Delightfully dyslexic, excuse typos!’
Happy Dyslexia Awareness Week. Ten years ago I updated my email signature to ’Delightfully dyslexic, excuse typos!’ It was a necessity! Getting all my emails proofed was deeply inefficient and I needed people to understand why there were the inevitable typos that even the best spelling and grammar tools didn’t pick up… believe me, I’ve tried them all!
What happened after that was magical. It shifted the perception of the people who received my emails from negative to understanding and – if they were kind souls – empathy. But it also started rippling out to those around me. It created a safe space for my team, community and network to start openly discussing their hidden difference. I started getting emails with the same signature from people I knew, and increasingly from those I didn’t, as others also opened up! I no longer felt so different or alone. This led to getting invited to do talks about my dyslexic journey at companies and conferences - a big shout-out to Gemma Greaves & Mark Evans who were the first to ask. This then led me to meet other amazing dyslexics who helped educate me on dyslexia more broadly and what makes us unique.
What I’ve come to learn is that it has given me the gift of thinking differently and has built in me deep wells of resilience and empathy – a dynamite combination when it comes to scaling business, working with clients and leading a team.
I guess this is why 35% of entrepreneurs – and 40% of self-made millionaires – are dyslexic, including the likes of Steve Jobs, Holly Tucker, Jo Malone, Richard Branson, William Hewlett, Anita Roddick, Ikea founder Ingvar Kamprad, William Hewlett and endless more!
Saying that, I wish I had known more about my dyslexia in those early days, when I was ashamed and desperately hiding who I was. So if you, or someone you love, has dyslexia I’d highly recommend diving into the following podcasts to learn more:
- The Hidden 20% hosted by legendary founder Ben Branson
- Behind The Dreams hosted by my dyslexic soul mate Claud Williams
- Conversations of Inspiration, hosted by dyslexic founder Holly Tucker - who paved the way for women in tech, me included.
And of course, I’d be honoured if you stole my email signature. I hope it brings you the positive ripples I’ve come to enjoy and cherish.
‘Delightfully Dyslexic, excuse typos’
Companies
The Hidden 20%
- Charity