Joining a sales team while having a lifelong stutter might seem akin to a suicide mission, but in one shining moment, my friend Michael Thompson thought it was a good idea. Naturally, he wanted to flee the room right after. But eventually, he made it through his first day, his first calls, and even a seminar with a revered speaker in the sales industry.
“I wish I could remember his name,” Michael writes in his book Shy by Design. Unfortunately, that will forever remain lost to history—as will most of his talk. “But it was a throwaway line toward the end of his talk that made both me and my team erupt,” Mike continues. “‘Oh, one last thing,’ he said nonchalantly while gathering up his stuff. ‘If you’re having trouble getting people to talk—stutter. They’ll see you as a human being instead of a salesperson!'”
Mike struggled to stay in his seat. “‘WW-W-W-What?’ I said to myself. ‘Holy Shit-t-tt-t-tt!’ I then yelled to myself, ‘I can stutter! I know how to stutter! I don’t even have to fake it till I m-m-make it!'” What had seemed to Mike like a crippling obstacle en route to his success in sales had been an advantage all along.
Sure, not all people put up with his stutter. Some grew impatient and hung up. But for every person who dismissed him, two others would see a human being trying to get through his day—and listen. Not only did Mike end up doing much better in sales than he expected, he also learned a valuable lesson: Maybe, you’re already winning. Just because you don’t feel great going through the motions does not mean the motions aren’t the right ones.
As long as you care, persist. Usually, life finds a way of sending you exactly what you need based on the very talents you already have.