacles all face in life. Patrick Henry Hughes was born with an extremely rare genetic disorder: arms that could not straighten, legs that would never be able to walk, and most devastatingly of all, permanent blindness. He had been born with no eyes.

The book centers on Patrick Henry's disabilities, his mother's steadfast faith in God, the role his parents played in helping him to be all that he can be, and his father's maturing into a responsible parent and man. "It is also a guide for those who seek to live their own life more meaningfully each day - demonstrating how with faith, perseverance, and unconditional love, almost anything is possible to achieve."

When Patrick Henry was nine months old, an extraordinary thing happened, he began to began to play the piano and an exceptional music talent emerged. He plays in the University of Louisville's Marching (yes, marching band!), has performed with Pam Tillis at the Grand Ole Opry with Pam Tillis and has performed with Lone Star at Fan Fair at Nashville's Riverfront Stages in Nashville, is an acclaimed classical pianist and has performed at John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, and won the Disney Wide World of Sports Spirit Award as college football's most inspirational person.

In "I Am Potential," Patrick provides many extraordinary insights into living a good life:

"Our goals tell us what we intend to accomplish, and the plans we make re what we believe to be the most effective path. But what if along the way we find that the bridge is out? You may have to accept that your map doesn't match up with the road of real life. At that point, forget the directions and look around for a better route. Keep going, but be smart about it, and that includes being flexible. Quite often, those who achieve great things got their by a route they hadn't planned on, and to do that, you have to be open to all possibilities...God's plan for us is far better than the one we started with, but we have to be open in order to find that out. Many of us must stumble into God's blessings."

"Some of us haven't found the thing in life that swallows us and fulfills us like nothing else can. All you have to do is keep trying new things. You'll find it, and when you do, you'll realize it's what you have been looking for all your life."

Once, when his piano teacher asked if he wanted to know what she looked like. His quick response, "I already know what you look like, you are kind and generous, beautiful in every way."

Patrick Henry is one of those rare individuals who is able to touch us genuinely, to instantly disarm us, and in doing so, allows communication soul to soul. We can all learn from him and his amazing attitude...his "I am potential" and defiance of his disabilities at every turn.

Everyone can find something to be thankful after reading this book. The book was compiled in a little different fashion. This was a pleasant change for a biography, not overly informative, but yet emotionally challenging to develop the potential in your own life. Book clubs would do well to discuss this book and draw inspiration for their lives.
--Bree Thomas

Thank you for sharing your world, I learned so much. My son shares the same March 10th birthday as Patrick Henry. My son was also born with severe Bilateral Microphthalmia or small eyes, he is also blind. My son is now 19 months old and reading this book gave me some insights on what I might expect in the future. Reading about the struggles and hardships that Hughes family has tackled and overcome is inspiring. As a father of a boy with a similar condition - Patrick John Hughes insight as a father was enlightening. Anyone wishing to read a good book should sit down and read this story. I know my opinion is biased - but again it is only my opinion. It will be interesting to see what book gets written 20 years from now about the young adult life of Patrick Henry. I wish Patrick and his family the best. His optimism has helped my family and other families that I know that are dealing with blindness. Hopefully Patrick will continue to break down barriers and share his talents with all.

I've heard it said that "Heroes are made, not born." WRONG!

On March 10, 1988, a hero was born into the United States to the Hughes family. He was the first baby of Patrick Hughes (Dad), and his wife, Patricia.
Immediately after delivery, like all parents they were proud of their first son. Then doctors brought news of baby Patrick's startling condition. Their son was afflicted with many disabling conditions: blindness, incomplete hip joints, and shoulder joints that would not allow his arms to swing outward more than a few inches. In addition, Patrick's vertebral column could not support his upward body.

I Am Potential: Eight Lessons on Living, Loving, and Reaching Your Dreams is more than just the story of baby Patrick--wheelchair bound--mastering heights most of us have never reached or even dreamed of reaching. It is also the story of two other people, Patrick's Mom and Dad who infused in their baby, two critical attributes which made him what he is today.

1) Although his abnormalities were extremely rare, Patrick would never experience lack of love. If a loving God had seen fit to create him as is, then Mom and Dad would accept him as is and extend to him the same love they'd give to any other child.
2) In addition, from the time Patrick went home for the very first time, his parents had already made a monumental and irreversible decision. They would treat their newborn as if his condition was normal--for him. Be gone pity. Good-by doubt. Farewell to any sense of limitation. Patrick would be, all he wanted to be.

Patrick Senior learned quickly how to calm his wailing young son, especially when mother was absent--play the piano for him. It worked so well that at nine months, Patrick Henry began imitating the sounds his dad made on their piano keyboard.

At first he learned to match the pitch of sounds; gradually, he learned to imitate melodies and harmonies so that by age two, Father and Son started playing melodies together. As years passed, Patrick's musical ability rapidly increased. In 2001, while vacationing in Tennessee, he played Beethoven's moving Moonlight Sonata in the foyer of a church. All eyes and ears turned in his direction.

It took some time for Patrick to learn Braille, but master it he did. Not only was he successful in grade school, but he graduated high school as well. Patrick then moved on to become a college student at The University of Louisville. By this time, he had learned to play the trumpet. As incredible as it appears when seen in video footage, with his father's precise wheelchair steering ability, the twosome became a single member of the university's marching band.

This book is a must read for people with handicapping conditions from birth or from fate. Patrick's courage and the support given by mother, father, and brothers as he grew older, cannot help but inspire even the most depressed individual to accept a disabling condition and move forward.

I Am Potential is fascinating to read because the narrative switches back and forth between Patrick and his father. Yet this cannot be interpreted as lack of empathy or support from Patrick's mother or younger brothers. What is evident is this: the glue that kept this family together came from an openly shared love and trust all felt toward one another including their God.

I cannot recommend this book highly enough to the general public who often see people with a handicap as a handicapped person. Patrick has proven the two terms are not equal or even logical. In his life, there is no such thing as handicap or failure. Why? It was never permitted in his thinking.

Does he miss his sight? He would be the first to say, actually, I don't know because I don't know what seeing means. Once, when asked how he'd feel if God suddenly gave him the ability to walk, Patrick replied, "I'd say yes ... but nothing is accomplished by dwelling on the fact you can't walk. So you have to shrink its importance in your mind ... and that's what I've done."

Other interesting reads:
I am Potential - on Playaway
Helping Children Who Are Blind (Early Assistance Series for Children With Disabilities)
Chicken Soup for the Soul: Children with Special Needs: Stories of Love and Understanding for Those Who Care for Children with Disabilities

I found this book to be quite inspirational, and would recommend it to anyone who really needs a "pick me up!!!"

I AM POTENTIAL: EIGHT LESSONS ON LIVING, LOVING, AND REACHING YOUR DREAMS tells of how to achieve dreams against impossible odds - and tells of son Patrick Henry Hughes, born with a rare genetic disorder resulting in arms that would not straighten, legs that couldn't walk, and permanent blindness. His parents didn't give up on him - and at nine months he began to play the piano, demonstrating an extraordinary musical talent. Even more extraordinary - this book is written in the first-person from the genius son's experiences. An outstanding book on beating the odds - and emerging a winner - highly recommended for any general-interest lending library.

Patrick Henry Hughes and his dad, Patrick John Hughes, have combined to provide a most inspirational story, "I Am Potential," about facing the unthinkable and overcoming obstacles all face in life. Patrick Henry Hughes was born with an extremely rare genetic disorder: arms that could not straighten, legs that would never be able to walk, and most devastatingly of all, permanent blindness. He had been born with no eyes.

The book centers on Patrick Henry's disabilities, his mother's steadfast faith in God, the role his parents played in helping him to be all that he can be, and his father's maturing into a responsible parent and man. "It is also a guide for those who seek to live their own life more meaningfully each day - demonstrating how with faith, perseverance, and unconditional love, almost anything is possible to achieve."

When Patrick Henry was nine months old, an extraordinary thing happened, he began to began to play the piano and an exceptional music talent emerged. He plays in the University of Louisville's Marching (yes, marching band!), has performed with Pam Tillis at the Grand Ole Opry with Pam Tillis and has performed with Lone Star at Fan Fair at Nashville's Riverfront Stages in Nashville, is an acclaimed classical pianist and has performed at John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts in Washington, DC, and won the Disney Wide World of Sports Spirit Award as college football's most inspirational person.

In "I Am Potential," Patrick provides many extraordinary insights into living a good life:

"Our goals tell us what we intend to accomplish, and the plans we make re what we believe to be the most effective path. But what if along the way we find that the bridge is out? You may have to accept that your map doesn't match up with the road of real life. At that point, forget the directions and look around for a better route. Keep going, but be smart about it, and that includes being flexible. Quite often, those who achieve great things got their by a route they hadn't planned on, and to do that, you have to be open to all possibilities...God's plan for us is far better than the one we started with, but we have to be open in order to find that out. Many of us must stumble into God's blessings."

"Some of us haven't found the thing in life that swallows us and fulfills us like nothing else can. All you have to do is keep trying new things. You'll find it, and when you do, you'll realize it's what you have been looking for all your life."

Once, when his piano teacher asked if he wanted to know what she looked like. His quick response, "I already know what you look like, you are kind and generous, beautiful in every way."

Patrick Henry is one of those rare individuals who is able to touch us genuinely, to instantly disarm us, and in doing so, allows communication soul to soul. We can all learn from him and his amazing attitude...his "I am potential" and defiance of his disabilities at every turn.

Quite simply put, read this book and check out who Patrick Henry Hughes is. He is a true warrior and an exemplary human being for any able-bodied adult who is feeling sorry for him/herself. What else can be said about a young man who refused to let multiple birth defects get in the way of reaching his dreams?

Ear-trained classical pianist virtuoso, trumpeter, vocalist, fluent in Spanish, college student, marching bandmate.....Just a "small" list of accomplishments for a man born with no eyes, deformed hands and confined to a wheelchair for life. When I first saw him sing "Amazing Grace" on The Hour Of Power, I was not only very impressed, but I ordered his book right away.

Here is a person that did not see the score stacked against him -- he used his circumstances and talents to his advantage and pursued his passions with zest. What he conveys in this book, well worth reading, is how he faced life's challenges, adapted/conquered...and made the most out of challenging situations. This is a lesson to people who face no debilitating defects, who can walk and see on their own, to face what life deals them and act accordingly.