Payton grew up in a household that encouraged reading regularly, but he struggled and showed little improvement despite encouragement from his parents. When he was in second grade he was tested and diagnosed with dyslexia. With the diagnosis came anxiety, and Payton began to worry that his peers would discover his learning disorder. After battling with a lack of self-confidence in his academic abilities he began receiving help from a tutor and learned strategies to overcome the challenges of dyslexia. For example, he found that when a concept is explained visually, he understands it more than if it were explained verbally.

Payton’s strong visual learning skills contribute to his success in his basketball career. Payton and his mother would watch recordings of old games and break down the plays together. Now Payton incorporates the strategies he learned from the recordings into his own play and his skills eventually landed him a spot on the Golden State Warriors roster – a well deserved success after a multitude of academic and athletic rejections. Payton admits that he still struggles with self-doubt, worrying that he is not good or smart enough. Living with dyslexia has taught him to capitalize on his strengths and to develop strategies to overcome weaknesses, two important skills that apply to every area of life.

Read more about Gary Payton’s career and challenges with dyslexia here.