WINNING THE LOTTERY IN LIFE
Last year (2014) Americans gambled on winning the lottery, spending a total of $70.15 billion on lottery tickets, according to the North American Association of State and Provincial Lotteries. The next highest expenditure was Sports tickets with $17.8 billion, then books, $14.6 billion, video games, $13.1billion, movie box office, $10.7 billion, and music, $6.8 billion. (http://money.cnn.com/2015/02/11/news/companies/lottery-spending/)

This goes to show that winning the lottery is part of the American Dream, and not just in America. The Canadian figures are also quite high. However, Maggie Loh won the lottery in an entirely different way. My friend, Karen, who sweats hard with me in an early-morning cycle class, is also a swimmer. (which I’m not!) As we were leaving cycle class one day, she waved to a swimmer in the Olympic-sized pool at our gym. Then she commented, “Maggie is such an inspiration. She is 82 years old.” As I picked my jaw up off the floor, I watched Maggie swim another lap. Karen also commented, “Maggie has a incredible story of perseverance.” I told her I wanted to hear it. 

A couple weeks later over a sandwich, I heard Maggie’s story. Maggie had gone to Shanghai, China for college and was looking forward to a bright future, but 1 ½ years later, her world changed. Communism took over and there was no way for her to get out of the country, not even to attend her father’s funeral in Hong Kong. Also, she suddenly had no choice in what field she wanted to pursue. The party now chose her field of study and the party became first, over everything else in her life, including family. They chose the teaching profession for her career.

Things progressively got worse during the next six years. Her property now belonged to the state. A coupon was required for everything. Maggie remembers getting one egg a year, 2 ounces of sugar for a month and a small amount of yarn in order to mend her clothes. The country gradually got poorer and poorer. Hard work did not pay off for the worker, only for the party.

Maggie did become a white-color professional as a college instructor, but the party required all white and blue collar workers to exchange places during the summer months. She was sent out on a construction job. At this time, Maggie was 98 pounds and her job was to carry bricks to the construction site, of which she could only physically carry two at a time! Luckily, the bricklayer was kind and did not turn her in. She and another professor colleague also had to clean the sewer, carrying buckets of waste, hanging and sloshing between them.

A bright spot in her dark world happened when she met Albert. They married and soon had two sons. Maggie knew they needed to find a way out of the country, and unbeknownst to her at the time, it was to be crafted by her clever mother. Her mother sent her an “urgent” telegram telling her she was sick to the point of death and needed Maggie to come see her one last time. (Her mother was in Hong Kong) Her plea must have hit a soft spot, for miraculously, her superior gave her permission for a few days travel to see her mother. Maggie did not pack a suitcase, as she did not want anyone to hold her back. She had a quarter in her pocket, enough for a single train ticket for her and her young sons, and she left for Hong Kong, never to return.

Immediately, Maggie started working three jobs and her mother helped with the boys. She worked 9-5, then 5-7, then 7 to whenever she would finish tutoring. It was a hard life, but she was free, and this was to be her life for the next ten years. However, Albert was still trapped in Shanghai, as a valued Physicist. Albert’s escape happened when smuggled out on a boat by a sympathetic citizen of Shanghai, although he knew there would be revenge on his extended family. (His family was later questioned extensively and  thrown out of their house)

After ten years in Hong Kong, Maggie and Albert found their way to the United States, truly winning the lottery in life. It was still not easy, as in order to be a physicist in the U.S., Albert had to completely repeat all the coursework and exams, which he did. It was well-worth it as they were now free.

Top Sheet Music Seller! Click HERE or on the picture for full video. Click HERE to view the sheet music.

It doesn't matter who you are, entrepreneur, artist, small or large business owner. Targeted focus and goals are necessary for your life. There are some goal-setting pages at: (http://DJWorksMusic.com), including a goal-setting worksheet to get you going. Also check out the updated Double Grande website--now in WordPress so I can update it easier!
 
One of my goals this year has been to produce a new instrumental album, and I have really enjoyed it! Last week, Fred Selden came in to play several flute solos and backgrounds. One of the pieces, named "Times Five," features him playing ethnic flutes he had purchased in India. He literally had to use four different flutes to cover the range of the song. It was fascinating to watch and I can't wait for you to hear the outcome! I will be putting out several versions of sheet music for each of the 12 songs, including intermediate piano, instrumental solo, and piano with orchestration. (You can see my current  sheet music page here!)

Of course, I have a couple other book and video projects going as well as performances, so I will keep you updated! If you've read my newsletter down this far, please know how much I appreciate you checking in each month! I hope you are encouraged and enjoy my musings and heart-felt messages enough to even pass them along to others!

Our family celebrates Easter. For whatever you celebrate, have a wonderful, blessed season, focusing on ways you have won the lottery in life! Subscribe to the DJWorks Music mailing list.