Advertisement

Dyslexia is the secret to my success, says Sir Richard Branson

Amanda Killelea
·Contributor, Yahoo Life UK
·2-min read
Sir Richard Branson says his dyslexia helped him build his business. (REUTERS)
Sir Richard Branson says his dyslexia helped him build his business. (REUTERS)

Sir Richard Branson believes his dyslexia diagnosis helped him build his billionaire business empire.

Speaking to Phillip Schofield and Holly Willoughby on This Morning, the boss of the Virgin empire said his dyslexia had enabled him to delegate and appreciate the skills of others.

Branson, worth an estimated £4billion, was appearing via video chat to discuss his work with the charity Made by Dyslexia who are collaborating with LinkedIn to help reposition dyslexia as a strength not a weakness.

Watch now: Sir Richard Branson says dyslexia diagnosis has helped him become successful

Read more: Sir Richard Branson beats Jeff Bezos into space

Just before he wrapped up the interview, Schofield asked: ‘Do you think you would have been as successful had you not been dyslexic?’ to which Branson disagreed.

"It’s enabled me to be a really good delegator for instance," he replied.

"Which I think is a very important skill of a leader. It’s enabled me to look for the best in people and really appreciate their skills.

"And to be honest, if I hadn’t decided to leave school at 15, the rest wouldn’t have happened," he added.

Read more: Aphasia explained: The truth about Bruce Willis' health condition

Sir Richard Branson believes dyslexia should be seen as a strength not a weakness. (Getty Images)
Sir Richard Branson believes dyslexia should be seen as a strength not a weakness. (Getty Images)

Read more: Loose Women's Sophie Morgan 'doesn't live with regret' after crash that paralysed her

The billionaire tycoon has previously stated that the disorder – a learning difficulty that mainly causes problems with reading, writing, and spelling – has helped him "think out of the box", and called for today’s curriculum to become "more relevant to everybody".

"My education happened in the real world, and I guess that does say something about education generally, it’s not just for dyslexic people," he said.

Other successful dyslexics include Henry Ford, Steve Jobs and Thomas Edison.

Branson has said in the past that the business world gets too caught up in facts and figures, whereas his dyslexia has helped him to "think big but keep the messages simple."

Watch now: Richard Branson is first billionaire to blast into space