The day Devin died in my arms
When I was in college, my friend Devin died in my arms.
He didn't actually die. But it certainly felt that way.
We were taking a nine day, 100 hour Wilderness Emergency Responder course in Portland, Oregon, and each of us took turns attempting rescues. Devin was the victim.
He was lodged in between two trees on a steep slope in the snow, and I was given three minutes to attempt to save his life. I was instructed to stabilize his spine, ensure his breathing, and move him to a safe location.
When I arrived on the scene, on a steep slope in wet snow, I panicked. Devin was an acting student. He struggled, then began to spam. Full of adrenaline, I attempted to pull him out from between two trees. He began frothing at the month and began to spasm.
By the time our wilderness survival teacher intervened, fifteen minutes had passed, I was crying, and Devin had “died.”
Slow is smooth and smooth is fast
There’s a phrase, coined by the Navy SEALs, that “Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.” When you slow down, you can operate more effectively. That results in fewer mistakes and better, faster outcomes.
When I first found Devin in the snow, I rushed in. Instead, had I taken an extra breath to assess the situation, I might have found a simpler, safer solution. It took our instructor showing me that I could have slid him downhill to realize my mistake which killed him.
Slow down to limit mistakes
Had I slowed down in those first pivotal moments with Devin, I might have been able to save him. Instead, I panicked because I had limited time and he was face down in the snow.
One moment of slowing down can make all the difference when it matters most.
Savoring
There are things you don’t want to do as quickly as possible:
- Making love.
- Eating a great meal.
- Holding a baby.
But in the pursuit of speed, it is easy to forget the value of savoring an experience.
Chunking
When we slow down, we can perceive more.
Slow allows us to bring more attention, which allows for chunking – the process of grouping small pieces of information together into larger chunks.
Chunking allows us to process information more quickly.
Slow is forward momentum
Slow is usually considered negative. Slow is associated with laziness, procrastination, and lack of clear priorities.
Actually, though, when we are going slowly, we aren’t – by definition – stopped or blocked.
Going slowly requires action; forward momentum. It isn’t possible to both go slowly and be frozen or indecisive.
Speed
In business and in life, speed is a competitive advantage. In Silicon Valley, there’s talk of a 10X engineer – someone who can do the work of 10 other employees by building more effectively, finding shortcuts, and making fewer mistakes. I opened my old restaurant Robin’s Cafe in 3 weeks, which is largely considered impossible within the industry.
We all have the same 24 hours in a day. Being able to do more in less time makes you more effective.
But to this day, I get adrenaline coursing through my body when I remember Devin on that snowy hillside. Devin “died” in my arms because I was in a rush and panicked.
Speed does matter, but so too does slowing down, assessing, and engaging strategically.
I carry a picture of Devin in my medical kit to this day.
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3 things I’ve loved this week
Quote I’m considering: “Slow is smooth, smooth is fast.”
The devastating fires in LA have me revisiting my emergency kit – and this video.
As a native Californian, I always keep water on hand, an emergency kit in my house, and another in my car.
In this video, I walk through everything I keep at hand in case of emergency.
Hopefully, civilization doesn’t collapse and you never need to rebuild basic technologies from the ground up. But just in case, The Knowledge should be required reading for pretty much everyone.
The Knowledge contains the information you need to survive in the immediate aftermath of a catastrophe. The book is a step-by-step guide to building a windmill to generate power and grind flour, re-create an internal combustion engine, put together a microscope, get metals out of rock, and produce food.
It is an incredible primer for how things work, and a fun read. I keep a copy in my emergency kit.
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Until next week,
Robin