Erase the Illusion. Write the Truth.

🎙️ What's on Your Chalkboard?

What story are you telling yourself every day?

Whether you realize it or not, your mind is constantly writing a narrative—about your worth, your relationships, your work, and your future. But what if much of what's written there isn't truth at all?

In this episode, Tombo Baldwin introduces one of the most practical tools yet: The Chalkboard Method.

Using the simple image of a classroom chalkboard, Tombo explores how fear, perfectionism, rejection, and self-doubt quietly write themselves into our minds until we begin believing them as facts. The good news? Chalk can be erased.

You'll discover how to recognize the false narratives you've been carrying, intentionally erase them, and replace them with truths that deserve to be written in permanent ink.

If you've ever struggled with feeling "not good enough," replaying conversations, second-guessing yourself, or believing lies about who you are, this episode offers a practical exercise that can begin changing your inner dialogue today.

Because when you erase the illusion...

...you make room for the truth.

YUP. I GOT YOU.

🎙️ Listen to the full episode and explore more content, merch, and resources:
 🔗 https://linktr.ee/tombobaldwin

Transcript

0:40

What is in your mind? Right now, what are you thinking? Close your eyes and imagine your mind is a chalkboard, and everything that's on your mind right now is on the chalkboard. Start reading it to me. What is on your chalkboard? I could tell you what's on mine often, but it's changing. So we're going to get into that in today's podcast. Today's podcast is going to be a great, highly practical. I think they're all highly practical, but a one to listen podcast. So let's get the music going here. I'm turning it a little louder than I've had it before. So, yeah. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much for listening. Hey, if you happen to write me a review and I've learned some things about reviews, I have to confess I've been a little ignorant. I don't know how I just love podcasting. I don't know how all the systems and everything worked, but I have this urgency and I'm told by the people that listen that I have a message and I should work on getting it out there. And one of those ways is utilizing these things that exist, like reviews and different things to get the podcast, some more traction. So more people have access to it, which you can always share it and say, Hey, this would be a great listen. But what I learned is Apple podcasts is where you want to go to do a review. Apple podcast is the big one. So listen to a few of my episodes on Apple podcasts, write a review. Let me know. I'll give you a shout out on the show. If you listened to the previous episode, speak life, you're going to know I gave a shout out to one of the listeners. I'll give you a shout out on the show and I'll send you a bumper sticker. So, so much for all that stuff. Today's podcast. Yeah. I always say this. I know I do. And I'm sometimes a creature I have, but I try not to be a creature habit, but this was something I did this morning and I didn't actually work this morning. Everybody clapped. Tom took a day off. Well, sorta. I did returns. Part of my job is I buy a lot of materials and the materials I don't use, I return. And so we only charge for materials used. Yes. And so I did work a little bit today and I met my son Wallace at a job and asked him to bid a few things. So sorta, but I didn't actually put on work clothes and I didn't actually take my work vehicle. So can you really say that I worked anyway? I thought about this on the way to work because I was like all of you, I'm getting used to this, like these thoughts and, and living in the best reality now and focusing on that and staying out of the prison state and cultivating really good mind soil, thinking on things that are beautiful, nullifying negative words, going back, doing the way back method and doing all that stuff. And this imagery came to me today, like of a chalkboard. And I thought of myself and my mind as a chalkboard. And as I'm thinking and I'm struggling with these different thoughts and I'll get to that in a minute, I see in them, right. Written on the chalkboard. I'm like, wait a minute. Where's that damn eraser. I'm going to take that damn eraser. And as these things are being written out, I'm like erasing them. And then there's some more B and I'm like, I don't like that. And I'm erasing them. So in the intro, what, what is on your chalkboard when you wake up in the morning, what has been written on there? Maybe through your night of dreams, maybe through your last night, or maybe even it is your waking thoughts. What are the things written there? Now, I'm just going to share with you the things that are often written on mine, the things I struggle with, with the caveat that they're getting a lot better. So as I share these and no way am I declaring that these are major issues anymore. They're becoming minor because I've been getting to deal with them. But one of the big ones for me, and I actually didn't realize this until, Oh, probably six months to a year ago. But in relation to my work, I am an anal bastard perfectionist to myself. I have the worst damn asshole boss that a person can have, especially like when I'm doing any kind of finished work. Like I've finished a tile job, one for a homeowner that was a fairly rushed job and need to be done. The house was going up for sale. And so the shower was in rough shape. So did a, and it wouldn't fit like a standard like kit. So it had to be like a custom shower to get it to fit in there. And I'm building it and it's, you know, it's looking great, but every step along the way, I'm like, Oh, I don't like that. Oh, I don't like that. And as I'm like detailing the grout out and honestly, this just goes to show you how anal I get. I use a pumice stone because I like my grout really smooth and really even. I don't even like the sponge. I like to fill it up and then get it even. So I'm using a pumice stone and getting it nice and even. And like you're supposed to do when you build a shower, many of you may not know this, but you grout everything and you caulk all your corners and your transitions with silicone because it tends to crack and stuff. You don't want water in there. So did all that, cut all that done and was looking at the shower and I could see every imperfection. I'm like, Oh, Tom, I thought you were careful on this. What happened? Why? Okay. Mind you the feedback from like the realtor, the homeowner, everybody that saw this is amazing. Wow. Looks great. Can't believe you got this done so fast. Looks amazing. Great job. That's what's written on my chalkboard. Not good enough. Can't do a good job. Yeah. You left too many things undone. Okay. Let's be true here. And these are words that Tom Baldwin right now needs to hear. Nothing is perfect. I did a fantastic, amazing job on this shower. And what is on my chalkboard as I'm, as I'm waiting for the homeowner to respond, I sent pictures and said, I'm done. And I'm like, what is written on the chalkboard? Oh, I think I see something here. And I think I see some here and I don't like this here because this homeowner needed it done right away. So I made like the tile choice. I picked the tile. I picked the fixtures. I picked the shelves that went in there. And in my mind is like, and time and time again, I am proven wrong, but still on that chalkboard is like, and it's getting better. Okay. I'm saying it's getting, it doesn't happen as often, but on the chalkboard is written. Oh, you didn't choose the right stuff. They're going to see this. They're going to say that. So on my chalkboard, this is what I see cortisol stress, and it just continues the narrative. It's like you, like an Einstein chalkboard with like the equation. So for this is a narrative of all your thoughts. You didn't do this. You chose the wrong thing. They're not going to be happy. They're going to respond this way. This costs too much. They're not going to want to pay this and do to do to do words matter. The words on the chalkboard matter, and they are being written on the chalkboard projects. I bid, I'm sharing you with my struggles. I know you have your own, but we're, we're just kind of doing this. So you get an idea. I wake up and I was like, Oh, I think they think that bids too high. Wasn't too high. Did I bid it too high? Am I taking advantage of people? Are my prices too high? And at the same time, I think I should charge more of my overheads going up. I think I should, are you sure you're charging in a blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. I'm written on the chalkboard. The chalkboard is like, can't even tell us it's black anymore. It's white. It's got so much writing on it. And so as I'm going to work today, and that's just one thing that's being written on this chalkboard. There are stories going on in my head all the time about all the things. That's why the last podcast speak life is there because when you're listening to the affirmations, you're listening to the truth. You're not just listening to the blah, blah, blah, blah of the prisoner. The old things that they're reciting from their prison experience is coming back in. It's trying to write the narrative again. Now the absolutely beautiful part of this, and it's a gorgeous part. And you're like, how can this be gorgeous? There's all these things, Tom, maybe for your life. It is a friend that was short with you. And you're like, why were they short? Did I do something wrong? Well, I remember the time when they did this to me and I'm still hurt over that. And that's what's being written on your chalkboard. Okay. Or, you know, my kids, they, they forgot my birthday and they didn't call. Or, you know, when, when they gave me their present, it was like, they didn't really want to give you name it, the chalkboard, what is on there. You can close your eyes and you can see what's being written on that chalkboard. That is where the focus, that's where the attention is. We are in the classroom right now. We're looking at the chalkboard and we're looking what kind of homework you did on that chalkboard. Is your homework uplifting? Like it's supposed to be, right? Your homework on the Yup, I Got You podcast is supposed to be uplifting to yourself. What's written there? Close your eyes. Tell me what is written there and be honest. I'm being honest with you on my way to work this morning. And I don't know. You probably experienced this like me. The struggles don't come at pre-program times or at any time in particular. There are often times I'm going to work. I'm listening to the affirmation and it's amazing. We're just, we're thinking beauty. We're thinking awesomeness. We're expecting the best. And then all of a sudden out of the blue, there's all this chalkboard negative that's coming up. Kind of unpredictable, but the more we practice affirmations, the less it is. But the beautiful thing and the absolutely amazing thing, chalk, there's an eraser. And so this morning as I was driving and I think part of this experience is to share this because this is another way. This is another tool. This is another place to look at how we can deal with this stuff. It's chalk. It erases. It turns into powder and dust. It's a momentary illusion. There were things I was writing and that were on my chalkboard about my work and about my quality of work that no one else saw. It was an illusion that was written there. And once the eraser was applied, it turned to dust. That is amazing. The principle, when you take action and you focus on these things and you realize the truth, what is the truth for you? If you think your friend's upset, you just call them and say, hey, the other day when we got together, I just sensed there was some tension and are we good? And if you have a genuine friend, they'll say, oh yeah, we're good. Or I was just having a bad day or whatever. You can learn the truth. And if it's not truth, you have the bandwidth to deal with it and make it right. Either way, you're taking the eraser and you're erasing the illusion, the thing that you made up in your mind and that you've written, you're turning it back to dust. Now, when we write good things, we don't want to write in chalk. We want to write in permanent marker. We want those to be as permanent as they can. I would suggest, and I'm being totally, totally honest. This is right up there with the ThinkUp app and the affirmations that you record to yourself. From experience, working with marble, white marble, like laying tile, you do not write on marble with a Sharpie because it will not come off. It's like you go to the tile store or wherever, get yourself some seconds, some scraps of tile and those affirmation and those truths about yourself. And I'm going to do this for me. And with my work is, excuse me, I'm going to do something really bad. I'm getting text messages. I should look at them. Anyway, we're not going to. Okay. Distracted. But on this marble tile, I'm going to write, you do amazing craftsmanship. Your work is amazing. People love your work. I can't erase it. I can't get rid of it. I can't change it. It's there. And so, as you're dealing with the chalk board in your life, you're also taking a tool and you're taking marble and you don't necessarily have to do marble. I like marble and I know that you can get scraps of it and pieces of it because you can't get it out. And so, it's permanent. So, the truths that you write, the affirmations that you write about yourself are permanent, unchangeable. And if you do happen to want to get rid of them, you can cross it out and then you'll remember. It's like, well, that wasn't really true about me. But the ones we want to put on there are the ones that are true. Like, you are worthy. You deserve a good life. You are a good person. Some of those things that are really hard for you to say about yourself or the opposite may be on your chalkboard. I'm not good enough. Nobody likes me. My nose is weird. It's like, your nose is original and there's someone out there that loves you and beauty is in the eye of the beholder. And it's like, that's just words. It is absolutely true. Beauty has changed so much over the years. It just depends. There's no perfect person. Tools, the eraser, you turn what you believe is a truth, is really an illusion, and you turn it to dust. The marble and the Sharpie, you write the truth about yourself that you're awesome, that you're good, and you're right. And marble and they stay. So I challenge you, get yourself marble or get yourself, buy yourself a whiteboard and write on it with like the toxic, I shouldn't say use toxic, but the permanent marker that doesn't come off, even on a whiteboard, even if you use alcohol or acetone, get that kind of marker and write those truths on it and hang it up and look at it. And you can even get yourself a chalkboard. And occasionally if you're struggling with something, maybe you're struggling with forgiveness or bitterness and you write bitterness on there and you wipe it off, you watch it, turn the dust, that action of you writing it, acknowledging it, and turning it into dust is powerful. Your brain latches onto that and that is so powerful. If you're dealing with unforgiveness and you write unforgiveness and you watch it, turn the dust, you watch it leave. You write unworthiness up there or not good enough and you watch your hand, turn that to dust and you say, that's an illusion, the truth. And you look at your whiteboard. If it isn't on there, you write, I am worthy. I am loved. I forgive. I release. I am a survivor. Do you get it? You got two great tools here. The eraser that's taking the illusion and turning it into dust. You got the sharpie that's writing the truth and permanence on your spirit and your soul. You are becoming amazing. Can you do it after this podcast? Even grab yourself a piece of paper and grab yourself a sharpie, something you can erase. I just encourage you to write 10 truths about yourself. And then I want you to take a pencil and write the things you're struggling with. And then you're going to take that little red ish pink thing on the back and you're going to erase them. You're going to watch them disappear. You're going to watch them go away. But my friends, that's it for this podcast today. I laid down to you some really powerful tools, this method, this way of doing things. You take the illusion, those things that are in the chalkboard of your mind. You bring them into physical reality. You get yourself a chalkboard. You write things you're struggling with. You erase them. You watch them disappear in your mind. And the things you want to be part of your life, you write them in permanent marker and you watch them appear in your mind, your character, your soul, and your spirit. You will be unstoppable. You will be a force for good and righteousness. Yes. Hey, I got you. I do. I got you. Yeah.