Hey All, I thought I’d share this article that I wrote a little while ago.
I’ve got to admit, it is one of my most popular articles, and for very good reason too, it seems to strike a cord with many and is often brought up when I speak with my prospects.
Now I personally am not affected by dyslexia though I know many who are, and I was amazed at the link that I found between dyslexics and wildly successful entrepreneurs! An interesting topic for sure!
I hope you enjoy 
Can you believe that an incredible 49% of entrepreneurs are dyslexic?
Unfortunately societies ignorance has led people to believe that dyslexia=stupid. But they couldn’t be further from the truth. Dyslexia is a neurological difference, a brain difference. The right hemisphere of the brain of a dyslexic is slightly larger to that of a normal reader, which is a possible reason for why they often have substantial strengths in areas that are controlled by the right side of the brain; such as creative problem solving skills, intuitive people’s skills, and musical and artistic talent. Many of our greatest leaders, entrepreneurs and influential characters of our time, past and present are dyslexic; here are just a select few…
Sir Richard Branson: – Virgin tycoon, 245th richest person according to Forbes 2008. Net worth approximately £1.6 Billion.
Bill Gates: – Mr. Microsoft. Richest person in the world for 15 consecutive years, and is currently the worlds 3rd richest person. Net worth approximately $58 billion.
Sir Alan sugar: – Founded Amstrad back in 1968. Net worth approximately £830 million
Winston Churchill, Albert Einstein, & Anita Roddick
Little do people know that although dyslexics may have difficulty reading and writing, they often haven the highest I.Q’s. It is not an intelligence disability, there is nothing wrong with a dyslexics knowledge and intellect, they just have a different thought process and mechanism.
In general outsiders only look at the negative aspects of dyslexia but do not realise that with dyslexia comes great advantages also. The top 6 advantages are listed below
1. They tend to not follow the crowd.
2. They are of very creative and can have a wild imagination.
3. They are usually driven, persistent, determined and ambitious.
4. They are naturally more curious than most.
5. They tend to look at situations and things differently to others.
6. They adapt to change easier than others.It would be safe to assume that these characteristics are developed due to the way that they are ostracised by their peers, society and the education system in their formative years.
Unfortunately quite often those with dyslexia tend to also receive some form of bullying and name calling in their younger years, so it is easy to see why they tend not to follow the crowd and choose their own path in life. Drive and ambition will derive from them wanting to prove the doubters and name callers wrong, by making a success of themselves and proving that they aren’t and weren’t ever stupid. Quite often due to child dyslexics not being able to read very efficiently or confidently they depend on following the pictures in books to depict the story, which in turn develops their imagination. From the small selection above of beneficial advantages a dyslexics character is blessed with, you can see just why, they make such great leaders and entrepreneurs.
If you hold these qualities side by side to the qualities required to be a successful entrepreneur, they pretty much go hand in hand. An Entrepreneurial flair is not something that can be taught, or learnt, you can’t fake it, you either have it or you don’t. Anyone can learn to be more enterprising or a better business person, but an entrepreneurial spirit simply cannot be manufactured. So to those that are dyslexic; reading and writing may not be your thing, but take advantage of your natural talents and embrace your entrepreneurial flair!
I think this article goes to show that whatever cards life deals you; you determine your own destiny when it comes to success in this world. None of the above mentioned entrepreneurs and leaders let anything hold them back when it came to making themselves successful, You shouldnt either! They were all motivated, focused, ambitious and passionate people and if you too possess those qualities dyslexic or not you too may have the foundations of a successful entrepreneur!
Hey Cher, nice blog and i could relate to this, really well written. You should post more about this.
Thanks for sharing.
Hey Cher fantastic article, I remember reading somthing like this on the news a while ago and was amazed to think that some of the richest people in the world are dyslexic.
But with that i guess mindset kicks in to all of this!
Look forward to future posts
great post – i never knew some of my business heroes and winston churchill overcame dyslexia – i know many friends who have the condition and they are all highly adventurous, non conformist types by nature which backs up the excellent
points you raise in your article.
Great article, my brother is Dyslexic and he did not find out until he was twenty five years old. It did not stop him from becoming a successful photographer owning his own company. So it is an example to all of us.
Such a awesome site. I am bookmarking this page.
Pretty nice post. I just stumbled upon your blog and wanted to say that I have really enjoyed browsing your blog posts. In any case I’ll be subscribing to your feed and I hope you write again soon!
Great site. A lot of useful information here. I’m sending it to some friends!
Love this article, its amazing how many people think that if youre dyslexic youre stupid!!
I bet they wouldnt say that to Branson