{
  "schema_version": "1.0",
  "id": "CC-045",
  "title": "What kinds of books influenced my speaking journey?",
  "topic": "Getting started and understanding my approach",
  "author": {
    "name": "Craig Coffee",
    "id": "https://usedtostutter.com/craig-coffee#person"
  },
  "canonical_url": "https://usedtostutter.com/books-that-influenced-my-speaking-journey",
  "access": "public",
  "content_kind": "author_published_article",
  "context_url": "https://usedtostutter.com/about-this-material",
  "source_sha256": "6f8ebc2f30e97ba4bd8ac8cf69148f2db98f28a7545bb88cfde182070e8955b2",
  "source_markdown": "# What kinds of books influenced my speaking journey?\n\nBy [Craig Coffee](/craig-coffee)\n\nI looked outside the stuttering world too. I read older self-help material because I wanted to understand what was happening in my own thoughts, confidence and daily life.\n\nThe Magic of Believing, by Claude Bristol, is one book I've named directly. I described it as one of the most impactful books I'd read, and I talked about passing copies to people. It wasn't a book about stuttering. I was interested in its ideas about belief and what I thought might be possible for myself.\n\n## Different ideas for different parts of the work\n\nI've referred to Psycho-Cybernetics when discussing self-image. I've credited Louise Hay when describing [the mirror practice](/mirror-practice-and-stuttering): looking myself in the eyes and learning to speak to myself with kindness.\n\nI've also mentioned reading a Larry King book and recognizing [the importance of curiosity](/following-up-in-a-conversation). I was already asking people questions. Hearing more about being interested in the other person fit something I was trying to learn: how to stay in the conversation instead of planning every word of my turn.\n\nThese were influences on different parts of my work. Beliefs. Self-image. The way I spoke to myself. The way I listened to somebody else.\n\n## How did I find some of those books?\n\nIn my dictated account, I named Claude Bristol, Maxwell Maltz and David Schwartz among the writers I studied. I was reading material that wasn't about stuttering and trying to understand what I could use for my own speech.\n\nIn a group conversation, I explained how I had come across one influential book. Someone teaching a course mentioned it. I was curious, wrote the name down, and looked it up. He had just mentioned the book.\n\n## I still had to take the ideas into my life\n\n[I studied, applied, tried and refined.](/how-i-tested-speaking-advice) I wasn't finished when I understood a sentence in a book. I had to go out, speak and find out what happened when a conversation surprised me.\n\nSome ideas I borrowed, some I adapted, and some took a lot of work before I could use them. That's the story I'm sharing here: books and people that influenced me, and the work I did with those ideas.\n\nI'm describing my reading and experience. This isn't a complete review of every book about stuttering, and the books I have named here served different purposes for me.\n\n## Other names in my notes\n\nMy notes also name Earl Nightingale, Wallace Wattles, Robert Collier, Joseph Murphy and Dale Carnegie. I wrote their names under the heading “Greatest Mind Powerers.”\n\n## Related answers\n\n- [Why did I stop defining myself as a stutterer?](/stuttering-and-identity)\n- [How long did it take me to get the speech I wanted?](/how-long-my-stuttering-journey-took)\n\n[Find your question](/questions)\n",
  "relative_link_base": "https://usedtostutter.com/books-that-influenced-my-speaking-journey",
  "sections": [
    {
      "id": "reading-content",
      "heading": null,
      "heading_level": null,
      "citation_url": "https://usedtostutter.com/books-that-influenced-my-speaking-journey#reading-content",
      "role": "source_context",
      "source_markdown": "I looked outside the stuttering world too. I read older self-help material because I wanted to understand what was happening in my own thoughts, confidence and daily life.\n\nThe Magic of Believing, by Claude Bristol, is one book I've named directly. I described it as one of the most impactful books I'd read, and I talked about passing copies to people. It wasn't a book about stuttering. I was interested in its ideas about belief and what I thought might be possible for myself.\n\n",
      "source_span_sha256": "8931ffc14c9cd5c30b7733d3f19c7b1fcc9e68dfd45d47ddab97149c32049bc3"
    },
    {
      "id": "different-ideas-for-different-parts-of-the-work",
      "heading": "Different ideas for different parts of the work",
      "heading_level": 2,
      "citation_url": "https://usedtostutter.com/books-that-influenced-my-speaking-journey#different-ideas-for-different-parts-of-the-work",
      "role": "source_context",
      "source_markdown": "## Different ideas for different parts of the work\n\nI've referred to Psycho-Cybernetics when discussing self-image. I've credited Louise Hay when describing [the mirror practice](/mirror-practice-and-stuttering): looking myself in the eyes and learning to speak to myself with kindness.\n\nI've also mentioned reading a Larry King book and recognizing [the importance of curiosity](/following-up-in-a-conversation). I was already asking people questions. Hearing more about being interested in the other person fit something I was trying to learn: how to stay in the conversation instead of planning every word of my turn.\n\nThese were influences on different parts of my work. Beliefs. Self-image. The way I spoke to myself. The way I listened to somebody else.\n\n",
      "source_span_sha256": "02329703a9351b90e8cb4c51bbfb1a82d57f3d2650eac9e9927291488e044c72"
    },
    {
      "id": "how-did-i-find-some-of-those-books",
      "heading": "How did I find some of those books?",
      "heading_level": 2,
      "citation_url": "https://usedtostutter.com/books-that-influenced-my-speaking-journey#how-did-i-find-some-of-those-books",
      "role": "source_context",
      "source_markdown": "## How did I find some of those books?\n\nIn my dictated account, I named Claude Bristol, Maxwell Maltz and David Schwartz among the writers I studied. I was reading material that wasn't about stuttering and trying to understand what I could use for my own speech.\n\nIn a group conversation, I explained how I had come across one influential book. Someone teaching a course mentioned it. I was curious, wrote the name down, and looked it up. He had just mentioned the book.\n\n",
      "source_span_sha256": "0dcb1a183283ef61de52573ebe7cbdaaef9880044b5f8e9749d391e7b13c69c6"
    },
    {
      "id": "i-still-had-to-take-the-ideas-into-my-life",
      "heading": "I still had to take the ideas into my life",
      "heading_level": 2,
      "citation_url": "https://usedtostutter.com/books-that-influenced-my-speaking-journey#i-still-had-to-take-the-ideas-into-my-life",
      "role": "source_context",
      "source_markdown": "## I still had to take the ideas into my life\n\n[I studied, applied, tried and refined.](/how-i-tested-speaking-advice) I wasn't finished when I understood a sentence in a book. I had to go out, speak and find out what happened when a conversation surprised me.\n\nSome ideas I borrowed, some I adapted, and some took a lot of work before I could use them. That's the story I'm sharing here: books and people that influenced me, and the work I did with those ideas.\n\nI'm describing my reading and experience. This isn't a complete review of every book about stuttering, and the books I have named here served different purposes for me.\n\n",
      "source_span_sha256": "2e412cb83f45aa443628f793472545a1a4c3c206e609d2dd063c630d2755717b"
    },
    {
      "id": "other-names-in-my-notes",
      "heading": "Other names in my notes",
      "heading_level": 2,
      "citation_url": "https://usedtostutter.com/books-that-influenced-my-speaking-journey#other-names-in-my-notes",
      "role": "source_context",
      "source_markdown": "## Other names in my notes\n\nMy notes also name Earl Nightingale, Wallace Wattles, Robert Collier, Joseph Murphy and Dale Carnegie. I wrote their names under the heading “Greatest Mind Powerers.”\n\n",
      "source_span_sha256": "2859059ba9aa81d2c42df277124e6269af98520ec0e1d333da1161cf1a229964"
    },
    {
      "id": "related-answers",
      "heading": "Related answers",
      "heading_level": 2,
      "citation_url": "https://usedtostutter.com/books-that-influenced-my-speaking-journey#related-answers",
      "role": "navigation",
      "source_markdown": "## Related answers\n\n- [Why did I stop defining myself as a stutterer?](/stuttering-and-identity)\n- [How long did it take me to get the speech I wanted?](/how-long-my-stuttering-journey-took)\n",
      "source_span_sha256": "c1e76006544a5560cc86cc908fcd89c50053ef8bca7719c869f0de28fe4198c7"
    }
  ],
  "related_book_sections": []
}