You’ve likely heard the stereotypes about millennials: They’re a generation of entitled misfits. They lack a strong work ethic. They’re only interested in activities that offer immediate gratification.
You want the truth? This generation isn’t going to wreck the world. They’re going to save it.
If millennials feel entitled to anything, it’s the opportunity to be passionately engaged in a vision they can pour their entire heart and soul into. Show them what success looks like, then get out of the way and watch what awesome looks like.
I’d like to introduce you to Shaun Redford, one of nine millennials I interviewed who have faced and overcome significant obstacles that stood in the way of their goals and dreams. It’s a privilege to share their inspiring life stories with you here.
Click here to see all the Millennials Rising stories.
SHAUN REDFORD
Shaun Redford
Shaun Redford, born in 1980, is an attorney and shareholder at Olson, Lucas & Redford, a Minneapolis real estate and business boutique law firm. He is also an adjunct instructor at the University of Minnesota Law School, teaching a legal writing course to first-year law students.
I met my wife, Darbie, in college in September and we were married by May. Two years later, in mid-June, we learned we were expecting twins at the end of October. We were a little shocked but had no time to process it. Right after seeing the sonogram, Darbie headed off to work and I drove to campus to take the LSAT.
We couldn’t wait to welcome our new babies. Turns out we didn’t have to. A month later, Darbie went into labor at twenty-four weeks. The doctor told me on the phone, “Get to the hospital right now!” I did the classic “hop in the car, pedal to the metal, run through red lights” routine. Darbie delivered the twins via emergency C-section on July 17, 2004.
Brittan and Corbin each weighed about a pound and a half at birth. Brittan was stabilized first, then was transported via helicopter from the hospital in Orem, Utah, across town to the Neonatal ICU in Provo. Corbin followed shortly thereafter via ambulance. Two weeks later, they both needed surgical procedures that required even more expertise so they were transferred to Primary Children’s Hospital in Salt Lake City, about fifty miles north of Provo.
You get a crash course in neonatal medicine when you have premature babies. Corbin got the worst of it. Within a few days of his birth, doctors noticed a (more…)
Triumph of the Spirit 