Richard Branson on Turning a Disadvantage to Your Advantage
Whenever something goes wrong or you find yourself at a disadvantage,
often the best way to handle it is to turn a negative into a positive. I
learned this early on as I struggled with dyslexia, a learning
disability that affects reading comprehension.
I left school when I was 16 years old partly because of my dyslexia.
I
couldn't always follow what was going on, so I didn't find the lessons
interesting and became distracted. My teachers thought I was just lazy
because back then; people didn't understand as much about dyslexia as
they do today. On one of my last days at school, the headmaster told me
that I would either end up in prison or become a millionaire. That was quite a startling prediction, but in some respects he was right on both counts!
What was definitely true was that I seemed to think in a different
way from my classmates, and had from an early age. Throughout my teenage
years I was very focused on trying to set up a business and create
something. On leaving school I devoted my energy to turning Student
magazine into a nationwide publication and a profitable enterprise.
Over the years, my different way of thinking helped me to build the
Virgin Group and contributed greatly to our success. My dyslexia guided
the way we communicated with customers. When we launched a new company, I
made sure that I was shown the ads and marketing materials. I asked
those presenting the campaign to read everything aloud, in order to test
the phrasing and the overall concept. If I could grasp it quickly, then
it passed muster -- we would get our message across only if it was
understandable at first glance.
I still check our ad campaigns
today, so we have continued to use ordinary language instead of
industry jargon. Our bank, Virgin Money, doesn't talk about "financial
services" or "leading industry intelligence;" rather, we talk about
building a better bank for everyone. This emphasis on simplicity and
clarity also extends to our brand values: Virgin companies stand for
good value, quality, innovation, fun and great customer service.
When I did run into challenges, my team and I found a way around
them. For many years I ran the Virgin Group without knowing the
difference between net and gross profits -- we had some odd board
meetings! Despite such problems, we were all able to work together
smoothly because I had learned the art of delegation by my teens. This
isn't a skill that comes easily to some, but when you're dyslexic, you
have to trust others to do tasks on your behalf. In some cases that can
involve reading and writing, and so you learn to let go.
As an entrepreneur, I learned that surrounding myself with people who
were better than me at specific tasks put me at an advantage because I
was free to focus on the things I was good at. We hired fantastic people
throughout the Virgin Group to run our businesses, which provided me
with the space to think creatively and strategically about new ventures
and new adventures as I worked to grow the business.
It wasn't until I was a young adult that I fully recognized that I
had dyslexia. By then, I also knew that challenges can be the driving
force for success. And in fact, a 2005 study found that one in three
American entrepreneurs identifies as dyslexic, while others have shown
that people with this disability tend to excel at detecting patterns and
grasping the bigger picture. Entrepreneurs like Thomas Edison, Henry
Ford, Ted Turner and Charles Schwab all had dyslexia.
So if you are dyslexic, it is important that you do not allow
yourself to feel inferior just because you can't spell every word in the
dictionary. Vary your activities and interests so that you can uncover
your strengths -- in my case, I knew that I wanted to create something
to get young people's voice across and then meant creating a magazine
and a business to pay the bills.
Even Albert Einstein is thought to have been affected by this
learning disability. The famous physicist once said that "It is a
miracle that curiosity survives formal education," which is especially
true if you have dyslexia. Not being exceptional academically does not
mean that you cannot be exceptional.
Whatever personal challenge you have to overcome, you must be brave
enough to accept that you are different. You must have the courage to
trust your instincts and be ready to question what other people don't.
If you do that, you can seize opportunities that others would miss.
Believe in yourself, and use everything you can -- including the
obstacles -- to propel you along the road to success. Who knows what you
might achieve?
Source: http://www.entrepreneur.com/article/224172
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