From Chapter 8, "Kindness: The Art of Paying it Forward" in Ingredients of Outliers From Slavery to Significance Another boy whose life would be forever changed by an act of kindness was Frederick Bailey, born to a slave woman in 1818. He never knew his father and he was only seven when his mother left him with the owner of the plantation and his life of slavery began. He was beaten often and forced to go long hours with neither food nor sleep. Recalling those days, he would later write, “I was broken in body, soul and spirit.” Back then it was against the law to teach slaves to read … [Read more...]
A Kind Act Can Change a Life
From Chapter 8, "Kindness: The Art of Paying it Forward" from Ingredients of Outliers A Touch on the Shoulder But we can do more than imagine it. Consider the story of Dudley Henrique who was—literally—touched on the shoulder by a stranger, a kind touch that would mark the beginning of a new life, while there was still time. Dudley’s early life wasn’t easy. Born in 1937, he was six when his parents divorced. His mother was soon remarried—to a hot- tempered man who would beat him severely and often. Two years later his grandmother came to his rescue, taking him to live with her in … [Read more...]