2019.03.18 - Forbes - 64 People, From Shepard Fairey To Duff McKagan, On Their Greatest Strength Or Weakness

Part 3: 64 People, From Shepard Fairey To Duff McKagan, On Their Greatest Strength Or Weakness

By Steve Baltin

This is my five hundredth article since I started writing for FORBES three years ago. In the insane amount of interviews I have done with everyone from Pete Townshend and John Mellencamp to executives such as John Sykes, president of iHeartRadio, I have noticed similar traits that drive successful people.

So wanting to do something different for my five hundredth article I reached out to more than 60 people from numerous fields, from visual artists such as Shepard Fairey to musicians like the Backstreet Boys' Howie Dorough and Guns 'N' Roses Duff McKagan, from Diane von Furstenberg to executives from eBay and more.

I asked every person one question: What is your greatest strength or weakness and how have you used that strength or overcome that weakness to get where you are today.

Because of the sheer volume of answers, the story is in three parts, so articles 500, 501 and 502. The answers are fascinating and offer so much on these artists and business leaders. So here 64 people, from Alison Wonderland and Incubus' Brandon Boyd and Mike Einziger to Marc Maron and the CEO of the Girl Scouts of America, share their strengths and weaknesses and how it led them to where they are. Hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed putting this together.

Duff McKagan, Guns 'N' Roses

Probably my greatest weakness, I don't like to call it that anymore, that's part of the way I've gotten over it. At 16 I started having panic disorder. my first one happened out of nowhere. I was in the shower at my mom's house, the floor just sunk down three feet and I thought there was an esrthquake or something. It was actually a panic attack. I self medicated those things in my 20s with a ton of alcohol. And they kind of ruled my life. Of course the more alcohol you drink the more sugars in your system the more panic attacks you're gonna have. Through Ukidokan and really measuring these things out and kind of tackling them and taking them face on and figuring out a way through them, it was a weakness I've turned into something that's a teachable moment. I can understand a lot more about mental illness and panic disorder that has sides of depression to it that I never experienced until a couple of years ago. I had a depression attack, which was the worst thing you can ever have. But I've dealt with this thing through Ukidokan and I'm very fortunate to have a very positive force in my life that I can work on these things. So my weakness has kind of turned into a a strength. I can help others.

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Full article:
https://www.forbes.com/sites/stevebaltin/2019/03/18/part-3-64-people-from-shepard-fairey-to-duff-mckagan-on-their-greatest-strength-or-weakness/