Perhaps what you see as your biggest weakness is, in fact, your biggest asset.
John Paul Larkin, better known as Scatman John, was a severe stutter since the time he started to speak, which lead to a lonely and traumatic childhood. According to his own testimony, at age 12 he discovered the piano and “hid behind it” because he was too scared to speak.
When he decided to step away from his insecurities, he sang his rendition of On The Sunny Side of the Street and got a standing ovation! His agent advised him to pursue scat singing but he resisted, terrified of being laughed at and criticized because of his speech.
His wife Judy suggested that he talked about his stutter directly on his music and he did, composing his famous song “Scatman (Ski-Ba-Bop-Ba-Dop-Bop)” which made him a big worldwide hit at the age of 53.
He sold 8 million copies of his album and achieved 14 gold and 18 platinum records. “My greatest problem in my childhood is now my greatest asset” he told in an interview.
Source: The Stuttering Foundation
Listen to the wonderful song here:
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