3. “This is a decision we shouldn’t have to make,”
she said almost imperceptibly, as she ran
her hands frantically through her hair,
pulling it away from her face.
4. Agony. There wasn’t any other word.
I took her hands in mine and looked deeply
into her eyes, and together, we made the
impossible decision: Do not resuscitate.
5. Those were the wee hours of the
morning on January 7, 2010.
7. On a sunny Hawaiian day, in the spring of 2007,
Gavin took a gray plastic container and placed his
journals, a beat-up card containing the prayer of St. Francis
of Assisi, and a few other precious possessions inside.
8. He buried his treasure at the base of the
beautiful Ko’olauloa Mountains, intending
not to open it again for twenty years.
9. It was only a few short weeks later, however, that those
journals were unearthed, and I found myself reading
excerpts from them to a grief-stricken audience of hundreds
who had gathered to celebrate his incredible young life.
10. Less than three weeks after burying his time
capsule, my healthy and vibrant young brother-in-law
passed away unexpectedly in his sleep.
He was twenty-one years old.
11. A little over two years after Gavin’s death, my wife,
Natalie, gave birth to our fourth son. With pride,
we named our little guy after his late uncle.
Baby Gavin was born October 24, 2009.
12. Yet here we sat, only ten short weeks into his life, alone
in a hospital room. Natalie on one side of Gavin,
and I on the other,the words “Do not resuscitate”
ringing heavily in our ears as tears stung our raw eyes.
13. My initial response had been to give our son every
fighting chance at survival. “Of course we will resuscitate!”
14. Then slowly, very slowly, the reality of our situation
set in. I became aware that the violent process of
resuscitation in and of itself would only lengthen
Gavin’s suffering and not save his life.
16. Natalie and I cried together. We spoke words of
deep, profound love to our sweet little son.
And moments later, my sweet wife rocked him tenderly
in her arms, and I rested my hand on our son’s
chest and felt the last beats of his tiny heart.
17. We sang him a lullaby through our tears, and
our boy was gone. The weight of the world
never felt heavier in my hands than it did the day
we walked out of that hospital with empty arms.
21. That question changed my life. Here were
the facts: my brother-in-law was gone, our son
was gone, and there wasn’t a thing in the world
I could do to change any of that.
22. Suddenly, my life took on a very
real sense of urgency. There was,
in fact, a time limit!
23. I suddenly realized that if we are sitting around
waiting―maybe even begging and pleading―for our
circumstances to change so that we can finally live life
the way we really want to live, chances are very good
that we will stay stuck waiting forever.
24. I’ve summed up the lesson I learned
from the deaths of my brother-in-law
and my son into what I call Gavin’s Law.
29. And people are blessed with bouts of
clear and concise intuition that drive them
toward distinct goals and aspirations within
their jobs and their lives as a whole.
30. But people disregard these inspired
thoughts, these high-potential opportunities, as…
38. No matter the justification, the response is the same.
These inspired thoughts, these high-potential
ideas, are stuffed deep into the drawer labeled
“stupid,” and they’re never heard from again…
or the waiting game begins.
46. They wait, and they wait, and they wait, until
that fateful day when they wake up and realize
that while they were sitting around, paying dues,
earning their keep, waiting for that elusive
“perfect time,” their life has passed them by.
47. Consciously living and breathing Gavin’s Law
in every facet of my life and business has helped
me realize the importance, the satisfaction,
and the very real power that comes from
starting something “stupid.”
48. If you let it, Gavin’s Law will
change your life, forever.
49. There is no greater time than now to
start moving toward achieving your goals.
51. Live to start your stupid ideas, and
start to live a life without regret…
52. …a life filled with meaning, freedom,
happiness, fun, authenticity, and influence.
53. After all, now is, in all actuality, the
only time you’re truly guaranteed.
54. Life is too short
not to start something stupid.
55. DOWNLOAD
76 DAY CHALLENGE
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stupid idea into your smart reality today.
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56. Richie Norton is the bestselling author of The Power of Starting
Something Stupid and Résumés Are Dead and What to Do About It.
He is a strategic advisor to small businesses, organizations and individuals,
an international speaker, and CEO and Founder of Global Consulting Circle.
Richie has been featured in Forbes, Businessweek, Young Entrepreneur,
Huffington Post and other national publications both in print and online.
The 2013 San Francisco Book Festival named The Power of Starting
Something Stupid the winner of the business category and the grand prize
winner of all book categories in its annual competition. In 2010,
Pacific Business News recognized Richie as one of the Top Forty
Under 40 “best and brightest young businessmen” in Hawaii.
Richie received his MBA from the world’s #1 ranked international business
school, Thunderbird School of Global Management. Richie is happily
married to Natalie and has four boys.
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