Chris Waddell on Embracing Vulnerability to Collaborate

When I was first introduced to Chris Waddell for this podcast, I was super excited. His bio is absolutely inspiring. He was Dalai Lama’s Unsung Hero for Compassion. He’s won 13 Paralympic medals. He’s in the Paralympic Hall of Fame. He’s in the US Ski and Snowboard Hall of Fame. NPR credited him with one of the best graduation speeches ever for his keynote at Middlebury College in 2011. He has won more medals than any male monoskier in Paralympic history. He is somebody who has been recognized for being one of the 50 most beautiful people by People Magazine, which we talk about in today’s conversation. The accolades are endless, they’re inspiring, they’re impressive, they’re almost outer worldly. In our conversation, we talk about the downside that comes with people who view Chris as a hero. I watched a documentary that he was featured in, and the documentary was beautiful, it was all about his ascent to Mount Kilimanjaro as an unassisted paraplegic. That documentary was a fascinating watch and it is the focal point of a lot of our conversation today, as Chris challenges the notion that others sometimes think that he’s outer worldly and that he’s some sort of hero because of some of the challenges he’s faced as far as with his ability to walk. That is what makes this conversation so real, so unique, so vulnerable: even though Chris is paralyzed and doing things that most able-bodied people would think is beyond the realm of possibility for them, Chris is a human and you’re going to love him in today’s conversation because he’s open, honest, and vulnerable.

Chris had a number of amazing insights during our conversation. Some of them include:

“If you don’t tell the story, it didn’t happen” (6:25).

“In climbing Mount Kilimanjaro, I wanted to confirm I was a superhero” (7:50).

“I wanted to free myself of this burden of being the superhero” (8:00).

“If you’re a human being, you’re part of the team” (8:30).

“The victim thing is the thing that I want to avoid at all costs” (12:20).

“If I continued to be a victim of circumstance, then my life ended at 20 years old effectively” (12:40).

“We often see our greatest strength in crisis” (16:25).

“The vulnerability is where we ultimately connect as human beings” (18:05).

“The only way that we really connect with other people is through being honest” (18:50).

“I wanted to stretch people’s imaginations and do things that were never possible” (24:25).

“I want to create and be able to convey whatever is in me” (26:05).

“I find heroes everywhere I go” (28:00).

“We’re always capable of more than we think we’re capable of” (28:25).

“Simplicity is the ultimate goal, but it takes a lot of work to actually get to the point where we achieve simplicity” (32:35).

“Ease can be the real root of our genius, too” (33:40).

“[Busyness] draws us away from efficiency” (38:25).

“If we’re occupied, then we have no time for thought” (38:50).

“I don’t get there on my own” (45:55).

“If we’re not aware of what other people are doing, we’re doing ourselves a huge disservice” (46:10).

“The key to communication… is ultimately about being direct” (47:05).

“The biggest struggle for me is conflict” (51:15).

“There’s the way I see myself, the way that people see me, and then there’s the way I think that people see me” (54:10).

“You don’t want to be seen for that surface level stuff” (57:45).

“The struggle is where we connect as human beings” (58:00).

“If we’re perfecting our craft, we’re never growing old” (58:20).

“It’s the getting better part that’s the most addictive part of being a human being” (58:55).

“Fear is my greatest motivator” (1:01:50).

Additionally, you can find the website for the One Revolution Foundation here and Chris’s personal website here, where you can find his books and much more. I’d also highly encourage you to check out the One Revolution documentary on Amazon Prime.

Thank you so much to Chris for coming on the podcast!

I wrote a book called “Shift Your Mind” that was released in October of 2020, and you can order it on Amazon and Barnes and Noble. Additionally, I have launched a company called Strong Skills, and I encourage you to check out our new website https://www.strongskills.co/. If you liked this episode and/or any others, please follow me on Twitter: @brianlevenson or Instagram: @Intentional_Performers.

Thanks for listening.