5.2 We challenge the status quo

The second reason why dyslexics make powerful changemakers is we challenge the status quo. The Dyslexic Thinking skill of Exploring. Dyslexics feel injustice deeply. We are not content to accept how the world is. Instead, we imagine how it could be and we become fearless campaigners who positively disrupt the status quo.

Our Dyslexic Thinking skill of Exploring means we are good at asking the right questions that no one else is asking, like 'What if?' and 'Why not?'. We use our courage, persistence and determination to change something and right a wrong. What helps us along the way is our high levels of emotional intelligence and empathy, the sense of wanting to help people. We’re often motivated by a strong sense of social justice and equality.

Inspirational activist, Erin Brockovich, was a single mum and a file clerk secretary at an American law firm, who used her Dyslexic Thinking to take on the might of a utility company whose use of carcinogenic chemicals were poisoning residents in a nearby town of Hinkley in California. Even when she was told to drop her case, her determination to challenge the status quo and right a wrong drove her to persist and win a settlement of $333 million for more than 600 residents. It was the largest direct action lawsuit in US history.

She went on to become an environmental activist and continues to fight cases worldwide. For Erin it all started when her boss asked her to open a new file for a real estate case. But when she found blood tests and health information mixed into the file, she began to ask questions nobody else was asking that ultimately led her to uncover a health scandal. Let's hear from Erin as she explains what led her to question the status quo.

He brought in an archive box and he said, 'Do you know how to open a new case file?', and I'm like, 'Sure do'. I hadn’t a clue, not a clue what I was doing. So I started going through the box. I wanted to know what was in it. I was curious, I didn't want to lose my job. I was going to have to bluff my way out of this one. So I started reading everything. But lucky me, all these blood tests were done in a bar graph, visual. I'm like, 'Ooh'. So I could clearly see the red line running straight off the paper and I'm like, 'Ooh, what is wrong with these people?' Then when I was looking at their name and address, male, female, their age, they were children. I'm like, 'Wow, now if these were my kids, I would want to know what the hell this means'.

So I started looking up t-cells, red cells, lymphocytes, looking at comparative numbers. And everything was leading me to disease or cancer. And I'm like, 'This is weird'. So I asked Ed if I could go out there. Nobody wanted me to go out there. Everybody thought, she's not going to use a timecard, she's going to cheat on the time, and, de, de, de, de, da. I can't believe I just did that, 'De, de, de, de, da', because that's how mad they make me.

So when I went to Hinkley, the minute I got out of my car and stood on the ground, I could feel it. It was like screaming at me. I'm looking at trees that have this, the tamarisk trees, this white, goopy, honey substance coming out of them. I'm like, that is really weird. and I'm like, 'What would be causing this?' I'm like, 'Oh my God, it's the water, it’s the water. What happened to the water?' And that's what set me off on my whole journey in the big PG&E lawsuit.

You were fearless. Most people would not have taken on such a massive organisation. Where do you think that comes from? Not being frightened to challenge the status quo in such a huge way.

Because I didn't care if I was wrong. I’m okay if I'm wrong, I can accept if I'm wrong. But what if I was right? What then? This PG&E, who were you anyway? Who are any of us? This was human health and life at stake. The environment, the water, the ecosystem, the people's babies, their health, their future. I don't care who you are. I’m going to stand my ground and I will never change that. I don't know if it's called morality, I don't know if it's called principle. Sometimes I think we get off course, but if there was anything worth fighting for and you were going to beat me up over it, I was going to choose this fight. And I'll do it every time.

Having the courage to ask the right questions, being persistent and not taking no for an answer was key in Erin’s fight for the truth and ultimately in her ability to change the world for the people of Hinkley. Having the courage to stand by your convictions, despite huge pressure to do otherwise, was key to Muhammad Ali too when he refused to go into the Vietnam War. Let’s hear from his wife, Lonnie Ali.

Who would have the presence of mind to do something like Muhammad did? Standing up to the government and saying, 'I'm not going'. And I should tell you that a deal had been worked out prior to his scheduled induction in Houston into the army, that if he went into the army, that he would never have to fight, like pick up a gun, but he would do exhibitions, entertain the troops. But Muhammad so much despised the idea of war and killing people, he wouldn't even accept that because he felt like he would still be promoting a war where people would be killed.

And he just couldn't be a part of that. And even though that influence, or that encouragement to accept that was coming from people who were managing him, people who were close to him, he said 'No, I'm not doing it, I’m not going. If I have to go to jail, I'll do that'.

Having the courage to stand up for what you believe in is the first step in creating change. And one which Muhammad Ali encouraged others to do too through his legacy at The Muhammad Ali Center in Kentucky. And for anyone interested in creating change, I would encourage you all to visit, it is really incredible.

But for many dyslexic changemakers, challenging the status quo and saying what needs to be said is about having the courage to speak truth to power, whatever the cost. To hold up a mirror to injustice and challenge what needs to be challenged. That is certainly what The Elders do, the group formed by dyslexic thinkers, Richard Branson with Jean Oelwang, to challenge the status quo and create powerful change at a global level. The founding members included Nelson Mandela, Desmond Tutu, Mary Robinson and many other global statespeople.

Let’s hear from Princess Sarah Zeid, an incredible changemaker in her own right, an advocate for maternal and newborn health around the world. Her husband, Prince Zeid, is an Elder.

The original idea behind it of having individuals who have served in whatever capacity, with tremendous principle and courage and have used their voices for the people that needed it the most, or the communities or the issues that were not necessarily going to make them popular, but really needed the things that needed to be said, the issues that needed to be pushed, is magnificent.

I think one of the big problems today is that we exist in a world where nobody likes to have the mirror held up. And so for The Elders they have to have tremendous courage to be able to hold that mirror up to the world leaders of today, to the industries that are polluting and exploiting and so on, and to try to make real change happen. And there is certainly an awful lot of work for them to do.

An incredible group of people challenging the status quo and creating powerful global change.

Here are three key takeaways from this section. Dyslexics make powerful changemakers because we are not afraid to challenge the status quo. We use our Dyslexic Thinking skill of Exploring to ask questions no one else is asking. We are fearless campaigners who have the courage to stand up for what we believe in, even in the face of pressure.