011 Chris Powell –– Overcome Your Limits!

By rights, Chris Powell would have every legitimate excuse to be more than happy with an ordinary life. Instead, he's overcome his limits to become a teacher, author, motivational speaker, and an athlete. Chris joins us on Walking the Walk to share his story and to help you overcome your limits.

Welcome to Walking the Walk, the program for people who want to become better leaders and leaders who want to become better people. Start walking the walk with your host, renowned leadership speaker and author of The Sensei Leader, Jim Bouchard.

Chris was born with cerebral palsy and he has limited use of his hands. He's experienced frequent falls because of this. As a young child, he needed assistance from his family just to accomplish minimal tasks. Dressing, feeding, and bathing were some of the daily activities that, that his family helped him with. In 1998, Chris received his bachelor's degree in mathematics from University of Maryland. On the day of graduation, Chris, Chris actually walked to receive his degree. Although it took 10 years for Chris to receive a degree, it was well worth it. It was a dual accomplishment. Not only did Chris receive the degree, but he attained valuable life skills in the process. Constant drive and determination led Chris to fulfill his goal, and you're going to understand a little bit more about why I'm making such a big deal about it when you meet Chris. Chris, thanks so much for being on the show with us today.

Thank you, Jim. It's such a pleasure.

Oh, Chris, I can— we're having some technical difficulties. Can you talk to me once more?

Oh, sure. Yes, Jim.

There you go. I'm sorry. We lost you there for a second. I think, I think everyone else heard you. I don't think I heard you, so hopefully I'll go in, I'll edit that out later on. Uh, but anyway, let's, let's, yeah, let's get right into it. Can you tell us a little bit more about your background and why overcoming your limits is something that's so special to you?

Well, uh, thanks again, Jim, uh, for having me once again. I was, uh, born with, uh, like you mentioned CP, which is called cerebral palsy, and it's a condition that affects my speech, my arms, my legs. Like you mentioned, I took quite a few falls as a child. I wasn't able to write or hold a pencil, so I was in special education K-12. As a child. One thing that always stood out to me was that I knew that I had a condition, but in my mind I was like, you know, if I can just do certain things, maybe I can get around these challenges. So I had to really take my whole life and figure out ways to get around things that maybe I didn't think I could do or others didn't think I could do. And it gave me a great drive for life because I realized that if I could show others what I could do, they would say, you know, maybe we didn't fully realize your capacity even though we saw you on the outside. We just, just didn't necessarily see what's in the inside. So I never looked at myself as having a condition or a disability, or, you know, the word used to be called handicap, because I really wanted to get more focused on exactly what the problem was. So basically, that's, that's how I, you know, went about my life.

You know, it's easy for people to think about their own problems so much, and we all do. I think that's very natural. I don't think there's anything particularly wrong with that. But when we meet somebody like yourself who, you know, for daily tasks, you have to, you have to overcome a lot of obstacles and limitations. How do you, as a motivational speaker and as a coach now, um, I guess here's the question, and I'm saying it lighthearted because I got to know you on your show a little bit, so I know you appreciate the spirit I intended in. But how do you take us seriously when we sit here and start complaining about our lives when you've had to overcome so many things that we take for granted?

Well, I realized over time, it took me a long time to realize this, is that we all have challenges and problems in our lives, and a lot are basically right between our ears. It's not mine, it's not my brain. You know, if we start to believe certain things about ourselves Usually that's what tends to happen. If you believe that you're going to be great, that's a great start because you're like, okay, I know I can do this, but now I need to do some work. But like you just said, for me, I would say, for example, you know, for me, a victory might be just being able to go to the bathroom. A victory for me might just be getting out, getting off my couch. A victory for me might be just getting down my stairs without, you know, falling down. Or a victory for me might be just walking without, you know, falling. But I understand now as a person that's, you know, a little bit, I guess, I've been through some things now and I can see other people through my eyes. I say, you know, That was me back then. I didn't think I could do that because I had this mental block. And if I just, you know, go ahead and do a little bit of work and forget about failing, because we all have mistakes, we all have errors. And I always say that's why pencils were created with erasers and keyboards have delete keys, because we all make mistakes and that's okay. But you just have to realize that it's part of life. But just keep pushing through and you'll be amazed how far you'll go.

It's funny because when I first met you too, and as I started to get to know a little bit more about you and your story and all the things that you've faced, you know, you were so generous when you had me on your show and you kept talking about how much you appreciated, you know, my life story and what I did. For those who are new to the program here, you know, my short resume is this: I'm a 2-time college dropout and a former drug addict. And so I started life with a lot of self-imposed disabilities, if you want to say it that way. What I started with, I did it to myself. How do you keep from just getting angry with somebody like me when I face certain obstacles? And again, approaching at it from the mindset of a coach, because I think there are other folks that are in the same boat. They've created their own chaos and now they turn to you for help. I still can't believe you could do that without just ripping us a new one, so to speak.

Well, you know, Jim, a lot of times I will place myself in other people's shoes. I said, well, you know, what if I didn't have disability? Would I be as engaged as I have to be now? And sometimes the answer is yes. And other times the answer is no, because I think a lot of times, even in my situation, I look at other people that have far more challenges than me. I said, man, I'm very grateful because I'm able to, you know, open my eyes and breathe and, you know, just do some minor things that a lot of other people may take for granted. So I think it really It's in all of us. You know, my case is a little more defined and challenging, but I can guarantee you, you know, there are things that I need to do myself to get better because I'm like, wow, you know, certain people may not be able to do things that I can do. I feel bad that I'm like, man, you're slacking, you know, you need to get up and do something for yourself because that's not good enough. So I can understand others, but at the end of the day, I think we all just need to take a breath and say, you know what, okay, I may have not done exactly what I wanted to do yesterday, but guess what? This is a new day. And yesterday can be used as an example, as history for what I should do or won't do again today. You know, it's a continual process. It's not something that you can just say, "Well, I made it," because life is a constant struggle. And we all have to realize that, you know, we're gonna have good days and bad days along the way, but just keep going, learn from your so-called mistakes, and just continue to grow and just try to continue to be better as a person.

So if I'm hearing you right, there's a lot of forgiveness that has to go along with this, right? Forgiveness for, you know, that— well, I know you keep calling them mistakes. Um, I believe we talked about this a little bit on, on your show because I don't like to glorify or glamorize the, you know, the drug addiction part or the recovery part. A lot of people look at that, and I hate to say it this way, but kind of in heroic terms, and to me it's not. I mean, um, you know, meeting you, I've got a lot of friends that have similar conditions, and it's always amazing to me It makes me look at myself a little bit differently. And, but it has to do with letting go, doesn't it? That's what forgiveness is all about. I keep hearing that in what you're saying, that you've got to kind of let go of what, you know, what obstacles or what challenges, you know, you have or experience, whether or not you impose them on yourselves or like yourself where you were born with them. So am I way off base or is that somewhat in line?

Totally, totally, brother. I mean, I look at my example, there are certain things I'm like, man, I wish I could, you know, did this better or did that better. But, you know, I always try my best and you, like I just mentioned, learn from your mistakes because a lot of times I don't think we realize, Jim, that we can help other people through our own struggle, our our stories, our setbacks, or whatever you may want to call it. Because I think it's really, really important to be a great example, or try to be. And someone else that's coming along that may say, "Man, how did you get through this? How did you not become so angry?" And I said, "There are times that I was angry." I might just not show it, but I was very angry on the inside. And with my pain, I said, well, you have two choices, Chris. Either you can take that anger and use it as something positive for other people and yourself, or you can just be around bitter and no one's gonna care about you anyway, right?

Otherwise it could destroy you, right, from inside. I mean, it's— yeah, you know, it's interesting too, in the leadership space now we're talking so much about compassion. I mean, people are very interested in that. And like you said, your experiences, you know, caused you to see that. I'm glad that you shared that you get angry, you know, that you've been angry at times. At the same time, you know, putting your challenges aside, you've accomplished some incredible things. A degree in mathematics, for God's sake. I can't add and subtract, you know. So everybody's got their different talents. But again, I don't want to let go of this, this special talent that you seem to have that to me rises above everything else you're talking about. That's that idea of compassion, that you have a true empathy, somewhat through your own experiences, but you're also really in tune with what's going on with other people.

How did you—

how really did you develop that for yourself? How did you really learn to look inside the heart and the soul of somebody else? And how can leaders adapt, you know, your methodology, if you will, if you want to call it that?

That's a great question, Jim. I would basically just say that before, even though I had this condition in my mind, I was already going to be successful. No matter what challenge I set for myself, I could see the end game. I said, I can see the finish line. For example, I used to be a runner, athlete, and I used to love running. I did like, you know, more general, uh, 1K, 3K, 5K, yeah, even the 8K back in, uh, 2002, long time ago.

Yeah, that's just crazy, by the way. Running is crazy, I have to say.

Yeah, honestly, um, when I did this, I already said to myself, I can see myself at the finish line. And my coach was there. He got me a couple of runners to go with me and we got started. I felt great and I got past the first 3 miles and then my leg just said, "Uh-oh." Yeah. "We are in deep, deep, deep trouble." But because I already had in my mind that I was going to finish the race, I don't know what happened, but I just kept going and going and going. And despite the pain, despite the sweat, despite having to stop and get a couple cups of water, during that last 200 yards, I could see the finish line. I was like, "I gotta go." And all the pain that I had was like, it was there, but I just had to rise above it. And I got to that finish line. Looking back, I said, "What the heck did you just do?" because I was in pain, my blisters on my feet, my legs were cramped. I was barely standing up and the next day I had to like rest the whole day just to get out of bed. So what I'm saying is that basically, you have to see the end game. You have to have a positive idea in the end. And then you got to go to it. So basically, the key is that you first start with the vision that you want to have and then just start doing it. I really can't emphasize that enough. It's amazing that if you just start doing things, how things will open up. Even if it is difficult, you'll still be making progress.

Right. So if I'm hearing you right, then somebody If they commit themselves to be a more compassionate leader, for example, it's really about trying to create a vision of that. What do I look like? How am I going to behave? Really, who am I going to be in that mold? Am I hearing you right?

Yes, yes. Vision is so very, very important because you can even trick yourself into being successful. I think—

Right.

I would say I'm a prime example because, you know, if I hadn't told myself that I could get a master's degree despite not being able to write, I said, you know what, I can do this. And even though it was a long, daunting, daunting task, I said, well, just take one class at a time and get through it. Another class, get through it. Another class, get through it. Because I can see the end game. I was going to get that degree, I was going to walk down the the platform to pick up my degree. But it just starts with the vision and the hard work. And then, like I said, second step, adjusting along the way. It's not going to be a smooth road. Forget about that. It's not going to be easy, but just keep pressing. People will come along. You won't even expect they will help you. I mean, I've had so many people along the way that I didn't even know were coming. To give me helping hand. But first you have to decide that you want to help yourself, and you, you'll see that you'll— oh, that's it.

No, that's so important. I mean, being open to the help, I mean, that, that's part of what, you know, my recovery was all about and still is. I mean, it's an ongoing process, but I'm still not going to let you off the hook about the running. And when we meet in person, I think that's going to happen sooner rather than later, we're looking at some some work in Baltimore, but that's just absolutely crazy. You know, most of my friends that do any kind of running, especially the distance running you're talking about, all those things you're talking about, the sore legs, the cramps, the blisters. Oh my God. See, that's why we get into martial arts. We learn how to fight so we don't have to run. But let's get back to the idea. You just touched on something that I wanted to ask you about actually, the idea of being open to that help. Mentors, right? People that are willing to contribute in some way to your life. And more often than not, I found the most valuable ones had nothing to do with anything material. It was, in fact, very seldom. It was the people that really wanted to share something of themselves, right? Did you have some mentors to help you through this process? And especially to, you know, to get the degree with the challenges you faced? And who were they? And How does somebody find these people?

Well, my education standpoint, I had, you know, in high school, some of my special ed teachers were very, very instrumental in, you know, helping me to be strong and to have courage. And, you know, they were, as I mentioned, I think I was in K-12, I was advised that I go to college because I guess my teachers had seen enough to realize that maybe I was college material. And I just jumped on that because I always wanted to further my education. And I knew that it was a really great opportunity because I knew that even though I had a disability, If people could see that I was barely— I could, you know, talk to myself or show people that I could do things beyond my disability, that would earn their trust and they'll earn a little respect, you know, from their standpoint, realizing that, hey, this guy's okay. He may not be able to stand or may not be able to hold a pencil, but he can work around things. So education was so important because it gave me options to get around my disability. But as far as when I was in college, I had counselors that helped me. And when I got to the University of Maryland, I had professors that were very brave. You know, they walk with me. I remember Dr. Sweet, Daniel Sweet, who's my analysis teacher, was very instrumental in helping me to find scribes to help me, you know, get notes together for that class. So I miss him very much. But of course, my parents were also very influential. I had great friends that helped me. But I think, you know, Jim, it all begins again with the idea that if you seek, if you seek things, as I mentioned before, it's amazing that how people will come into your life unexpectedly. But you just have to keep on trying and keep searching. I mean, right now one of my mentors and my coaches is a guy you know, Will Patterson.

Oh, sure, sure.

Yeah, he's amazing, incredible. I've been working with him for almost, I think about 7 years now, and he's been such a a guide in such a life for me, giving me advice and just, you know, helped me get to another level in my development as a leader, as a person, as a coach. So those were, you know, definitely some people that have been in my sphere that helped me. Also, Monica Davis, who runs Exceptional People Magazine in French for years, And she's also been very, very influential in helping me to grow as a leader and business person.

I'm so glad you brought up Will's name. He was one of my first coaches when I got in the speaking business, and what a fantastic person. So many accomplishments and just a warm and caring person. And it seems so much that, you know, these folks— and this is certainly true in my life— when we find these folks, these mentors especially, they reflect back sometimes a little different vision of ourselves than we see ourselves, don't they? They can give us a different perspective, and sometimes it's much bigger than the, than the one that we feel is in front of us, huh?

Oh, definitely. He created, you know, a game plan for me that was, you know, surpassed my even idea of what I could do. So my conditions, I'm like, wow, we're gonna do all this?

Are you sure?

You know, it's great because it gives me even more prideful because Like you said, sometimes our own idea of ourselves can be short-sighted or even limited. So to have someone else with that expertise that can brighten your vision is very, very, very helpful.

Now, there's something— this may be difficult, but something I think would be very informative for leaders out there that are dealing with folks that have special needs or challenges— and, you know, it's interesting because I think in general, the general population tends to lump folks with special needs into a big bucket, yet there's such a diversity there, right? Were you ever treated— you know, you're such a remarkable thinker and you're such a, you know, an accomplished academic, and at the same time, were you ever treated as if your mental capabilities weren't weren't on par or superior to most of ours, as we can say. If we get into the math, we'll find that out really quick. And if so, how do you— is there something you can share with leaders to help them treat people appropriately when they're dealing with folks that have special needs in the workplace?

Well, it's definitely a very loaded question, Jim, because I have experienced tremendous, I guess, through experiences that I had in my life with people that may not have known anything about cerebral palsy or anything about me. For example, sometimes I may get into a taxi or, you know, And the driver— well, if a person is like walking with me to the taxi, the first thing that the driver may ask the other person is, where is he going? Where is he going? I say, hello, sir, I can speak too. So I had to immediately just that mental thinking, you know, a lot of times our friends that will be with me is like, "Why don't you ask him?" Right, exactly. "He's the one that needs the chair, not me." But a lot of times it happens, and as a youngster, I used to get upset by it, you know, because I was like, "I want to be treated just like," you know, But then as I get older, I'm like, you know, people just don't understand. And sometimes, you know, ignorance is, you know, it happens. So don't take it personally. So I always would try to start a conversation and then blow their mind about, you know, a certain topic that they might not know that I had any idea about. So then it's just, wow, you know how I speak this language? "Hey, you know how to do this?" "Are you a mathematician?" So it kind of breaks the ice and then we can just say, "Well, yes, sir. When I get to my stop, can you please help me open the door? Help me stand, please? I'll be fine. Thank you." But I guess, wow, it's one of the most difficult challenges I have as far as being out in society and people not knowing how to address me or how to speak to me or being are fearful of me because I may look a little different. It's very, very tough, Jim. I cannot, I cannot shrink that. It's very, very tough. But you just have to be resilient and just be, you know, have the fight and just show people what you can do. And I realize in life that we all have things that, you know, others may not, you know, necessarily understand, or, um, I guess pick up on, but it's just part of life. You just have to keep going.

You know, it sounds too like the sense of humor that you have, you know, helps with that as well. To me, humor and compassion go hand in hand. I always appreciated, you know, uh, one of my favorite shows is The Big Bang Theory, and, uh, you know, Stephen Hawking, who they make fun of mercilessly on the show, and then he he appears as a guest and he has such a good sense of humor about that. I think that can be very disarming and I hope that people appreciate that, you know, when you can do that, you can break, like you said, you can break the ice that way and hopefully people can then have some access, right, to reach in a little bit deeper and understand a little bit deeper.

Oh, definitely. There's nothing like, you know, good humor and good education.

Listen, we only have a couple minutes left. Obviously we have to have you back on the show as a regular. This, you know, there's a lot of things that we need to talk about. I know you said that before when I was on your show too, so let's make this a fairly regular occurrence. Are there some things for— oh, you know what, before we wrap up too, we have to make sure people understand how to get in touch with you if they'd like to access your services, because you're doing speaking, you're doing coaching in addition to your duties at the college. You've got a lot of work to do.

Yeah, I'm pretty busy. I try to stay busy as best I can. But yes, um, you can contact me at, uh, www.overcomeyourlimits.com. I have a couple of videos and podcasts. I was very fortunate, as you mentioned, to have you on the show for a couple— for a session. Um, also, of course, I'm on Facebook. Uh, under, uh, Overcome Limits, and I also, um, have a coaching program. So there's a lot going on, and, um, just very, very happy to be on the show, Jim.

Thank you. And you're easy to find. I should tell people that, but make sure, because when we were doing Google searches, if you're looking for Chris, he's not the weight loss guy. That's the other Chris Powell, right? Our Chris Powell is going to help you overcome your limits. The other guy is going to help you lose weight. Just to make sure we know that. Chris, I look so forward to meeting you in person. I really do believe that's going to happen soon. And we've got good work to do together. So I hope we keep this connection going, keep it fresh.

Thank you, Jim. It's been an honor, really.

All right. Thanks for being with us today.

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