Everybody is a genius in their own wonderful way

Everybody is a genius. But if you judge a fish by its ability to climb a tree, it will live its whole life believing that it is stupid.

Albert Einstein is often credited with this wonderful quote, but it may have come from a variety of different sources. It takes all sorts of people with all sorts of talents and skills to create positive things in the world.

This message also feels particularly true for dyslexics, and everyone with neurodiversity. When they realise their unique abilities, they become unstoppable (and can even swim upstream). This is certainly what happened to me. I spent most of my childhood being told by teachers that I was dumb or lazy. In reality, I was dyslexic. What I lacked in spelling and maths skills, I made up for in creativity, intuition and problem solving. I just wish I had realised it sooner!

This is why we work with Made By Dyslexia to help dyslexics – or gamechangers, as I think of us – to embrace their skills. We also want to support the education system and help businesses to grasp the potential of dyslexic thinking, and learn how to harness it. We launched the second phase of our Dyslexic Thinking campaign this week, which showcases these skills loud and clear.

When it comes to education – the illustration below sums up how unfair it can be so perfectly. It’s foolish to judge everybody by the same set of metrics, without considering their unique strengths.

Everyone should be allowed to pursue their own interests and develop their own strengths, and this should start at school. Just because we are not so great in certain areas, we shouldn’t be made to feel inferior or bad about ourselves. Our differences should be celebrated and embraced, not stifled.

We all shine more when we are given the freedom to do what we love,  and when we find our unique talents.