How young entrepreneur Levi beat his bullies and became one of Scott Pape’s Barefoot Kids
No one is laughing at inspiring youngster Levi anymore after he started a business helping others with dyslexia and his success has earned him a place in Scott Pape’s new book.
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Today, I’m going to show you how a kid rose up and beat his bullies.
Levi, 10 years old, was about to have the worst day of his life.
“Come up to the front and read to the class, Levi”, instructed his teacher.
He froze …
You see, Levi has dyslexia, which makes reading really difficult.
He could hear some of the kids in his class starting to laugh. After trying to get a few words out, he slunk back to his chair and put his head down so he couldn’t see the other kids.
After class, a group of boys cornered him:
“Why can’t you read? What’s wrong with you?”
Levi just stared at them.
“You are so dumb!” teased one of the boys, and then everyone burst out laughing.
But the next day in class something weird happened.
His teacher brought in a plastic ruler that had a blue see-through slit in the middle. Levi had never seen anything like it. She called it a ‘reading ruler’, and it worked like a moving highlighter, helping Levi focus on reading one line at a time.
It was the first thing that had ever really helped Levi read. So that night he rushed home and told his mum the good news.
Levi wanted a reading ruler of his very own, so he googled it. There was only one problem: different colours work better for different kids. And Levi couldn’t find the one he needed.
Frustrated, he turned to his mum and said, “I should get some reading rulers made and sell them to other kids who find reading hard like me”.
And so for the next six months Levi would come home from school and work on his business.
After searching online for ages, he tracked down a factory in China that made reading rulers. He ended up ordering 25 samples to start off with, and paid for them himself using his pocket money.
And then he did something he never thought he’d be able to do:
He built his own website (mydyslexiashop.com.au) and started selling them.
And he’s done pretty darned well; he’s now sold $6000 worth of reading rulers.
Better yet, for every 10 rulers he sells he gives one away. “I give them away to people who don’t have money to buy them, and also to schools. That way kids who may not have enough courage to admit they need them can try them out”, he tells me.
Yet the most epic thing happened a few weeks after his first sale. Without him knowing it, Levi’s mum had emailed his teacher and told him about his success. So the teacher asked Levi to get up in front of the class and tell his classmates about it.
Guess what happened?
No one laughed.
Instead, everyone cheered and told him “That’s amazing!”
There was even a kid in his class who bought one – and so did his teacher!
Levi is a Barefoot Kid.
And he’s just one of 50 kids (aged 5 to 14) who appear in my new book, Barefoot Kids.
There are young kids. Older kids. Indigenous kids. City kids. Country kids.
I want every kid to be able to open up my book, look at the kids inside, and say to themselves:
“That kid’s just like me, I could do that.”
Tread Your Own Path!
The Bitcoin Babe
Dear Scott,
I have been trying to find a partner and get married for a while. Recently, I was matched with a guy on a dating app and we got to talking. He kept saying money is very important to him. He said he’d like a partner who is a ‘digital shepherd’ who would carry his phones and laptops and work from anywhere in the world. I’m an engineer, love my job, and don’t want to be a digital shepherd, yet the idea of having a husband got me interested.
He said he’d teach me to trade crypto, so I put $2000 of my hard-earned money into the FTX Pro app.
After a while I got suspicious and said I’d like to do it either face-to-face (I have never met him) or stop and get my money back. He got very defensive and threatening, and told me I’d face consequences and he’d stop talking to me. I have reported him to cyber crime, and reported his profile on the dating app. But my money is still trapped in FTX Pro. How can I get it back?
Shyla
Hi Shyla
There is no way my answer is going to be anywhere near as entertaining as your question!
So, in summary, a random dude you met on the internet who told you he was looking for a shepherd … turned out to be a wolf. Don’t beat yourself up: you’re not the first person this has happened to, nor will you be the last!
Oh, and don’t feel bad about losing money to a scammer, either. Sequoia Capital is a legendary American fund manager that employs the smartest people in the world, including the very best graduates from Harvard, Stanford and Yale.
Well, these geniuses invested $US210 million ($A313 million) into the crypto exchange you used, FTX. FTX is run by 30-year-old Sam Bankman-Fried, hailed as the ‘next Warren Buffett’. Sequoia loved the fact that Sam played video games in their investment meetings instead of listening to them.
Well, it turns out Sam was also a wolf. This week his crypto exchange has collapsed, with billions in customer deposits apparently gone.
Who would’ve thought that a 30-year-old living in the Bahamas with a 10-person “drug-fuelled sexual polycule” (tip: don’t google that term on your work computer) would turn out to be a little wolfy?
Sequoia, meanwhile, has written down their $US210 million investment to $0.
I hope I’m wrong, but I suspect you might need to do the same.
You Got Played, Barefoot!
Hi Scott,
As an Optus and Medibank customer, I must have read thousands of words on the ‘hacks’. Thankfully, you cut through all the BS in your open letter to Financial Services Minister Stephen Jones offering a sensible solution. But I think you got played. You do realise that his response to you – “Sounds good. We’ll take a look.” – was a total fob-off!?
Eric
Hi Eric,
I have very low expectations when it comes to politicians … especially when I’m arguing against the financial interests of three multibillion-dollar credit bureaus that employ expensive lobbyists. Still, if the Minister doesn’t have the cojones to stare down the lobbyists and stand up for the people who elected him, well, I think he’ll be the one who ultimately gets played.
Video Killed the Radio Star
Hi Scott,
I know it is unlikely I will receive a reply but I feel compelled to let you know what an impact you have had on my 11-year-old daughter, Molly. Yesterday her aunt gifted her your new book. Molly devoured the book in one evening and by this afternoon had started a small business initiative to make dog treats and raise funds for the homeless.
We are fascinated by her enthusiasm and even more impressed by her presentation on investing (which I have shared with you). Thank you for hitting the nail on the head with this generation. I feel relieved to know that your book is teaching such valuable skills.
Mandy
Hi Mandy,
You not only made it to my inbox, you made it all the way to our family dinner table! We have a strict rule at our house: “No screens at dinner”. So when I sat down with an iPad my kids’ eyes nearly fell out of their sockets. Then I pressed play on Molly’s video … and they cheered for her. Seriously, she explained the concept of investing better than some highly paid investment analysts I know! Thanks so much for sharing it with me and the kids. It made our night.
DISCLAIMER: Information and opinions provided in this column are general in nature and have been prepared for educational purposes only. Always seek personal financial advice tailored to your specific needs before making financial and investment decisions
If you have a money question, email scott@barefootinvestor.com
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