Richie Norton - The power of starting something stupid: how to crush fear, make dreams happen, and live without regret

Interior illustrations by Barry Hansen

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Norton, Richie, author.

The power of starting something stupid / Richie Norton with Natalie Norton.

pages cm

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN 978-1-60907-009-0 (hardbound : alk. paper) 1. Success in business. 2. Creative ability in business. I. Title.

HF5386.N596 2013

650.1dc23 2012023695

Printed in the United States of America

Edwards Brothers Malloy, Ann Arbor, MI

10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1

Advance Praise for Richie Norton and The Power of Starting Something Stupid

Perfect book for these uncertain times.

Steve Forbes , Chairman and Editor-in-Chief of Forbes Media

Richie Norton has written a book about courage. The courage to do work that matters and to do it with your heart and your soul. Go make something happen.

Seth Godin, author of The Icarus Deception

Once in a great while a new author bursts on the scene to light a fire under us. Richie Norton is that rare spark. His certainty that the secret to success is to start something stupid is right on and will alter your future. Thirty publishers thought Chicken Soup was stupid before it sold over 100 million copies. This new book could not have come at a better time and Richies urgent and authentic style is readable, convincing and a compelling blueprint for success. Be smart: read The Power of Starting Something Stupid.

Jack Canfield , New York Times bestselling author of The Success Principles, and cocreator of the Chicken Soup for the Soul series

I absolutely love this book. I love how it makes me feel. It energizes me, inspires me, and gives me confidence. It reminds each of us that all things are possible.... This book disrupts conventional thinkingin a smart way.

Stephen M. R. Covey, New York Times and the #1 Wall Street Journal bestselling author of The Speed of Trust and coauthor of the #1 Amazon bestseller Smart Trust

When I wrote The E-Myth Revisited, I wasnt an author and I really wasnt interested in business, but I had discovered something about business that nobody else seemed to see, or understand, and I decided to write a book about it. It came like a gift, a huge aha from out of nowhere, and I ran with it. Today, that stupid idea (everybody told me it wouldnt work!) has created the most successful book on small business ever written because of that one, great stupid idea. I thought I was just lucky. Richie just told me that Im in really good company. Find out why stupid is now the New Smart. Read it, youll love it, youll find out why thinking stupid makes the best sense in the world.

Michael Gerber , the worlds #1 small-business guru and author of the bestselling The E-Myth Revisited

More than just a call to action. This book is a demand for it. One chapter in I felt an involuntary impulse to reexamine my life. Later chapters held my hand as inevitable considerations came up from that process. An important, compelling and authentic read.

Joseph Grenny, New York Times bestselling coauthor of Crucial Conversations and Change Anything

This warm, wonderful book will inspire and motivate you to do more in your life than you ever dreamed possible.

Brian Tracy, author of The Power of Self-Confidence

Sometimes a book shines a light on a topic in such a unique way that you find yourself slapping your forehead and saying to yourself, Now thats simply brilliant! Why have I never thought of it that way before? And then you keep reading, and discover more and more stupidly brilliant insights. This book makes you look forward to starting something stupid. Thats the genius of it. If success in life is a goal of yours, youd be smart to read this book ASAP.

Robert G. Allen, author of the New York Times bestsellers Nothing Down, Creating Wealth, Multiple Streams of Income, and The One Minute Millionaire

The Power of Starting Something Stupid teaches one of the truths that I have found in life and business: whenever I think something is a totally genius idea, it is not, and when I take a chance to do something that may seem like it will turn into nothing, thats when things turn out to be successful. So many great, successful ideas started as a whimas something stupid. Because of this, I just keep trying. I just keep putting things out there. I just keep taking chances, even though they scare me.

Gina Bianchini, CEO of Mightybell.com; cofounder of Ning.com

Richie Norton has taken the fundamental principles of learning, living and thriving and integrated them in a most engaging and practical manner. His message and its relevance to every entrepreneur will be immediately apparent, but it is equally valuable and valid whatever endeavors and dreams you may have and at whatever age you find yourself. As he so compellingly explains, each of us can have a more engaging, rewarding and fulfilling life by applying these principles in pursuit of our most worthy goals. I would recommend this book to young and old alike who want to have each day be an exciting and rewarding adventure.

Dr. Steven C. Wheelwright, president of Brigham Young UniversityHawaii; Edsel Bryant Ford Professor of Business Administration, Emeritus at Harvard Business School

Richie Norton uncovers the paradox of stupid as the New Smart and shows us how success can be one idea away. Watch out: the energy in The Power of Starting Something Stupid is contagious. You may just find yourself starting something stupid and living your dreams.

Andy Andrews, New York Times bestselling author of How Do You Kill 11 Million People?, The Noticer, and The Travelers Gift

From the very first chapter, The Power of Starting Something Stupid opens your mind to the possibility that youre not living up to your full potential. Richie Nortons powerful words provide the motivation and energy youll need to start something stupid. Something amazingly, courageously, stupid!

Andy Beal, coauthor of Radically Transparent , CEO of Trackur.com

In this era of negativity, less, limitations, and no, The Power of Starting Something Stupid offers hope, inspiration, and profound advice for moving toward our own positive futures. Richie Norton has tapped into what is good, positive, and worthwhile in all of us. Richies perspective should be read and understood by all.

Mary Teagarden , professor of global strategy and editor, Thunderbird International Business Review at Thunderbird School of Global Management

Theres magic to this book: ideas which seem to be stupid often turn out to be brilliantthey only looked stupid because we hadnt seen them before, and it took courage for their creators to stick to their visions and bring them to light. Learning to curate, cultivate, and play with ideas that others dont understand (or are openly critical of!) is a hallmark of great innovators. Richie helps us to realize that fear of looking stupid can stop us from participating fully in life and from finding significant ways to help others. By showing us how this stupid to brilliant pattern is at the heart of continuous innovation and renewal, he encourages us to trust ourselves and to bring our own unique contributions to our homes, our communities, our workplaces, and the world.

Steve Hargadon , founder of Classroom 2.0 and Future of Education

F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote, The test of a first-rate intelligence is the ability to hold two opposing ideas in mind at the same time and still retain the ability to function, and understanding the New Smart is starting something stupid. When people like Fred Smith (FedEx), John Bogle (Vanguard), and Richard Branson (Virgin) created businesses that went in the opposite direction of the marketplace, they were once called stupid. All of these people transformed their industries and rose to the top as they focused on seeking the less obvious and taking the road less traveled. Richie takes readers on a journey to explore why starting something stupid may be the smartest thing you can do.