“Where Native people come from, everything’s not in straight lines.” – Johnpaul Jones Johnpaul Jones is one of the world’s leading architectural architects and landscape designers, and he is also dyslexic. He was the lead design consultant for the National Museum of the American Indian, the Bainbridge Island Japanese American Exclusion Memorial, The Southern Ute Cultural Center and Museum, Vancouver Land Bridge, Mountains to Sound Greenway Plan, Oregon Zoo Educational Center, Longhouse Educational and Cultural Center, and Gorilla Conservation Research Center, among many, many others. He has said that his aesthetic was inspired by his Choctaw – Cherokee mother’s four world perspective: natural animal, spiritual, and human. Johnpaul describes his early life as being a “bad boy” and “dyslexic.” He struggled in school, and […]
Singer Tony Bennett’s Last Concert
"To me, life is a gift, and it's a blessing to just be alive. And each person should learn what a gift it is to be alive no matter how tough things get." — Tony Bennett Tony Bennett really sounds great at 95 years old. Check out his duets with Lady Gaga below....
Dr Roxanne Varzi: Creative Anthropologist
I recently had the chance to talk to Dr Roxanne Varzi, a writer, anthropologist, and filmmaker who was also the first Fulbright Awardee since the Islamic Revolution for research in Iran. She's doing such interesting work that is creative on many levels that I...
Princess Beatrice: The Gift of Dyslexia
"Even referring to it as a diagnosis, I feel, does a disservice to the brilliance of some of the most fantastic minds that we have... just shifting the narrative a little bit towards something that is positive, something that is impactful, can really help everyone." -...
Richard Branson’s Space Adventure
"Overcoming fear is the first step to success..." - Richard Branson Richard Branson has pulled it off - the 70 year old made his own spaceport in New Mexico and hovered between the earth's atmosphere and outer space for a few minutes, achieving...
Inspiration: Congratulations Olympians!
Congratulations to all the dyslexic athletes in the 2021 Tokyo Olympics. A'JA WILSON A'ja Wilson was the #1 draft pick in the WNBA in 2018, Rookie of the Year, and most valuable player in the WNBA in 2020. A'ja also wrote a...
Dyslexic Talents: Team Building and Software Design [Premium]
“I was dyslexic – I couldn’t read. My father was an engineer, so I grew up thinking I was like him, but I was actually intellectually more like my mother. They were both smart people.” — Jim Keller, past VP Engineering at Apple and Tesla, Senior VP at Intel, and CTO and President of Tensetorrent When it comes to talking about dyslexic talent, strengths in problem solving and team building often get mentioned. If such things get mentioned in school age children or even college students, it doesn’t truly capture what these strengths might involve when at their full powers in people at the top of their professions. Jim Keller is not a household name like Steve Jobs or Elon Musk, but in […]
Steven Erickson LEGO Master Season Two!
Congratulations to Steven Erickson and his brother Mark who won a coveted spot on the second season of Lego Masters to compete for $100,000. Steven and his brother Mark have long been known to the LEGO community. You can find Steven HERE. I have...
Inspiration: Tech Executive John Edgar
As Chief Technology Evangelist and VP of Strategy at Digital Ocean, John Edgar helped grow the company from #1000 to #2 cloud provider in the world (second only to Amazon). How did he do it and how did he arrive at the top of his profession in technology, after...
Tenet Actor John David Washington [Premium]
He’s not just Denzel’s son. John David Washington is the action hero of Christopher Nolan’s Tenet and former NFL running back, and one of Time Magazine’s NEXT 100 leaders who will shape the world’s future. And he’s also dyslexic. John David has talked about his dyslexia, usually mentioning things in passing – like how writing in different colors helps because he’s dyslexic – but he hasn’t discussed in-depth how he overcame the challenges of dyslexia and demands for things like sight-reading or learning scripts. He has said, though, that his mother, Paulette Washington helps him with every aspect of his career, including pre-reading scripts and helping him practice his lines. Interestingly, John David initially avoided acting because he didn’t want to be hired […]
Legendary Sea Explorer Dr. Robert Ballard
"I grew up wanting to be Captain Nemo from 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea..." "I wish everyone recognized that dyslexia has its advantages." - Robert Ballard It's not just Bob's accomplishments that make his autobiography so compelling, but his focus, resilience,...
Extraordinary Artist: Vincent [Premium]
“When you have dyslexia and you don’t know that’s what it is, you assume you’re not intelligent — and your self-confidence is taken away.” – Vincent Fantauzzo Vincent grew up in a crowded public housing flat with his mother and four siblings. He left school at 13, barely able to read and write, and got mixed up in street fights and general delinquency. “I spent my life hiding and hustling, feeling ashamed, not being good enough, not being smart enough and pretending to be someone I wasn’t…” – Vincent Fantauzzo While he was in school, Vincent remembered wanting to get kicked out of class rather than stand up and read aloud. He wondered why other students could read and he could not. “You can be dyslexic […]