Finding Mastery: Conversations With Michael Gervais

This week’s conversation is with Chris Waddell, a Paralympian who is widely known as the most decorated mono-skier in U.S. history.Chris began ski racing at the age of six, and went on to ski competitively at Middlebury College - where an accident during a freshman year training session left him paralyzed from the waist down.What happens for most of us when we go through a life-altering event, is that it reveals our internal operating system - one’s world-view, personal philosophy, and psychological skills. While Chris couldn’t use his body the same way – it revealed who he is.Within a year, Chris was back on the mountain as a mono-skier and soon became the fastest in the world. He has gone on to compete in seven Paralympic games, earning 13 medals in alpine skiing and track & field, cementing his place as one of Team USA’s most successful two-sport athletes, and a Paralympic Hall of Famer.As if that wasn’t enough, in 2009 Chris also became the first “nearly unassisted” paraplegic to summit the 19,340-foo