I'm Dyslexic and It's the reason I've been successful who else?

Question

My son in elementary school is currently dealing with dyslexia that he inherited from me. So lately I've been a little more sensitive to the topic.

I suppose most see this as a curse and I've continued to ponder the topic since that never really sat well with me.    Sure, i struggled like crazy in my English classes.    I failed Spanish without any hope of getting anywhere.     Hebrew school was basically torture.   I remember my teachers looking down on me like I was a lost cause.     This poor soul that will never figure it out.     Then there was math class, in the third grade we use to do these silly 100 problem tests and had 5 minutes to do it.    I always was the first kid finished, it pretty much was always flawless and for kicks, one day i did 5 tests before the time ran out.

Dyslexia is the main reason I've been able to flip 75 properties this year, without the highly analytical skills it helped me develop I never would of been able to push to these levels.    In my family tree as far as i can go back I can't find anyone that thinks like I do.   So now I'm curious, how many of you have this advantage like i do?

Leigh C · Answer

@Shmuel Harris

From what I've read there are different types of dyslexia,    I don't have issues with switching numbers around, I'm forever getting mixed up with target and kmart, but i think that i might be doing it subconsciously to annoy my other half.    Mostly for me it's just any sort of language activity.

I doubt dyslexia is the reason for me being a...not sure how to put this...lets go with Cornhole.    It may have contributed to my hard shell as some sort of defensive mechanism but I'm not willing to go through the couch time to figure it out.     I rub most people the wrong way and was this way long before i started with real estate or was successful.   Part of my charm :)

Peter MacKercher · Answer

@Leigh C I'm also dyslexic and I know it's helped me in my life, despite being a huge challenge to overcome. My perspective on it is that, since it's a learning disability, it's required me to work that much harder to make the grade my entire life. I learned to work hard when I was very young and I bring that work ethic to everything I apply myself to.

I also learned a lot of humility from it -- you know very well what you're good and bad at. That helps you know when to defer a task to someone who's better able to deal effectively with the issue.

I don't think you're being arrogant in saying it has helped you, but I'm also a bit biased since I'm in the same boat. I've heard other people talk about these issues and, if you're able to figure out how you learn and what works for you, it can be something that makes you stronger.

Bhekizwe M. · Answer

75 deals for a year is impressive playing to a strength....

Shmuel Harris · Answer

Very interesting. I also have difficulty getting straight forward things. I used to have trouble keeping straight which is right and which is left. Also other things of the sort. I am constantly creating tricks to help me keep track of these things. Never it related to the dyslexia.

Thanks for sharing @Leigh C,

Sam Harris

David Dachtera · Answer

Even today, when the BP e-mails tell me, "Someone voted on your post", I still initially read it as "Someone vetoed your post".

Brian Gibbons · Answer

read the book by Paladino it'll help your son

Leigh C · Answer

@Brian Gibbons

I appreciate the time you took to write the post, however your style and thoughts on real estate do not at all resemble mine.      As for different avenues of the financial world, I'd agree that a lot of it would make sense to my head, though i lack any interest in it for now.

Not exactly sure why you feel sorry for me or my son.   We all have a cross to bear in one form or another.   Was rather the point of my post, though maybe it didn't come off as clearly as i intended.   The negative aspects I truly believe are more than compensated for in my strengths because of it.

As for being arrogant, i'm actually a lot of things worse than that :)   It all stems from not being too worried about what others think of me and simply trying to get my point across as quickly as possible.   I'm very blunt in most of my posts here, typically very hard to swallow but usually correct.    If someone doesn't like it, that is their problem.

Lately I've only been thinking about this because I'm trying to figure out the best path for my son.

David Dachtera · Answer

I'm Asperger's myself. So, I can relate to Leigh's situation, When I was young playing "traffic" with my brother, I always spelled "STOP" signs backwards: "POTS". One of the most useful lessons I had in primary school was called "Reading and Phonics", 1st grade vocabulary, reading and spelling class.

I did have rather a challenge trying to sort out what looks like a triple negative in your statement, quoted above.

I didn't find Leigh's attitude at all arrogant, but that's the challenge people like us face. We're interpreted as arrogant, confused, stupid, unrelatable, etc. Many of history's "geniuses" - both evil and benevolent - were very much like us.

The truth is we understand things at a different level from others. We see the logic and do not understand why people surround what we see as logical events with so much emotionalism and "ego investment", if I can invent a phrase here. I understood it quite well when Tony Robbins said, "When what you're doing isn't working, change your approach". I don't get emotionally attached to my methods. So, when those methods need to change, it doesn't "rock me to my core", it's a just a needed change and easily made.

For what it's worth...

Brian Gibbons · Answer

@Leigh C

you would love the book called "the Edison trait"

Edison was laughed at in primary and in high school.

The author Linda Paladino is well known in helping parents understand their "different kids"

I will tell you this, real estate is a team game, and nice people finish first.

I'm sorry you suffered with dyslexia and your son suffers from that also.

You would probably be as successful in day trading or some other kind of numbers oriented business as you are in the flipping business

The real estate business is much like financial planning, helping people feel comfortable with Investments and insurance; REI is definitely a people business and not a numbers business

I cannot feel not a little bit uncomfortable with your arrogant attitude

Good luck in your flipping business

I'm Dyslexic and It's the reason I've been successful who else?

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