A Morning Walk, a Podcast, and a Powerful Reminder About Success

This morning, I went for my usual walk. The sun had just started to warm the winter air, magpies were warbling in the gum trees, and I had Lewis Howes' - School of Greatness podcast playing in my ears, as I so often do. He’s incredibly inspiring.

And then Lewis said something that stopped me in my tracks.
Literally.
I stopped walking. 🛑

Lewis, who grew up with dyslexia, was talking about school. About how, for years, he sat in classrooms feeling dumb. About being ranked at the bottom of his class every semester. About the way that grade card seemed to confirm a painful lie, that he wasn’t smart enough, and would never amount to anything.

He said:

“I never broke out of the bottom four in my class… It was just always this, like, defeating moment. It was like, man, I am the dumbest kid in this class.”

“I almost flunked out of English. It just felt like, man, am I ever going to be able to amount to anything in life because I’m so stupid in school?”

I stood there, under a eucalyptus tree, listening to his words. And I felt such a rush of emotion.

Because I know those kids.
I see those kids.
Every. Single. Week.

I see them in the children who walk through our clinic doors. I hear it in their parents’ voices, their weariness, their heartbreak. The kids who feel like failures, not because they aren’t capable, but because school keeps telling them they’re not. Kids who are bright, curious, imaginative, and funny… but whose confidence is crumbling because reading and spelling just don’t come easily.

But then Lewis said something else.

He said his success (he’s now a bestselling author, podcast host, and multimillionaire) had nothing to do with how well he could read or spell.

“It wasn’t until later in life that I realised it’s actually not about being smart. It’s about being kind, about being generous. And the key to successful relationships is being a generous listener. Being open. Being vulnerable.” Lewis said.

💛 This is the message I wish every child with dyslexia could hear.
💛 This is the truth I want every parent to hold on to when they feel overwhelmed.

Because yes, reading and spelling matter. And yes, in my Navigating Dyslexia course, we talk a lot about how to support those skills.

But we also talk about confidence, emotional wellbeing, and self-advocacy. We talk about how to nurture your child’s belief in themselves, especially when the world is telling them they’re not measuring up.

The truth is, your child’s future success isn’t going to hinge on their spelling test scores.

It’s going to come from their resilience.
Their kindness.
Their ability to connect with others.
Their belief that they matter and have something to offer the world.

And that belief? It starts at home. With you. 💛

So if you’re a parent feeling the weight of this journey, feeling like everything depends on fixing the reading right now, please know this:

You are already doing the most powerful thing of all.

You’re showing up.
You’re advocating.
You’re helping your child feel seen and supported.

And that’s where greatness begins.

P.S. If this resonates, I highly recommend listening to Lewis Howes School of Greatness. 

P.P.S. If you’d like to know more about how you can foster that confidence, emotional wellbeing, and self-advocacy in your child, check out Navigating Dyslexia.