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00:00:00 --> 00:00:03 Welcome to your Booster Shot from the AWB Education Network.
00:00:04 --> 00:00:08 This podcast series is our opportunity to dive even deeper into the topics and
00:00:08 --> 00:00:10 skills that will help you lead your school with confidence.
00:00:11 --> 00:00:15 Check out information on our partners along with additional resources and services
00:00:15 --> 00:00:19 at www.awbeducation.org.
00:00:19 --> 00:00:23 Now, here is your Booster Shot. All right, welcome back to another edition of
00:00:23 --> 00:00:28 your Booster Shot by AWB Education. And today, I am excited to have the esteemed
00:00:28 --> 00:00:31 Chris Norton on our show as our guest.
00:00:31 --> 00:00:37 Chris was a former student and athlete of mine many, many years ago and is just
00:00:37 --> 00:00:40 one reminder, again, of how old I'm getting every day.
00:00:40 --> 00:00:45 Thanks, Chris. Appreciate that. But I'm excited to have Chris join us today
00:00:45 --> 00:00:48 and talk about his amazing story and his mission.
00:00:48 --> 00:00:52 And I have to admit, Chris, that I brag to others about knowing you.
00:00:52 --> 00:00:56 And it's really, it's fantastic to have you on this podcast. I'm really honored.
00:00:56 --> 00:01:00 For our listeners, can you briefly share your story? And for those that don't
00:01:00 --> 00:01:04 know it or haven't seen your movie, just so that we have a better understanding of your why.
00:01:05 --> 00:01:09 Yeah. Well, thanks for the introduction. I got to say, I brag to people that I know you.
00:01:09 --> 00:01:13 So, you know, it goes, it goes both ways. That's good.
00:01:14 --> 00:01:18 Not sure I burned that, but okay, I'll take it. No, no, it's good to see you.
00:01:18 --> 00:01:24 Yeah. I'll take you back to really, I think the pivotal moment of my life came
00:01:24 --> 00:01:30 on October 16th of 2010, 18 year old freshman playing at Luther college.
00:01:30 --> 00:01:34 Yeah. I went to Bonnerant Farrar where you were coaching at and,
00:01:34 --> 00:01:42 uh, six game of the season, third quarter, I'm running down to make the tackle on the kickoff.
00:01:42 --> 00:01:48 I see the opening and as you know, I, I loved hitting people and I was going
00:01:48 --> 00:01:53 full speed to, to blow this guy up and hopefully he'd fumble the ball.
00:01:53 --> 00:01:59 And, you know, with football, what I really appreciated about it is the physicality that it brings.
00:01:59 --> 00:02:03 And it's kind of like you're the, the gladiators of modern era.
00:02:04 --> 00:02:09 And, and sometimes with the football pads and helmet, you, you feel invincible.
00:02:10 --> 00:02:16 And so I, kind of a reckless abandon, went in there and mistimed my tackle.
00:02:16 --> 00:02:22 I've always, I think, been a clean hitter, a clean player, but this time my
00:02:22 --> 00:02:24 head collided right with his legs.
00:02:24 --> 00:02:28 In an instant, I lose all feeling of movement from the neck down.
00:02:30 --> 00:02:33 Laying there i hear the whistle blow the pile
00:02:33 --> 00:02:36 clears off and so when i try to push off the
00:02:36 --> 00:02:39 ground nothing happens i'm completely
00:02:39 --> 00:02:42 conscious i never you know everything that's going
00:02:42 --> 00:02:45 on right now i yeah exactly i know everything's going
00:02:45 --> 00:02:48 on completely aware and actually it just felt like
00:02:48 --> 00:02:51 a routine tackle it just couldn't move like
00:02:51 --> 00:02:54 someone flipped the power off to my body but i'm
00:02:54 --> 00:02:57 telling myself you know maybe it's just like a bad stinger i
00:02:57 --> 00:03:00 had a stinger in high school where part of
00:03:00 --> 00:03:03 my body went numb and i couldn't move it but after
00:03:03 --> 00:03:07 a couple minutes was able to walk off the field so
00:03:07 --> 00:03:10 that's what i'm telling myself like oh just give it some time the
00:03:10 --> 00:03:12 trainers run out i'm embarrassed because i
00:03:12 --> 00:03:15 don't want the game to stop for me i want to be the tough guy
00:03:15 --> 00:03:18 walk it off i'll be fine you'll see me next play
00:03:18 --> 00:03:22 well i couldn't do that and but they
00:03:22 --> 00:03:24 rolled me onto my back because i was face down on
00:03:24 --> 00:03:30 the ground i made eye contact with one of these student athletic trainers and
00:03:30 --> 00:03:37 i could see in her face she's terrified now it's kind of my first there's there's
00:03:37 --> 00:03:42 other signs but that was like kind of the big one of like oh maybe this isn't like a routine.
00:03:43 --> 00:03:47 Stinger and then they asked me questions like hey chris you feel us touching your leg,
00:03:49 --> 00:03:54 nothing chris can you try making a fist with your hand i couldn't do it it was
00:03:54 --> 00:04:00 also really odd was that, you know, when you close your eyes and you move your arms around,
00:04:01 --> 00:04:06 you know where your arms and legs are in space without even seeing them.
00:04:06 --> 00:04:12 Well, it was like, I couldn't sense where my body was. Like I lost all those senses.
00:04:12 --> 00:04:19 Like they were erased from my body, which was even more like disassociating experience.
00:04:19 --> 00:04:26 And then they call in the paramedics, they call in for a helicopter,
00:04:26 --> 00:04:29 and that's right when i knew this
00:04:29 --> 00:04:32 is bad yeah i i closed my eyes because
00:04:32 --> 00:04:37 i wanted to almost like pretend like it wasn't happening like i tried to like
00:04:37 --> 00:04:44 separate myself from that situation not being scared and just praying and hoping
00:04:44 --> 00:04:49 for the best and to get in the helicopter they they fly me out mayo clinic and.
00:04:50 --> 00:04:53 Put me to sleep surgery and i wake up and told i
00:04:53 --> 00:04:56 had a three percent chance of ever moving
00:04:56 --> 00:04:59 below the neck and that's not a three percent chance
00:04:59 --> 00:05:03 to walk but a three percent chance to
00:05:03 --> 00:05:08 feel someone's touch to scratch an itch on your face to feed yourself it's you
00:05:08 --> 00:05:14 know so much more than than walking and but even as devastating as the news
00:05:14 --> 00:05:20 was i just deep down believed that this wasn't the end of my story,
00:05:20 --> 00:05:23 that there would be more.
00:05:24 --> 00:05:27 And I knew I had to fight. And so I was just like, no way, not me.
00:05:28 --> 00:05:31 I'm not going to be part of the 97% who don't recover.
00:05:31 --> 00:05:37 I will do whatever it takes each and every day to be that 3%.
00:05:37 --> 00:05:41 And that's what I believed in is I'm going to be the 3%. And so it's kind of
00:05:41 --> 00:05:47 also part of my message too of, we're all going to face these 3% moments in
00:05:47 --> 00:05:50 life where the odds are stacked against us.
00:05:50 --> 00:05:55 So how do you respond and how do you move forward in that situation?
00:05:55 --> 00:05:59 And so one of the first things I did was just really took a look at myself and
00:05:59 --> 00:06:03 took responsibility for what I still could do. I lost all physical movement.
00:06:04 --> 00:06:09 Like I said, I couldn't move a finger, but I could control my attitude. I can control my effort.
00:06:09 --> 00:06:13 And I was just kind of focus like what can i do today to get
00:06:13 --> 00:06:16 better and i just continued that
00:06:16 --> 00:06:20 process i would eventually get some movement
00:06:20 --> 00:06:23 in my toes like on thanksgiving morning which was really special
00:06:23 --> 00:06:27 morning and that just continued to snowball
00:06:27 --> 00:06:31 into more feeling more movement fast forward
00:06:31 --> 00:06:34 now in the story of a few years later i walked the
00:06:34 --> 00:06:37 graduation stage with the help
00:06:37 --> 00:06:40 of my fiance then emily that went
00:06:40 --> 00:06:44 viral got to go on all the major talk shows
00:06:44 --> 00:06:48 and news outlets which was awesome moment yeah yeah
00:06:48 --> 00:06:51 it was a fun little media blitz yeah and
00:06:51 --> 00:06:54 a few years after that walked her seven yards
00:06:54 --> 00:06:58 down the avro wedding which again did the
00:06:58 --> 00:07:01 whole viral media circuit and got turned
00:07:01 --> 00:07:04 into the movie seven yards that was on
00:07:04 --> 00:07:07 netflix for a while and you can rent it on amazon prime
00:07:07 --> 00:07:10 or apple tv among other places
00:07:10 --> 00:07:13 and really just i just feel like
00:07:13 --> 00:07:16 my calling is to give people help
00:07:16 --> 00:07:20 in hopeless situations because let's face
00:07:20 --> 00:07:24 it we're human like we're gonna have moments in life where it just doesn't seem
00:07:24 --> 00:07:28 fair and in life it isn't fair and we're not gonna have the hope that we need
00:07:28 --> 00:07:33 to keep going and i just believe that i can be that person to give that that
00:07:33 --> 00:07:37 little nudge that little push to keep people believing.
00:07:37 --> 00:07:42 To keep moving forward, because what seems like the end is not always the end.
00:07:42 --> 00:07:45 And I had to learn that over and over again the hard way.
00:07:46 --> 00:07:51 Well, Chris, your message is very strong, and it's very motivating for schools
00:07:51 --> 00:07:53 and for students to hear.
00:07:53 --> 00:07:56 But I can think back to your time in high school.
00:07:56 --> 00:08:01 Yeah, it's been a while now, but I just remember your dedication and drive and
00:08:01 --> 00:08:03 how hard you worked at everything.
00:08:04 --> 00:08:08 Looking back, what qualities from your high school self do you think have been
00:08:08 --> 00:08:12 the most crucial in your journey since this significant life change?
00:08:12 --> 00:08:15 What had to be i had this incredible coach coach
00:08:15 --> 00:08:18 adam bush and it was he was
00:08:18 --> 00:08:23 the you know the life but okay um but
00:08:23 --> 00:08:26 uh i didn't i didn't pay you for that comment either that's even better i love
00:08:26 --> 00:08:31 it yeah that's great i have to tell you a story when i was about i was probably
00:08:31 --> 00:08:36 11 years old and i played in a lot of basketball tournaments and my and we were
00:08:36 --> 00:08:39 at this basketball tournament and i played horrible.
00:08:39 --> 00:08:45 I missed all of my shots. I turned the ball over and there was just a lot more
00:08:45 --> 00:08:48 expected of me and a lot more expected of myself.
00:08:48 --> 00:08:53 And I remember in the car ride home, I'm like trying to fight back the tears.
00:08:54 --> 00:08:59 And then to make matters worse, I had to ride home with my coach, who's also my dad.
00:09:01 --> 00:09:04 I'm staring out the window, avoiding the glares from the rear view mirror.
00:09:04 --> 00:09:09 We get home, I kick my shoes off, and I go straight to the couch.
00:09:09 --> 00:09:12 I'm watching TV, playing video games.
00:09:13 --> 00:09:18 Anything that can distract me from my frustration of that basketball weekend.
00:09:19 --> 00:09:25 And I'm thinking, man, if I was taller, faster, if my parents could make a little
00:09:25 --> 00:09:31 bit more money and I could have my own gym, then I'd be this really good basketball player, right?
00:09:31 --> 00:09:35 Well, a little while later, my dad, he sat next to me on the couch.
00:09:35 --> 00:09:41 We recapped the tournament. I gave him all the reasons why my shot off that
00:09:41 --> 00:09:42 day. And he listened intently.
00:09:43 --> 00:09:46 But then he told me something that just stuck with me for the rest of my life
00:09:46 --> 00:09:52 is, you know, Chris, if you don't like where you are, then do something about it.
00:09:53 --> 00:09:55 Just as simple as that. Like, if you don't like where you are,
00:09:56 --> 00:10:01 do something about it. And it clicked. to like,
00:10:01 --> 00:10:09 Why feel sorry for yourself when you're not willing to do anything to improve?
00:10:09 --> 00:10:13 If you want to get better results, then you have to get better.
00:10:13 --> 00:10:17 There's no shortcut in life. And it was just this epiphany of,
00:10:17 --> 00:10:22 here I am wanting to be a better basketball player while I'm sitting on the couch watching TV.
00:10:23 --> 00:10:28 I don't know. Everything kind of clicked together. This is stupid.
00:10:28 --> 00:10:31 What am I thinking? I grabbed my ball.
00:10:31 --> 00:10:35 I went outside and I shot hoops until dark.
00:10:35 --> 00:10:41 And it was just like this real pivotal moment of just how I would approach anything
00:10:41 --> 00:10:44 that mattered to me from that moment on.
00:10:44 --> 00:10:50 And I think that really kind of changed my work ethic and how I viewed life
00:10:50 --> 00:10:51 and what I wanted out of life.
00:10:51 --> 00:10:54 And I realized I had the responsibility for it.
00:10:54 --> 00:11:00 And so something that I share with students, with adults is this idea of like
00:11:00 --> 00:11:02 radical responsibility,
00:11:02 --> 00:11:06 like not a little bit of responsibility, but a complete full responsibility
00:11:06 --> 00:11:12 for our choices, for our responses, because the more responsibility you can
00:11:12 --> 00:11:15 take, the better you respond to adversity.
00:11:15 --> 00:11:21 And I really just believe in that and I think that was one of the big things just.
00:11:22 --> 00:11:25 Early on that I had so when my spinal cord injury
00:11:25 --> 00:11:28 happened I was ready to take that responsibility of
00:11:28 --> 00:11:33 like hey like I can change this situation like I can make it better and it's
00:11:33 --> 00:11:37 on my shoulders and I don't have to depend on favorable odds I don't mean to
00:11:37 --> 00:11:42 depend on the right doctor or therapist like I can make things happen and so
00:11:42 --> 00:11:47 I really want people to believe that in themselves because so often we're the victims, right?
00:11:48 --> 00:11:54 Like, man, like, woe is me. And if only, and this or that, and I've been there and I still get there.
00:11:54 --> 00:11:58 I'm not saying I don't fall back to that, but then I remember that story.
00:11:58 --> 00:12:02 I remember how I've gotten out of any situation is like,
00:12:03 --> 00:12:07 This is on me. I got to take full radical responsibility. You know,
00:12:08 --> 00:12:13 I remember that moment when I heard where my wife and I were waiting for a table
00:12:13 --> 00:12:17 to open up at a restaurant on a Saturday night. And I got a message about the incident.
00:12:17 --> 00:12:19 Of course, like you had shared, didn't know a lot of details.
00:12:20 --> 00:12:25 As I started to find out more details, I remember having the thought in my head
00:12:25 --> 00:12:30 of, obviously, this is a very unfortunate situation. It's a horrible accident.
00:12:31 --> 00:12:37 However, if there was a person that I had confidence that would be able to get
00:12:37 --> 00:12:41 through this and turn, I mean, you talk about the lemons into lemonade moment
00:12:41 --> 00:12:45 here, but you can't even describe it in this moment.
00:12:45 --> 00:12:48 But I, I knew that you were the right person for that.
00:12:48 --> 00:12:52 And it was because of that ability to be able to demonstrate that resilience.
00:12:52 --> 00:12:58 You'd been a resilient student athlete. You'd been a resilient young man at the time that I knew you.
00:12:58 --> 00:13:03 And that continues on. But resilience is hard in society today. That's really hard.
00:13:03 --> 00:13:09 It's really easy to give up or it's really easy to blame others or just to take
00:13:09 --> 00:13:11 a backseat when things are hard.
00:13:11 --> 00:13:13 How do you help students understand that?
00:13:13 --> 00:13:18 Like you're talking about here, that resilience piece is why you're able to be successful.
00:13:18 --> 00:13:21 How do you build those skills when i'm
00:13:21 --> 00:13:24 just entering into the workforce or i'm just going from sixth
00:13:24 --> 00:13:27 grade to seventh grade or or i'm an adult like me
00:13:27 --> 00:13:30 that's unfortunately seeing the other end of my career where retirement's
00:13:30 --> 00:13:34 coming up at some point in time you know how how do you build that resilience
00:13:34 --> 00:13:38 so you know about growing through that adversity yeah well i think you know
00:13:38 --> 00:13:43 again it's like realizing the the power of your own choices and that responsibility
00:13:43 --> 00:13:48 but then it's you got to experience hard moments. You got to.
00:13:48 --> 00:13:53 Kind of got to face the fire and i think sports is
00:13:53 --> 00:13:56 a phenomenal training ground for for life
00:13:56 --> 00:13:59 and it you know not everybody is an athlete which is
00:13:59 --> 00:14:03 fine like but musically or art
00:14:03 --> 00:14:06 performance art like whatever it
00:14:06 --> 00:14:10 is i think finding those moments that
00:14:10 --> 00:14:12 challenge you and push you outside of
00:14:12 --> 00:14:15 your comfort zone is what you realize like oh
00:14:15 --> 00:14:18 i i'm capable of more like i can
00:14:18 --> 00:14:21 get through this and i think so many times in life
00:14:21 --> 00:14:28 we i think maybe kids are getting thrown a a lifeline to to be rescued or they're
00:14:28 --> 00:14:33 not they quit so fast i don't even know what they're made of and that they can
00:14:33 --> 00:14:38 persevere i think back one of the i think it was like a two a day we had like
00:14:38 --> 00:14:40 it was like one of those hot two-a-day in high school football.
00:14:41 --> 00:14:48 And I made the horrible choice of in between practices, I did like a Chinese buffet, right?
00:14:48 --> 00:14:57 And at Hy-Vee, it was. And we're doing like running across the football field doing these sprints.
00:14:58 --> 00:15:01 And well, there came my lunch.
00:15:01 --> 00:15:06 And it's just one of those things where in a football culture,
00:15:06 --> 00:15:11 like, okay, you puked. like get squatter and get back at it,
00:15:11 --> 00:15:13 get back at it. Like there was nothing to it. Right.
00:15:14 --> 00:15:19 Well, I realized like, so when I was in therapy, right. My injury happens and
00:15:19 --> 00:15:21 it was like a month in I'm doing this training bike.
00:15:22 --> 00:15:24 Same thing happens. I'm pushing myself. I'm pushing myself.
00:15:25 --> 00:15:29 Lunch comes up and they're like, they start taking me off the bike.
00:15:30 --> 00:15:34 I'm like, Oh, what are you doing? They're like, Oh, like you're like, you're done.
00:15:34 --> 00:15:39 Like you got sick and like, Oh, like, no, I feel better. now like i'm i'm good
00:15:39 --> 00:15:43 like just because i threw up doesn't mean i'm incapable of like.
00:15:44 --> 00:15:49 Pushing on, but it was just like a moment where I, I saw the two parallels,
00:15:49 --> 00:15:53 but how in one environment, it's just like, you know, you got to keep going.
00:15:54 --> 00:15:57 Like you can't let your teammates down. You can't let yourself down.
00:15:57 --> 00:16:02 Like you have more to give and football and those sports helped me realize, Oh, I have more to give.
00:16:02 --> 00:16:06 Like I have more to offer, but if you're not in that environment and then you're
00:16:06 --> 00:16:08 in some other environment where it's like, Oh yeah, shut it down.
00:16:08 --> 00:16:11 You can't go anymore. You're going to believe that.
00:16:11 --> 00:16:14 Right. And so I think it also goes back to
00:16:14 --> 00:16:16 you know my parents also pushing me like hey
00:16:16 --> 00:16:19 you got more to give but all those little moments have
00:16:19 --> 00:16:22 contributed to myself being resilient and
00:16:22 --> 00:16:25 i think with kids it's one of
00:16:25 --> 00:16:28 those things it's hard to like just teach in a 60 minute keynote
00:16:28 --> 00:16:34 but i think as a society if we can do a better job of challenging our kids i
00:16:34 --> 00:16:38 have kids i have five kids now and that's something that we're constantly trying
00:16:38 --> 00:16:42 to help them or you know you want to support them and love on them but they
00:16:42 --> 00:16:47 also got a build confidence in themselves by getting through hard things.
00:16:47 --> 00:16:51 And if as a parent, I'm constantly rescuing them, that might build my self-esteem
00:16:51 --> 00:16:55 of being this hero savior, but I'm robbing my kids' self-esteem.
00:16:56 --> 00:16:59 I'm not doing them any justice by saving them every single time.
00:17:00 --> 00:17:03 So Chris, you mentioned your keynote there, and I'd like to talk about that
00:17:03 --> 00:17:06 for a little bit here. So the title of that is Stronger Through Change.
00:17:07 --> 00:17:10 And that title resonates really deeply, I think, for what we're talking about here.
00:17:10 --> 00:17:15 If you were going to talk to school administrators, this is an ever-evolving
00:17:15 --> 00:17:17 industry that we're working in here.
00:17:17 --> 00:17:22 What would be that core message that you would convey to students about navigating
00:17:22 --> 00:17:26 change, especially when it's unexpected or difficult like we're talking about?
00:17:26 --> 00:17:31 Yeah, well, I felt like when you embrace the unexpected instead of avoiding
00:17:31 --> 00:17:36 it is when you can discover a strength that you never realized you had.
00:17:36 --> 00:17:42 And I think so many times we avoid change, we don't adapt to it.
00:17:43 --> 00:17:47 And so change breaks us instead of making us stronger.
00:17:47 --> 00:17:54 And you see story after story that society will highlight and share.
00:17:54 --> 00:17:58 And then it's told in movies and books of people who dealt with change in a
00:17:58 --> 00:18:03 way that kept moving forward, where it didn't break them, but built them up.
00:18:03 --> 00:18:07 And so that's something where I talk about is just how change,
00:18:07 --> 00:18:10 because it is constant, how can we utilize that?
00:18:10 --> 00:18:15 So it's not a source of weakness, but of, of growth because now everyone's going
00:18:15 --> 00:18:17 to grow through change. It's a choice.
00:18:17 --> 00:18:23 And I share kind of like the, the choices that you can make so that to ensure
00:18:23 --> 00:18:24 you will grow through it.
00:18:25 --> 00:18:29 Now, I'm assuming you've got a pretty good support system. I know your wife
00:18:29 --> 00:18:32 is a huge support to you and a lot of the work that you're doing.
00:18:32 --> 00:18:37 How important is that community and a connection for people as they're navigating
00:18:37 --> 00:18:42 change and navigating the struggles that can come along with just the world
00:18:42 --> 00:18:45 we live in right now, but especially for our young people in that school environment?
00:18:45 --> 00:18:50 How important is that support system? Oh, it's paramount because I can't tell
00:18:50 --> 00:18:57 you how many times when it wasn't my strength alone that got me to where I am.
00:18:57 --> 00:19:03 There's countless people who had poured into me that helped believe in myself,
00:19:03 --> 00:19:08 who believed in me more than I believed in myself, that kept me moving forward.
00:19:08 --> 00:19:13 So I think it's, I don't know, I can't even put it really into words how important
00:19:13 --> 00:19:19 that is. And I'm like, I'm not like a, it's not a solo man show here.
00:19:20 --> 00:19:24 Like it's not the Chris, like there's so many contributors to my life.
00:19:24 --> 00:19:29 And I think I, one of the things I really enjoyed about the movie is it really
00:19:29 --> 00:19:34 highlights on my support system of how I was able to make it through college
00:19:34 --> 00:19:37 with my college buddies, my family and community.
00:19:38 --> 00:19:42 But then it's also part of my keynote is asking for and receiving help.
00:19:42 --> 00:19:45 Like we can only go so far on our own.
00:19:46 --> 00:19:55 Like we have to ask for help and for whatever reason, it is so hard for us to just be vulnerable and.
00:19:55 --> 00:19:59 Be like, hey, I'm struggling. I don't know what I'm doing.
00:20:00 --> 00:20:05 It's just such a, people asking that feels like such an attack on their own
00:20:05 --> 00:20:10 self-identity and self-esteem that it's hard. But I have found there's not a
00:20:10 --> 00:20:13 lot I can do on my own. I'm very dependent on people.
00:20:13 --> 00:20:19 I had to learn to act for health and to get outside my own, you know, the strong bravado.
00:20:20 --> 00:20:25 Man, I needed to lean on people. And I found when I did how much strength there
00:20:25 --> 00:20:29 is and how much support and love I received from that.
00:20:29 --> 00:20:32 But yeah, no community is so important.
00:20:32 --> 00:20:35 And I, that's one of the things I hope with my message is that people afterwards,
00:20:36 --> 00:20:39 and I get that a lot, especially for leaders, you know, with administrators.
00:20:41 --> 00:20:45 With executives, I can't tell you how many times people are telling me like,
00:20:46 --> 00:20:49 man, our culture, especially on the top, it's lonely at the top.
00:20:49 --> 00:20:54 I feel like I can't ask for help. I have to have, all the solutions and all
00:20:54 --> 00:21:00 the answers and just giving them the, the, the courage that, Hey, it's okay.
00:21:00 --> 00:21:07 Like you're actually more relatable and you build trust by reaching out to others.
00:21:07 --> 00:21:13 So I didn't have this in our show notes for today. So I'm going to throw a little improv at you here.
00:21:13 --> 00:21:17 I do also think as you're talking through this a lot of times,
00:21:17 --> 00:21:21 and this This is probably part of the issue for leaders is we try to do so much
00:21:21 --> 00:21:26 and not realizing that even little things can make a huge difference and they always add up.
00:21:26 --> 00:21:30 I think about a few years ago, and I'm just going to give you credit for this, Chris.
00:21:30 --> 00:21:37 I, to this day, I am a strong believer in the fact that I have a former student
00:21:37 --> 00:21:41 of mine that is still here today because of the impact that one person made on him.
00:21:42 --> 00:21:46 And I'm just going to briefly tell the story of a young man that had a disease
00:21:46 --> 00:21:48 that happened over the summertime.
00:21:49 --> 00:21:55 And lo and behold, he went from being a healthy, vibrant student to being in
00:21:55 --> 00:22:01 a wheelchair and battling a lot of the same issues that you have battled in your time.
00:22:01 --> 00:22:04 And I remember just talking to you about that. And you're like,
00:22:04 --> 00:22:05 well, put this, put him on.
00:22:05 --> 00:22:09 Let's talk over this. Let's hop on. I think I'm going to date this a little
00:22:09 --> 00:22:13 bit because I think that was a Skype call, if I remember. right back in the day, probably.
00:22:14 --> 00:22:21 But that moment of just one individual taking time out of their day to be able
00:22:21 --> 00:22:25 to connect with one person made a huge difference.
00:22:25 --> 00:22:31 It turned a student from struggling to know his purpose or know even what he
00:22:31 --> 00:22:37 wanted or if he wanted anything else out of life to having a role model and
00:22:37 --> 00:22:41 having somebody that could show them the way that this can actually work and
00:22:41 --> 00:22:43 the fact that you are a very important person.
00:22:43 --> 00:22:47 Now, that's me giving you a compliment on that, but I think it also states how
00:22:47 --> 00:22:49 important the little things can be.
00:22:50 --> 00:22:53 Because what you're talking about here isn't this massive change.
00:22:53 --> 00:22:56 We're not talking about this huge initiative through a school.
00:22:56 --> 00:23:01 We're just talking about trying to develop that culture from within about what
00:23:01 --> 00:23:03 that student experience can be. Am I wrong there?
00:23:03 --> 00:23:06 Is that what I'm hearing from you? No, that's exactly what you're hearing.
00:23:06 --> 00:23:10 It's those little moments of just reaching out of like to
00:23:10 --> 00:23:13 know like you're not alone i think that's one of the things too
00:23:13 --> 00:23:16 and when you don't ask for help you feel like you're isolated you
00:23:16 --> 00:23:20 go on instagram like man look at everybody's having much fun they got their
00:23:20 --> 00:23:25 life figured out and i'm the only one who doesn't have it figured out but when
00:23:25 --> 00:23:33 you can reach out and talk to like a trusted individual you realize well everyone's
00:23:33 --> 00:23:36 kind of battling their own thing.
00:23:36 --> 00:23:38 We're really not that different.
00:23:38 --> 00:23:42 And the more we can have those more deeper thoughts.
00:23:43 --> 00:23:47 Conversations, those vulnerable conversations that I think in the day and age
00:23:47 --> 00:23:50 with social media and the internet,
00:23:50 --> 00:23:54 there's less of those opportunities to have deeper connections because people
00:23:54 --> 00:23:59 aren't having the depth of these conversations over the internet on social media, right?
00:23:59 --> 00:24:03 It's, it's complaining about this or that,
00:24:03 --> 00:24:07 or venting and attacking one another because you're behind a keyboard,
00:24:07 --> 00:24:11 but, you know, being in the same room and having those relationship,
00:24:11 --> 00:24:14 I think it's so important. But yeah, it's not just revolution.
00:24:15 --> 00:24:19 It's just like, man, I need some help. I don't know what I'm doing. I can't do this alone.
00:24:19 --> 00:24:23 And that goes to my speaking now that I'm doing with my foundation.
00:24:24 --> 00:24:26 Countless things as being a parent.
00:24:28 --> 00:24:32 I'm constantly asking for help. And I've been able to, I still battle it of
00:24:32 --> 00:24:34 like, man, I don't want to have to ask for help.
00:24:34 --> 00:24:36 I don't want to be a burden or imposition.
00:24:38 --> 00:24:42 But that's just like the enemy, that's just not a healthy place to be because
00:24:42 --> 00:24:46 I know the power of being, yeah, being vulnerable and asking for help.
00:24:46 --> 00:24:51 So Chris, where can school administrators find out more about your work,
00:24:51 --> 00:24:52 your mission, get you there to
00:24:52 --> 00:24:56 be able to help provide this lesson for students and to be able to help?
00:24:56 --> 00:25:00 I mean, let's be honest, you're going to be a guide with them as they move forward
00:25:00 --> 00:25:02 with that culture and that work within their schools.
00:25:02 --> 00:25:05 How do they reach out to you? How do they get ahold of you to, to learn more.
00:25:05 --> 00:25:10 Yeah. Go to chrisnorton.org is where you can learn about.
00:25:10 --> 00:25:16 Yeah. My, my speaking, my sport, uh, school resources to through counts.
00:25:17 --> 00:25:22 We developed a program, but yeah, books, movie, everything is to go there.
00:25:22 --> 00:25:27 Chrisnorton.org. That's awesome, Chris. Well, I can't say enough about the work
00:25:27 --> 00:25:30 you're doing again. I'm proud of you just with everything that you have done
00:25:30 --> 00:25:34 and just been able to watch your career unfold as it has happened over the years.
00:25:34 --> 00:25:34 It's been really awesome.
00:25:35 --> 00:25:38 And this has been a huge bucket filler for me again today, just to get a chance
00:25:38 --> 00:25:41 to chat with you on as we work through that mission. So appreciate your time
00:25:41 --> 00:25:42 today. Thanks for joining me.
00:25:43 --> 00:25:46 Yeah, no, thanks for having me. It's great seeing you, great talking to you.
00:25:46 --> 00:25:49 And I know this is just a great excuse to catch up. That's right. I love it.
00:25:50 --> 00:25:53 Well, thank you again, listeners. That is your booster shot for today.
00:25:53 --> 00:25:59 We will have information about Chris's contact info within the podcast description and information.
00:25:59 --> 00:26:03 Reach out to him. He is an invaluable resource. I cannot state how important
00:26:03 --> 00:26:06 he would be in the mission of trying to provide great leadership and instruction
00:26:06 --> 00:26:07 for the students in your school.
00:26:07 --> 00:26:10 One more time again, Chris, thanks for joining us. And thank you,
00:26:10 --> 00:26:12 everybody, for being on Your Booster Shot.
00:26:12 --> 00:26:16 Thank you for listening to this episode of Your Booster Shot from AWB Education.
00:26:17 --> 00:26:21 Want to join in this mission? We are always looking for partners to help provide
00:26:21 --> 00:26:23 what our school leaders need to thrive and survive.
00:26:24 --> 00:26:30 Contact us through our webpage at www.awbeducation.org to get connected.
00:26:31 --> 00:26:35 Otherwise, remember you are doing the job that only a few are strong enough to do.
00:26:35 --> 00:26:39 Thanks for being one of the few. We will talk with you again next time.