--- id: ff26_richard_left_handed_golf title: FLYINGFREE - Richard Trains Left-Handed Golf category: Biblical Life Counsel predicted_narrative_arc: loss-of-strength-to-new-strategy sentiment: Determined emotions: - Courageous - Practical - Hopeful keypoints: - Richard Thomson successful in insurance; sold business to partners - Doctor expected loss of right arm and hand strength from Parkinson's - He chose to train left arm and hand for golf - Did not want to give up both business and the game he loved - Bought left-handed clubs immediately and practiced to confidence summary: > Richard Thomson sold his insurance business under Parkinson's counsel, then fought for the game he loved by training left-handed golf instead of surrendering both vocation and joy. tags: - flying-free - chapter-26 - richard-thomson - parkinsons - golf - strategy - adaptation - dean-rush - book-excerpt - biblical-counsel sycophancy: 0 truth_score: 9 entropy: 2 sample: false consent: owner_approved agent: flyingfree created: '2010-01-01' updated: '2026-09-09T00:00:00Z' vault_stage: 07_CODEX headwaters: FLYINGFREE prefix: FLYINGFREE enrich_status: ok enrich_blockers: [] enrich_method: manual pipeline_filename: FLYINGFREE_26_richard-left-handed-golf.md source_kind: book_excerpt proposed_topic: FlyingFree lane: FlyingFree voice: desk active_voice: desk voices: - desk routing_source: carbon corpus_topic: FlyingFree content_status: active date: '2010-01-01' share_url: https://deanrush.net/downloads/flyingfreebook.md source_url: https://deanrush.net/downloads/flyingfreebook.md site_category: Flying Free book_title: Flying Free book_chapter: 26 book_chapter_title: Perfect Touchdown – Examples in Good Landings source_file: flyingfree/flying-free-26-perfect-touchdown.md description: > Chapter 26 — Richard Thomson sells the insurance firm and retrains left-handed golf when Parkinson's threatens his right side. --- # Richard Trains Left-Handed Golf **Author:** Dean Rush **Book:** *Flying Free* · **Chapter 26:** Perfect Touchdown – Examples in Good Landings **Full book:** [deanrush.net/downloads/flyingfreebook.md](https://deanrush.net/downloads/flyingfreebook.md) ## Context for the Reader Perfect touchdown examples show men changing the landing zone, not pretending the runway is unchanged. This lesson holds Richard Thomson’s practical strategy: sell the business under medical advice, then retrain the body he still has for the game he loves. > Voice note: Everything under **Dean's excerpt** is Dean's original prose (lightly cleaned only). Sections marked **Biblical foundations**, **Scholar sidebar**, **Takeaways**, and **First-time learner** are enrichment for Asker / first readers — not Dean speaking. --- ## Biblical foundations (preface) Richard’s left-handed clubs are a parable of using remaining strength rather than mourning only what is lost. Scripture blesses wise adaptation under trial. | Dean's claim | Scriptural undercarriage | | --- | --- | | Fight back; use available strength | I can do all this through him who gives me strength (Philippians 4:13) | | Brand-new strategy for going forward | Forget what is behind… strain toward what is ahead (Philippians 3:13–14) | | Practice until confidence returns | Diligent hands will rule (Proverbs 12:24) | --- ## Dean's excerpt ### Left side still available One friend, Richard Thomson, was very successful in insurance. He sold his business to his partners and moved on. Richard loved to play golf and had played golf right-handed all of his life. After being told by his doctor that he could expect to lose strength in his right arm and hand because of the Parkinson’s disease (it apparently concentrates in different areas of the body for different people), he chose to train his left arm and hand to handle the golf clubs. He was going to fight back against the disease and use the available strength in his body to play the game he loved as long as possible. Richard did not want to give up both his business and also the game he dearly loved to play. He asked the doctor what he could expect from his left-side strength. The doctor said the left-side strength should probably remain for a while. Richard, when given the news about the disease, went directly to a sports store and purchased a new set of left-handed golf clubs. He practiced hitting the ball with his left-handed clubs until he gained confidence in his ability. > **Scholar sidebar — Strain toward what remains** > Philippians 4:13 and 3:13–14 hold strength and forward strain together. Proverbs 12:24 honors diligence. Dean’s friend does not deny loss; he invests remaining capacity. --- ## Takeaways 1. **Sold and moved on.** Career exit under counsel was real. 2. **Right-side loss expected.** Parkinson’s was not abstract. 3. **Train the left.** Available strength became the plan. 4. **Would not lose both.** Business and beloved game were not dual forfeits by default. 5. **Immediate practice.** New clubs the same day; confidence built by work. --- ## First-time learner ### What is Dean saying in one sentence? Richard sold his insurance business under Parkinson’s stress counsel, then immediately trained left-handed golf so he would not lose both vocation and joy. ### Why does the golf detail matter? It shows a concrete new strategy — not slogans — when the old body plan fails. ### Key verses to read with this lesson - **Philippians 4:13** — Strength through Christ. - **Philippians 3:13–14** — Strain toward what is ahead. - **Proverbs 12:24** — Diligent hands. ### A simple practice List one capacity still available after a loss. Schedule one practice session that uses it. ### How this feeds Ask Dean Seed material for: *Who is Richard Thomson? How did he adapt to Parkinson’s? What does Dean mean by a new strategy?*