OUR LEGEND…
Kevin Lee
"I have done a lot, but I'm always doing more...?
by Gyubin Kim (15)
Being identified as something comes with status, responsibilities, and standards. Many Koreans agree that we have felt pressured and directed toward a specific career path. Escaping and being true to self within the pressure can be difficult and, at times, impossible. The effect of this problem is revealed as millions of Koreans settle into the “ideal” career and live a miserable, passionless life. However, one man, Kevin Lee, showed incredible discipline and work ethic and became one of the most excellent florists and wedding planners.
Kevin Lee was born in Korea and lived a comfortable life. His father was a wealthy businessman who provided for his family very well. Unfortunately, his father fell ill and died when Kevin was only 12 years old. His father’s death led to a financial step back for the family, and with few choices, his family decided to immigrate to the US. During his high school years in LA, he followed his sister to one of her flower arrangements classes at a flower shop. This decision changed his life forever with the discovery of his talent and love for flower arranging.
With this talent and passion, the flower shop owner immediately hired him on the spot, despite his poor English. With such heavy talent in flower arrangement, his skills became quickly known. His talent helped expand the business and even led to regulars showing up to the shop just for him. Aside from this, Kevin consistently participated in flower arrangement contests and collected award after award. This recognition promoted his status, and his name was regularly printed in newspapers and magazines. With all this publicity, Kevin started receiving personal requests for flower decorations. At one point, his success began earning him thousands of dollars a week, which helped him open his place, “LA Premier,” in Beverly Hills in 1986.
His success didn’t stop only as a florist. His talents and reputation grew with a new identity as a wedding planner. Kevin has designed events for top Hollywood celebrities such as Barack Obama, and Brad Pitt, Oprah Winfrey, Tom Cruise, Kim Kardashian, Jennifer Anniston, Drew Barrymore, Kate Hudson, Lisa Vanderpump, Nicolas Cage, just to name a few. He has been noted on many television stations and he is known for the most innovative designs for the Oscar’s, Grammy’s, Emmy’s, other major Hollywood premiers.
It’s incredible that his life dramatically changed from experiencing financial hardship to owning his own business in Beverly Hills, all from his passion. One of the reasons I believe that Kevin achieved this level of success was that he valued flowers to another level. In his interview, he expressed the importance of flowers within parties by saying that flowers set the tone and mood and provide richness to the events. He also believed that flowers could not be classified as “just an item.” When Kevin was asked if he considered himself successful, he gave the most modest answer, “success to me is not a measurement.”
No one can measure success. However, Kevin understands that someone will always be considered more significant or better. Even if there aren’t, far too many things can be accomplished; if not all are completed, success isn’t achieved. With that in mind, he does not consider himself successful but understands that he is viewed as successful from someone else’s point of view.
However, though Kevin may not consider himself successful, he is delighted with his job, what he does, and all that has been accomplished. Yet, he feels so many things are left to be done that he often overwhelms himself.
The personal connection he builds into his job and business is one of the many admirable characteristics of Kevin. His reasoning for the intense work ethic was heartwarming. Unlike others who work consistently for the love of making money or experiencing all the opportunities, Kevin’s reason was that he felt a sense of duty and responsibility when orchestrating the weddings. Even if he was getting paid, he wanted the best for those experiencing one of their happiest days. To guarantee that, he sacrificed his sleep and life to pour his heart and mind into the weddings.
It is crazy to wrap your head around the idea that all this success came from flowers. Kevin Lee saw flowers differently than most people, and that unique trait gifted him a career. As he educated me on his life, I reevaluated the things in my life and became more alert. Hearing that he discovered his passion for flowers unintentionally inspired me to look at other things besides textbooks, workbooks, and screens. He reminded me that anything could be your passion, and you can make a career out of it IF you’re passionate and dedicated.