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Resumés Are Dead: Free Download.

click here to open post Mar 02, 2011 | posted in business tips, Inspire, Personal | 18 comments

I left town for a few days, and unbeknownst to me, Richie wrote a book started a revolution.

People constantly ask, “What does your husband do?” and I constantly stare back at them somewhat dumbfounded, because what I WANT to say is, “Richie makes waves, moves mountains and changes the world!” But it’s hard to make THAT fit into the confines of a monetized job description.

Richie helps people. He helps them overcome obstacles, live dreams and build authentic relationships with the people who mater most. He helps them get real and be happy, and he helps them make lots and lots of money in the process. Until they come up with a title for THAT, I think I’ll have to maintain my mindless stare.

I had nothing to do with the writing of this book. It’s smarter, braver and better than anything I could ever create. Resumés Are Dead And What To Do About It is brilliant, bold and unabashed. Not to mention timely, relevant and perfectly practical in every way. Download your FREE digital copy here. Also, enter to win a free 1 hour business consultation with Richie (valued at $350).

Way to be Richie! I’ve never been more proud to ride your coattails!

xx, N

PS. Ever wondered why (or HOW) we live in Hawaii? Ever wondered why (or HOW) we do things like. . . say. . . take our 7 year old to Nicaragua for the weekend? Ever wondered how we weather grief, stay happy and get.things.done? Every one of those questions is answered in this quick but beefy 30 page read.

PPS. If you’ve already downloaded the book, head over to download the updated version (as of 3.2.2011).

18 comments | add comment
  • Erin Davenport: Wow!! I had no idea what your hubby was up to and if if I'd had a chance to ask last week I'd have gotten the stare :) I can't wait to see what this is all about! I love your writing, by the way, and I'm so glad to know you. xoxo March 2, 2011 6:43 pm
  • Kristy: Entered! In the middle of the book. Wheels are turning. You two are so cool....wish we could hang out! :) March 2, 2011 7:01 pm
  • Dolly: Oh the books I want to read, piling higher on my nightstand. Teasers like this always make me think I should have been more diligent in learning to speed read. LOVE.READING. NEED.MORE.DOWNTIME! March 2, 2011 7:08 pm
  • Kristy: Dolly, just read it in a matter of maybe 30 minutes. Read it, it's great! March 2, 2011 7:20 pm
  • Kindsay: Richie is an AMAZING man!!!!! We are so proud of him! March 2, 2011 9:05 pm
  • Natalie Norton: Thank you everyone for being so enthusiastic! It really is WONDERFUL isn't it!? So proud of him! March 2, 2011 10:39 pm
  • Shelly: It really is inspiring! Such an easy read, but FULL of incredible insight and motivation for anyone that takes the time to devour it. Way to go, Richie! March 3, 2011 4:47 am
  • Amy Paulson: I cannot wait to read this and basically share with everyone I know. You two are incredible... And thank you for all that the two of you do. March 3, 2011 5:27 am
  • mer: goosebumps everywhere reading this! amazing! can't wait to read this and i will be passing on the goodness for sure!!! March 3, 2011 7:15 am
  • Rachel Boatright DeVault: Aw, shoot! I posted a comment on his site before I realized that my comment was my entry! D'oh! I would've made it so much cleverer and so much cooler...but thank you SO much for sharing this! I'm so excited! March 3, 2011 8:14 am
  • Pua: Just read it and loved it. That husband of yours is brilliant! :) March 3, 2011 8:36 am
  • Megan Floyd: I love your face and I loved Richie's message! So. freakin'. awesome. I'm gonna share this with Jonathan. Thank you for living on purpose, sweet lady. XOXO March 3, 2011 9:08 am
  • Alisa: I think its time to get real. When people ask what your husband does they are asking how does he make a living? how does he pay the bills to own homes in Hawaii? Not everyone understands that the bank of D-A-D is what allowed start ups, travel, home buying, all the things you claim major success with. Rehashing what is essentially other peoples ideas in a mini book format is not brilliant. Its time to get real. Do it for you and for others benefit as well. Lots of hype with little real substance will not truly help others. You can do it! March 3, 2011 6:56 pm
  • natalie: Alisa, Oh! How I wish that were true! xx! N March 4, 2011 3:50 pm
  • Paul: This ebook was inspiring to me! Thank you so much for sharing this. And I'm being REAL! Had amazing substance. I appreciate this. March 5, 2011 1:09 pm
  • Julie: I saw the link to this ebook on my friends facebook and anything with the name "Norton" catches my eye. I went to BYUH in 2003 and remember Richie well. He wouldn't know me but I remember hearing him play his guitar and dedicate songs to you! They were so happy and fun and oh it was good times! I really miss Laie and this book is soooo inspiring! Puts a whole new outlook on life for me and my husband. Thank you! March 6, 2011 5:09 pm
  • Becky: Just read Richie's book. Great ideas that got [more] wheels turning in my head. Can't wait to pass this on to my younger sister who is just finishing college--I wish I had had something so quick, simple, and INSPIRING to help lead me at that point in my life! Thank Richie for sharing this with the world. :) March 19, 2011 12:21 pm
  • Larie Manutai: I'm only half-way through your book and am inspired already to get going with my life. Thank you Richie! You truly are a visionary!!!! December 6, 2011 11:30 pm

Enter To Win A Free Jaseboard Longboard!

click here to open post Feb 28, 2011 | posted in on the agenda, Personal | 4 comments

Check out this amazing video shot by our friend, the ever talented Devin Graham. It features another good friend of ours, Jase, and his amazing new skate line, Jaseboards. While we all wait patiently for the official launch of the Jaseboards site, you can enter to win not 1 but 2 free Jaseboards here!

Enter by Tuesday, March 1, at 5:00pm Hawaii Standard Time to win 2 free Jaseboards!

Sorry for my absurdly long absence! I miss you! While I was traveling on the mainland, I contracted Influenza A + some wicked secondary infection and have been on my back ever since. Fingers crossed I’m on the mend and that life (and blogging) as we know it will be back to normal soon!

xx!
N

4 comments | add comment
  • Lizzie: Urgh!!! So sorry to hear you've been sick! Hope you're feeling better this morning! Oh, and yes - your posts have been missed! :) March 1, 2011 4:30 am
  • Rachel Whetten: Nat, yuck! Sorry to hear. Sure hope you get feeling better VERY soon! March 1, 2011 7:23 am
  • Jo Thomas: What a fabulous little video! Makes me want to come out and play and then play some more!! Sorry to hear you've been sick Natalie, life's never much fun when we're miserable. We'll all look forward to your blogging being back up and running and I'm sure you're looking forward to simply being back up and running! I've had a crazy month with my first son, Alec, starting school and being a very tired boy (he had whooping cough last year, despite being immunised, and though it wasn't too bad he gets sick so easily now) so we've being trying to keep him as rested and well fed as possible in between the long school days. I haven't been on your blog for over a month (barely been on the computer!) but I saw the lovely comment you left for me in the breathe scholarship post. Oh, you've made my day! It's been "one of those weeks" and your blog always finds a way to give me the spark and energy I need to plug on - I just didn't expect it to be so wonderfully personal! Thank you so very much. I also read your blog posted feb 9th where you mentioned that your ability to navigate grief felt impossible (but recognised your ability to do the impossible!) and my heart went out to you. My dear old Grandma always used to tell me that time does not necessarily heal grief, it just gives everything the chance to grow. You'll never stop loving your Baby Gavin and your brother, so you'll never stop grieving for them. You'll always be faced with hard days. But God has also given you the ability to grow in strength and courage, which you have done in leaps and bounds and amazing hill sprints! Grief can grow but so can our strength and our ability to live side by side with it. It's such a testament to someone's character when life takes them to the darkest corner of the world and they still find a way to shine brighter than ever - thank you thank you thank you for continually inspiring us all to have courage and gumption in all that we do. Oh, I do hope you feel better soon because we miss your inspiring blogs! PS In answer to your question, I don't have a blog - obviously you overlooked the part about me sucking at technology! It's sad but true! And how did the Breathe workshops go? So many women would have been enriched more than they could have hoped for from the experience. March 2, 2011 4:21 pm
  • Millie: yes, yes yes, yes!!!! i love longboards, and a little part of me is empty since i am not currently in possession of one. What a fun thing for my family to do on a summers night, when the days are just so blasted hot to go outside. Now we can ride in style together :) March 3, 2011 6:36 am

Tonight.

click here to open post Feb 10, 2011 | posted in Personal | 5 comments

Tonight.

Tonight, I was falling asleep to the sound of rain, until I was awakened by the sound of a crying bed wetter. Then I listened to the sound of the shower while super dad changed the sheets. After that, I listened to the sound of tucking-in and so much love I could taste it, and I suddenly felt complete and so very blessed to be a part of my glorious family.

Now, I’m back to listening to the rain and drifting off to deep and beautiful sleep.

Sweetest dreams.

N

5 comments | add comment
  • Annie: When I was going through chemo and would be stuck in bed, I couldn't participate in bedtime... Instead, I cherished those very same sounds - the music of super dad tucking our kids into bed. They were flourishes of God's embrace and I still hold them close to my heart! February 11, 2011 4:29 am
  • Natalie Norton: Annie, That is beautiful and inspiring. February 11, 2011 6:18 am
  • Kent West: Well done super dad. Well done. February 11, 2011 7:27 am
  • Alicia: I had similar thoughts a few nights ago, listening to my husband read books to our boys and saying prayers with them. I was there, but it was sort of an out of body experience and I was overwhelmed. I was wonderful. Yay for super dads. February 11, 2011 7:45 am
  • Lizzie: Experiencing childhood flashback reading this post! Makes me even more grateful for my wonderful parents who worked through that period (not to mention numerous others! :)). February 15, 2011 4:54 am

click here to open post Feb 09, 2011 | posted in Inspire, Personal | 22 comments

The other day wasn’t my favorite. No description necessary. It just wasn’t my favorite day. Period. Everything felt hard. Everything felt impossible. Everything felt heavy. Everything felt insurmountable.

I went for a run, and I talked to God. I asked why suddenly everything felt so “off.” I asked why things that only days before had felt organized and under control now felt impossible. My capacity to maintain momentum and lasting change felt impossible. My ability to appropriately navigate grief and pain felt impossible. Life itself, felt impossible. As I was having these thoughts, I methodically rounded a corner and headed up a hill. I’d run this hill a million and one times; it’s a standard part of my regular course. On this particular day, as I rounded that corner, I didn’t break stride as I leaned into the incline. If anything, my pace increased.

And I heard a voice, from deep within my heart, as loud as thunder: “But you’re good at impossible. Look, you’re doing the impossible right this very instant.” And it was true. In that very instant, I was accomplishing the absolute impossible. Only months before, I could hardly walk this very stretch, yet here I was, sprinting effortlessly to the top.

I felt a lump of deep and abiding love and gratitude well up in my throat.

“That which you persist in doing becomes easy . . . not that the nature of the thing has changed, but your power and ability to do has increased.” H.J. Grant

Every day since, when I approach that hill, I open throttle. It’s my reminder that I am capable of anything and that “each day comes to me with both hands full of possibilities” (Helen Keller). I simply have to reach out and take them.

Natalie Norton

22 comments | add comment
  • Shelly: So inspiring, Nat. I love it. And I'm so sorry life is so hard.....sorry, but with the same knowledge that you have -- that if we endure well, the possibilities are endless! I LOVE the photos -- such beautiful light, and SUCH a gorgeous subject! February 10, 2011 5:35 am
  • Arica: that is inspiring. thank you. ps. your new assistant is my idol. she's the cutest thing, and so talented too.. i'm sure you guys are doing amazing things! IMPOSSIBLE THINGS. because you both are just. un.stop.able. February 10, 2011 6:39 am
  • Annie: Natalie, Yes. You are good at hard things. And Jane, Gavin would have loved those shoes. Both, How'd I get so lucky? I love you. Mwa. February 10, 2011 7:13 am
  • shari: SPOT ON! February 10, 2011 7:31 am
  • kristin: you don't know me, but I check your blog every little while to see what words of wisdom I might encounter. Today I was truly fed. your moment of impossible in Hawaii touched me deep in my moment here in COLD south dakota. thank you. So much. February 10, 2011 7:41 am
  • Shelly: Natalie, I just started running. In Minnesota, outdoors in the freezing cold. It feels impossible, every day. But, I keep trying. Thanks for reminding me that it's OK to have tough days. (I'm currently in the middle of a tough week, everything feels like I can't do it.) Also, thank you for your dedication to keep moving forward. My best to you, Shelly February 10, 2011 8:25 am
  • Rachel Boatright DeVault: Crying. So needed that. February 10, 2011 8:58 am
  • monique: I love the pics-esp. the shoes! And Kristin were are you in SD-- I am 1 hour west of Aberdeen - and it is COLD - but hold on girl because here comes the sun for the weekend! February 10, 2011 10:02 am
  • natalie: People, I LOVE you. Thank you for being a part of the community on this blog. You feed my soul every day. I'm so very thankful for friends like each of you. February 10, 2011 10:32 am
  • Alicia: Yes. That is exactly true. Thank you! I needed that today! February 10, 2011 10:58 am
  • Sidney Morgan: wow, that is incredibly beautiful and so inspiring. Thank you for sharing. February 10, 2011 12:16 pm
  • Tami Nelson: I NEEDED to hear that.....I LOVE IT!!!!!! I will never forget that!!!! February 10, 2011 2:24 pm
  • Lindsay: Props for even running the hill at all...I avoid them all together in my training runs. :) Great post. Always inspired. And maybe Saturday, I'll throw a hill into the run just to prove I won't die. ha ha. February 10, 2011 6:30 pm
  • Casey J.: I love those shoes!!! February 10, 2011 8:37 pm
  • Natalie Norton: Lindsay, "just to prove I won't die." Laughing so hard. Love it! and ps. you totally won't die. BUT, you very well may feel like it. ;) February 10, 2011 9:33 pm
  • natalie: Casey, Aren't they amazing?! February 10, 2011 10:22 pm
  • natalie: I love you Tami! February 10, 2011 10:22 pm
  • Tweets that mention Natalie Norton Photography | Blog -- Topsy.com: [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by natalienorton, Da. Da said: I needed this post today Natalie Norton Photography | Blog: http://me.lt/608nH by @natalienorton [...] February 11, 2011 12:04 pm
  • Lara: I love your heart so much. You are a miracle in my life. I can't wait to see you soon! xo February 11, 2011 2:40 pm
  • natalie: Lara, I love YOU so much! February 12, 2011 10:14 am
  • Alisa Greig: inspiring as always nat :) February 14, 2011 1:18 pm
  • Emily Ley: You're pretty amazing Natalie Norton : ) I'm so grateful to call you friend. xo September 21, 2011 12:23 pm

Putting First Things First.

click here to open post Feb 07, 2011 | posted in Personal | 8 comments

I saw this at Energy Kitchen (um, AMAZING) in NYC, and I’m in love with it. (The restaurant and just about every image they had adorning their walls.)

I know, you’re all chomping at the bit to find out who won The Breathe Scholarship. . . but here’s the thing, I’m really in love with this guy.

Instax image credit: Raleigh. Road trip. Summer 2010. Somewhere in Idaho?

Like I was saying, I’m really in love with that guy. He’s one of my “first things.” In fact, he’s one of my very, very, very first things. (Sometimes, I’m afraid I might not make him feel that way, but he is.) The bottom line is, he’s neck deep in the most Earth rattling, amazing, wonderful, impressive, powerful andonandonandonandon project you could ever hope to imagine, and he needs my full focus to help move it toward completion.

So there you have it. Today, I’m off focusing on my first things.

Cross my heart and hope to die that tomorrow I’ll be back with the big announcement!

I love you.

N

8 comments | add comment
  • Tweets that mention Putting First Things First. | Natalie Norton Photography Putting First Things First. | Blog -- Topsy.com: [...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by natalienorton, Jenn. Jenn said: RT @natalienorton: It's time to put first things first. http://tinyurl.com/47vkv92 http://tinyurl.com/4dse8ne #MTH2011 [...] February 7, 2011 6:51 pm
  • BROOKE BAGLEY: no worries! he deserves your attention (help).good luck. February 7, 2011 8:14 pm
  • belinda olsen: I love the quote by Stephen R. Covey that you mentioned on your MTH page. It's soo true. Today my hubby and I had a very casual family home evening just talking and taking. It was great! Good luck with his project. Can't wait to hear the details! February 7, 2011 9:02 pm
  • Marti: Love! I am totally taking this to heart and giving my hubby some extra love. February 8, 2011 4:01 am
  • Amber Hinds: Family first...always! February 8, 2011 7:20 am
  • shari: don't fret my pet...enjoy being there for him...that is where you should be! and I love that pic...priceless! i should have my kids take more pics of brad and i together...thanks for the push! February 8, 2011 7:36 am
  • Angel Naivalu: I just want to know what he's up to NOW! When can I know? February 8, 2011 7:49 pm
  • natalie: The comment section of my posts has become my source of inspiration in life. Thanks all you beautiful people who are so loving and supportive and committed to awesomeness in your lives. You make me want to be better. xx! N February 10, 2011 10:45 pm