When Emily was small, she had a stuttering problem.
A huge stuttering problem.
It was so bad, she got bullied because she couldn’t hold basic conversations.
Another child, Ed, struggled with the same thing.
A self-described ‘weird’ kid, his stuttering problem was just one of many reasons he didn’t fit in.
And yet, despite their struggles (or maybe, because of their struggles) both Emily and Ed are doing just fine in their careers today.
In Emily’s case, a teacher suggested that being in the school play might help.
And it did.
As Emily recited the lines over and over, her stuttering gradually went away, so she fell in love with acting.
And in 2006, Emily - Emily Blunt - got her breakthrough as Meryl Streep’s secretary in The Devil Wears Prada.
What about Ed?
He got a hold of a rap album, memorized the lyrics of all the songs, and practiced rapping them until he could sing them without a single stutter.
And nowadays…
Well, you might’ve heard of him:
That was Ed Sheeran.
Emily Blunt and Ed Sheeran are just two examples of people who built world-class careers by facing the things that held them back. They turned their ‘dis-advantage’ into an ‘unfair advantage’.
So, how can you do the same in your career? Is there something that you think is holding you back?
Let’s dive in…
🧭 Use fear as a compass
Standard career advice for Emily & Ed would’ve been, “If you’re not good with your voice, learn to write instead! Build on your strengths!”
IMO, that’s wrong. We should be moving towards fears, not away from them.
So ask yourself: what’s the one thing you’ve been avoiding?
Public speaking? Leadership roles? Speaking up at meetings?
Sometimes, the thing that scares us is the thing we should be doing.
(P.S. Reply back with the thing that you are avoiding, or want to get better at — I’ll cover it in a future email)
🗣 Get harsh feedback from others
Sometimes, we don’t know what’s holding us back, so we need others to tell us.
But kinda like how people stay quiet when there’s something stuck in your teeth, most people won’t tell you what you need to hear.
Instead of family & friends (who don’t want to hurt your feelings), ask people who won’t mince their words, or even people who don’t like you.
“Hey, I’m sure there’s loads of things I’m doing wrong. What’s one thing you think I need to work on?”
If they clam up or seem hesitant, guide them a bit. “Do you think I could improve how I communicate in meetings?”
🔬 The Competence Trap
You know what's funny about getting "good enough" at something?
That's usually when people stop improving.
The presentation goes okay? Back to comfort zone.
The project didn't fail? Must be fine.
The feedback wasn't terrible? Good enough.
But here's what I've noticed about people who've had meteoric careers:
They're most aggressive about improving when they're already decent at something.
Think about it:
Emily didn't stop at just managing her stutter. She pushed until she became one of Hollywood's most sought-after actresses.
Ed didn't settle for just rapping clearly. He kept going until he could command stadiums.
"Good enough" is where most careers plateau. It's also where the biggest opportunities hide.
=> Look at your current role: What are you just "decent" at? That might be exactly where you need to double down.
📝 Spell out the plan
Once you’ve identified one key area as a weakness, or something to improve, let’s create a plan to overcome them.
Remember: weaknesses don’t go away on their own. We tend to avoid them, which makes them worse.
So you need a sorta simple plan for overcoming them. A good way to do that is with daily, weekly or monthly habits.
Be specific.
Don't just say, “I need to get more comfortable with public speaking.” Say:
- "For a month, I'll record a 2-minute video of myself weekly explaining a work topic and watch it back"
- “I’m going to go to Toastmasters every Thursday at 7pm.”
🔬 Set micro-goals
While it's good to have an end vision (e.g., “I want to be a confident public speaker”), chunk it down into smaller, achievable tasks. Like, “This week, I’ll voice my opinion at least once in every team meeting.”
Or, next week, ask your manager if you can lead a couple of meetings. Even if it's a short, daily 15-minute standup meeting.
Or say you want to become more technical - start with: "This week, I'll spend 20 minutes each morning asking ChatGPT for an SQL challenge and solving it with it." Or "Each week, I'll analyze one chart from our company dashboard".
