James Burden : Neurodivergent and Unapologetic

🔥 Excerpt
What if the way you speak—or the identity you cling to—isn't the problem? Speech therapist and coach James Burden unpacks stuttering, ego, and the surprising power of letting go to actually win.

⚡ TL;DR
James Burden—speech therapist and founder of Stuttering Blueprint—joins me to challenge the myths around stuttering, reframe it through a neurodivergence lens, and trace how a season of personal upheaval (divorce, burnout, a brain tumor) led him to a different definition of success: inner peace. We dig into radical self-acceptance, "white-knuckle fluency," meditation, and why chasing money often repels it.

📄 Show Notes
I brought James on to talk stuttering, communication, and confidence—and we went much deeper. James has spent nearly two decades helping people who stutter communicate with authority without pretending fluency is the goal. He argues the real blocker isn't dysfluency; it's the story we attach to it—myths about intelligence, nerves, or "not being enough."

Then we take the left turn. James walked through a two-year crucible—marriage ending, financial strain, burnout, and a brain tumor—that forced a hard reset. He went searching for the trappings of success and stumbled into meditation, shadow work, and a ruthlessly simple truth: peace beats performance. When he stopped gripping for status and started allowing, life opened—reconciliation with his ex, a humble home by the beach, and a calmer way of working with clients.

If you've ever white-knuckled your way through leadership—over-controlling your speech, your image, your outcomes—this conversation will hit home. The takeaway isn't "give up ambition."

It's master the inner game so ambition doesn't own you.

✅ Key Takeaways

•  Stuttering ≠ incompetence. The problem is often the shame narrative, not the speech pattern. Confidence changes how others receive dysfluency.
• "White-knuckle fluency" backfires. The harder you force smooth speech, the more tension—and the more stutter—you create.
• Reframe as neurodivergence. Seeing stuttering as a normal human variation reduces stigma and opens healthier goals: presence, clarity, connection.
• Avoidance kills opportunity. Speaking less to "stay safe" shrinks roles, revenue, and reach. Exposure with self-acceptance expands capacity.
• Letting go creates space. Chasing money/status often repels both. Build inner peace; outcomes tend to follow.
• Shadow work is the work. You don't meditate to feel bliss—you sit with the parts you spend energy hiding. Integration > image.
• Redefine winning. If the "why" behind your goals is peace, engineer for peace first. The rest is execution.

👤 Bio
James Burden is a speech-language pathologist and the founder of Stuttering Blueprint, a coaching practice that helps people who stutter build presence and communicate with confidence—without pretending fluency is the finish line. After 17+ years in the field and a personal crucible that reoriented his definition of success, James champions radical self-acceptance, practical communication tools, and the inner work that makes leadership sustainable.

🧭 Chapters
00:00 Introduction to Stuttering and Communication Challenges
03:40 The Journey of a Speech Therapist
06:30 Understanding Neurodivergence and Stuttering
09:15 The Myths Surrounding Stuttering
11:48 Overcoming Stuttering: Confidence and Acceptance
14:48 The Impact of Stuttering on Personal and Professional Life
17:23 The Shift in Perspective: Happiness vs. Success
20:13 Finding Purpose Through Adversity
23:57 The Pursuit of Success and Stress
28:11 Synchronicity and Inner Peace
32:38 Redefining Success: From Ego to Inner Peace
37:08 The Journey of Letting Go
41:43 What Does Winning Mean?
43:59 RPOW Clip Outro Mobile.mp4
44:09 NEWCHAPTER

Links:

• https://www.instagram.com/stuttering_blueprint/
• https://www.linkedin.com/in/james-burden-36525759/
• https://www.facebook.com/profile.php?id=61553115650878&sk=followers
• https://www.youtube.com/ ⁨@james_stutteringblu