It was a rainy day in Florida.

I had an hour before my class, so
I went to school's cafeteria to grab
something to eat for lunch.

It was crowded...and there was a
loooong line full of other students
who were waiting to order.

I got at the back of the line and started
to think...

No, I wasn't thinking about what I wanted
to eat (like other people in line). Instead, my
inner chat was totally different from those
people...and was something like this:

What should I eat? Lets pick something I CAN
SAY EASIER, so I don't stutter in front of these
people and make a fool of myself. May be I
should just order "Menu 4" which is only
2 words and easier to say since I don't have to
say "burger", "diet coke",etc.

Menu meals were more expensive and as a student
it was hurting my budget, but who cares, the only
thing I was concerned with was my speech and not to
stutter in front of people. As long as I could "hide" my
stuttering it was good for me.

The line was getting longer and I was getting
closer to the front of the line.

It was my turn to order...

I said "Ehmmm Menu 4 please".

I said it by looking at the menu like I was deciding. You
know our fantasy, right? If we don't see them they
don't see us, so if we look somewhere else while talking
they can't see us stuttering:) 

I said it without blocking.

Mission accomplished!

...until I was told "CONGRATULATIONS. You are the lucky winner"

I didn't understand what was going on,
but everybody were cheering.

Apparently they pick a lucky winner every month.

Then I was asked:
"We are going to announce your name. Can you tell
us your name please?"

PANIC started, I felt the change in my body, in my
stomach, in my mind...and I said:

"C(block)....C(block)....C(block)...Ch(block)..."

I GOT A SEVERE BLOCK ON MY NAME.

I tried, but just couldn't say it.

Everyone were looking at me and I could see people
started to look at me strangely.

The cafeteria owner said:

"WHAT? DID YOU FORGET YOUR NAME?"

People started to laugh...and laugh... and LAUGH.

I felt so bad that I said I don't want to be the winner. I
got my food and sit down at the furthest table in the
cafeteria.

I sit facing the window and watching the rain.

I remember I was eating my burger and tears started to
drop from my eyes. I was watching the rain, eating and
crying.. silently...

To be honest, I felt like I wasn't there. I was lost
in my sadness, in my pain, in my head, in my soul.

I didn't want to go back to that cafeteria ever
again in my life (more on this later!).

But the worst part was; it wasn't about that cafeteria
or about my name. It was about ME!

Ordering food, making phone calls, speaking in class,
giving presentations, even simple daily tasks such as
introducing myself, telling a story or a joke, etc. were
all nightmares for me.

That day I felt WORTHLESS.

That night was one of the worst nights in my life. I
felt all kinds of feelings at the same time.

I was embarrassed (I made a fool of myself in front of others)
I felt sad (I had to live with this problem till the end of my life)
I felt angry (How dare they laughed at me like that!)
I felt frustrated (I punched everywhere asking God WHY ME?WHY?)
I felt revengeful (One day I'll prove you who I am and I'll laugh at you!)
I felt hopeless (No matter what I do, I'll always be like this)

That night I had 2 choices.

1) I could leave that to be the end of the story

2) I could not give up and be able to finish
this email with a better story and ending:)

I am glad I chose the 2nd option.

I'll tell you what happened at the end of the
cafeteria story, but first let me share my
experience with you very shortly.

That night I decided that I had to do something
about my speech. I just didn't want to live in the
shadow of my stuttering for the rest of my life.

I did everything to overcome my stuttering to a
great level.

I FAILED lots of times, I wasted time, energy and
a whole lot of money...for NOTHING.

But I wasn't going to give up, because I KNEW
there were people who were able to overcome
their stuttering challenge in life.

I knew there was a solution but I just wasn't getting
the results from all types of stuttering programs and
therapies.

So I decided to learn directly from those success stories.
I decided to learn from real people who actually DID
OVERCOME stuttering.

It wasn't easy, because those people went ahead with
their lives and didn't really have time for me.

But, I had a goal in mind and I was ready to do
whatever it takes.

...And EVERYTHING changed for me from that point on.

I improved my speech to a great level, where
stuttering is not an issue in my life anymore.

I am not saying this to brag about myself or impress
you. I am just saying this to impress upon you so
you know that there is hope out there.

Curing your stuttering is not possible, but improving
it to a great level and eventually overcoming it IS!

What did I learn from those success stories?

I learned how to overcome stuttering the RIGHT WAY!

I now know that I was trying to solve my stuttering
the WRONG WAY, just like most people out there.

Improving your speech to a great level is actually
a 5 step process, which most success stories
followed to achieve the success they had
when it comes to stuttering.

I shared everything about the 5-step model and how
to improve your speech to a great level in this webinar.

If you haven't watched it yet, make sure to click here and register
for it. It's totally free and I shared lots of great information
in that webinar.

Anyways, back to the end of the school cafeteria story.

5 years later, I went to that same cafeteria again
to eat lunch.

Same cafeteria owner, same long waiting line...

I was with a speech pathology professor in line and
when it was our turn she introduced me to the
cafeteria owner...

She said:
"Meet Chazzler, he is here to give a seminar to our
Speech and Language Pathology graduate school. He
is a great young man with lots of wisdom. We have a lot to
learn from him about stuttering"

5 years ago it was one of the worst moments of
my life, and that moment was one of my happiest.

The owner didn't recognize me. I told her the story and
she remembered instantly and told me this...

"I felt so sorry that day. I didn't mean to hurt you, I didn't
realize you had a speech problem. It was just a joke. I felt
so bad afterwards. I didn't mean to make fun of you in any
way. I am so sorry."

Why am I telling you what she told me?

So you know that, in reality, people are not as sensitive as
we are when it comes to our speech difficulty.

Believe me, they don't care much about our speech.
They have their own issues in life which they deal with
every day. They don't make a huge deal of our speech
like we think they do. We are the ones who make this a HUGE DEAL.

And I know it is a big issue in our life, but it is NOT OUR LIFE.

Yes, if you improve your speech and overcome your stuttering
challenge to a great level, IT DOES WONDERS for all areas of
your life.

But, in the core, stuttering is NOT who you are, it is what you do.
Therefore, never let stuttering to DEFINE who you are!

I strongly recommend you to work on improving your speech
and overcoming your stuttering to a great level. But even if you
don't do this, don't forget that you are still a valuable person
who has the right to live a fulfilled life!

All the best,

Chazzler.
P.S: If you are interested to watch the webinar about how to
overcome your stuttering to a great level then click here
and don't miss it. You'll love it.  Enjoy!

.