This week’s episode is unique and dedicated to our “Health” series.
I’m on the road interviewing a friend and colleague about his journey of triumph over a very challenging speak impediment: Stuttering. It’s a story so inspiring that I decided this would make a great episode with a great lesson in hope, determination and resolve to never quit on your dreams to live the life you’ve always wanted to live.
This idea is central to the podcast and the work Aries and I do in the world.
About 3 million people in the US stutter. They do so silently in jobs that don’t require much talking. Research suggests that after the age of 10, only about 5% of people who stutter, actually overcome it.
This fact makes Larry’s story all the more remarkable. In his story you will learn how he creatively sought, not so much a solution initially, but simply a way forward. And through that way forward, one small step at a time, he ultimately found his cure and solution.
Listen here to learn how at the tender age of 57, Larry triumphed to became a successful investment advisor living a life that has exceeded his wildest dreams and allowed him to be his true self and live authentically.
To learn more about Larry, go to his blog, FacingYourChallenges.com.
Enjoy!
What We Discuss
· Larry’s childhood and his early challenges with stuttering
· How talking was the most difficult thing for him
· Avoiding talking and hiding as a way of coping
· The challenge of ordering food for the first time at a McDonalds
· Larry compromising his passion for the stock market because of his stuttering
· How asking questions was the toughest part of a conversation
· How being able to ask only one question of one person can change the course of your life
· The more he talked the more comfortable he was speaking
· The most difficult thing was making phone calls to new people and introducing yourself
· Larry’s career journey from CPA to starting his own RIA firm
· The next challenge: Getting clients the old fashion way… Prospecting and calling….
· An aha-moment… “my public speaking is more comfortable than speaking directly to a person.”
· Why not public speak all the time!
· There’s not always a solution, but there’s always a way forward
· Learning all over again at the age of 55 how to speak again through modeling Matt Lauer and Bob Woodward
· Fifty years of stuttering developed many bad habits based on fear and how Larry had to retool how he thought.
· Another aha-moment… Doing the exact opposite of everything I’ve ever thought
· A breakthrough idea: Imagining rays of warmth and smiles from each person Larry encountered shifted him from fear to warmth and acceptance
· Example of a way forward: Practice talking with no risk
· How the hardest thing to do for a person who stutters is getting the first word out
· Now after all those years in survivor mode, Larry starts breaking more bad habits
· The Three “Bs”: Break the mold. Build confidence. Be unstoppable
· There’s always a way forward
· Having a larger purpose in mind to overcome a challenge
· Think and do the opposite if you’re not getting the results you want
Resources
Facing Challenges Blog: facingyourchallenges.com
Contact Larry: larry@facingyourchallenges.com