How I Turned My Learning Disabilities Into a Superpower

I person each learning disablement imaginable. ADHD? Check. Dyslexia? Check. Dyscalculia? Check (and I stake you Googled that). For nan first 20 years of my life, I considered these "disabilities" nan anchors that kept maine distant from being successful.

I sucked astatine everything. I was a legit loser, but not nan benignant you deliberation of successful a modern definition. I virtually lost astatine everything. Sports, societal opportunities, tests, really anything. Prom dates? What's that? Sounds fun. Getting your driver's licence astatine property 16? Nah. I elected to get a Nintendo instead.

I was convinced that my inability to focus connected conscionable 1 point would ne'er let maine to dominate.

I was a consecutive C student from 5th people until I graduated college. At slightest I was consistent. I sewage utilized to it, which gave maine nan logic to telephone my champion friend complacency arsenic a kid. Well, complacency and Upper Deck shot cards (when tin I discontinue from my postulation of Ken Griffey Jr. rookie cards?!).

Related: How Leaders Can Support Neurodiverse Talent successful The Workplace

Then, 1 day, I had an epiphany that changed nan trajectory of my full life. I realized that a crowded mind that ne'er shuts disconnected is simply a superpower arsenic agelong arsenic you leverage it properly…and time off just enough room successful location for astatine slightest 1 much thought.

I'll ne'er hide my parents realizing location was thing "different" astir me, particularly erstwhile it was clip for maine to beryllium down and "focus."

It was 1986, and I was a budding six-year-old without entree to a compartment telephone aliases nan Internet. I cognize what you're thinking: nary six-year-old should person a compartment telephone aliases nan Internet. It's really because we were still astir 2 decades distant from compartment phones and nan Internet being a thing.

My parents took maine successful to get "tested" by a caller type of doctor, arsenic they had noticed patterns pinch maine that seemed concerning.

"Rogers, you person ADHD."

Huh? What nan heck is that?

"This intends you are prone to suffer focus, particularly pinch things that don't liking you."

Well, duh.

Maybe my parents should person past uprooted our family from South Texas and moved america to Hollywood truthful I could displacement my attraction to being a kid actor. But we stayed successful Corpus Christi and my 20-year conflict against nan demon of distraction began.

Related: How to Turn Self-Doubt Into a Superpower

From group projects to popular quizzes, I had ZERO individual expectations to excel. No 1 would person ever stake connected me. The extremity was to simply get by, astatine best. I retrieve nan first clip I had to really do a book study — it was a disaster. I was 9 years old, and I took nan book location (it was called 'And Now, Miguel'), and I copied nan book connection for word, and aft astir 17 hours of "work," I handed nan Moby Dick-esque packet to my coach (her sanction was Mrs. Cheshir), and she gave maine nan astir confused look imaginable.

"Oh, a book study intends I really read nan book and past stock my thoughts connected it? I missed that part."

The travel was a difficult one. Along nan way, I decided to adhd different instrumentality to my belt. I called her dyslexia, and she was truthful mean to maine — almost for illustration a bully who ne'er near my side. Reading was already really hard, and now…it's for illustration trying to play Tetris pinch nan letters? Fun. And let's spell up and adhd nan inability to do remotely analyzable mathematics questions successful there.

Related: I Have Dyslexia. And I Became a Successful Entrepreneur. How You Can, Too.

My evenings aft schoolhouse weren't for illustration my friends. Neither were my weekends. Neither were my summers. Tutors, summertime school, and "creative" ways to study were ever hard, and I ne'er saw a glimmer of ray successful nan tunnel.

When I opportunity that I hardly graduated precocious school, I mean it. My friends were expected to triumph astatine everything. Sports, dating, grades, awards, and assemblage acceptance letters. I ne'er moreover considered wanting to beryllium 'something,' arsenic I was utilized to being nan funny feline who would ever ace jokes successful class.

High schoolhouse graduation came, and successful a emblematic Americana moment, our precocious schoolhouse newspaper came retired a mates of weeks earlier graduation pinch nan much-desired database of Senior Superlatives (aka nan 'Most Likely To…' list).

Much to my surprise, my sanction was successful location a fewer times!

1. Most apt unrecorded astatine location aft college
2. Biggest kid successful an big body
3. Most nosy to person people pinch (at this moment, this was my life's top achievement)
4. Most apt to return arsenic a substitute teacher
5. Biggest complainer

Alright, I cognize what you're thinking. I publication that, sewage pissed off, and said to myself, "Self, it's clip really to do thing pinch your life. Quit surviving retired nan life that everyone expects you to, and get retired location and group nan world connected fire."

Much to my surprise, you're right!

The time aft nan dreaded "awards" rumor of nan insubstantial came out, I was playing hoops pinch a group of older guys (my friends person ever been older). I was really embarrassed astir nan insubstantial and told 1 of them thing akin to, "I cognize I'm not going to person bully grades successful college, I person zero hidden talents, and if I ever person to put together a resume, location won't beryllium thing connected location to springiness group a logic to springiness maine nan clip of day."

And then, retired of nowhere, a feline approached me, put his manus disconnected my (sweaty) shoulders, and said thing that changed my life forever.

"Rogers, nan first point you waste is yourself, not your resume."

I was blown away. Does this mean my impressively pathetic grades, deficiency of organized activities, zero achievements, and 10,000+ hours of James Bond connected N64 don't matter?

Well, they did matter, but what really mattered was I was going to beryllium capable to leverage ME. My personality. My interests. My heart. My salesmanship. My gut instincts.

From that moment, I learned really to trust connected myself. I learned that my obstacles could beryllium approached arsenic opportunities. Asking for thief was a gift, and pouring clip into things that I had an liking successful would springiness maine nan chance to person thing I'd ne'er had before.

Self-confidence.

Fast guardant different 20 years, and I americium still moving connected becoming nan champion type of myself. This is pinch my faith, my family and my career. I tin show you a database a mile agelong of nan things that I suck at, but my favourite usage of clip is to hone successful connected nan 1 point I cognize best.

Being myself.