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What has influenced my life more than any other single thing has been my stammer. Had I not stammered I would probably... have gone to Cambridge as my brothers did, perhaps have become a don and every now and then published a dreary book about French literature.
W. Somerset Maugham
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Interpretation

What this quote means

A stammer profoundly shaped the author's life choices and experiences.

W. Somerset Maugham reflects on how his stammer, which he viewed as a limitation, had a significant influence on his life path. Instead of following a conventional academic career like his brothers, the challenges of his speech impediment led him to explore different opportunities, ultimately shaping his identity and contributions as a writer.

Themes

StammerInfluenceLife ChoicesIdentityWriting

In practice

Example use cases

During a motivational speech about overcoming obstacles, one might say, 'As W. Somerset Maugham once noted, his stammer influenced his life in unexpected ways.'

More from W. Somerset Maugham

The common idea that success spoils people by making them vain, egotistic and self-complacent is erroneous; on the contrary it makes them, for the most part, humble, tolerant and kind.
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I don't think of the past. The only thing that matters is the everlasting present.
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The world is quickly bored by the recital of misfortune, and willing avoids the sight of distress.
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There in the mist, enormous, majestic, silent and terrible, stood the Great Wall of China. Solitarily, with the indifference of nature herself, it crept up the mountain side and slipped down to the depth of the valley.
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A little wisdom, now and then

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