Billionaire Charles Schwab reflects on his failures in writing and reading, but credits his strengths with allowing him to succeed in business and the creation of a new financial service.

From USA Today:

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. Most people get meaning in an automated way.

Now that I'm older and focused on investments and economics, I can see some words and concepts clearly. I don't have to go through the slow manipulation in my mind. But 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 such as point and click. Literacy is a fairly new thing for the human race. We've been around thousands of years. Literacy has only been around for a couple of hundred.

Q: How did you ever graduate from Stanford University?

A: I majored in economics. The first two years I struggled because there were so many subjects. I flunked English twice. They just 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."


http://www.usatoday.com/money/companies/management/2003-11-10-schwab_x.htm