I remember when I was growing up, my parents used to become vey annoyed with me when I stated that I could not do my homework or could not do other things I had been asked to do.
They would respond with the advice that I could do anything in life as long as I believed in myself and as long as I was willing to work very hard. The word, can't, does not exist in my vocab Steve, I sometimes find certain tasks difficult however always believe that I will be able to succeed, my father would say.
He worked very hard to make me understand and to take on board this message, which would eventually prove to be a valuable lesson for me to learn. It has helped me to achieve many things and to also overcome some of the issues I had in my life.
School and employment
I was not the brightest student at school and as previously mentioned would often say that I could not complete the work through my lack of belief in my own ability. Through hard work and determination though, I left school with an impressive set of examination results. I continued this success into my work life and at the age of twenty-two had passed a number of insurance exams and had become a qualified financial advisor.
Stuttering
From the age of four I had suffered with the speech impediment known as stammering or stuttering. By my early twenties I had had enough of this struggle and went about trying to overcome the stutter. It proved to be very difficult and my progress was slow. I had superb support from my family who would always pick me up when I was feeling down and who also continued to ram home the message of never giving up. During the hours of practice I would regularly state that I could not do it, my family would not accept this and kept on at me to keep believing and to think positive.
After nearly a year of working and practicing very hard I managed to eradicate the stutter which is my biggest and proudest achievement in life.
Weight
Throughout my life I have had problems with my weight. I was never happy being fat and at the age of twenty decided to try to lose the weight. It seemed to take forever to achieve the weight and size I had targeted and as usual there were many times when I was close to giving up. From the lessons learnt and with the support from my family, eventually I did lose the excess fat.
Stephen Hill
Stephen Hill has a number of websites including:
http://www.stammering-stuttering.co.uk
http://www.epilepsy-chart.co.uk
http://www.stutter-cure.com
