I was growing up in the 50's and 60's. Back then they didn't even know what dyslexia was.

It caused more problems as a young kid, because the simple process of perceiving words on a piece of paper was hard for me. Many people think dyslexic people see things backwards. They don't see things backwards.

The biggest problem with dyslexic kids is not the perceptual problem, it is their perception of themselves. That was my biggest problem.

If you are a kid, reading is really important stuff.

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.

First of all, I try to be a positive role model.

I thought everybody else was doing much better than I was.

I always felt that my greatest asset was not my physical ability, it was my mental ability.

The truth is everybody does it from time to time. People dial telephone numbers and they get a wrong number only to find that they've read the last two digits backwards. Everybody does it, but dyslexics have this tendency to a higher degree.

If you're asking your kids to exercise, then you better do it, too. Practice what you preach.

If I wasn't dyslexic, I probably wouldn't have won the Games. If I had been a better reader, then that would have come easily, sports would have come easily... and I never would have realized that the way you get ahead in life is hard work.

If you are dyslexic, your eyes work fine, your brain works fine, but there is a little short circuit in the wire that goes between the eye and the brain. Reading is not a fluid process.

When the time comes for your brain to process the information, the second word comes up faster than the first one. So when it's in your head, all of a sudden, it comes out backwards and you think of the word backwards.

Our mission for younger people is to do our best to make exercise cool, hip - the thing to do.

We put so much pressure on kids to excel in school at such a young age.

I still have nightmares about taking tests.

Nobody has milked one performance better than me - and I'm damned proud of it.

I learned that the only way you are going to get anywhere in life is to work hard at it. Whether you're a musician, a writer, an athlete or a businessman, there is no getting around it. If you do, you'll win - if you don't, you won't.

If you're going to dedicate every second to winning the decathlon, what are you doing wasting your time in bed?

Start early and begin raising the bar throughout the day.

I was growing up in the 50's and 60's. Back then they didn't even know what dyslexia was.

I spent twelve years training for a career that was over in a week. Joe Namath spent one week training for a career that lasted twelve years.

Waving the flag at the 1976 Olympics wasn't my idea. It was too much apple pie and ice cream. Not that I don't love my country, but I felt it was my victory up there, I put all the time into it.

The biggest problem with dyslexic kids is not the perceptual problem it is their perception of themselves.That was my biggest problem.

You have to train your mind like you train your body.

If I had to come up with something that just came to me, I think growing up in a small town, I want knowledge. I still think today, knowledge is one of the keys.

I didn't know I was a conservative when it didn't matter to me growing up.

My interests were in fantasy more than comics growing up.

The turning point in the process of growing up is when you discover the core of strength within you that survives all hurt.

Growing up in Hollywood it seemed like every kid was the child of some star. We had no idea that other people would think we were special, because there was no other lifestyle to compare it to.

For me, the great problem growing up in England was that I had a very narrow concept of what God can be, and it was damn close to an old man with a beard.

David and Dad didn't get along too well growing up. I mean we all got along, but it was harder on David, because David wasn't going to be the son that Dad wanted. But now they're like best friends.

My lyrics come from my experiences growing up in life, trying to find out and express who I am. That's basically it. I'm not trying to be a prophet or anything like that. I'm just reflecting on life.

I was born in 1961. Now I think the 16 years that elapsed between 1961 and the end of the wars is nothing. To a child growing up it felt like an eternity, an entirely different world.

I was growing up listening to Queen. Freddie Mercury threw those incredible melodies into his songs.

Although I was not aware of it at the time, the experience of growing up during the Great Depression was to have a profound impact on my intellectual and professional career.

Growing up, mostly in Montreal, I was an only child of loving parents.

I was a very observant child. The boys in my books are based on boys in my neighborhood growing up.

I don't mind snakes. Growing up in South Africa there were a couple a snakes around... and I'm not talking just about the government!

Growing up in public is especially hard sometimes.

You get used to sadness, growing up in the mountains, I guess.

I had a really bad temper, when I was growing up. Sport helped me channel that temper into more positive acts.

I think it would be very scary and very confusing if I didn't understand where people are coming from, but I've felt the exact same way for so many other bands, growing up. It's not really a big deal.

I don't think I ever set my goals that high. As a kid growing up I just wanted an opportunity to race and to be able to make a living doing it. It just came together.

I think the obvious answer is I was raised in New York City, so growing up, not only myself but my family, like my father, we would watch a lot of Scorsese films.

My father is a real idealist, and he's all about learning. If I asked for a pair of Nikes growing up, it was just a resounding 'No.' But if I asked for a saxophone, one would appear and next day and I'd be signed up for lessons. So anything to do with education or learning, my father would spare no expense.

Absolutely the worst thing about this job is the travel and being away from family. I have a wife and three wonderful children, the kids are all active in sports and it's very difficult to up and leave and miss them growing up.

There are things about growing up in a small town that you can't necessarily quantify.

I have the power of my height. Growing up, it was a total drawback. There was nothing good about it at all.