SUCCESS STORY
Florence Kendall and Opportunities
By Michelle Klimstra | Biokinetics Major
The walk was getting worse; Barry is finding himself tripping over his own two feet. It was supposed to be over, he was supposed to be cured, there was not supposed to be any additional problems. But there was. The doctors told him to go back to physical therapy and that it should help with his walk. He had already tried that, though. He found himself yet again going back to see Florence Kendall at the age of 8 years old. To make sure everything stayed as plan and that he never had to go back. He went to see Mrs. Kendall three to four times a week. While at physical therapy his legs were being stretched and massaged. One time Barry’s legs were soft casted so they could make a mold for the cast he would use during the day and when he went to bed. He promised Mrs. Kendall that he would continue to do his stretches and workout so he could take off his braces during his little league games. She agreed to these terms, as long as he did what he said he would do (Considine). A hard working dedicated individual, who would do anything to help her patients, that was the kind of person Florence Kendall was. That is one of the reasons that Florence Kendall was a living example of Malcolm Gladwell’s Theories on 10,000 hours, Opportunities and Timing.
Striking the strings on the guitar, the Beatles blast into a stadium. The lights are flashing, walking down the aisles franticly as one is trying to find their seat before the show starts. When their seat is found, the people behind them are already standing up, yelling so hard and so fast, that they start to feel the vibration of their excitement and it makes the hair on the back of their neck stand on end. The show hasn’t even begun yet, but they see themself having the best time of their life. They find themself humming along to the sound and they start to wonder, “how did the Beatles become such a super star band?” It all started around 55 years ago in Hamburg, Germany when the Beatles reached their 10,000 hours (Gladwell, 2008, p. 48). The Beatles preformed in Hamburg five times before becoming the success they are today. While the Beatles were in Hamburg the first time, they played for five nights about 106 times and about five plus hours a night. The second time they came to Hamburg, the band played 92 times, the third time they played 48 times, totaling 172 hours on stage (Gladwell, 2008, p. 49–50). The fourth and fifth time they played in Hamburg, Germany, they added another 90 minutes to their 10,000-hour trek to become a successful band (Gladwell, 2008, p. 50). When the Beatles first came to play in the states they where not good at performing on stage. They seemed awkward, out of sync, and didn’t really know what they were doing. When these men came back into the States, they were electric, they had something about them that no other band had ever had before (Gladwell, 2008, p. 50). By the time they came back into the States, they had performed live about 12,000 times (Gladwell, 2008, p. 50). This meant they knew what to do, they knew how to act on stage and how to get the crowd into their performance. Most bands never get the opportunity to play 12,000, even if they are famous (Gladwell, 2008, p. 50). The success the Beatles had is because they knew how to perform. They had put in their 10,000 hours and were experts when it came to being a rock band. The Beatles success was linked to “ [w]ork ethic, luck, a strong support base and even being born in the right year, play a role” (Greogory, S), the Beatles were placed at a time of “explosion of pop culture in the 1960’s” (Greogory, S). 10,000 hours it is something that is needed to become a success and that’s what the Beatles and Florence Kendall got.
Success is found in people who are hard working and have the drive to complete what they are working towards. It is found in people who have put forth their 10,000 hours and have the grit to succeed. “Grit is passion and perseverance for very long term goals, grit is having stamina, grit is sticking with your future” (Duckworth, A. L). If one does not have the desire to succeed, then even with 10,000 hours of work, no progress will be made. Going through the motions will get them nowhere with success.
In relations to Florence Kendall, she graduated at the top of her class, which earned her the title of valedictorian for her high school, in Mora, Minnesota (University of Maryland). Although she hadn’t quite earned her total of 10,000 hours, earning valedictorian helped prove she had the drive to do whatever it takes to be successful. After attending High School she went on to “earn her Bachelor of Science degree in Physical Education” (University of Maryland). Where she went on to teach Physical Education for a year before venturing east to study Physical Therapy at Walter Reed Army Hospital (University of Maryland).
While studying at Walter Reed Army Hospital, Florence was put on a case with a little boy who had Polio. Her job was to provide supplementary treatments (University of Maryland). The treatments she had been providing to the little boy were to help him regain mobility throughout his body again. That is when Florence Kendall got the break that allowed her to receive her 10,000 hours. Kendall got the opportunity to work with polio patients and one of the top physical therapists in the United States at the time, Henry Kendall: who she later married (University of Maryland). They worked many fearless hours with several patients trying to help them to have a functioning body again. Adding to Kendall’s 10,000 hours she wrote many books with her husband about how the muscular system works and the function of muscles. These books are still used today throughout many physical therapy departments in the United States (Lawrence, L). Kendall once stated, “we were not on the road to riches, but had the great reward of being able to help patients” (as cited in Lawrence, L). Because Kendall was able to help all of these patients who had polio, she was able to practice her skills which helped her became such a good physical therapist. Kendall was able to receive her 10,000 hours in a short amount of time. Florence Kendall worked with physical therapy for six decades (Lawrence, L). Six decades can do a lot when you are putting in long hours to help patients and that’s all she ever wanted to do in life, help people who were in trouble. Kendall’s 10,000 hours of helping patients helped her to understand the emotions expressed in the faces of the patients. If she could understand her patient’s emotions, she would be more trusted by her patients (Ekman, P). Kendall’s 10,000 hours not only influenced her patient care but also lead to many different opportunities.
Bill Gates is one of the richest men in America. How did this come to be? It wasn’t just because he happened to find an interest in computers; it was because of the opportunities he got while he was growing up. While growing up Gates was easily bored with his studies, so his parents pulled him out of the school he was going to and placed him into an elite high school called Lakeside (Gladwell, 2008, p. 51). Here, his opportunities came into play. While attending Lakeside private school, Gates got the opportunity most high school students did not get at this time. Lakeside private school started a computer club (Gladwell, 2008, p. 50). This computer club allowed students to do whatever they wanted on the computer, but it would cost them. This new computer was a “time-share terminal with a direct link to a mainframe computer in downtown Seattle” (Gladwell, 2008, p.51). This meant they had to pay for the time they used the mainframe. At this point in time, Bill Gates was fully invested in the computer programing business. He also got the opportunity to do some software programing through a company called C-Cubed (Gladwell, 2008, p. 51). He received this opportunity because one of the moms worked for C-Cubed and told them that in exchange for testing the company’s software, they would receive free programing time (Gladwell, 2008, p. 51). One of the other opportunities Gates received was that he lived within walking distance to the University of Washington, which happened to offer free computer use between the time of 3 and 6 in the morning. With these opportunities, it is no wonder Bill Gates was such a success. He had many opportunities that many of us would have never had. These opportunities all had an affect into why Bill Gates succeeded.
In many ways Florence Kendall had the same opportunities as Bill Gates. Growing up in small town Mora, Minnesota, Kendall finished high school at the age of sixteen, which allowed her to go on to school at the University of Minnesota at a very early age. Her whole family went there, except for the two youngest brothers, all graduating with total of fifteen degrees (Lawrence, L). Florence Kendall came from a very well educated and intelligent family, which was another opportunity for her success. Kendall originally went to school for physical education, but found the topic to be a bore and wanted to do something else with her life, something that would help people. (Lawrence, L) Kendall traveled out east, where she studied at Walter Reed Army Hospital for Physical Therapy (Lawrence, L). While working at Walter Reed Army Hospital she got the opportunity to work with one of the top physical therapists. Shortly after she began her physical therapy work at Walter Reed Army Hospital, she was laid off because of “drastic cuts in military personnel and civilian employees” (Lawrence, L). It was at this time she received her greatest opportunity, even if it didn’t seem like it. Shortly after being laid off, Mrs. Kendall got the opportunity to work at Baltimore Children’s Hospital (Lawrence, L). It was here she was able to work under “renowned physical therapist Henry Kendall”(Lawrence, L). Mr. Kendall was well known in physical therapy for working with polio patients. After Mrs. Kendall began her work under Mr. Kendall, they decided to get married, just after a year and a half of knowing each other. This was Kendall’s biggest opportunity she received in the physical therapy field. She married a man who was already well established in this line of work and seemed to know a lot about the subject. Kendall’s opportunities didn’t just stop there; she was also very lucky with the aspect of timing.
What does timing have anything to do with becoming a big time success like Bill Gates or Steve Jobs? Timing has everything and anything to do with their success. If they were born too early in the 1950’s, they would have missed out on the computer industry and they would be working somewhere else. If they were born late in the 1950’s, they would have missed their chance in the computer industry because they would still in high school. If you wanted to be successful in the computer industry you needed to be born between the specific dates of 1954–1955 (Gladwell, 2008, p. 67). Bill Gates was born in 1955, which places him graduating college around the time of 1975. Steve Jobs was also born in 1955, which again places him graduating college around 1975 (Gladwell, 2008, p. 65). It was during the time of 1975 that the computer industry had its biggest break through (Gladwell, 2008, p. 63). It was at this time in Silicon Valley, when the first “Minicomputer Kit to Rival Commercial Models” (as cited in Gladwell, 2008, p. 63), was created. This new invention launched us into the personal computer era. It’s what launched Bill Gates and Steve Jobs into the successful men they are today.
Timing, it’s everything. You either make it or you don’t. If you’re too late you lose your opportunity, but if you’re too early, you never get a chance. In relation to Florence Kendall, she was in the right time. “Mrs. Kendall became a physical therapist in the early 1930’s, when the field was in its infancy” (Matt, S). When she became a physical therapist, there was no need for a license in physical therapy because it was not a licensed practice (Matt, S). This meant you did not need to go to school for physical therapy and you did not need to be certified to help someone. Mrs. Kendall and her husband worked very hard to change this aspect of physical therapy. Mr. and Mrs. Kendall “helped draft a bill that establishes standards and licensing procedures for physical therapists in the state” (Matt, S). This bill was accepted by the “Maryland General Assembly in 1947” (Matt, S). Kendall was able to become the success she is today because of the time and effort she put into making physical therapy a licensed practice.
All grown up, Barry finds himself talking to someone who knew Florence Kendall. Sitting at his kitchen table one day, the phone rings, he answers and to his surprise it is Florence Kendall. She wants to do a final examination of her patient. 37 years has passed since his last examination by Mrs. Kendall. She invites him over to her house where she has her son-in-law set up her old examination station, so she can do one last examination on Barry. She points him toward towards the powder room where he can put on his shorts so they can do the post- polio examination. During the examination she told him everything that had happened to him when he was little and how he was doing now. She was surprised at how much he was able to accomplish throughout his life. She had no requirements to do any of this but because of the kind of person she was and how she cared so much for her patients, she did this for him (Considine). The key to becoming a successful person in your line of profession is truly caring for your patients and putting in your 10,000 hours. You sincerely have to care about your work. Just look at Florence Kendall and all of the success she has had during her lifetime.
References
Considine, B. (2007, January 31). Casey’s Dream [Blog Post].
Duckworth, A. L. (writer), & Lash, R. H (Producer, Media Team). ( 2013, April). Angela Lee Duckworth: The key to success? Grit [ Video Film].
Ekman, P., Yamsey, G., (2004) Emotions revealed: recognizing facial expressions: in the first of two articles on how recognizing faces and feelings can help you communicate, Paul Ekman discusses how recognizing emotions can benefit you in your professional life. United Kingdom: British Medical Assistance.
Gladwell, M. (2008). Outliers. New York, NY: Little, Brown and Company.
Greogory, S. (2013, April 15). Practice, made perfect?
Lawrence, L. (2000, May). Florence Kendall: What a Wonderful Journey. PT magazine, 8(5), 37–45.
Matt, S. (n.d). Physical Therapist Florence P. Kendall. Washington Post, The.
University of Maryland. (2013, Sept. 11) Kendall Historical Collection.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Michelle Klimstra, Freshman at Bethel University, MN. Plans to graduate in 2018, with a degree in biokinetics in hopes of becoming a Physical Therapist. Klimstra likes to be active in any kind of sports, loves animals, and watching Netflix.
WHAT I'VE LEARNED
I've learned that to be the best writer you can be you need to drop the reader in a moment.
Naming the dog helps the reader to visualize what is going on. Instead of just saying she used a hockey stick. You could say she used a Bauer RX Pro goalie stick. It is a lot more specific and it helps the reader see what it looks like.
Make the reader wait for the answer, don’t just go out and tell them. Have them on the edge of their seat waiting for what might happen.
Write to appeal to the senses of the readers.
Write something that has never been written before.
Drop gold coins to keep the reader interested in the reading.
Readers always want to hear something before being told what is happening.
How to make use of voice to make a paper more interesting.
I've learned you should finish where you started.
Know what to leave out.
You need to have fun while writing.
When you first start a paper you don’t have to start at the Introduction, you can start anywhere you want.
The Little Seagull book is very helpful, when it comes to citing things.
The term the “self-made man” is not true. Behind him becoming a successful man might have been his family legacy.
Success is something not everyone receives. To receive success you need to have the drive and grit to succeed.
The black dress hat is being picked up off the cold steal table. Talking gets quiet and nervous start rushing through the my veins. My heart starts to race as I wonder “will my name be called? Will I have to read my story to the entire class?” What if it’s not good enough, what will people be thinking if I have to read this aloud. Will they like it? Will they hate it? I don’t know. Sitting nervously on a black hard plastic chair, I await for a name to be called. Oh no here it is as Peter’s hand moves swiftly in the black felt hat. My heart once again races… I feel a cold sweat coming along… Peter’s booming voice announces the name “Mark”. I start to feel my heart and all my heightened sense go back to normal, as I can finally sit in peace knowing I don’t have to read my story aloud to the class.
