📢 The best public speaker in history was a weirdo

If you hung around Demosthenes, you’d probably witness him stuffing his mouth full of pebbles.

If you had left, you might have thought he was a bit weird. But if you’d stick around, you might see him take the pebbles out of his mouth and start running. If you kept up, you would hear him reciting verses as he ran.

If you left now, you’d think he was mentally ill. But keep running, and you’d see him stop at the seashore where he would, to your surprise, start yelling at the waves. At this point, you’d think he was full-blown crazy.

But stick around long enough and you’d realize he was a genius.

You see, ever since he was a boy, Demosthenes had a speech impediment. 

He struggled to form a sentence. He was often ridiculed and was even given nicknames for his condition. This killed his confidence. He became a shy, reserved boy who barely spoke. 

But he decided to change that.

He ruthlessly trained his voice. 

• He spoke with pebbles in his mouth to strengthen his mouth muscles.

• He recited verses as he ran to train his endurance.

• He spoke over the roar of the waves to increase his volume.

He'd eventually become the best Athenian Orator in history. 

Demosthenes’ confidence grew with his skill as a speaker.

Skills make you a more competent person, thus a more confident one. When you’re good at something, people treat you with more respect. People praise your skills and reinforce your competence.

Confidence is a bonus you get for getting good at something.

Demosthenes’ confidence grew with his skill as a speaker.

But while training his voice, he'd learned something even more valuable. Demosthenes had learned to learn. With a newfound confidence in his ability to grow, he was able to find success in a legal and political career.

When you prove to yourself you can get good at something, you realize you can get good at almost anything. A new confidence comes knowing you could get good at nearly anything if you wanted to. 

Especially if you’re young, learn to get good at something. Becoming a valuable member of society is a huge boost in confidence.   

That’s a wrap!

— Justus Bosch

P.S. here is the most valuable skill you can invest in…