Chalky White  grew up in an abusive household, so much so that he gave up trying in school as an act of rebellion. When he 17 he joined the police cadets where he worked with alcoholics and drug addicts. It was at this point that Chalky realized he wanted to be in service of others.

One day his friend asked Chalky if he wanted to go skiing. By saying yes to his friend’s request, Chalky unknowingly changed his life. Even though he wasn’t very good at skiing on that first trip, he was hooked.

A year after that first ski trip Chalky went to Andorra and decided to become a ski instructor. When he ran out of money, he went back to Britain to become an encyclopedia salesman just so he could go back to Andorra.

After a series of tests in Andorra, and failed attempts to become a licensed instructor, Chalky went to New Zealand to get certified. Chalky was constantly told he was never going to be good enough to be an instructor, but through persistence and his system of What If? questions, Chalky was finally able to gain his certification.

Chalky not only became a certified instructor. He also wrote his own book on skiing and became a motivational speaker through it all.

In this episode, Chalky talks about asking yourself what if, being persistent, and why continuing to try leads to success.

Here are three things you can learn from Chalky:

Ask Yourself What If

Many of us give up at the first sign of failure. We let our lack of success define and shape us. What if it didn’t have to be this way? What if we could continue on despite our doubts?

That’s why Chalky developed his what if factor questions. These questions help him decide whether or not he should pursue his goals, despite his doubts.

“The big dream came true because I never, never quit, and it all happened… because I got the semblance of something I now use in my speech, “How to say nay to your naysayers and have the last laugh,” which I call my What if factor. “What if I don’t continue on with this? What if I don’t follow through? What are the consequences of that?” Of course when you ask yourself that sort of question, you really don’t like the answers at all. In fact, you sort of despise and hate them, but they’re enough to stimulate you to want to be asked the opposite question. “What if I do continue on? What can be the repercussions and consequences of that?” And of course you really like your answers to that.”

The benefit of constantly asking yourself positive what if questions is that they make you want to continue on. They help to push you forward instead of falling back or giving up.

“By keeping on asking yourself those questions, the negatives and the positives of the What If? factor, it tends to make you want to go on and on and on. And that’s really the premise of my speech.”

Chalky believes these what if questions helped him publish his book. They helped him get past his biggest naysayer, himself. They have helped guide him through many things in life.

“If I hadn’t asked myself those What If? questions, I’m not sure that I would have followed through and published that book. So by making myself not listen to a naysayer… it tends to translate into… self-doubt. Doubting yourself can obviously be the biggest naysayer of all. So by following through and continually asking myself those What If? questions, I actually was successful. And that’s basically what I’ve done with very many things through my life.”

Be Persistent

There are many things that help you sustain a long career as an artist. Talent and luck help a lot, but one thing is often overlooked. It’s something we can all control. That thing is persistence.

Most of us give up after the first sign of failure. We give up when things are looking grim. We give up when things don’t go our way. We give up when someone says no. But we can’t let those setbacks stop us dead in our tracks. We must go on despite our doubts.

Chalky doesn’t believe no means no forever. He follows up with people until he gets a yes.

“Every time somebody says no to you, that you can’t do something, or says no I don’t want to buy that, it gets you closer to the big yes. So in other words you get “No I don’t want it, no I don’t want it…” then… because you kept following through, he says yes, and that big yes, if you’re a salesperson… could end up being the biggest sale of the year for the company.”

We need to constantly push ourselves, especially when we are down. It’s easy to lose morale when things aren’t going your way, but if you really want to achieve your goals, you have to be persistent.

Sometimes we just need that extra push to keep us going. That’s why Chalky constantly asks himself what if. If you don’t like the answer to those what if questions, you have no choice but to keep going.

“It’s no good just asking yourself that question once, you’ve got to keep with those questions. You have to keep on asking, sometimes several times a day… Because those questions can really help to keep your morale up because when someone keeps saying no to you all the time, it’s very easy for your morale to go completely down the toilet, and if it’s a dream or a goal that you really really want to achieve, you’ve got to find a way of not allowing yourself to quit.”

The Only Way to Succeed is to Continue Trying

If you want something bad enough, you will put all your effort into it. You will do everything you can to succeed.

That’s often the thing that separates people who eventually succeed and those who don’t. Some people just can’t handle the constant grind, the constant rejections, the constant failure.

Failure never stopped Chalky from achieving his dreams. He kept attempting his exams even after multiple failures. He became an instructor despite the doubters. He wrote a book even though people told him he shouldn’t. There’s something inside him that told him to keep going.

“Some people just can’t be bothered. There are those out there who go “Who really cares?” But then there are others that really want it, but sometimes the fear of failure stops them, there’s no doubt about it. When I was trying to go through those exams where I kept failing and failing and failing, I was very scared that I wasn’t going to actually get there. There’s no doubt about that. But there was just something inside me that just kept saying “You’ve go to keep going,”

When you want something bad enough, you will go on no matter what happens. Chalky uses his system of what if questions to help him stay persistent.

“In my opinion, if it’s the right dream for you or the right goal for you, you will find a way to keep going, and the What If? factor is just a way of helping that effort and determination to go on and on and on, whatever happens.”

I know it’s scary to put yourself out there. Rejections and failures get to everyone, but think of the alternative. Think of all those people who had great things to share with the world, but were too scared to overcome their fears. Do you want to let your great ideas go to the grave with you?

“I’m sure there’s all kinds of people who’ve invented great things and written great things, and are great entertainers, and on and on… but didn’t actually get their things out in front of the public just because they couldn’t be bothered, they were scared, and were too afraid maybe to try and overcome that fear. As has been said in the past, the only thing to fear very often is fear itself.”

Shownotes

• about Chalky
  • had a physically brutal father that beat him and verbally abused him
  • at 13, he chose to rebel
    • stopped working in school
  • when he was 16-17 he didn’t pass anything
  • applied to join police cadets
  • dealt with alcoholics/drug addicts
    • wants to help them recover
    • used to give them a bed to sleep on
  • dream was to be involved in sports and travel across the world
  • one day someone asked him if he wanted to go skiing
    • went on ski trip for the first time and was useless
    • became a good skier through time and concentration
  • year later went to Andorra
    • found many British people living there
    • asked himself if he wanted to be a ski instructor
    • later went back and became ski bums and got job in restaurant
  • went back to England and got job as an Encyclopedia salesman to the US military
    • made enough money to go back to Andorra
    • took ski instructor course/exam
    • fluked his way through it
    • someone told him he would never be a ski instructor
  • took 2 attempts to pass second level
  • failed third level 3 times
  • British association told him he would never be a ski instructor because of his body shape
  • was at crossroads – give up being a ski instructor or find something to do next
    • took a risk and went to New Zealand to get certified
    • went to NZ full certification clinic
    • instructor told him he needed NZ preliminary certification
    • he could stay or go home
    • asked him “What are the benefits of going home?”
    • kept going back for certifications and instructor finally let him take the course
    • NZ instructor told him to open up his feet which allowed him to improve
  • passed the exam and became fully certified
  • Chalky White’s Seven Secrets of Skiing
    • added his name so people would think he was famous
    • took four years to complete
    • asked his ski school director if he could use other instructors for his book
    • was close to never publishing book
    • asked himself the What If? questions
  • found his own demonstrators for photos
  • went to number one in its category
  • people in recovery benefit from his What If? questions

20:02 “The big dream came true because I never, never quit, and it all happened… because I got the semblance of something I now use in my speech, “How to say nay to your naysayers and have the last laugh,” which I call my What if factor. “What if I don’t continue on with this? What if I don’t follow through? What are the consequences of that?” Of course when you ask yourself that sort of question, you really don’t like the answers at all. In fact, you sort of despise and hate them, but they’re enough to stimulate you to want to be asked the opposite question. “What if I do continue on? What can be the repercussions and consequences of that?” And of course you really like your answers to that.”

21:33 “By keeping on asking yourself those questions, the negatives and the positives of the What If? factor, it tends to make you want to go on and on and on. And that’s really the premise of my speech.”

26:33 “If I hadn’t asked myself those What If? questions, I’m not sure that I would have followed through and published that book. So by making myself not listen to a naysayer… it tends to translate into… self-doubt. Doubting yourself can obviously be the biggest naysayer of all. So by following through and continually asking myself those What If? questions, I actually was successful. And that’s basically what I’ve done with very many things through my life.”

• idea behind What If?
  • repercussions for sales people

29:57 “I think an awful lot of things we learn from elsewhere. So obviously I got the seed of that from somewhere, but then I worked it out to be a solution… I suppose you could call it a formal solution because the two things are so interconnected and the magic of it is asking those two questions to get the negative first and the positive after because most people don’t want to stay with the negative because it’s not going to take them any further… So they don’t like the answers you get from asking the What If I don’t quit on this… So what I worked out was, “What if I do?” after that. That can sorta set you over the hill… towards achieving your goal, realizing your dream.”

34:02 “Every time somebody says no to you, that you can’t do something, or says no I don’t want to buy that, it gets you closer to the big yes. So in other words you get “No I don’t want it, no I don’t want it…” then… because you kept following through, he says yes, and that big yes, if you’re a salesperson… could end up being the biggest sale of the year for the company.”

• asking What Ifs?
  • tend to be self-asked questions
  • keep asking yourself What Ifs?
    • don’t stop at one time
    • ask several times a day
  • JK Rowling being refused by 22 publishers
  • Michael Jordan not making his high school basketball team
  • The Beatles were turned down by four or five record companies

38:28 “It’s no good just asking yourself that question once, you’ve got to keep with those questions. You have to keep on asking, sometimes several times a day… Because those questions can really help to keep your morale up because when someone keeps saying no to you all the time, it’s very easy for your morale to go completely down the toilet, and if it’s a dream or a goal that you really really want to achieve, you’ve got to find a way of not allowing yourself to quit.”

40:45 “Part of what I actually say in my speeches is, whatever you’re doing to keep you going very probably something like my What If? factor questions can help whatever you’re doing already. So in other words, it’s an additional tool that you can use to help take you towards the success that you really want.”

• difference between people who give up and those who don’t
  • companies looking to offer solutions or reinforce what they’re doing
  • sales execs are always trying to find ways to motivate teams
    • coming in with slightly different solutions or said in a slightly different way

41:28 “Some people just can’t be bothered. There are those out there who go “Who really cares?” But then there are others that really want it, but sometimes the fear of failure stops them, there’s no doubt about it. When I was trying to go through those exams where I kept failing and failing and failing, I was very scared that I wasn’t going to actually get there. There’s no doubt about that. But there was just something inside me that just kept saying “You’ve go to keep going,”

42:09 “In my opinion, if it’s the right dream for you or the right goal for you, you will find a way to keep going, and the What If? factor is just a way of helping that effort and determination to go on and on and on, whatever happens.”

42:36 “I’m sure there’s all kinds of people who’ve invented great things and written great things, and are great entertainers, and on and on… but didn’t actually get their things out in front of the public just because they couldn’t be bothered, they were scared, and were too afraid maybe to try and overcome that fear. As has been said in the past, the only thing to fear very often is fear itself.”

• being relateable vs. just famous
• telling great stories
• book being a system for self-help
  • systematic way to learn from 7 steps from his ski book
  • secret 1 – maintaining athletic stance, secret 2 – balance forward/aft, secret 3 – balance laterally
    • first three secrets guarantee improvement in skiing
  • secret 4 – basic turning skills, secrets 5/6 – types of turns, secret 7 – adjustment & recovery
  • circle of the 7 secrets – creating a cycle
• turning the book into speaking opportunities
  • talked about skiing techniques for many years

5:43 “The big thing for me,  what’s really made my life and my career, is definitely overcoming adversity. In other words overcoming the naysayers I’ve talked of. From my father to the ski school director… If I would have listened to all those people… I wouldn’t be here talking to you now. So my life really has been all about overcoming all of that adversity and naysaying. It’s all those naysayers… can actually manifest themselves… as self-doubt. That’s definitely the biggest naysayer of them all. That’s why I want to get out off of that message telling people that it is a wonderful world if you never, never, never quit. A way of never, never, never quitting is by using a systematic method such as the solution of the What If? factor questions.”

• if he never asked himself the What If? factor questions
  • the questions make it easier to overcome adversity
  • formal structure push you to keep going
  • determination to prove his dad wrong
• dealing with the fact that you won’t be able to achieve something
  • knowing if something is feasible
    • ex: speaking, skiing, teaching
  • The Triple Bipass bike ride in Colorado
  • being a motivational speaker for addicts/alcholics
  • being motivated to help people
• regrets from when he was 30
  • having no regrets
  • trying and not picking up kite surfing
    • switching to sailing instead

19:47 “There’s very few successful people in the world that don’t fail at least once before they really make it in what they really want to do. Failure to me is part of your success.”

• favorite quote
  • “Never give in. Never give in. Never, never, never, never—in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in, except to convictions of honour and good sense. Never yield to force. Never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”  ― Winston Churchill

22:51 “If you give in, if you quit, well I guess you’re not going to get to the place where you want to go. You’re just not… People have often said to me, why bother, but I’ve never been one to just stick with the status quo… I like to constantly challenge myself and I’ll probably do that for the rest of my days.”

• morning routine
  • water, exercise/gym, get to work/writing on his blog
  • practicing Buddhism
• recommendations
  • daily encouragement
  • prayer and self-motivation to stop procrastination
• creative people
  • previous podcast guest – Adam James Butcher
  • Winston Churchill, Michael Jordan
• definition of creativity
  • being creative in how he writes or say things in an interesting way

33:38 “Obviously creativity starts in your brain. My own creativity has always been about, ‘What can I maybe achieve out of nothing?’… In my own case, achieving the goal of becoming a fully certified ski instructor when other people told me I couldn’t and creating ways in which I could keep going… with that dream, and never quit on that dream. That’s the kind of creativity I’m really into.”

• challenge
  • think of something you have procrastinated over for a long time or something pleasant
  • ask yourself the What If questions and ask what the repercussions are or would be
    • for both negative and positive
    • ask many times over if necessary
  • enjoy the challenge of following through

http://www.the7secretsofskiing.com/ | chalkygo@gmail.com