Don’t you DARE tell me my ADHD makes me broken.
Note: I had just finished a bike workout tonight and was absolutely FLOODED with dopamine when I got a text from someone that said “you should weigh in on this discussion on Facebook. Someone just posted that ADHD is a terrible thing.” Thanks to exercise high, the following words flowed from my fingers in under a minute. My assistant calls it “typing with purpose.” I call it “time to lay some smack-down on someone who deserves it.” I’m ADHD and I’m damn proud of it.
Hi, Sandy. You’re right about one thing: These children DO have great difficulty. And so do adults. And you know why? Because they’re told their entire life that they’re BROKEN. If you were told your entire life you were broken, I doubt your life would be a bed of roses.
But… What if… Just what if… Instead of telling children they’re broken, instead of shoveling amphetamines down five year old’s throats for acting, you know, FIVE, we actually explained to them that DIFFERENT doesn’t equal WRONG, and they’re NOT broken, but rather, GIFTED.
What if we explained to them that a faster brain is a GREAT THING, as long as it’s used properly? What if we explained to them that some of the very people who founded this country had ADHD, and almost ANYONE who’s ever made a DIFFERENCE in this world has had ADHD?
I didn’t have ADHD when I was a kid in school in the 70s and 80s. You know why? Because it didn’t EXIST in the 70s and 80s. You know what did? “Sit down, you’re disrupting the class” disease.
So I learned to do things on my own that gave me the dopamine, serotonin and adrenaline that I was missing. I became a marathon runner. And an Ironman Triathlete. And a licensed skydiver with over 400 jumps. I wake up at 3:45am every day to get the same chemicals that “normal” people make automatically. Why? Because I don’t consider that a difficulty. I consider it a gift.
And you know what happened? I started and sold three multi-million dollar companies before I was 40. I became a father to the greatest four-year-old girl in the world. I’ve keynoted conferences attended by thousands of people, and I’ve helped make the world a better place in the process. I’ve published five books, three of which are bestsellers, and four of which have been written entirely on airplanes, because that’s where my zone of focus lies.
Oh, also? I became a noted public speaker who travels around the world on the invitation of the world’s largest companies. I spend the majority of my time going on CNN, MSNBC, Bloomberg, and CNBC, talking about everything from marketing to PR to advertising to branding. I’m the first one the networks call when companies screw up and find themselves looking at a crisis.
Not once was I told I’m broken, or my life is tougher. Do I have self-doubt? Sure. But instead of blaming it on my ADHD, I get up every morning, workout, clear my brain, and go and do EPIC SHIT, because that’s a LOT more fun than wallowing in a corner, crying that I’m different, and the world isn’t fair to me. And you know what else? Some of the greatest people in the world, all of whom are gifted with ADHD, do the same. Rachel Cotton. Seth Godin. David Neeleman. And the list goes on. And on. And on. And on.
Sorry you don’t think ADHD is a gift, Sandy. I’ll make a suggestion, which you’re welcome to take, or ignore. Try seeing the glass as half full. You’d be amazed what can happen in your world if you just for one second, realize how lucky we are to be alive, how amazing it is to live on this spinning rock in the middle of the universe, and how incredible life can truly be, if you just look for the good things.
BTW: My latest bestseller? It drops October 3rd, and is already a #1 new release on Amazon. The title? Faster Than Normal: Turbocharge Your Focus, Productivity, and Success with the Secrets of the ADHD Brain.
Cheers,
-Peter Shankman — ADHD and DAMN proud of it.
