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Welcome to Your Booster Shot from the AWB Education Network.
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This podcast series is our opportunity to dive even deeper
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into the topics and skills that will help you lead
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your school with confidence. Check out information on our partners
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along with additional resources and services at www dot AWB
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education dot org. Now here is your booster Shot.
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All right, welcome back to another edition of Your Booster
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Shot by AWB Education, and today I am excited to
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have the esteemed Chris Norton on our show as our guest.
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Chris was a former student and athlete of mine many
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many years ago, and is just one reminder again of
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how old I'm getting every day. Thanks Chris, appreciate that.
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But I'm excited to have Chris join us today and
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talk about his amazing story and his mission. And I
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have to admit, Chris, that I brag to others about
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knowing you, and it's really it's fantastic to have you
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on this podcast. I'm really honored for our listeners. Can
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you briefly share your story and for those that don't
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know it or haven't seen your movie, just so that
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we have a better understanding of your why.
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Yeah, Well, thanks for the introduction. I gotta say I
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bragged the people that I know you.
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So you know it go, it goes both ways. That's good. Yeah,
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I'm not sure I've earned that, but okay, I'll take it.
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Yeah, no, no, it's good to see you. Yeah, I'll
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take you back to Really, I think the pivotal moment
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of my life came on October sixteenth of twenty ten,
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eighteen year old freshman playing at Luther College. Yeah. I
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went to Bonder at Ferraar where you were coaching at
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and sixth game of the season, third quarter. I'm running
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down to make the tackle and the kickoff. I see
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the opening and as you know, I loved hitting people absolutely.
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I was going full speed to blow this guy up
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and hopefully he fumbled the ball. And you know, football,
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what I really appreciated about it is the physicality that
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it brings in. It's kind of like you're the gladiators
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of modern era and and sometimes with the football paths
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and helmet you you feel invincible. And so I kind
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of a reckless abandon went in there and I missed
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time my tackle. I've always, i think, been a clean hitter,
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clean player, but this time my head collided right with
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his legs. In an instant, I lose all feeling a
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movement from the neck down. Laying there, I hear the
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whistle blow, the pile clears off, and so when I
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try to push off the ground, nothing happens. I'm completely conscious.
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I never you know everything that's going on right now? Yeah, exactly,
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I know everything's going on, completely aware. And actually it
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just felt like a routine tackled. It just couldn't move,
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like someone flipped the power off to my body. But
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I'm telling myself, you know, maybe it's just like a
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bad stinger. I had a singer in high school where
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part of my body went numb and I couldn't move it.
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But after a couple of minutes was able to walk
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off the field. So that's what I'm telling myself, like, oh,
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just give us some time. The trainers run out. I'm
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embarrassed because I don't want the game to stop for me.
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I want to be the tough guy. Walk it off.
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I'll be fine, you'll see me next play. Well, I
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couldn't do that, and they rolled me onto my back.
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Because I was face down on the ground, I made
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eye contact with one of these student athletic trainers. And
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I can see in her face she's terrified. Now that's
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kind of my first There's other signs, but that was
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like kind of the big one of like, oh, maybe
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this isn't like a routine stinger. And then they asked
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me questions like, hey, Chris, do you feels touching your leg? Nothing,
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Chris can shut making a face with your hand. I
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couldn't do it. It was also really odd was that you
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know when you close your eyes and you move your
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arms around, you know where your arms and legs are
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in space without even seeing them. Well, it was like
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I couldn't sense where my body was, Like I lost
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all those senses, like they were erased from my body,
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which was even more like disassociating experience. And then they
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called in the paramedics. They call in for a helicopter,
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and that's right when I knew this is bad. I
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closed my eyes because I wanted to almost like pretend
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like it wasn't happening, Like I tried to like separate
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myself from the situation, not being scared and just praying
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and hoping for the best. And getting the helicopter, they
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fly me out Mayo Clinic and put me to sleep. Surgery,
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and I wake up and told that a three percent
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chance of ever moving below the neck. And that's not
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a three percent chance to walk, but a three percent
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chance to feel someone's touch, just crash an itch on
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your face, to feed yourself. It's you know, so much
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more than walking. And but even as devastating as the
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news was, I just dig down believe that this wasn't
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the end of my story, that that there would be more,
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and I knew I had to fight, and so I
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was just like, no way, not me, Like I'm not
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going to be part of the ninety seven percent who
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don't recover. I will do whatever it takes each and
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every day to be that three percent. And that's what
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I believe in, is I'm going to be the three percent.
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And so it's kind of also part of my message too,
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of you know, we're all going to face each three
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percent moments in life where the odds are sacked against us.
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So how do you respond and how do you move
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forward in that situation? And so of the first things
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I did was just really took a look at myself
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and took responsibility for what I still could do. You know,
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I lost all physical movement, you know, like I said,
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I couldn't move a finger, but I could control my attitude.
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I can control my effort, and I was just going
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to focus, like what can I do today to get better?
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And I just continued that process. I would eventually get
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some movement in my toes, like on Thanksgiving morning, which
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was really special warning, and that just continued to snowball
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into more feeling, more movement. Fast forward now in the
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story of a few years later, I walked the graduation
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stage with the help of my fiance. Then am I
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that went viral, got to go on all the major
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talk shows and news outlets, which was Yeah, it was
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a fun little media blitz. And a few years after
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that walked through Seven Yards Down the OVA wedding, which
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again did the whole viral media circuit and got turned
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in to the movie Seven Yards that was on Netflix
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for a while and you can rent it on Amazon
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Prime or Apple TV, among other places. And really just
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I just feel like my calling is to give people
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hope and hopeless situations, because let's face and we're human,
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like we're gonna have moments in life where it just
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doesn't seem fair. In life isn't fair, and we're not
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going to have the hope that we need to keep going.
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And I just believe that I can be that person
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to give that little nudge, that little push to keep
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people believing to keep moving forward, because what seems like
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the end is not always the end, and I had
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to learn that over and over again the hard way.
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Well, Chris, your message is very strong and it's very
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motivating for schools and for students to hear. But I
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also I can think back to your time in high school.
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Yeah it's been a while now, but I just remember
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your dedication and drive and how hard you worked at everything.
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Looking back, what qualities from your high school self do
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you think have been the most crucial in your your
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journey since this significant life change.
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Well, I had to be. I had this incredible coach,
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coach Adam Bush, and it was he was the you know,
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the life.
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But okay, but I did not pay you for that
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comment either. That's even better.
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I love it.
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Yeah, that's great.
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I have to tell you a story when I was
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about it's probably eleven years old, and I played in
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a lot of basketball tournaments and we read this basketball
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tournament and I played horrible. I missed all of my shots,
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I was turn the ball over, and there was just
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a lot more expected of me, a lot more expected
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of myself. And I remember in the car ride home,
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I'm like trying to fight back to tears and then
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to make matters worse, I had to ride home with
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my coach, who's also my dad. Yep, I'm staring out
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the window of avoiding the glares from the rear view mirr. Right.
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We get home, I kake my shoes off and I
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go straight to the couch. I'm watching TV, playing video games,
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anything that can just track me from my frustration of
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that basketball weekend. And I'm thinking, you know, man, if
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I was taller, faster, if my parents could make a
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little bit more money and they I could have my
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own gym, then you know, I'd be this really good
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basketball player. Right. Well, a little while later, my dad,
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he sat next to him the couch. We recapped the tournament.
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I gave him all the reasons why my shot off
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that day, and he listened intently. But then he told
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me something that just stuck with me for the rest
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of my life is, Chris, if you don't like where
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you are, then do something about it. Just as simple
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as that, Like if you don't like where you are,
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do something about it. And it clicked, like why feel
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sorry for yourself when you're not willing to do anything
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to improve, Like if you want to get better results
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and you have to get better, like there's no shortcut
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in life. And it was just this epiphany of here
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I am wanting to be a better basketball player while
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I'm sitting on the couch watching TV. Like it just yeah,
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it's just I don't know, it just everything kind of
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clicked together, like this is stupid, Like what am I thinking?
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Like I grabbed my ball, I went outside, and I
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shot hoops until dark. And it was just like this
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real pivotal moment of just how I would approach anything
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that that mattered to me from that moment on. And
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I think that really kind of changed, Yeah, my work
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ethic and how I viewed life and what I wanted
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out of life, and I realized I had the responsibility
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for it. And so something that I share with students
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with adults is this idea of like radical responsibility, like
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not a little bit of responsibility, but a complete, full
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responsibility for our choices, for our responses. Because the more
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responsibility you can take, the better you respond to adversity,
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and I read really just believe in that, And I
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think that was one of the big things just early
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on that I had. So when my spinal cord injury happened,
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I was ready to take that responsibility of like, hey,
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like I can change this situation, like I can make
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it better, and it's on my shoulders, and I don't
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have to depend on favorable odds. I don't need to
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depend on the right doctor or therapist, like I can
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make things happen. And so I really want people to
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believe that in themselves, because so often we're the victims, right,
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You're like, man, like woe is me? And if only
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and this or that, and I've been there, and I
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still get there. I'm not saying I don't fall back
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to that. But then I remember that story. I remember
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how I've gotten out of any situation is like this
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is on me. I got to take full radical responsibility,
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you know.
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I remember that moment when I heard where my wife
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and I were waiting for a table to open up
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at a restaurant on a Saturday night and I got
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a message about the incident. Of course, like you had shared,
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didn't know a lot of details. As I started to
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find out more details. I remember having the thought in
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my head of obviously, this is a very unfortunate situation.
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It's a horrible accident. However, if there was a person
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that I had confidence that would be able to get
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through this and turn I mean, you talk about the
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lemons into lemonade moment here, Moore, but you can't even
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describe it in this moment. But I knew that you
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were the right person for that, and it was because
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of that ability to be able to demonstrate that resilience.
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You'd been a resilient student athlete, you'd been a resilient
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young man at the time that I knew, and that
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continues on. But resilience is hard in society today. That's
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really hard. It's really easy to give up, or it's
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really easy to blame others or just to take a
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back seat when things are hard. How do you help
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students understand that, like you're talking about here, that resilience
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piece is why you're able to be successful. How do
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you build those skills when I'm just entering into the workforce,
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or I'm just going from sixth grade to seventh grade,
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or or I'm an adult like me. That's unfortunately seeing
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the other end of my career where retirement's coming up
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at some point in time. How do you build that
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resilience so you know about growing through that adversity.
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Yeah, well, I think again it's like realizing the power
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of your own choices and that responsibility. But then it's
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you got to experience hard moments. You got to kind
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of got to face the fire. And I think sports
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is a phenomenal training ground for life. And you know,
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not everybody is an athlete, which is I like, but
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musically or with art, performance, art, like whatever it is.
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I think finding those moments that challenge you and push
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you outside of your comfort zone is what you realize like,
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oh I'm capable of more, Like I can get through this.
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And I think so many times in life we I
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think maybe kids are getting thrown a lifeline to be rescued,
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or they're not. They quit so fast I don't even
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know what they're made of, and that they can persevere.
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I think back one of the I think it was
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like a two a day we had, Like it was
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like one of those hot too a day in high
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school football, and I had I made the horrible choice
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of in between practices I did like a Chinese buffet, right,
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and at HEIV it was and we're doing like running
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across the football field, doing these sprints, and well there
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there came my I my lunch, and you know, it's
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just one of those things where a football culture like okay,
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you peeked, like gets water and get back at it.
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You get back at it like there was nothing to it. Right. Well,
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I realized, like, so then I was in therapy, right,
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my injury happens, and it's like a month and I'm
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doing this training bike. Same thing happens. I'm pushing myself,
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I'm pushing my stuff. Lunch comes up and they're like
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they start taking me off the bike. I'm like, oh
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what are you doing. They're like, oh, like You're like
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you're done, like you got sick, and like, oh like no,
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I feel better now, Like I'm I'm good. Like it
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was just because I threw upcause I mean I'm I'm
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incapable of like pushing on. But it was just like
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a moment where I saw the two parallels. But how
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in one environment, it's just like you know, you got
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to keep going, like you can't let your teammates down,
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you can't let yourself down. Like you have more to give,
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and football and those sports help me realize, oh, I
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have more to give, like I have more to offer.
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But if you're not in that environment and then you're
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in some other environment where it's like, oh yeah, shut
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it down, you can't go anymore, you're gonna believe that right.
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And so I think also goes back to you know,
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my parents also pushing me like hey, you got more
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to give. But all those little moments have contributed to
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myself being resilient. And I think with kids, it's one
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of those things it's hard to like just teaching a
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sixty minute keynote, but I think as a society, if
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we can do a better job of challenging our kids.
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I have kids. I have five kids now, and that's
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something that we're constantly trying to help them or you know,
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you want to support them and love on them, but
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they also got to build confidence in themselves by getting
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through hard things. And if as a parent, I'm constantly
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rescuing them, that might build my self esteem of being
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this hero savior, but I'm robbing my kids self esteem,
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like I'm not doing them any justice by saving them
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every single time.
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So, Chris, you mentioned you're key out there, and I
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like to talk about that for a little bit here.
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So the title of that is Stronger through Change, and
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that title resonates really deeply, I think for what we're
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talking about here, if you were going to talk to
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school administrators, this is an ever evolving industry that we're
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working in here, what would be that core message that
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you would convey to students about navigating change, especially when
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it's unexpected or difficult like we're talking about here.
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Yeah, Well, I found like when you embrace the unexpected
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instead of avoiding it is when you can discover a
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strength that you never realized you had. And I think
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so many times we avoid change, We run, we don't
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adapt to it, and so we change breaks us instead
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of making us stronger. And you see story after story
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that society will highlight and share and just told the
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movies and books of people who dealt with change in
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a way that kept moving forward. It didn't break them
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but built them up. And so that's something where I
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talk about is just how change, because it is constant,
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how can we utilize that so it's not a source
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of weakness but of growth because now everyone's going to
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grow through change and I share kind of like the
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choices that you can make so that to ensure you
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will grow through it.
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Yeah. Now, I'm assuming you've got a pretty good support system.
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I know your wife is a huge support to you
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and a lot of the work that you're doing. How
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important is that community and a connection for people as
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they're navigating change and navigating the struggles that can come
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along with just the world we live in right now,
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but especially for our young people in that school environment.
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How important is that support system?
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Oh, It's paramount because I can't tell you how many
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times when it wasn't my strength alone that got me
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to where I am. There's countless people who had poured
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into me that helped believe in myself, who believed in
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me more than I believed in myself, that kept me
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moving forward. So I think it's I don't know, I
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can't even put really into words like how important that is.
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And I'm like, I'm not like a it's not a
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solo man show here, Like it's not the Chris nor like,
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there's so many contributors to my life. And I think
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one of the things I really enjoyed about the movie
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is it really highlights on my support system of how
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I was able to make it through college with my
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college buddies, my family and community. But then it's also
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part of my keynote is asking for and receiving help,
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Like we can only go so far on our own,
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Like we have to ask for help, and for whatever reason,
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it is so hard for us to just be vulnerable
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and be like I'm struggling, I don't know what I'm
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doing it. It's just such a people asking that feels
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like such an attack on their own self identity and
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self esteem that it's hard. But I have found there's
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not a lot I can do on my own. I'm
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very dependent on people. I had to learn to act
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help and to get outside my own you know this
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strong bravado man. I just I needed to lean on people,
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and I found when I did, how much strength there
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is and how much support and love I received from that.
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But yeah, no, community is so important, and that's one
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of the things I hope with my message is that
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people afterwards, and I get that a lot, especially for leaders,
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you know, with administrators, with executives. I can't tell you
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how my times people are telling me, like man our culture,
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especially on the top, it's lonely in the top I
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feel like I can't ask for help. I have to
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have all the solutions and all the answers, and just
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giving them the courage that it's okay, Like you're actually
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more relatable and you build trust by reaching out to others.
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So I didn't have this in our show notes for today,
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so I'm going to throw a little improv at you here.
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I do also think as you're talking through this a
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lot of times, and this is probably part of the
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issue for leaders, as we try to do so much
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and not realizing that even little things can make a
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huge difference, and they always add up. I think about
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a few years ago, and I'm just going to give
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you credit for this, Chris. I, to this day, I
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am a strong believer in the fact that I have
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a former student of mine that is still here today
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because of the impact that one person made on him.
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And I'm just going to briefly tell the story of
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a young man that had a disease that happened over
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the summertime, and lo and behold, he went from being
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a healthy, vibrant student to being in a wheelchair and
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battling a lot of the same issues that you have
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bad in your time. And I remember just talking to
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you about that and you're like, well, put this, put
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him on, let's let's talk over this, let's let's hop on.
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I think I'm going to date this a little bit
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because I think that was a skype call if I
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remember right back in the day. Probably, But that moment
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of just one individual taking time out of their day
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to be able to connect with one person made a
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huge difference. It turned a student from struggling to know
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his purpose or know even what he wanted or if
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he wanted anything else out of life, to having a
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role model and having somebody that could show them the
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way that this can actually work. And the fact that
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you are a very important person. Now that's me giving
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you a compliment on that, but I think it also
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states how important the little things can be. Because what
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you're talking about here isn't this massive change. We're not
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talking about this huge initiative through a school. What is
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talking about trying to develop that culture from with then
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about what that student experience can be. Am I wrong?
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There?
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Is that what I'm hearing from you?
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No, it's exactly what you're hearing. It's those little moments
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of just reaching out of like to know like you're
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not alone. I think that's one of the things too.
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And when you don't ask for help, you feel like
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you're isolated. You go on Instagram, like, man, look at
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everybody's having so much fun. They got their life figured out,
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and I'm the only one who doesn't have it figured out.
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But when you can reach out and talk to like
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a trusted individual, you realize, well, everyone's kind of battling
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their own I think we're really not that different. And
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the more we can have those more deeper conversations, those
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vulnerable conversations that I think with in the day and age,
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with social media and the Internet, there's less of those
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opportunities to have deeper connections because people aren't having the
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depth of these conversations over the internet. On social media rights, Yeah,
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it's complaining about this or that, or venting and attacking
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one another because you're behind a keyboard. But you know,
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being in the same room and having those relationships, I
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think it's so important. But yeah, it's not this revolution.
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It's just like, man, I need some help. I don't
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know what I'm doing. I can't do this alone. And
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that goes to my speaking now that I'm doing with
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my foundation I count was saying as being a parent
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hus blake. Yeah, I'm constantly asking for help and I've
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been able to. I still battle it of like, man,
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I don't want to have to ask for help, Like
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I don't want to be a burden or in position.
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But that's just like the enemy. That's just not a
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healthy place to be because I know the power of being. Yeah,
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being vulnerable isn't asking for help.
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So, Chris, where can school administrators find out more about
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your work? Your mission gets you there to be able
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to help provide this lesson for students and to be
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able to help I mean, let's be honest, You're going
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to be a guide with them as move forward with
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that culture and that work within their schools. How do
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they reach out to you? How do they get a
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hold of you to learn more?
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Yeah, go to Chrisnorton dot org is where you can
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learn about Yeah, my speaking, my school resources too through accounts.
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00:25:17.039 --> 00:25:21.559
We developed a program, but yeah, books, movie, everything is
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to go there. Chris Norton dot org.
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That's awesome, Chris Well, I can't say enough about the
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work you're doing. Again, I'm proud of you, just with
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everything that you have done and just been able to
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watch your career unfold as it has happened over the years.
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It's been really awesome and this has been a huge
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bucket filler for me again today just to get a
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chance to chat with you on as we work through
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that mission. So appreciate your time today. Thanks for joining me.
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Yeah, no, thanks for having me. It's great seeing you,
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a great talking to you, and I know this is
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00:25:47.440 --> 00:25:48.759
just a great excuse to catch up.
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That's right, I love it well. Thank you again listeners.
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That is your booster shop for it today. We will
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have information about Chris's contact info within the podcast description
464
00:25:58.960 --> 00:26:02.160
and information reach out to him. He is an invaluable resource.
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I cannot state how important he would be in the
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mission of trying to provide great leadership and instruction for
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the students in your school. One more time again, Chris,
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thanks for joining us, and thank you everybody for being
469
00:26:11.400 --> 00:26:12.359
on your booster shot.
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Thank you for listening to this episode of your boosters
471
00:26:15.039 --> 00:26:18.759
Shot from AWB Education. Want to join in this mission,
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00:26:19.279 --> 00:26:21.799
We are always looking for partners to help provide what
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00:26:21.839 --> 00:26:25.319
our school leaders need to thrive and survive. Contact us
474
00:26:25.319 --> 00:26:29.680
through our webpage at www. Dot AWB, education dot org
475
00:26:29.720 --> 00:26:33.400
to get connected. Otherwise, remember you are doing the job
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00:26:33.440 --> 00:26:36.279
that only a few are strong enough to do. Thanks
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00:26:36.319 --> 00:26:38.559
for being one of the few. We will talk with
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00:26:38.599 --> 00:26:39.599
you again next time.
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Welcome to Your Booster Shot from the AWB Education Network.
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This podcast series is our opportunity to dive even deeper
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into the topics and skills that will help you lead
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your school with confidence. Check out information on our partners
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along with additional resources and services at www dot AWB
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education dot org. Now here is your booster Shot.
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All right, welcome back to another edition of Your Booster
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Shot by AWB Education, and today I am excited to
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have the esteemed Chris Norton on our show as our guest.
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Chris was a former student and athlete of mine many
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many years ago, and is just one reminder again of
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how old I'm getting every day. Thanks Chris, appreciate that.
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But I'm excited to have Chris join us today and
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talk about his amazing story and his mission. And I
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have to admit, Chris, that I brag to others about
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knowing you, and it's really it's fantastic to have you
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on this podcast. I'm really honored for our listeners. Can
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you briefly share your story and for those that don't
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know it or haven't seen your movie, just so that
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we have a better understanding of your why.
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Yeah, Well, thanks for the introduction. I gotta say I
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bragged the people that I know you.
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So you know it go, it goes both ways. That's good. Yeah,
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I'm not sure I've earned that, but okay, I'll take it.
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Yeah, no, no, it's good to see you. Yeah, I'll
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take you back to Really, I think the pivotal moment
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of my life came on October sixteenth of twenty ten,
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eighteen year old freshman playing at Luther College. Yeah. I
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went to Bonder at Ferraar where you were coaching at
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and sixth game of the season, third quarter. I'm running
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down to make the tackle and the kickoff. I see
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the opening and as you know, I loved hitting people absolutely.
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I was going full speed to blow this guy up
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and hopefully he fumbled the ball. And you know, football,
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what I really appreciated about it is the physicality that
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it brings in. It's kind of like you're the gladiators
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of modern era and and sometimes with the football paths
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and helmet you you feel invincible. And so I kind
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of a reckless abandon went in there and I missed
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time my tackle. I've always, i think, been a clean hitter,
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clean player, but this time my head collided right with
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his legs. In an instant, I lose all feeling a
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movement from the neck down. Laying there, I hear the
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whistle blow, the pile clears off, and so when I
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try to push off the ground, nothing happens. I'm completely conscious.
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I never you know everything that's going on right now? Yeah, exactly,
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I know everything's going on, completely aware. And actually it
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just felt like a routine tackled. It just couldn't move,
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like someone flipped the power off to my body. But
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I'm telling myself, you know, maybe it's just like a
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bad stinger. I had a singer in high school where
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part of my body went numb and I couldn't move it.
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But after a couple of minutes was able to walk
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off the field. So that's what I'm telling myself, like, oh,
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just give us some time. The trainers run out. I'm
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embarrassed because I don't want the game to stop for me.
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I want to be the tough guy. Walk it off.
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I'll be fine, you'll see me next play. Well, I
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couldn't do that, and they rolled me onto my back.
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Because I was face down on the ground, I made
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eye contact with one of these student athletic trainers. And
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I can see in her face she's terrified. Now that's
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kind of my first There's other signs, but that was
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like kind of the big one of like, oh, maybe
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this isn't like a routine stinger. And then they asked
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me questions like, hey, Chris, do you feels touching your leg? Nothing,
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Chris can shut making a face with your hand. I
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couldn't do it. It was also really odd was that you
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know when you close your eyes and you move your
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arms around, you know where your arms and legs are
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in space without even seeing them. Well, it was like
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I couldn't sense where my body was, Like I lost
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all those senses, like they were erased from my body,
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which was even more like disassociating experience. And then they
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called in the paramedics. They call in for a helicopter,
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and that's right when I knew this is bad. I
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closed my eyes because I wanted to almost like pretend
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like it wasn't happening, Like I tried to like separate
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myself from the situation, not being scared and just praying
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and hoping for the best. And getting the helicopter, they
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fly me out Mayo Clinic and put me to sleep. Surgery,
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and I wake up and told that a three percent
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chance of ever moving below the neck. And that's not
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a three percent chance to walk, but a three percent
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chance to feel someone's touch, just crash an itch on
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your face, to feed yourself. It's you know, so much
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more than walking. And but even as devastating as the
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news was, I just dig down believe that this wasn't
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the end of my story, that that there would be more,
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and I knew I had to fight, and so I
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was just like, no way, not me, Like I'm not
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going to be part of the ninety seven percent who
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don't recover. I will do whatever it takes each and
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every day to be that three percent. And that's what
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I believe in, is I'm going to be the three percent.
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And so it's kind of also part of my message too,
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of you know, we're all going to face each three
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percent moments in life where the odds are sacked against us.
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So how do you respond and how do you move
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forward in that situation? And so of the first things
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I did was just really took a look at myself
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and took responsibility for what I still could do. You know,
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I lost all physical movement, you know, like I said,
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I couldn't move a finger, but I could control my attitude.
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I can control my effort, and I was just going
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to focus, like what can I do today to get better?
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And I just continued that process. I would eventually get
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some movement in my toes, like on Thanksgiving morning, which
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was really special warning, and that just continued to snowball
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into more feeling, more movement. Fast forward now in the
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story of a few years later, I walked the graduation
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stage with the help of my fiance. Then am I
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that went viral, got to go on all the major
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talk shows and news outlets, which was Yeah, it was
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a fun little media blitz. And a few years after
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that walked through Seven Yards Down the OVA wedding, which
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again did the whole viral media circuit and got turned
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in to the movie Seven Yards that was on Netflix
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for a while and you can rent it on Amazon
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Prime or Apple TV, among other places. And really just
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I just feel like my calling is to give people
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hope and hopeless situations, because let's face and we're human,
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like we're gonna have moments in life where it just
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doesn't seem fair. In life isn't fair, and we're not
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going to have the hope that we need to keep going.
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And I just believe that I can be that person
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to give that little nudge, that little push to keep
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people believing to keep moving forward, because what seems like
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the end is not always the end, and I had
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to learn that over and over again the hard way.
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Well, Chris, your message is very strong and it's very
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motivating for schools and for students to hear. But I
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also I can think back to your time in high school.
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Yeah it's been a while now, but I just remember
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your dedication and drive and how hard you worked at everything.
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Looking back, what qualities from your high school self do
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you think have been the most crucial in your your
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journey since this significant life change.
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Well, I had to be. I had this incredible coach,
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coach Adam Bush, and it was he was the you know,
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the life.
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But okay, but I did not pay you for that
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comment either. That's even better.
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I love it.
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Yeah, that's great.
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I have to tell you a story when I was
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about it's probably eleven years old, and I played in
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a lot of basketball tournaments and we read this basketball
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tournament and I played horrible. I missed all of my shots,
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I was turn the ball over, and there was just
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a lot more expected of me, a lot more expected
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of myself. And I remember in the car ride home,
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I'm like trying to fight back to tears and then
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to make matters worse, I had to ride home with
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my coach, who's also my dad. Yep, I'm staring out
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the window of avoiding the glares from the rear view mirr. Right.
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We get home, I kake my shoes off and I
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go straight to the couch. I'm watching TV, playing video games,
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anything that can just track me from my frustration of
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that basketball weekend. And I'm thinking, you know, man, if
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I was taller, faster, if my parents could make a
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little bit more money and they I could have my
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own gym, then you know, I'd be this really good
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basketball player. Right. Well, a little while later, my dad,
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he sat next to him the couch. We recapped the tournament.
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I gave him all the reasons why my shot off
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that day, and he listened intently. But then he told
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me something that just stuck with me for the rest
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of my life is, Chris, if you don't like where
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you are, then do something about it. Just as simple
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as that, Like if you don't like where you are,
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do something about it. And it clicked, like why feel
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sorry for yourself when you're not willing to do anything
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to improve, Like if you want to get better results
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and you have to get better, like there's no shortcut
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in life. And it was just this epiphany of here
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I am wanting to be a better basketball player while
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I'm sitting on the couch watching TV. Like it just yeah,
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it's just I don't know, it just everything kind of
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clicked together, like this is stupid, Like what am I thinking?
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Like I grabbed my ball, I went outside, and I
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shot hoops until dark. And it was just like this
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real pivotal moment of just how I would approach anything
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that that mattered to me from that moment on. And
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I think that really kind of changed, Yeah, my work
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ethic and how I viewed life and what I wanted
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out of life, and I realized I had the responsibility
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for it. And so something that I share with students
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with adults is this idea of like radical responsibility, like
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not a little bit of responsibility, but a complete, full
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responsibility for our choices, for our responses. Because the more
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responsibility you can take, the better you respond to adversity,
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and I read really just believe in that, And I
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think that was one of the big things just early
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on that I had. So when my spinal cord injury happened,
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I was ready to take that responsibility of like, hey,
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like I can change this situation, like I can make
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it better, and it's on my shoulders, and I don't
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have to depend on favorable odds. I don't need to
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depend on the right doctor or therapist, like I can
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make things happen. And so I really want people to
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believe that in themselves, because so often we're the victims, right,
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You're like, man, like woe is me? And if only
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and this or that, and I've been there, and I
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still get there. I'm not saying I don't fall back
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to that. But then I remember that story. I remember
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how I've gotten out of any situation is like this
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is on me. I got to take full radical responsibility,
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you know.
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I remember that moment when I heard where my wife
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and I were waiting for a table to open up
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at a restaurant on a Saturday night and I got
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a message about the incident. Of course, like you had shared,
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didn't know a lot of details. As I started to
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find out more details. I remember having the thought in
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my head of obviously, this is a very unfortunate situation.
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It's a horrible accident. However, if there was a person
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that I had confidence that would be able to get
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through this and turn I mean, you talk about the
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lemons into lemonade moment here, Moore, but you can't even
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describe it in this moment. But I knew that you
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were the right person for that, and it was because
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of that ability to be able to demonstrate that resilience.
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You'd been a resilient student athlete, you'd been a resilient
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young man at the time that I knew, and that
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continues on. But resilience is hard in society today. That's
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really hard. It's really easy to give up, or it's
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really easy to blame others or just to take a
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back seat when things are hard. How do you help
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students understand that, like you're talking about here, that resilience
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piece is why you're able to be successful. How do
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you build those skills when I'm just entering into the workforce,
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or I'm just going from sixth grade to seventh grade,
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or or I'm an adult like me. That's unfortunately seeing
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the other end of my career where retirement's coming up
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at some point in time. How do you build that
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resilience so you know about growing through that adversity.
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Yeah, well, I think again it's like realizing the power
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of your own choices and that responsibility. But then it's
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you got to experience hard moments. You got to kind
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of got to face the fire. And I think sports
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is a phenomenal training ground for life. And you know,
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not everybody is an athlete, which is I like, but
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musically or with art, performance, art, like whatever it is.
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I think finding those moments that challenge you and push
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you outside of your comfort zone is what you realize like,
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oh I'm capable of more, Like I can get through this.
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And I think so many times in life we I
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think maybe kids are getting thrown a lifeline to be rescued,
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or they're not. They quit so fast I don't even
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know what they're made of, and that they can persevere.
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I think back one of the I think it was
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like a two a day we had, Like it was
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like one of those hot too a day in high
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school football, and I had I made the horrible choice
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of in between practices I did like a Chinese buffet, right,
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and at HEIV it was and we're doing like running
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across the football field, doing these sprints, and well there
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there came my I my lunch, and you know, it's
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just one of those things where a football culture like okay,
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you peeked, like gets water and get back at it.
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You get back at it like there was nothing to it. Right. Well,
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I realized, like, so then I was in therapy, right,
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my injury happens, and it's like a month and I'm
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doing this training bike. Same thing happens. I'm pushing myself,
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I'm pushing my stuff. Lunch comes up and they're like
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they start taking me off the bike. I'm like, oh
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what are you doing. They're like, oh, like You're like
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you're done, like you got sick, and like, oh like no,
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I feel better now, Like I'm I'm good. Like it
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was just because I threw upcause I mean I'm I'm
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incapable of like pushing on. But it was just like
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a moment where I saw the two parallels. But how
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in one environment, it's just like you know, you got
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to keep going, like you can't let your teammates down,
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you can't let yourself down. Like you have more to give,
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and football and those sports help me realize, oh, I
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have more to give, like I have more to offer.
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But if you're not in that environment and then you're
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in some other environment where it's like, oh yeah, shut
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it down, you can't go anymore, you're gonna believe that right.
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And so I think also goes back to you know,
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my parents also pushing me like hey, you got more
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to give. But all those little moments have contributed to
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myself being resilient. And I think with kids, it's one
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of those things it's hard to like just teaching a
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sixty minute keynote, but I think as a society, if
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we can do a better job of challenging our kids.
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I have kids. I have five kids now, and that's
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something that we're constantly trying to help them or you know,
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you want to support them and love on them, but
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they also got to build confidence in themselves by getting
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through hard things. And if as a parent, I'm constantly
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rescuing them, that might build my self esteem of being
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this hero savior, but I'm robbing my kids self esteem,
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like I'm not doing them any justice by saving them
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every single time.
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So, Chris, you mentioned you're key out there, and I
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like to talk about that for a little bit here.
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So the title of that is Stronger through Change, and
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that title resonates really deeply, I think for what we're
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talking about here, if you were going to talk to
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school administrators, this is an ever evolving industry that we're
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working in here, what would be that core message that
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you would convey to students about navigating change, especially when
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it's unexpected or difficult like we're talking about here.
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Yeah, Well, I found like when you embrace the unexpected
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instead of avoiding it is when you can discover a
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strength that you never realized you had. And I think
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so many times we avoid change, We run, we don't
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adapt to it, and so we change breaks us instead
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of making us stronger. And you see story after story
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that society will highlight and share and just told the
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movies and books of people who dealt with change in
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a way that kept moving forward. It didn't break them
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but built them up. And so that's something where I
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talk about is just how change, because it is constant,
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how can we utilize that so it's not a source
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of weakness but of growth because now everyone's going to
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grow through change and I share kind of like the
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choices that you can make so that to ensure you
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will grow through it.
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Yeah. Now, I'm assuming you've got a pretty good support system.
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I know your wife is a huge support to you
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and a lot of the work that you're doing. How
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important is that community and a connection for people as
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they're navigating change and navigating the struggles that can come
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along with just the world we live in right now,
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but especially for our young people in that school environment.
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How important is that support system?
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Oh, It's paramount because I can't tell you how many
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times when it wasn't my strength alone that got me
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to where I am. There's countless people who had poured
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into me that helped believe in myself, who believed in
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me more than I believed in myself, that kept me
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moving forward. So I think it's I don't know, I
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can't even put really into words like how important that is.
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And I'm like, I'm not like a it's not a
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solo man show here, Like it's not the Chris nor like,
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there's so many contributors to my life. And I think
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one of the things I really enjoyed about the movie
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is it really highlights on my support system of how
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I was able to make it through college with my
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college buddies, my family and community. But then it's also
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part of my keynote is asking for and receiving help,
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Like we can only go so far on our own,
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Like we have to ask for help, and for whatever reason,
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it is so hard for us to just be vulnerable
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and be like I'm struggling, I don't know what I'm
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doing it. It's just such a people asking that feels
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like such an attack on their own self identity and
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self esteem that it's hard. But I have found there's
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not a lot I can do on my own. I'm
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very dependent on people. I had to learn to act
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help and to get outside my own you know this
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strong bravado man. I just I needed to lean on people,
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and I found when I did, how much strength there
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is and how much support and love I received from that.
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But yeah, no, community is so important, and that's one
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of the things I hope with my message is that
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people afterwards, and I get that a lot, especially for leaders,
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you know, with administrators, with executives. I can't tell you
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how my times people are telling me, like man our culture,
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especially on the top, it's lonely in the top I
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feel like I can't ask for help. I have to
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have all the solutions and all the answers, and just
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giving them the courage that it's okay, Like you're actually
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more relatable and you build trust by reaching out to others.
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So I didn't have this in our show notes for today,
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so I'm going to throw a little improv at you here.
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I do also think as you're talking through this a
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lot of times, and this is probably part of the
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issue for leaders, as we try to do so much
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and not realizing that even little things can make a
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huge difference, and they always add up. I think about
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a few years ago, and I'm just going to give
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you credit for this, Chris. I, to this day, I
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am a strong believer in the fact that I have
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a former student of mine that is still here today
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because of the impact that one person made on him.
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And I'm just going to briefly tell the story of
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a young man that had a disease that happened over
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the summertime, and lo and behold, he went from being
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a healthy, vibrant student to being in a wheelchair and
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battling a lot of the same issues that you have
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bad in your time. And I remember just talking to
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you about that and you're like, well, put this, put
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him on, let's let's talk over this, let's let's hop on.
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I think I'm going to date this a little bit
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because I think that was a skype call if I
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remember right back in the day. Probably, But that moment
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of just one individual taking time out of their day
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to be able to connect with one person made a
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huge difference. It turned a student from struggling to know
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his purpose or know even what he wanted or if
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he wanted anything else out of life, to having a
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role model and having somebody that could show them the
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way that this can actually work. And the fact that
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you are a very important person. Now that's me giving
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you a compliment on that, but I think it also
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states how important the little things can be. Because what
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you're talking about here isn't this massive change. We're not
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talking about this huge initiative through a school. What is
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talking about trying to develop that culture from with then
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about what that student experience can be. Am I wrong?
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There?
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Is that what I'm hearing from you?
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No, it's exactly what you're hearing. It's those little moments
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of just reaching out of like to know like you're
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not alone. I think that's one of the things too.
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And when you don't ask for help, you feel like
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you're isolated. You go on Instagram, like, man, look at
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everybody's having so much fun. They got their life figured out,
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and I'm the only one who doesn't have it figured out.
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But when you can reach out and talk to like
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a trusted individual, you realize, well, everyone's kind of battling
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their own I think we're really not that different. And
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the more we can have those more deeper conversations, those
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vulnerable conversations that I think with in the day and age,
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with social media and the Internet, there's less of those
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opportunities to have deeper connections because people aren't having the
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depth of these conversations over the internet. On social media rights, Yeah,
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it's complaining about this or that, or venting and attacking
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one another because you're behind a keyboard. But you know,
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being in the same room and having those relationships, I
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think it's so important. But yeah, it's not this revolution.
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It's just like, man, I need some help. I don't
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know what I'm doing. I can't do this alone. And
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that goes to my speaking now that I'm doing with
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my foundation I count was saying as being a parent
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hus blake. Yeah, I'm constantly asking for help and I've
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been able to. I still battle it of like, man,
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I don't want to have to ask for help, Like
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I don't want to be a burden or in position.
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But that's just like the enemy. That's just not a
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healthy place to be because I know the power of being. Yeah,
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being vulnerable isn't asking for help.
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So, Chris, where can school administrators find out more about
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your work? Your mission gets you there to be able
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to help provide this lesson for students and to be
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able to help I mean, let's be honest, You're going
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to be a guide with them as move forward with
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that culture and that work within their schools. How do
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they reach out to you? How do they get a
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hold of you to learn more?
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Yeah, go to Chrisnorton dot org is where you can
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learn about Yeah, my speaking, my school resources too through accounts.
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00:25:17.039 --> 00:25:21.559
We developed a program, but yeah, books, movie, everything is
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00:25:21.640 --> 00:25:23.920
to go there. Chris Norton dot org.
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That's awesome, Chris Well, I can't say enough about the
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work you're doing. Again, I'm proud of you, just with
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everything that you have done and just been able to
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watch your career unfold as it has happened over the years.
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It's been really awesome and this has been a huge
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bucket filler for me again today just to get a
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chance to chat with you on as we work through
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that mission. So appreciate your time today. Thanks for joining me.
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Yeah, no, thanks for having me. It's great seeing you,
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a great talking to you, and I know this is
460
00:25:47.440 --> 00:25:48.759
just a great excuse to catch up.
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That's right, I love it well. Thank you again listeners.
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That is your booster shop for it today. We will
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00:25:54.319 --> 00:25:58.799
have information about Chris's contact info within the podcast description
464
00:25:58.960 --> 00:26:02.160
and information reach out to him. He is an invaluable resource.
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00:26:02.200 --> 00:26:04.319
I cannot state how important he would be in the
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mission of trying to provide great leadership and instruction for
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the students in your school. One more time again, Chris,
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thanks for joining us, and thank you everybody for being
469
00:26:11.400 --> 00:26:12.359
on your booster shot.
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00:26:12.559 --> 00:26:15.000
Thank you for listening to this episode of your boosters
471
00:26:15.039 --> 00:26:18.759
Shot from AWB Education. Want to join in this mission,
472
00:26:19.279 --> 00:26:21.799
We are always looking for partners to help provide what
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00:26:21.839 --> 00:26:25.319
our school leaders need to thrive and survive. Contact us
474
00:26:25.319 --> 00:26:29.680
through our webpage at www. Dot AWB, education dot org
475
00:26:29.720 --> 00:26:33.400
to get connected. Otherwise, remember you are doing the job
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00:26:33.440 --> 00:26:36.279
that only a few are strong enough to do. Thanks
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00:26:36.319 --> 00:26:38.559
for being one of the few. We will talk with
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00:26:38.599 --> 00:26:39.599
you again next time.
