I have a very special guest writer for you this week, Mr. Bill Strickland, founder of the wonderful non profit organization in Pittsburgh known as Manchester Bidwell which, 1) provides state of the art jobs training programs intended to give poor and otherwise disadvantaged adults the skills and direction they need to land meaningful, good-paying jobs that provide the foundation for a much brighter future, and 2) offers rigorous after school courses in the arts that light a creative fire in at-risk kids and inspire them to stay in school (a program known as Manchester Craftmens Guild). He is also the winner of the MacArthur Foundation genius grant among many other truly commendable accomplishments and awards. Sooo, youre probably wondering how I got such a legit guy to guest write for me. Well, I didnt really. Im simply snagging an excerpt from his book, titled Make the Impossible Possible, which I highly recommend you read. Enjoy! In the 1930s, a young saxophone player from Kansas City showed up on the stages of the best jazz clubs in New York, playing with such virtuosity that even the best jazz artists of the day could only shake their heads in awe. His name was Charlie Parker, and he became an overnight phenomenon. Now, I have to be honest; Im no fan of Charlie Parker the man. in many ways he was a mean, sometimes treacherous person, and his self-destructive tendencies and reckless abuse of drugs and alcohol eventually killed him at the age of thirty-four. But despite …
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