I didn't only have a perceptual problem, I was also so nervous and so upset. The process just didn't work. I lost enthusiasm for school and I flunked second grade. The teachers said I was lazy.
The biggest problem with dyslexic kids is not the perceptual problem, it is their perception of themselves. That was my biggest problem.
It's one of the hardest things in life - choosing your own name.
I was growing up in the 50's and 60's. Back then they didn't even know what dyslexia was.
Sometimes I feel so separated, you know? The Kardashians over here, the Jenners over here, little me in the middle. We've got to keep the family going.
It's about working when nobody's watching.
We have a rich tradition here in the United States of great decathletes, which is amazing 'cause we have absolutely no program to develop these guys. Zero. There's nothing. They do it on their own, just like I did back in '76.
Life wasn't easy growing up; it was frustrating. If I had been a better reader, then that would have come easily, sports would have come easily, everything would have come easily, and I never would have realized that the way you get ahead in life is hard work.
I want to dress well. I want to look good.
Decathletes have to train for every event: sprints one day, field events the next. You pump up to make yourself strong enough to throw? Try pole vaulting at 250 pounds. There are 32 guys in most decathlons, and they're in 32 little track meets.
I have always actually been with and attracted to very strong women, and I think I've learned a lot from them.
My greatest gift in life was being dyslexic. It made me special. It made me different. If I had not been dyslexic, I wouldn't have needed sports.
I always thought everybody else was better than me.