Shrenik Shah, Asia Pacific Kindness and Leadership Awardee, Global Influencer, Mentor, and Keynote Speaker, shared a post on LinkedIn:
“Back in 2023, being shortlisted as a speaker during the national hunt for top speakers felt like a moment when everything I’ve been building quietly, persistently, for 27 years was finally being recognized.
Not just acknowledged. But seen.
When you’re selected from thousands of candidates, it’s not about winning a competition. It’s about validation that your voice, quite literally, in my case has something the world needs to hear.
If I remember well, I was shortlisted from 3.50.000 participants and I was the only one with a Bionic Voice.
My voice is unique.
Not because it’s beautiful.
But because of what it cost me to keep it.
Twenty-seven years ago, I stood in a hospital room facing stage 4 vocal cord cancer. The doctors said my voice would change. They were right. But what they couldn’t have predicted was that this “disability” would become my greatest asset.
I spent years hating my new voice. Fighting it. Grieving the person I used to sound like.
Then, somewhere between rejection and desperation, I realized something: Everyone has a wound. Most people hide theirs. I decided to speak through mine.
And that’s what got me shortlisted from thousands of speakers vying for the same platform. Not perfect presentation skills. Not a polished delivery. Not the ability to say the “right” things in the “right” way.
It was authenticity. It was the refusal to pretend my journey was anything less than what it was brutal, transformative, and deeply, undeniably human.
The video I created for this recognition captures 27 years of my journey. It talks about:
1. Celebrating a deadly diagnosis as a blessing in disguise.
2. Transforming initial rejection into exceptional opportunities.
3. Delivering 8,000 hours of wisdom globally.
4. Empowering over 100,000 lives through one voice.
5. Continuing to lead at 72 with fearless determination.
But here’s what the numbers don’t capture: Every single person in those audiences came because they needed permission to believe that their wounds could become their wisdom. That their story matters. That their voice, however broken, however unconventional – has the power to change someone’s life.
To everyone still fighting their own battle, still grieving what you’ve lost, still unsure if your voice matters:
Keep speaking. Keep showing up. Keep refusing to hide your scars. Because somewhere out there, someone is waiting to hear your story. Not the polished version. Not the sanitized version.
Your version. The one that cost you everything to tell. That’s the voice the world needs.
Grateful to Success Gyan for recognizing speakers who lead with truth, not perfection. To the national hunt for top speakers, thank you for reminding me that being different isn’t a disadvantage. It’s the entire point.”
Other articles featuring Shrenik Shah on OncoDaily.