By Brady Rhoades
Name association: Magic Johnson. What comes to mind?
Showman, the way he dazzled Lakers fans at the Fabulous Forum in the 1980s?
Champion? After all, he did win five NBA titles.
HIV?
Olympian? Who can forget his Olympic gold medal with the Dream Team?
Business mogul? He’s worth $1.2 billion, according to Forbes.
Whatever your answer, it’s probably not disability or disorder, but it could be. He’s dyslexic.
People with dyslexia have difficulty reading because they don’t process the sounds and sights of language in a typical way, according to The Yale Center For Dyslexia & Creativity. Dyslexia is the most common of all neuro-cognitive disorders, affecting about 20% of the population.
Those with dyslexia are often labeled as “slow,” and that stigma can cause social and psychological trauma. But, dyslexia occurs at all levels of intelligence, according to The Yale Center, and dyslexic people are often fast and creative thinkers. With effort, they can become functional readers.
“The looks, the stares, the giggles,” Johnson told the University of Michigan’s Dyslexia Help program, recalling his school days. “I wanted to show that I could do better and also that I could read.”
Work Ethic
The lessons his parents taught him about working hard proved a big help. Both worked two and sometimes three jobs.
“And so my father instilled that work ethic in me early on as a little boy,” Johnson said, as keynote speaker at the Evolve 2019 event. “I remember one day, you know, as a kid—it’s probably 10 below. A lot of snow in Lansing, Michigan. It’s cold out there, man. I did not want to be out there trying to get this trash out of this ice and put it on the truck, man. And so I did the job halfway. I jumped in that cabin in that truck, and I’m sitting here being warm, you know.
“By the time I got to feeling good about myself being warm, my father opened up that door, man, and he grabbed me. And man, you know how the fathers be strong. And he just took me through that; he’s dragging me through that snow. We got to the barrel. And he said, ‘Listen, son, if you do this job halfway, everything in life, you’re going to do halfway. You going to study halfway. You’re going to practice basketball halfway.’ He said, ‘I want you to go get that shovel. Break up that ice and get that trash out of that ice and put it on the truck like you’re supposed to do.’ That’s when my life changed. I became a perfectionist.”
Earvin Johnson, 65, husband to Cookie and father to three children, was born and raised in Lansing, Michigan. His father, Earvin Sr., and mother, Christine, were blue collar to the bone.
Johnson thrived at basketball from a young age and developed a singular focus: play (and star) in the NBA. He did not excel in academics because he struggled with reading. His social skills, however, were A+. So was his leadership, which served him and his classmates well when he was bussed to predominantly-white Everett High School as part of a national movement to integrate schools.
“The first week, there was fighting every day,” Johnson said at a business conference. “The fourth week, the principal got on the bus and said, ‘Earvin Johnson, come to my office.’ Our best white football player was in the office, too. The first thing he said was, ‘Earvin Johnson, you’re going to stop the Black kids from fighting.’ And then he turned to the other [kid] and said, ‘You’re going to stop all the white kids from fighting.’ And I said, ‘No, no, I just got here,’ and the principal said, ‘They’ll listen to you.’ The fighting stopped.”
The 6-feet-9 inch point guard was recruited by hundreds of universities offering scholarships and chose to attend Michigan State University where, as a sophomore, he made All-America and led the Spartans to a national title with a victory over the Larry Bird-led Indiana State Sycamores. Thirty-five million viewers watched Magic battle Bird in the most famous college basketball game ever.
The NBA
The Los Angeles Lakers drafted Magic as the No. 1 pick. He led the Lakers to an NBA championship in his rookie campaign, scoring 42 points in the clinching game against the Philadelphia 76ers.
He signed a $25 million contract in 1981—unheard of at the time—and captained the Lakers to five titles while earning three MVP awards and making 12 all-star games.
In 1991, he learned he was HIV positive, but he remained hopeful despite the fact that HIV/AIDS was the second leading cause of death to those ages 25-44, according to the Centers for Disease Control.
At a Nov. 7, 1991 press conference at which reporters wept, he stated, “I’m going to go on, I’m going to beat it and I’m going to have fun.” He said he would become an AIDS activist, raising awareness and money and teaching children that “no sex is the safest sex.”
Leave it to Magic Johnson, just days after learning he had HIV, to talk about fun. That’s the charismatic part of his personality. Another side—blue collar, grind away—could be seen in his day-to-day commitment to following doctors’ orders. He took his medications, exercised and made sure to get rest (not his strong suit).
About a year after the announcement about HIV, Johnson co-starred with Bird, Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley on the 1992 Dream Team, which won Olympics gold in Barcelona.
For millions, everything changed in 1995, when an anti-HIV antiretroviral drug was approved by the FDA. That led to combination treatments (a so-called “cocktail” of drugs) that greatly lengthened the lifespan of patients with HIV and AIDS. Treatment continued to improve.
Thirty-three years after announcing that he was carrying the virus, Johnson is healthy. He continues to approach every day like it’s a gift, though, having transitioned from a professional athlete to a business tycoon. He’s a co-owner of the Los Angeles Dodgers and Washington Commanders, among other investment ventures.
Entrepreneur & Philanthropist
“While his investments in the sports space garner the most attention, Johnson has assembled a diversified portfolio through his investment company Magic Johnson Enterprises,” according to the business publication Boardroom. “That includes restaurant franchises and movie theaters. Johnson is also an avid real estate investor.”
Johnson formed the Magic Johnson Foundation in 1991 with the following mission: “The Magic Johnson Foundation develops programs and supports community-based organizations that address the educational, health and social needs of ethnically diverse, urban communities.” The foundation has raised millions for beneficiaries in Los Angeles and beyond.
It might be his most difference-making accomplishment, sparked by his connection to his humble roots and a lifetime habit of assisting others. Because he knows what it’s like to need a team.
Picture him in, say, 1967, confused and embarrassed when teachers asked him to read out loud. Too ashamed to ask for help in deciphering what it was that teachers were writing on blackboards. And without resources to tackle a problem that could have set him back his entire life.
This is a common story among dyslexic people. It helped when “dyslexia” was included in the 1980 DSM (Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders). Now, there is awareness, and there are resources and treatments. There’s no magic to managing dyslexia, but there is persistence. For information and help regarding dyslexia, here are three, among many, websites: childmind.org, healthline.com and dyslexia.yale.edu.
For anyone who thinks the disorder is a failure sentence, consider that Tom Cruise is dyslexic. So is billionaire tycoon Richard Branson. Albert Einstein struggled with a learning disorder.
“Words and language, as they are written or spoken, do not seem to apply any role in my mechanism of thought,” Einstein wrote in 1945.
On the court, Magic was not a great shooter, so he worked on it, eventually improving while continuing to maximize his strengths. That MO proved valuable in the world of finance.
“Because of my dyslexia, I’m a visual person. I can see things that other people may not see, and that’s been a big advantage in business.”
And when those make-or-break moments in the game of life come along, he is prepared. He’s been the victor too many times to count, and do you know what he calls that?
“Winning time.”
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