Thankful month

As suggested by my wife, I am going to do a daily post all month long about something I am thankful for.
Today I am thankful for a wife who always has good suggestions and is always looking for ways to help me in my personal and business life!

Perfect in my imperfection, and still working on it!

If you have spent any time reading my blog or my newsletter, it will be no surprise to you when I say I have a bit of a challenge when it comes to spelling and grammar. If you are someone who politely says to yourself, "Why does Dino use two "n's" in finnish?" or "I can't believe he just spelled 'weather' instead of 'whether'" or "Does he not know there is a thing called 'Spell Check?" You, my friends, are not alone! It drives Shannon crazy sometimes. It's gotten to the point I’m not supposed to send out a post or newsletter without her getting a chance to proof it first. The challenge comes when she is not around and I don't want to spend the entire day waiting to get her approval.

Most of you have been very nice just to put up with it to this point. Some have not and made sure they pointed out the "unprofessionalism" it shows. One person wrote me just to tell me I sounded ignorant and was going to opt-out of my news letter. Sure that stung a bit, but I quickly "built a bridge and got over it"! (see previous blog entry).

For years I blamed it on my family genes, where there is definitely a lot of evidence to back me up. Both my parents, my older brother and younger sister are terrible spellers. This was definitely a concern as I started to have my own kids. I did not want them to get that gene! I did have hope in the fact that Shannon was a great speller. However, I must admit, I wasn't the most disciplined student in school.

It wasn't until this last summer that my eyes were opened up to what the true cause might be. My son, Hayden, was having a few struggles in school with spelling, reading and math. Because Shannon home schooled the kids for the last two years, she was able to get a firsthand look at the challenge. She started to suspect he might have a learning challenge. After some researching, and eventually testing, we discovered that my son has dyslexia.

During her research on the subject, Shannon would tell me about some of the questions and warning signs. I was shocked at how many of the symptoms I could easily relate to. I have joked for all my life that I had dyslexia, usually to cover up an embarrassing public display of misspelling. But it was just a joke, or so I thought. The more we learned about it, the more we realized I had some level of it as well. I had just learned, as many undiagnosed dyslexics do, to cope with it and find ways around it. One of the most important focuses we had with Hayden was not to make him feel less than he is. He knows he has dyslexia and what it is. More importantly, he knows what it is not. Most dyslexics are highly gifted in other areas, especially oral skills, creativity and relationships. He definitely excels in these areas, and we are focusing on developing his strengths as well as working on his weaknesses. He knows it is something he can overcome. With the right tools, he can become a great speller, reader and writer; and that this imperfection does not make him any less perfect. This was a lesson for me as well.

As I write and create, I do my very best to give from my heart. My hope is the message I am trying to share comes through to you despite my spelling and grammar errors. Consider my misspelling and incorrect use of grammar a object lesson for life: If you spend your time looking for all the negative, wrong or incorrect things in life, there is little doubt you will have a problem finding them. Unfortunately for you, and those in your life, you also miss out on all the wonderful messages along the way.

My challenge to you this week is to find perfection in the imperfection of your life.