Charles Schwab grew up in a time when those afflicted with dyslexia were considered unintelligent or unmotivated. Even today, dyslexic children are at a much greater risk of losing confidence and becoming underachievers. It doesn't have to be that way, says Schwab, 81, the world’s richest dyslexic, with a net worth of more than $8 billion.
Q: More than 60% of prison inmates have learning disabilities. What separates you and other billionaires from so many who are defeated by adversity?
A: Probably luck. Maybe parental encouragement. My dad was a lawyer, and he had high expectations for me. I went through life until 40 before I knew about dyslexia. I didn't get interested in the subject until my youngest son was diagnosed with it about 31 years ago.
Q: Describe your dyslexia.
A: It's not a lot of fun to talk about your handicaps, except in golf. When I look at the words "the cat crossed the street," I have to sound it out to get meaning. If you gave me a book on some subject that I'm not familiar with it would take me twice as long to read it as anybody else. Even then, I'd have a tough time answering questions on what I've read. I don't read books; I listen to books on tape. Thank goodness for all the new communications devices.
Q: How did you ever graduate from Stanford?
A: I majored in economics. The first two years I struggled. I flunked English twice. They passed me through the third time. I got an F in French. I had a tough enough time with the first language. When I came out of public high school I thought I could charm my teachers. I found out in college I couldn't.
Q: You nearly flunked out, yet never considered dropping out. Is that the difference between you and those who wound up defeated?
A: Yeah. It's painful. People decide you aren't working hard enough or are slow. I didn't quit because I was really good in other things, terrific in math and science and anything that didn't deal with words. I was good in sports. I had good skills in dealing with people. Many things are important. Character, ethics, communications skills, consistency, analytical skills, relationship skills.
Q: Being blind develops other senses, like hearing. Does dyslexia hone other strengths, like thinking out of the box?
A: Yes. I think I'm a pretty good conceptualizer.
Q: You're also shy. What's your advice for introverts?
A: I got really passionate about what I was doing, and I got good at talking about our company. We would fill rooms of people curious about the discount brokerage business. I was nervous, but I did it because I was passionate.
Q: Were you less demanding of your dyslexic son than you were of your other four children?
A: We got him tutors and schools that were more accommodating. Some teachers believe there is only one way to teach and only one way to learn.
Q: Business success requires a degree of risk. Do those who face adversity become better suited to taking measured risks rather than seeking safety?
A: In any profession, the best practitioners have some self-doubt. They're not arrogant people, they're people who know they don't always have the answers, and they're always working hard to develop the right solutions. I always had a healthy dose of that, and I got it totally from dyslexia.
Q: Adult dyslexics have painful memories of being called stupid as children. Can that pain be turned into a source of inspiration?
A: You remember those days when you're supposed to memorize a passage from Chaucer? I couldn't get past four words, much less a paragraph. It was painful, but not completely debilitating. I made sure I worked damn hard on things I could do well. You focus on it and work double hard. Everyone likes to do well in life. We aspire to do the best we can with what we're dealt with.
About Schwab
✓ Among the 100 richest people in the world. Retired as CEO in 2008, but remains chairman and is the largest shareholder.
✓ Economics degree (Stanford '59). MBA (Stanford, '61). Passed literature classes reading the comic-book versions of such classics as Moby Dick.
✓ Captain of Santa Barbara, Calif., high school golf team and played for Stanford. Present handicap: 7.4.
✓ First job: bagging walnuts in orchards near Sacramento. Started a traditional brokerage company in 1971 that became a pioneer in the discount brokerage business starting in 1974.
✓ Practicing Roman Catholic. Personal hero is Ronald Reagan.
✓ Other rich executives with dyslexia include Craig McCaw, Richard Branson, David Murdock.
Tips for us all from Charles Schwab
* Passion is the great slayer of adversity. Focus on strengths and what you enjoy.
* The difference between those who fail and those who succeed is largely perseverance. Never quit.
* Nobody's good in everything. Advantages and disadvantages come in many forms.
* Lend assistance to those who need it. The bootstraps theory is more costly in the long run.
* Great leaders know they don't have all the answers.
* Take advantage of technology that helps compensate for weaknesses.
Del Leonard Jones, a Pulitzer Prize nominee, authored the historical novel, The Cremation of Sam McGee built upon the poem of Robert W. Service. The novel is set in the 1898 heyday of yellow journalism and travels from Cuba to the Yukon. The narrator is a fabricating newspaper reporter working for William Randolph Hearst during the Spanish-American War and Gold Rush. The first chapter is here.
Jones, a leadership expert, has also edited Advice from the Top: 1001 Bits of Business Wisdom. The book focuses on the leadership advice of Fortune 500 CEO's such as Fred Smith of FedEx, but also gets advice from athletes, coaches, entertainers and experts including Julie Scardina.
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