Diagnosed with dyslexia in first grade, he spent years believing he was broken. He tried to hide it, overcompensate, and chase perfection just to keep up. Eventually, he stopped trying to survive with it and chose to lead with it.

Today, he helps dyslexic professionals and entrepreneurs turn self-doubt into confidence, overthinking into clarity, and hesitation into momentum. He teaches what he has lived, not theory. When he speaks, he keeps it real, practical, and actionable so people walk away feeling seen and ready to move.

Willie Blake's Website

Links:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/willieblake-light/

YouTube (Dyslexic Achievers Hub): https://www.youtube.com/@DyslexicAchieversHub

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/willieblake_light/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/WillieBlake.Light/

Community: https://coachwillieblake.com/community

Website: https://coachwillieblake.com

Welcome to 12 Minute Converse with Jesus Believers.

God chose first to have a conversation with us, his creation.

Our prayer is that this listening space brings growth and transforms your life forever.

Good morning, Coach Willie Blake.

Praise God for you.

God bless.

I'm excited that we got this time to have this conversation.

Yeah, definitely.

One of the things that really came through in your story is where you took something that was a challenge.

I guess you used what was in your hand, yeah, and you made it into something to your benefit, not just for yourself, but to help others.

What was that journey like?

Yeah, so the big thing was this thing called dyslexia that came up to me.

And it was a challenge throughout it, just for those who don't know, reading, writing, speaking, and spelling.

Having a difficult time with that is called dyslexia.

So growing up, it just felt like this challenge, and that's what I saw it as.

As something that was holding me back, this thing that I didn't have control over.

That it was just something that was given to me and I'd have the rest of my life.

About halfway through college, I saw it in a different light and thought, you know, what actually is it?

And I saw the good stuff of creativity, communication, empathy, perspective.

And so then I got to decide, do I want to focus on the bad side of it, or I want to focus on the good side?

Because they're both going to be there regardless.

And I chose to focus on the good.

Who did you learn that ability from?

Was it your parents or grandparents to be able to break things up into smaller pieces and then attack?

From my mom.

She got her master's degree in finance, and she's like this well-educated individual, and she chose to be my mom.

She chose to be a stay-at-home mom.

And so she was just a prime example of that.

Anytime we went through stuff, she would always share the silver lining of it.

Anytime a hard thing happened, she didn't yell, she didn't curse, none of that.

She just had that smile on her face and said, okay, let's do what we can.

And so it really brought into that perspective of no matter what's going on, just be a light, continue to share it, put a smile through the pain, and everything will be okay.

Wow.

Even with what she did from the perspective of empathy you mentioned earlier on, how important is that as you're working with people with dyslexia?

Very important, because so many people feel that they aren't worthy.

They don't feel like, they always feel like they're behind, that something's wrong with them.

Even though they didn't choose it, they feel like something's wrong.

And so being able to come at it and say, hey, instead of like what a lot of people tend to do, which is, hey, I coach you, and I teach you, and I give you these systems to do, I take a little bit of different routes with the empathy side of saying, let's just start from finding common ground.

Like, let me share with you, and you share with me, and we just become friends together of, you know, we've both been through this.

And now that we've both been through this, we can put our hand on each other's shoulders and walk it together.

What part of the U.S. are you currently residing in?

I'm in Idaho area.

Have you seen a difference with states, for example, and working with someone, and the influences that make them at some point bitter because they have dyslexia?

For example, big city, yeah?

Big city versus country.

Yeah, a slight difference, for sure, because in the city, you're wanting to talk fast, you're wanting to get things done.

That's where like the big tech companies are, and any job that you have, usually it's just like very fast-paced, where with dyslexics, it's hard to go fast-paced sometimes, because it just deals with the way that we process information.

And because it takes us a little bit longer to process information, obviously, anything where you just need a snap, quick answer can really harm a person, mentally and emotionally.

But then like in the suburbs, it's a little bit slower that we take our time and we do things right the first time, no matter how long it takes.

And so that environment just helps out to really give the time for them to process the information.

So there's a little difference, yeah.

It feels as though listening to your voice, tremendous compassion, right?

I know we spoke of empathy, but it just feels as though the compassion that you have for others, it extends past just realizing that, hey, I was dyslexic, and there are challenges that goes with that.

So is there a spiritual side that supports this version of who you are today?

Yeah, it's supported me my entire life.

So I'm Christian, specifically the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.

And I've been there my entire life, having a relationship with God and Jesus.

And it's just been like, man, my whole thing is about giving light to people.

And I haven't been able to put words to it until the last couple of years.

But if you think of it like an acronym of love, inspiration, gratitude, hope, and then T for time, that's all we truly have.

Like that.

I live that.

I live that every single day.

Because I want to see the light in people's eyes, when they are in that that darkness, most of the darkness can be what we've been talking about the challenges, the obstacles.

That when they're in that darkness, it's hard to be able to see even a flicker of hope.

But having someone else be a light, and that's the reason why we're not just one person on this planet.

It's that we're that we have people around us to help each other out.

And just all of that put together, I want to be that light, that beacon for other people, or at least reflect what I can from my Savior.

But just, just help people out genuinely, compassionately, I just have the biggest heart for having humans feel that joy.

For those who connect with what you're saying, what's the best way for them to connect with you?

Yeah, best way to connect with me is my website, coach willie blake.com.

And there you'll be able to find all my social links as well as ways to work one on one.

What's on the horizon for you?

Yeah, horizon is getting more content out there on LinkedIn and YouTube.

I realized that I love being able to read stories.

And being able to express that through written content, like on LinkedIn, is something that I feel like I've missed.

But then even more specifically, with YouTube, being able to create content for people, because dyslexia is a taboo topic.

It's not something that you really know, you don't go up to your friend and be like, yo, you dyslexic.

It's just not something you talk about.

And so being able to take have content out there when people are doom scrolling, they come across one of my videos, that's just find light hearted me poking fun at dyslexia, which I can because I'm dyslexic.

And just like really, really normalizing that, hey, we got this thing, we sometimes struggle with writing, we sometimes read things backwards.

But hey, that's all right.

We just do what works for us.

And being able to help people realize that they aren't broken.

They're just different.

And that difference is what makes them the amazing person that they are.

I want more people to see that.

If I'm listening to this podcast, and I'm dyslexic, and I'm thinking, how do I even really know that that's what I should label my challenge as what would be an indicator?

Yeah, there's, there's a difference between what I think of as diagnosis and labeling.

I think diagnosis is all right for people to have, if they want to have that.

But labeling it as it I don't think is as important, because it's really just like what works for you?

Do you learn through music, reading, listening, watching videos?

Do you like hands on experience?

Are you more just watching people, like it really comes back to, to like their learning style and what they do?

But for the people who are just like, maybe I do have it?

Do you feel overwhelmed?

Whenever you have a task at hand, you're like, I don't even know what the first step is?

Or do you feel like as you are communicating with somebody, you just keep going in these circles, trying to land the plane, but you still can't land that plane in the right way, because you want to finish perfectly, the presentation or the speech or the conversation.

When you are reading or writing, or speaking, does it feel like it's a little bit slower, and that instead of going from like point A to point B, you have to go from point A to point C to D to Q to R, and then finally back to B.

If any of those are indications or resonated, then those would be some of the ways where you're just like, hey, I might have this thing called dyslexia.

Amazing audience again, Willie Blake, coach Willie Blake, which WillieBlake.com is where you can get and we'll definitely have that link in there.

Hey, this has been a pleasure, one I treasure.

In closing, is there anything else you'd like to share?

Just just realize that the your difference is what makes you unique.

And that's your greatest advantage.

Love that.

Coach Willie Blake, thank you for being what has inspired my 12 night convoys.