# What kinds of books influenced my speaking journey?

By [Craig Coffee](/craig-coffee)

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.

The 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.

## Different ideas for different parts of the work

I'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.

I'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.

These were influences on different parts of my work. Beliefs. Self-image. The way I spoke to myself. The way I listened to somebody else.

## How did I find some of those books?

In 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.

In 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.

## I still had to take the ideas into my life

[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.

Some 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.

I'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.

## Other names in my notes

My notes also name Earl Nightingale, Wallace Wattles, Robert Collier, Joseph Murphy and Dale Carnegie. I wrote their names under the heading “Greatest Mind Powerers.”

## Related answers

- [Why did I stop defining myself as a stutterer?](/stuttering-and-identity)
- [How long did it take me to get the speech I wanted?](/how-long-my-stuttering-journey-took)

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