The Faster Than Normal Podcast: ADD | ADHD | Health (Peter Shankman)

Having #ADD or #ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Hear from people all around the globe, from every walk of life, in every profession, from Rock Stars to CEOs, from Teachers to Politicians, who have learned how to unlock the gifts of their #ADD and #ADHD diagnosis, and use it to their personal and professional advantage, to build businesses, become millionaires, or simply better their lives. 

Our Guest today is Dr. Jeffrey Gurian, a well known “Renaissance Man.” He is a doctor, motivational speaker, comedy writer, performer, director, author, producer and radio personality. Dr. Gurian spent 20 years on the board of The Association for Spirituality and Psychotherapy, 12 years at NYU as a Clinical Professor in Oral Medicine and Pro-Facial Pain, and 25 years as a Cosmetic Dentist. Dr. Gurian specialized in treating headaches and the physical symptoms of stress, using “Energy Healing” as his modality, with a technique he developed called “STAR Therapy.” He also developed a method to stop stuttering that he successfully used to get rid of his own stutter. On top of his doctoral pursuits, Dr. Gurian boasts a long-standing career in comedy, and has worked with some of the biggest comedy stars from the last 20 years. Dr. Gurian is also the author of eight books and is a regular motivational speaker. 

 

Enjoy! 

 

[You are now safely here]

 

00:00 - Thank you again so much for listening and for subscribing!!

 

01:00 - Introducing Jeffrey.

 

03:01 - I’ve been busy with #ADHD.

 

04:29 - #ADHD makes you better at what you do. 

 

05:33 - ADHD and #stuttering. 

 

06:17 - Overcoming fear and tackling his stutter. 

 

09:01 - Neurodivergent problem-solving. 

 

11:07 - Sensitivity and neurodivergence. 

 

11:50 - Healing the wounds that affect your decisions. 

 

Connect with Jeffrey on:

Instagram: @jeffreygurian

Youtube: Comedy Matters TV

Visit Jeffrey’s comedy website: comedymatterstv.com

To stop your stuttering today, visit: stopstutteringnowgurian.com

 

If you haven't picked up a copy of my book The Boy with the Faster Brain yet, it is on Amazon and it is a number #1 One Bestseller in all categories! Click HERE or buy your copy at https://amzn.to/3FcAKkI. My link tree is here if you’re looking for something specific: https://linktr.ee/petershankman.

If you know anything about the Tech industry, you’ve probably heard our next guests name! Jeremiah is an industry analyst who helps his clients solve how new technology connects companies to their customers. He is well recognized by both the tech industry and the media for his grounded approach to deriving insights through rigorous research. From corporate innovation, autonomous technology or modern well-being, he views every aspect of emerging technologies through the lens of growth, opportunity and constantly shifting consumer behaviors and expectations. Forever at the forefront, Jeremiah identifies trends and advises major companies to adapt their business models to better connect with customers. Today we’re talking about new and future tech, well-being, balancing privacy and data sharing. Enjoy!

 

In this episode Peter & Jeremiah discuss:

0:50-  Intro & welcome Jeremiah Owyang!

1:52-  You are doing some amazing things! How did you wind up doing what you’re doing now?

2:40-  Let’s talk about health & brain stuff!

3:30-  Let’s talk about tech & well-being; starting with wearables. 

6:30-  At what point do you think insurance companies will begin to monitor us, if at all? How are our devices teaching us to understand that being healthy is better?

10:00-  On privacy and our metadata

11:54-  On retinal data, Amazon ghost stores and trading our privacy for convenience

13:37-  Are we all over-connected?

14:09-  What do you see upcoming in the health & wellness tech trends over, say, they next ten years?

18:12-  Where do you think the balance will land between sharing personal ‘public’ versus ‘private’ data?  Ref: Ouchie App and We Croak

20:40-  How can people find you Jeremiah? www.Web-Strategist.com @JOwyang: Twitter  INSTA  FB  LinkedIN

21:00-  Thank you Jeremiah! And thank YOU for subscribing, reviewing and listening. Your reviews are working! Even if you’ve reviewed us before, would you please write even a short one for this episode? Each review that you post helps to ensure that word will continue to spread, and that we will all be able to reach & help more people! You can always reach me via peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. You can also find us at @FasterThanNormal on all of the socials.

21:27-  Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits

As always, leave us a comment below and please drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! As you know, the more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! Do you know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note, we’d love to hear!

I want to thank you for listening and for subscribing to Faster Than Normal! I also want to tell you that if you’re listening to this one, you probably listened to other episodes as well. Because of you all, we are the number one ADHD podcast on the internet!! And if you like us, you can sponsor an episode! Head over to https://rally.io/creator/SHANK/?campaignId=1f99a340-203f-498e-9665-24723a5f8b7a  It is a lot cheaper than you think. You'll reach... about 25k to 30,000 people in an episode and get your name out there, get your brand out there, your company out there, or just say thanks for all the interviews! We’ve brought you over 230 interviews of CEOs, celebrities, musicians, all kinds of rock stars all around the world from Tony Robbins, Seth Godin, Keith Krach from DocuSign, Danny Meyer, we've had Rachel Cotton, we've had  the band Shinedown, right? Tons and tons of interviews, and we keep bringing in new ones every week so head over to XXXXX rab an episode, make it yours, we'd love to have you, thanks so much for listening!  Now to this week's episode, we hope you enjoy it!

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Named by TIME magazine as one of the “100 Most Influential People in the World,” Dean Karnazes has pushed his body and mind to inconceivable limits. Among his many accomplishments, he has run 50 marathons, in all 50 US states, in 50 consecutive days. He’s run across Death Valley in the middle of summer, and he’s run a marathon to the South Pole.

On ten separate occasions he’s run a 200-mile relay race solo, racing alongside teams of twelve. His list of competitive achievements include winning the World’s Toughest Footrace, the Badwater Ultramarathon, and winning the 4 Deserts Challenge, racing in the hottest, driest, windiest and coldest places on earth. A NY Times bestselling author, Dean is a frequent speaker and panelist at many running and sporting events worldwide. We’re thrilled to have Dean with us today- enjoy!  

 

 

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In this episode Peter and Dean Karnazes discuss:

1:42  -  Intro and welcome Dean Karnazes!!

4:32  -  On the concept of “the runner’s high” and what is Dean’s and how does he feel after he runs

5:46  -  On learning the chemistry behind the runner’s high and what do you have to do to obtain it

8:02  -  On the 100 mile races you’ve been involved in – tell us a little more about those. 

8:42  -  On training for such long runs,  what’s your process? 

11:36  -  On keeping yourself occupied during races that don’t allow headphones or music.  Do you do anything specific to pass the time?  

12:08  -  On whether or not you are literally thinking “step, step, step, step?” 

13:48  -  On what you tell yourself on mornings,  or even days when you get up and just aren’t feeling it?  What do you do? 

14:31  -  On confirming that it’s 50 marathons in 50 days?  

14:45  -  On the logistics of that kind of extensive race.  How do you prep for it? 

15:05  -  On what the 50^th marathon city was. 

16:48  -  Dean, I'm so excited to have a chance to talk to you. I definitely want to get you back on here.  Guys, the book is called https://www.amazon.com/Runners-High-My-Life-Motion/dp/0062955500  but Dean Karnazes is the New York Times best-selling author of author of https://www.amazon.com/Ultramarathon-Man-Confessions-All-Night-Runner/dp/1585424803/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=ultra+marathon+man&qid=1622464092&s=books&sr=1-2 , and Superhuman…. [laughter] I love this, Good Morning America,  “a superhuman athlete writes love letter to runners.” This is, if it's anything like your last book, it's going to be inspiring as hell and I can't wait to read it. Dean thank you so much for taking the time to come on the podcast. I really appreciate it, man. It's great to see you again.

You can find deal on the Socials @DeanKarnazes here on Twitter  Facebook. @Ultramarathon on INSTA and via his website www.ultramarathonman.com 

Thank you so much Dean Karnazes! And thank YOU for subscribing, reviewing and listening. Your reviews are working! Even if you’ve reviewed us before, would you please write even a short one for this episode? Each review that you post helps to ensure that word will continue to spread, and that we will all be able to reach & help more people! You can always reach me via peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. You can also find us at @FasterThanNormal on all of the socials. As always, leave us a comment below and please drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! As you know, the more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! Do you know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note, we’d love to hear!

17:15  -  Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits

TRANSCRIPT: 

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Hi guys. My name is Peter Shankman. I'm the host of Faster Than Normal.  I want to thank you for listening, and I also want to tell you that if you've listened to this one, you probably listened to other episodes as well of Faster Than Normal.  We are the number one ADHD podcast on the internet, and if you like us, you can sponsor an episode.  Head over to shank.mn/sponsor  - that's shank.mn/sponsor. It is alot cheaper than you think. You'll reach... God about 25….30,000 people in an episode and get your name out there, get your brand out there, your company out there, or just say, thanks for all the interviews we brought you over 230 interviews of CEOs, celebrities, musicians, all kinds of rock stars all around the world from we've had... God, who have we had...we've had Tony Robbins, Seth Goden, Keith Krach from DocuSign, we've had Rachel Cotton, we've had  the band Shinedown, right? Tons and tons of interviews, and we keep bringing in new ones every week, so head over to shank.mn/sponsor  grab an episode, make it yours, we'd love to have you, thanks for listening.  Here's this week's episode, hope you enjoy it.

You're listening to the Faster Than Normal podcast where we know that having ADD or ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Each week we interview people from all around the globe from every walk of life, in every profession. From rock stars to CEOs, from teachers to politicians who have learned how to unlock the gifts of their ADD and ADHD diagnosis, and use it to their personal and professional advantage.  To build businesses, to become millionaires, or to simply better their lives. And now here's the host of the Faster Than Normal podcast, the only man who goes skydiving to calm down and focus, Peter Shankman

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Hey guys, Peter Shankman look, another episode of Faster Than Normal. This episode actually really is faster because we have someone on the podcast today who I have been fortunate enough to meet in the VIP tent of the 2006 New York City Marathon, and when I talk fast and when I talk, uh, determination, this guy always comes up in conversations I have with my running buddies, my travel on buddies, talking to Dean Karnazes.. And, and if you have ever run, or thought about running, or ran by pressing X on a joystick, you know, this guy. Uh, he is pretty incredible. He has written several books on running. His latest is called  https://www.amazon.com/Runners-High-My-Life-Motion/dp/0062955500 Um, but he's a New York Times bestselling author of https://www.amazon.com/Ultramarathon-Man-Confessions-All-Night-Runner/dp/1585424803/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=ultra+marathon+man&qid=1622464092&s=books&sr=1-2 , which I’ve got to tell you, Dean, what sticks out at me, always about that, was the time the part of the Ultramarathon Man, where you just decided you want to get back into running, and so on a whim, you ran something like 40 miles and called your wife and said, Hey, um, can you bring me a new pair of sneakers, some Taco Bell and my health and my, uh, my health insurance card, cause I think I have to go to the hospital. And that is totally something someone with ADHD would do, they just start and 40 miles later, they'd be like, yeah, that was, that was a mistake…. so well to the podcast, man, it's, it's amazing to talk to you again. 

Yeah, it's good to be with you again, I got to preface and say that I was drunk during that episode, so that got even better. [laughter]

Spectacular.. I love that. So, OK, so let's talk first about the book, uh, the concept of ,  https://www.amazon.com/Runners-High-My-Life-Motion/dp/0062955500 right? So I started running, I was taken out for a run by one of my employees back in 2000, and prior to that, I'd never run, right?  I ran... like to the store for cigarettes, right? I went to a performing arts high school, we didn't run, we sang.  We, we, we fulfilled our gym credits in, in, in, in, in other ways. And my, this woman who works for me, Rebecca, she took me out for a run. Somehow convinced me to go on a half mile run with her, like a five mile run that was only….but I only lasted a half a mile, but I remember going over to half a mile, probably took like six minutes or so I nearly died.  Like, I look at him like, oh my God, I'm gonna die. And then 15 seconds later, I had this feeling of euphoria that I've never had before I'd never had before in my life. And that was entirely my runners high, right? Now I know that your book,   https://www.amazon.com/Runners-High-My-Life-Motion/dp/0062955500 is about your entire life and as a runner in motion, and all that, but you know, for someone with ADHD or someone with any sort of neurodiversity, runner's high is one of the closest feelings to God you're ever gonna get, because we live our lives perpetually denied dopamine, serotonin and adrenaline. And when I tell people and when people learn that it is literally as easy as going for a run or a bike ride or a swim or walking up 20 flights of steps to get that back for a certain amount of time, they're blown away. And so tell us about your runner's high, tell us about what, what you feel after a run. Now, mind you, when I say after a run for you, I mean, you know, it's not the same as a run for me, which is, you know, five miles you go, you know, to the next state or whatever. But tell us about, tell us about how you feel after a run and, uh, tell us about yourself as well, I'm really excited to be talking to you, so I have to shut up now. 

Yeah, no, that, uh, what you just described happened to me when I was six years old. I mean, I'll never forget it. I was….I was in kindergarten and you know, I'm a young boy and they tell us to sit still and pay attention and whatever your six year old wants to do is run wild and not pay attention, right?  That's our, that's our, our nature as a six-year-old. So I, I just remember, you know, chewing the back of my hand off until the be…..the bell rang, and I was free and I would run home from kindergarten. I'd run a mile home from kindergarten. And that was the only time I felt whole Peter.  When I walked through the door, I just felt like a different person when I got home, and that's how I discovered the runner’s high and the power of running to really quiet the mind and just give you that peace and that, uh, It's profound. I mean, you and I both come from the same place, you were just a little bit older when you, when you learned about that place.  

At what point did you realize sort of the chemistry behind it, of what it was, you know, runner's high, the actual, uh, chemistry that produces it or, or, or, or what you have to do to get it?

You know, I mean, the chemistry is interesting, right? Because we thought it was endorphins. We always attributed a runner's high to endorphins, but they've recently done some experiments where they gave people a drug that blocked endorphins and they went running and they still got to runner's high, and so now they think it's Endocannabinoids that are responsible for the runner's high, and we, you know, just the name suggests, yeah… but, um, it's, I think it's profoundly chemical. And when I talk to other runners that say, I've never felt the runner's high, I look at them, that's it, you're just not paying attention, because that's impossible you know, I think it's your body's reaction to, I mean, you had this reaction to pain and a lot of way that, that half mile that you ran with your coworker back in 2000, it must have hurt like hell…

totally….

where your body responds, by numbing the pain in  a lot of ways.

Well the problem was, was that the first time, you know, the first, that first half mile, I joke about my running buddy now, David, that first half mile is a bitch. I’m gonnna be 49 this summer, everything hurts that first half mile, right?  But as soon as it's like, it's like a, it's like a, like a stopwatch, the first half mile ends. It's like I've turned a corner, boom, let's go through like, you know, eight, 10, 12 miles. And the crazy thing is, is that, you know, I'm a single dad here, right? So the only time I can really run is super, super early, and so fortunately, David is as crazy as I am and we do our long runs, we'll start at like 3am, um, actually you might know this story, I got arrested in Central Park for exercising before it opened several years ago, I was with that was that guy who was on the front page of the Daily News holding up a summons, cause I have to stop, stop, and he's like, what are you doing?  I'm like, what do you think I'm doi….? you know, I'm, I'm trading sexual favors or crack. What do you think? You know, wrong thing to say to a cop, but yeah. So, um, you know, but that early morning high translates for me. I'll hold that all day, right?. And I know people who realize that. 

Yeah, and you've done some of the longer races.  I mean, when I run an ultra marathon, so when I run a hundred miles nonstop, I mean that high, it can last for two weeks, Peter. It's amazing, yeah, you still feel it. And it…. it actually gets more pronounced after about four or five days. 

That's that's I mean, I'm just, I'm stuck on that, on a hundred. Tell us about the endurance races.  Tell us about the hundred milers.. 

Yeah. I mean, the first time I heard about this, I thought it’s just trickery, right? It's… no human can run a hundred miles nonstop. I mean, there's, there's hotels along the way, or, you know, you hop in a car, but then no one's looking. But, um, the guy said “ a gun goes off and you start running and you stop when you cross the finish line” you know, you try to do it in under 24 hours.  And I thought, I hate driving a hundred miles, like how, how is this possible? And I went out and did it, and it was just the most amazing, expansive experience I've ever encountered in my life, and I've been doing that same sort of thing now for almost three decades. 

How do you train for something like that?  Is it just constant long runs? 

 

I get up like you do. I get up at 3am I might run a marathon before breakfast, you know, fix breakfast for the kids and get them off to school and the same sort of thing. You know, you, you, you train when you can and I'm opportunistic any chance I get, I train, I don't do something that you're doing right now, and we got a camera on people. That's how I know Peter is sitting. You can tell him standing. I never sit down. I do all my book, writing all my emails, everything. I mean, I have a very profound case of ADHD. I've just never been diagnosed, but to quiet my mind, the only time my mind is quiet is when I'm running.

Well that's that goes without saying, but beforehand, I want to say the guys, I'm now proud to say I've been, I've been sit-shamed by Dean Karnazes, so I'm going to take that to my grave. Um, but you know, it's really true that the concept of quieting the mind, I mean, I do two things for that. I exercise and I'm a skydiver, right?  And, and I talk about the fact that when I know I have to run a 10 mile training run, or I know that I have to do 50 miles on the bike, either outside or on my Peloton, you know, that is, it's sort of a given that's what I have to do. And, and when my trainer gives me….  when my coach gives me my, my weekly plan, I can't deviate from that, and it's the same thing with skydiving. When I jump out of the plane, I have two options, open the shoot and live, or not open to shoot and die. I don't have any other choices. And I think that the great thing about exercise, about running... about, you know, is that, is that when you're tied to a schedule of, you know, Hey, the race is into, they're not going to move the race, right?  It's in 20 weeks and four days, and they're not going to move that. So here's what I have to do to be ready for that. It eliminates the ability to choose other things and that, and the elimination of choice is something I preach. Cause that's that quiets the mind more than anything else. If I only have A or B, I'm making a decision, but if I have A through M right… forget it. 

Yeah, no, and I think running an ultra marathon is very much a binary experience. I mean, you make it to the finish line and you succeed.  You don’t, and you fail. I mean, the rules of engagements are black and white and when you're running a hundred miles, it's so intense of an experience, it so commands you…

….that your mind can't wander. I mean, every thought has gotta be on, how am I going to get to the finish line? You’re very focused on the present moment of time, the here and now,  you don't reflect on the past. I mean, it, it requires that you be entirely present to get to that finish line, when you’re... you know, doing Ironman in Kona in October, you know exactly what I'm describing here.

Yeah. Well, it brings up an interesting question.  What do you do, um, to keep yourself occupied? I find that so on marathons, I can listen to my music. They don't, they don't stop you. They discourage it, but they let you wear your headphones? Right. And Iron Man it's, it's a, it's a disqualification if they catch you with headphones, right? So my first half Ironman I ever did, like 2008 or nine or something, I remember. I…. I literally recited the entire scripts to Back to the Future and Midnight Run, like word for word. and that got me through, right?  Do you do anything specific to, um, to allow yourself to, to, to pass the time? I mean, it’s a 100 miles.

 

I try to be in a present moment of time, so it requires a lot of discipline because our minds are active places. I mean, your mind is intensely active, and to come back to center and just be in the present moment, the here and now, really requires discipline and requires, uh, you know, you to make an effort because you can control your mind and it can wander very quickly, so I don't let my mind wander. I bring it back to my next step. 

Well that was my question, are you thinking... are you literally thinking step, step, step, step 

{indistinguishable}  it's almost like you're, you're meditating in a sense, and I can be there for six or eight hours where the only thought is take your next step to the best of your ability, take your next step to the best of your ability. That's all that’s going  through your mind. 

So I have a quote on my, uh, well, in several places in my life. I believe it's in my, on my Facebook quotes section, but I've also said it to myself countless times, and I believe it's attributed to you, uh, run… run if you can, walk if you have to, crawl if you must, but never ever give up.  And I believe you said, yeah. And I have taken that. I've taken that. If you're wondering if your first book affected me dude, I've taken that with me for years now, for years. Um, 

I’m glad you’re still liking it…

and you know, I'm planning on, oh God, I'm planning on taking that into Kona as well. You know…..Tell me about so-so. How, how do I ask it?  So the past year there have been two types of people over the past, like 14 months. There's been types of people who say, okay, I'm going to use this, this virus, the virus, the shutdown and everything, and the quarantine as a way to get out and exercise every day and run. And there’s the kind of people that say they’re going to do that and they don’t do that, right. And so there’s two kinds of people, both of them say they're going to do it, only one of them actually does. Um, my rule is I have to exercise immediately upon awakening, or I won't do it. I'll come up with some excuse as to why it shouldn't be running the meteor around Pluto, Pluto might go out of orbit and it might hit the earth and, you know, whatever it is, I'll come up with a reason for it.  Um, so I, I get up super early and I just, I just don't think about it right?. I sleep in my bike shorts, I'm on the bike and I'm out the door. Done. Don't think about it. What do you tell yourself? Or what do you do or are you so super human that you've never had this experience? What do you tell yourself when you wake up and you just don't freaking have it? 

Yeah. I know, and people say… you know, it’s incredible you know, do you ever not want to run? And yeah, there's a lot of days I don't want to run, but I use this concept called Forward Projection. so I just project how much better I'm going to feel post run, than I feel now. And I know that I'm inevitably going to feel a lot better if I can go for a run, and the thing is, you know, once we get ourselves out the door…

Everything changes, right? 

Yeah. It's just, it's just putting your shoes on, getting out the door is the hardest part, but if you can get out the door, it's on, you're almost on autopilot at that point. 

 

Last question is only respect for your time… 50 marathons in 50 states consecutively, right in 50 days. 

50 day… yeah. 

So, I mean, I guess the first question is dude, what the actual F but I'll, I'll leave that, um, Logistically that must've been a bitch.  

Peter, I don't, I won't profess to doing logistics. I work with the agency that they coordinate the Olympic torch run across the country.

I let them do it because I was, I, there was no way I was going to figure that one out. Yeah. 

And what was it that…. remind me again, that culminated with, your 50th was New York or DC…. where was your 50th, I don’t remember? 

It was New York. We met each other in the…

…. that was when you, that was the last one of your 50 my God!

yeah, 2006, yeah. 

Amazing. Amazing. And I guess the, the, the concept of that is, I mean, I do a 26 mile 26.2 mile run and. I can't go down subway steps the next day. And you proceeded to do it for 50 days in a row. 15:35 How does your body, I mean, what, what do you do for your body to, to not, you know, I don't know, die the next day or the day after, or the day after.  

Yeah. I remember at Marathon 19, I couldn’t crawl out of bed in the morning and I'm like, I can't, I can't get out of bed, how am I going to run a marathon today? Let alone 31 more and 31 days on top of that. And I stopped counting at that point. I used that same technique as it just, just get yourself to the hotel sink and splash some water in your face. OK, just make it over to that. In-room coffee machine and have some  horrible coffee, put your shorts on one leg at a time. Just get to the starting line. Okay. You're at the starting line. Just take your first step of the marathon, and, you know, I finished New York… that was my fastest of all.  I finished in 3hrs: 30 seconds, which was pretty decent for New York. And that was with 49 consecutive marathons {indistinguishable} prior.

Jesus, yeah, I was a 22min, I was 28min behind you, I was a 3:58:03, my fastest marathon before or since. So now I'm kind of at the point where it's…..how old are you?

A little bit older than you. 

Oh, I hate you…. just, just on principle. I don't like you. I really, really dislike you... but that being said, Dean, I'm so excited to have a chance to talk to you. I definitely want to get you back on here.  Guys, the book is called https://www.amazon.com/Runners-High-My-Life-Motion/dp/0062955500  but Dean Karnazes is the New York Times best-selling author of author of https://www.amazon.com/Ultramarathon-Man-Confessions-All-Night-Runner/dp/1585424803/ref=sr_1_2?dchild=1&keywords=ultra+marathon+man&qid=1622464092&s=books&sr=1-2 , and Superhuman…. [laughter] I love this, Good Morning America,  “a superhuman athlete writes love letter to runners.” This is, if it's anything like your last book, it's going to be inspiring as hell and I can't wait to read it. Dean thank you so much for taking the time to come on the podcast. I really appreciate it, man. It's great to see you again.

Thanks for having me run by. Haaah-yeah!

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Credits: You've been listening to the Faster Than Normal podcast. We're available on iTunes, Stitcher and Google play and of course at www.FasterThanNormal.com I'm your host, Peter Shankman and you can find me at petershankman.com and @petershankman on all of the socials. If you like what you've heard, why not head over to your favorite podcast platform of choice and leave us a review, come more people who leave positive reviews, the more the podcast has shown, and the more people we can help understand that ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Opening and closing themes were composed and produced by Steven Byrom who also produces this podcast, and the opening introduction was recorded by Bernie Wagenblast. Thank you so much for listening. We'll see you next week. 

I want to thank you for listening and for subscribing to Faster Than Normal! I also want to tell you that if you’re listening to this one, you probably listened to other episodes as well. Because of you all, we are the number one ADHD podcast on the internet!! And if you like us, you can sponsor an episode! Head over to https://rally.io/creator/SHANK/ It is a lot cheaper than you think. You'll reach... about 25k to 30,000 people in an episode and get your name out there, get your brand out there, your company out there, or just say thanks for all the interviews! We’ve brought you over 230 interviews of CEOs, celebrities, musicians, all kinds of rock stars all around the world from Tony Robbins, Seth Godin, Keith Krach from DocuSign, Danny Meyer, we've had Rachel Cotton, we've had  the band Shinedown, right? Tons and tons of interviews, and we keep bringing in new ones every week so head over to https://rally.io/creator/SHANK/ make it yours, we'd love to have you, thanks so much for listening!  Now to this week's episode, we hope you enjoy it!

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Sharon Pope is the co-founder and CEO of shelpful, the instant accountability service that pairs you with a real-human buddy to help you build good habits (they nudge you and hold you to big habits like getting exercise, or small tasks like taking out the trash on time). Prior to starting shelpful, Sharon was a startup executive for 15 years, running marketing and product. She advised startups at the famous startup accelerator, Y Combinator, and was Chief Marketing Officer at ZeroDown, Green Dot (NYSE: GDOT), GoBank and Loopt. Prior to that she managed PR and content for a range of tech companies at leading San Francisco-based PR agencies. Today we learned how she started her super helpful company Shelpful, how she learned that for her, exercise is medicine, and how she was using her ADHD as a superpower, even before she was diagnosed. Enjoy!

In this episode Peter and Sharon Pope discuss:  

2:17 - Intro and welcome Sharon, founder of Shelpful 

2:50 - What prompted you to come up with this kind of idea?

4:12 - It seems like it's one of those things that truly requires getting to numbers of scale, right?

5:20 - Tell us about what kind of tasks people are using this for?

7:15 - What's the difference between what you do versus someone just saying, Hey Alexa, tell me to drink some water in 30 minutes?

8:17 - Is there an accountability/human trust balance happening here?

10:10 - Why do you think that we don't allow ourselves give ourselves the same respect that we give to other people? 

11:35 - As this grows do think that you can find a category for pretty much anything?

13:07 - Is it a monthly subscription; how does it work?

13:48 - So if you are a shelper you're basically on call like full-time?

14:50 - What is the one thing that you know about yourself now, that you didn't know before you got diagnosed with ADHD, that has helped change your life?

[How can people find you?] @shelpful on TikTok  INSTA  and Facebook and of course via www.shelpful.com

16:25 - Thank you Sharon! Guys, as always, we are here for you and we love the responses and the notes that we get from you; so please continue to do that! Tell us who you want to hear on the podcast, anything at all; we’d love to know.  Leave us a review on any of the places you get your podcasts, and if you ever need our help I'm www.petershankman.com and you can reach out anytime via peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. You can also find us at @FasterNormal on all of the socials. It really helps when you drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! As you know, the more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! 

16:57 - Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits

 

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TRANSCRIPT: 

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I want to thank you for listening and for subscribing to Faster Than Normal! I also want to tell you that if you’re listening to this one, you probably listened to other episodes as well. Because of you all, we are the number one ADHD podcast on the internet!! And if you like us, you can sponsor an episode! Head over to https://rally.io/creator/SHANK/ It is a lot cheaper than you think. You'll reach... about 25k to 30,000 people in an episode and get your name out there, get your brand out there, your company out there, or just say thanks for all the interviews! We’ve brought you over 230 interviews of CEOs, celebrities, musicians, all kinds of rock stars all around the world from Tony Robbins, Seth Godin, Keith Krach from DocuSign, Danny Meyer, we've had Rachel Cotton, we've had  the band Shinedown, right? Tons and tons of interviews, and we keep bringing in new ones every week so head over to https://rally.io/creator/SHANK/ make it yours, we'd love to have you, thanks so much for listening!  Now to this week's episode, we hope you enjoy it!

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My name is Peter Shankman. You are listening to Faster Than Normal. We are going to be talking about ADHD in all forms of neurodiverse today on this episode. And I am thrilled. That you are here. I have recorded an episode of in about two weeks. It has been a while. So it's great to be back. It is a, I don't know what day it is. It's Thursday. I believe it was a gorgeous day, outside, a little cold here in New York city, but still beautiful. And, uh, it is lovely to be with you today, wherever in the world you happen to be including Portland, Oregon, where our current guest is from.  Let's just say hi to Sharon Pope. Sharon Pope is the co-founder and CEO of a company called. Shelpful It's an instant accountability service that pairs you with a real human buddy to help you build good habits. They nudge you. They hold you to big habits to get you exercise, and small tasks like taking out the trash on time.  5 years, running marketing and product. She advised startups at the famous startup accelerator, Y Combinator, and was Chief Marketing Officer at ZeroDown, Green Dot (NYSE: GDOT), GoBank and Loopt. Prior to that she managed PR and content for a range of tech companies at leading San Francisco-based PR agencies. I love the idea because it's well, well needed and way overdue. Sharon, welcome to Faster Than Normal and first off, tell us what prompted you to come up with this kind of idea other than just finding another thing to do during COVID.

Yeah. Thank you. It's really great to be here Peter. Um, yeah, I started this to solve my own problem. So I was, I think for my whole adult life, um, I'm 38 now. Um, was 37 when I started Shelpful. I I've really struggled with this kind of 10:00 PM feeling of  Looking down at my to-do list and realizing I did everything for everyone else, including work, and my two kids and all the “me” completely just fall off the list. So, you know, I to work out for like 20 minutes and that just got blown off because an email came in and that just drew me in. And so, I mean, after struggling with it forever, I tried to build a bot for it, like in 2018 and it sucked, I had kind of a fever dream one night and I was like, oh my gosh, we could do this with real people. So I put up a site overnight, convinced my friend to do it with me and that same week we launched the first version of Shelpful, um, to just try to answer that problem for everyone else, that people kind of needed more support and could use a real human accountability buddy, kind of sitting on your shoulder and saying, Hey, you said you were gonna work out at 8:00 AM. It's time to work out. I'm gonna ask you in 20 minutes, if you did it or not. And that kind of thing was what I needed desperately. And I felt like I wasn't alone. 

I love the concept. It seems like it's one of those things that truly requires, um, uh, getting to numbers of scale. Right. You know, if you don't have enough people willing to be the accountability buddy then you gotta problem.

Right. And so we have our own, we're kind of structured more like an Uber. So we find the accountability buddies. We train them. I mean, we've found some amazing people who. Are way better than I was in the early days. Uh, just having strong empathy and note-taking, and following up with you and we have them, we staff them, um, you just have to sign up and we put you with them. And honestly, as I dug more into this and looked at what else is out there, everything else requires you to just go find a friend. So you either find a friend in your real life, or you ask your mom to tell you to do something, or you go to Reddit and say, or Twitter or Google and say like somebody, please be my accountability buddy! And the answer is silence. And so that's kind of why we feel like this is working because the people who really need it, get it fast and you're instantly within a day you feel support like you've really never known. 

Tell me about, um, what kind of tasks people are using this for? Cause for someone with ADHD, I mean, this seems like an easy and easy way to, to, to kill a lot of birds with one stone. What are people primarily using it for? 

Right. So the thing that I was solving mostly was the health stuff, right? Like getting movement in and like planning my lunch instead of freestyling my lunch. For instance, when we saw people signing up, the first things were those things, for sure. But also things like. Help me remember to pay my bill. Um, can you remind me to take my trash out on Tuesday nights? Um, like the small, like kind of any range of things that falls off your list you could ask for help with; also just the habit of making it to do list in the first place. Right. So make sure I do my to do list every night before the next day, so that I can go into the day with, with fresh eyes and a clear idea of what I'm gonna do. Um, when we saw people starting up, we left, we left it really open-ended and now we have a bit more structure because we've seen what people ask for, but the open-ended thing we still get to this day. If people writing in saying I have ADHD and I could use a help with this because I forget to drink water. And I forget to do really simple things that may seem easy to other people, but aren't easy to me. Um, and I think as I, as I told you, that was really eye opening to me because I thought this was a problem that I kind of uniquely had. Cause I was quirky. And when people started saying that, it was this big ton of bricks that hit me, that I realized I actually had ADHD or I, you know, at that point I kind of had all this flashback of me asking doctors throughout my life, why I have to wait to the last minute to do things. And, and they just said, oh, well, you're good at your job, or, oh, you get good grades and you just don't have, you don't have this. Um, and so it was really eye opening to me because my mentors actually ended up kind of telling me that this was working for them. And it was because of the same reasons it worked for me.

Tell me why, and I'm just playing devil's advocate here. Um, why couldn't someone just, What's the difference between what you do versus someone just saying, Hey Alexa, tell me to drink some water in 30 minutes? 

It's a really good question. I have had a notification on my calendar to meditate since 2017 and I've done it once. Um, I think that we, I mean, especially, I mean, people have ADHD. We have a million notifications and snoozing them gives us zero guilt and makes us think zero seconds about it. It's gone. I snooze the notification and it's out of my life and I'm going back to whatever else I was doing. It's really different when you have a real person on the other end. So if you have a shopper, you know, Chanel, we call them shelpers our accountability buddies, you know, she knows asking you, Hey, did you know, have you drank water? Like how many ounces are you? If you ignore her, you feel kind of guilty, but the guilt kind of works in your favor because it's fueling your own habit, right? 

Is there a, well, that was my next question. Is there sort of a, I don't wanna say, I don't wanna call it guilt cause I don't want to put it down. Cause having to kinda build it out is not sensitive to be embarrassed, but is there a word I'm looking for a, a…. I don't want to disappoint my accountability. Like, you know, I. Have a trainer at the gym at five 30 in the morning, because I'll probably go to the gym if I didn't have one, but I might not work out as hard. 

Right. 

Right. And so he makes sure I do so is it? And if I don't, he calls me on it and I don't want to, you know, I don't want him to think that I'm a loser and not doing it.  So is there, is there that level of, have you seen that at all? Have you seen people like, oh yeah, I love this. Because again, for lack of better word, it shames me into making sure that I'm doing. 

Right. I mean, there, I shame, shame, disappointment. All those I think are, are mixed in with even just the word accountability, right? Somebody is waiting for you and asking you, and they're just there on the other end. Just kind of like hanging in the balance until you answer them, or you show up at the gym or you show the evidence that you did your to do list. So the fact that it's a real human, I mean, This is something we can all relate with, right, If somebody, if you're doing something for somebody else or in, in community with somebody else, you're much more likely to do it. And I can relate with you, Peter. Like I, the best and healthiest times in my life were admittedly. Pre-kids when I had like a, every single morning workout group that I went to and if I was late, everyone would be delayed in getting like the run around the block that we started out with. I, that, that fear of letting someone else down. Was yes. Maybe shame isn't the greatest word, but it works and it, and I felt good at the end of it. And it wasn't something that stuck with me and made me feel sad. It made me feel good. Cause I got the energy I needed from a workout. 

In this case and not in a negative way, but why don't you think we place other people's feelings and not wanting to hurt their feelings or, or, or not show up and disappoint them above our own. I know that if I wake up every day and do an hour of hard workout for 10 minutes on the treadmill or Peleton, whatever, you know, it's going to be beneficial to me. Right. But I don't give myself the same. I don't offer myself that same ability, uh, to, to not disappoint myself that I might offer it to someone I'd have to meet someone else. Why do you think that we don't allow ourselves give ourselves that same respect that we give to other people? 

Right. If only I had had the answer for that!! I feel like that's what, I've the question I've been asking myself for a decade, right? Like, and I, that's what I think that. That's that's why shelpful. That's why we created Shelpful, because it's the fact that there's somebody else invested in your personal health and habits on a daily, hourly minute level basis. It, it, it triggers that part of your brain wants to do something for others or that, that get stuff down because somebody else's depending on you. And I mean, that's, that's, you know, for me, a thousand percent why I would get something done over just the fact that it's good for me. Um, I know it's good for me. I could tell you the calories and pretty much any food. I know, I know workouts to do, like I know how to work out, ..but the question is, do I do them just because they're good for me. And that's what I've always struggled with. 

Do you think that, um, as this grows, I mean, the categories you have right now are pretty much anything, you know, you can find me accountability, buddy, for virtually anything. Are you breaking it into certain sections or certain, how does it work? 

Yeah. So we started out thinking, okay, let's start with health. Right. Cause that was my personal thing. And um, it felt like from my marketing background, like start with a niche and expand and we found really, really early people were clamoring and kind of yelling at us like, well, the reason I don't get my workout done is because this happens that I also need help with. Right. So we're not just the reason we don't get things done. Isn't because we are bad or just go sit in front of the TV. It's because the life happens and makes the other things not work. So we ended up just kind of blowing it up and within like a week of launching and making it just be like, well, you tell us what you need help with. Um, any habits that you want to form our buddies, our shelpers can hold you to they're really. Uh, limit and it's almost, self-limiting like, so Peter, if you came in and said, I want help on 20 things. Well, the shop would probably say, well, let's start with a few so that you don't just snooze me and just put me away or turn off your phone. Like let's kind of start working through it. But once you get a few things established. You could always add on, like while I watched, after I washed my face, I want to like, some people have skincare as, as a goal, right? So after I care for my face, I want to do 20 squats. So you can kind of just keep layering on habits to the ones you've already established a few, and it really is limitless.

Is it a monthly subscription; how does it work?

Yeah, it's monthly. We have a weekly option too, um, like as, as low as $13.75 a week. And then for month it's a little over $50. Um, and it, yeah, I mean, it feels, people are feeling like it's a really good value cause you get, um, Monday through Friday, basically unlimited access to your shelper so you're kind of just text them and anytime you have an update, they usually respond pretty quickly. And then they nudge you along based on kind of habits that you've established. So you want to work out Monday, Wednesday, Friday at 8:00 AM you're going to get a ping from them saying hey, time to work out, um, and a follow up to make sure you did it. Um, so you.. and then weekends are a bit quieter because shelpers are human, um, so they kind of recharge their batteries on the weekends and then hit it full force again on Monday. 

So if you are a shelper you're basically on call, it's like a full-time. 

It is, it's a really, it's a flexible gig, right? So they, um, they end up working. I mean, depending on how many have just a couple hours a day. Um, but they are able to, we have technology, we're a technology company, as well as the service. So we have helpful technology that helps them plan and, um, take notes and get things organized. So they're not having to be glued to their, their phone, but they have. The ability to work from their mobile phone. Um, so people who are shoppers are people who really appreciate flexibility. So, um, you know, imagine caregivers stay at home moms, um, hairstylists, we have a few, so people who are- it's a gig, but they're just these naturally empathetic people who are, who care a lot and have great memories and are skilled note takers and they, they really make it happen for their members. 

It sounds fascinating. A shelters.xom?  www.SHELPFUL.COM  Sorry. My bad. I meant shelpful, shelpers the people who work at ShelpFul. Awesome. 

What is the one thing that you know about yourself now, that you didn't know before you got diagnosed with ADHD that has helped change your life?

Wow. Um, I think so.. starting, I started this company in March, kind of had the lights go on in my head that this is something I had in, I don't know, April and by May I had a diagnosis in my hand. Um, I now know that for me, exercise is medicine. Um, it's not something that's optional for me. It actually changes the whole way my day goes. Um, and so now that I'm able to look at it as that I've actually been able to be successful in making it happen. Um, and I, I’ve joined a shelpful group, which is, we also have a group product. Um, and that allows me and I have group and they hold me accountable to it too. So I have what, you know, I'm trying to put a focus on making sure that I have that fuel that I need. Um, and that awareness of ADHD actually helped me just reframe how I looked at that. 

What an awesome answer, thank you Sharon. Very cool. 

Guys. You've been listening to Faster Than Normal, our guest today is Sharon Pope. She runs a phenomenal company that I'm falling in love with more & more called Shelpful, and I am definitely check it out. You can find it a www.Shelpful.com you can find me @petershankman and @fasternormal and on www.FasterThanNormal.com anywhere you grab your podcasts, the book. On Amazon. It's actually, I think it's fourth printing, which blows my mind. I get emails every day that people really liked what they were reading and I helped them and it just makes me so happy. I love, I love that. So I will keep doing that for as long as I possibly can. Guys, that feel free to reach out, say hi, tell us any guests that you'd like to see on the show. We'd love to hear you. Anyone who sends me any info tells us of the guests, whether we use them or not. I will send you a shank point, uh, for those who don't know. Uh, it's a long story. I'll tell you another time, but I say anyone who sends guest info to me, I will send you a brand new shank point is currently trading around 10 bucks a coin. It is a cryptocurrency, and it's a lot of fun for some of the ADHD. It's fun because you have to stop yourself from watching everything.

Oh, it's up? It's down. Okay. Anyway, squirrel!! Sharon. Thank you again, guys. Thank you for listening. We will see you next week. Have a wonderful week. Stay safe, stay happy.

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Credits: You've been listening to the Faster Than Normal podcast. We're available on iTunes, Stitcher and Google play and of course at www.FasterThanNormal.com I'm your host, Peter Shankman and you can find me at petershankman.com and @petershankman on all of the socials. If you like what you've heard, why not head over to your favorite podcast platform of choice and leave us a review, come more people who leave positive reviews, the more the podcast has shown, and the more people we can help understand that ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Opening and closing themes were composed and produced by Steven Byrom who also produces this podcast, and the opening introduction was recorded by Bernie Wagenblast. Thank you so much for listening. We'll see you next week. 

Having ADD or ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Hear from people all around the globe, from every walk of life, in every profession, from Rock Stars to CEOs, from Teachers to Politicians, who have learned how to unlock the gifts of their ADD and ADHD diagnosis, and use it to their personal and professional advantage, to build businesses, become millionaires, or simply better their lives. Todays’ guest is Dr. Jessica McCarthy. As a clinical neuropsychologist, clinical psychologist, and certified school psychologist, Dr. McCarthy provides evidence-based neuropsychological assessment and cognitive-behavioral therapy across the lifespan. Approachable, relatable, and with a sharp sense of humor, Dr. McCarthy has a positive demeanor and quickly puts you at ease with her engaging, refreshing style, and no-nonsense but compassionate approach that holds clients accountable for working toward values-driven change. We’re happy to be talking with her today about Cognitive Behavioral Therapy.
[You are now safely here]
 
00:40 - Thank you again so much for listening and for subscribing!!
 
01:13 - Introducing and Welcome Dr. Jessica McCarthy of www.elementspsych.com

02:40 - Dr. McCarthy on her ADHD diagnosis

03:47 - About learning how to study in school

05:00 - On understanding individual strengths and capitalizing on learning 

05:30 - What do you tell a parent who’s child has just been diagnosed as neurodivergent?

07:20 - On the pitfalls of Dr.Google

08:40 - On using data points to tell a story

09:30 - Finding the right types of supports for students and parents

11:00 - On sharing the research/how good is the information?

12:20 - About the searching for information and finding a safe space to do so

14:20 - On diagnosis, accommodations and deficits

16:03 - How can people find you?
www.elementspsych.com
elements_psych on INSTA

16:38 - Thanks so much for listening to Faster Than Normal. Please join us again very soon!

Know anyone doing wonderful things with #ADHD? We would love to have them on and listen to how they are using their #neurodivergence to their advantage. Shoot me an email and we will get them booked!

So I use Brain.FM all the time and many of you do also! Today Dan rejoins us to talk about some of the new research they’ve been doing with the help of grants, benefitting those of us with ADHD/ADD/Neuroatypical, new studies exploring neural phase-locking and how business is going in general. You may improve your focus AND get 20% off by using this special link to BrainFM with the coupon code: FASTER  Enjoy!

A little more about our guest today:

Daniel has been in love with technology- and its potential to positively impact the world- for as long as he can remember. From building websites when he was 13, starting a design and advertising business at 18 and driving $2MM in revenue for multinational brands as a director for a boutique ad agency, he has truly been at the forefront of how technology can exponentially grow successful businesses. One of Brain.fm's first users, he called the company 12 times before they agreed to bring him in for an interview. When he did receive an offer, he jumped at it (even working for free for the first few weeks). He eventually moved up to Head of Technology, and is now the CEO. As CEO, Daniel is constantly striving to build a company that can not only change the world through music, but also be one of the best companies for people to work for and grow with. Daniel has visited over 20 countries across five continents, with plans to set foot on all seven (including Antarctica).

***CORONA VIRUS EDITION***

In this episode Peter & Dan Clark discuss:

1:10  -  Intro and welcome back Dan! 

2:24  -  For those who don’t know; tell us about Brain FM and describe what it does?

3:46  -  So since our last talk in 2018, how has the company grown, or changed? Ref: Checkout our first interview w/ Dan

5:10  -  On the studies Brain FM are conducting about using it for pre/post-op and how people are now able to wake up twice as fast from anesthesia – tell us more about that study! 

6:41  -  On how Brain FM is a tech company that respects & uses science, using it in the right way 

7:54  -  What has Brain FM learned to help people focus & stay calm, amidst the craziness of where the world is now?

9:15  -  On the benefits of using headphones, just in general 

10:00  -  On creating helpful habits for maintaining a good a mental state w/ the use of tech

11:12  -  On developing daily rituals

12:50  -  On the grants Brain FM have enabling them to use music for ADD/ADHD and Neurodiverse brains specifically

15:00  -  On the importance of music memory and its ability to distract the brain in one way, allowing better focus in other ways. Ref: for those of you too young to remember this song from “St. Elmo’s Fire”

17:53  -  On the importance of taking the time to learn your brain & how it functions, just like you take the time to learn how to use anything else important in your life & your pursuits 

19:07  -  Tell people how they can find you and get more info on you?  DClark on INSTA is kind of the only place and those are private so; it’s all about BRAIN.FM with Dan right now. You can find THEM @BrainFM on Facebook  and @BrainFMApp on Twitter and INSTA

19:50  -  Dan Clark, thanks so much for taking the time being on Faster Than Normal, I appreciate it.  Guys, as always, Faster Than Normal, if you liked what you heard drop us a review.  We appreciate you guys being on the podcast , we appreciate people listening. We are, as far as I can tell, one of the top, if not the top ADHD podcasts out there, so I love that, and that was all because of you guys, and I am eternally grateful. If you have a guest that you think might work, or maybe it's you, someone you know, You can always reach me via peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. You can also find us at @FasterThanNormal on all of the socials. We would love to hear from you guys, uh, it thrills us to no end when we get notes. Also, one final thing, if you have the book, if you've read Faster Than Normal the book, go on to wherever you bought it https://www.amazon.com/ or https://www.audible.com - whatever, drop us a review, you'd be amazed at how those reviews really, really help. As always, thank you for listening. ADHD is a gift, not a curse. We are looking forward to seeing you next week, you guys take care.

20:13  -  Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits!

 

TRANSCRIPT: 

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the first episode of the new year that I am recording here in my apartment, because we all know that Coronavirus does not respect a calendar, they don't have little day planners and say, “Oh, it's 2021, we can stop doing anything.”  But that being said, welcome to a new episode and a new year of Faster Than Normal.  Of course, now that I think about it, you're probably hearing this in March, so whatever, screw it. It's good to be back. It's good to see you guys. I'm glad to be here. I'm glad to be talking to you again. I'm glad to have my guests. My first guest, my first recording guest of the year, is someone I had back on 2018.  Dan Clark. Dan is the founder of Brain.fm and Brain FM. I, I use them religiously. I put music on, I put audio tracks on it my headphones, when I'm working, when I'm trying to sleep, um, it's been great. During the past year, when you know, you go to bed and, and something stupid has happened in DC  and you wake up and some more stupid shit has happened in DC.  So it is, it has been very useful to actually keep my sleep going. Dan, welcome back, glad to have you again. 

Glad to be back. 

You're still in New York, you’re surviving, and you're, you're still alive with the family?  

Surviving and thriving. Yeah, um, you know, we, uh, we're, we're not giving up on the city and, uh, you know, it's definitely coming, coming back stronger than ever.

I agree. I mean, being born and raised here, I could not agree more. Of course my, my upstairs neighbors have decided this is the perfect week to redo their floors. And so I'm, I'm, I'm questioning my, my, my decision to stay here, but I'm sure that'll stop as well. Anyway. It's good to have you mentioned, Dan, Dan has an interesting background, Dan, um, you know, he worked in advertising, he worked for multinational brands then.  He was one of Brain FM's first users. He called the company 12 times before they agreed to bring him in for an interview, and then when he received an offer, he worked free... for free for a few weeks, eventually moved to the head of technology, and now.. he's now the CEO. And for those who don't know what Brain FM is, Dan, tell us a little bit, cause I mean, I just, I'm a, I'm a huge fan, but I won’t do it justice, so tell us what it is. 

Yeah, sure, so at Brain FM, we make functional music to help you focus, relax, and sleep better. Uh, what we do is we combine science and technology into music you'd actually like to listen to, and we're putting in rhythmic pulses that create patterns that emulate, uh, the patterns that you naturally have in your brain when you're in certain mental states.  So focus relaxed or asleep and by listening to the music with these certain patterns, your brain starts to mirror the music, which allows you to shortcut into that mental state and then stay there as you’re using the product. 

And I can tell you as a user of the product, it is, it is hugely, hugely beneficial.  It actually helps me. Uh, when I sleep, I probably use it at least twice a week. You know what? I use a lot, I use it when I'm not sleeping in my own bed, which over the past nine months, it hasn't been that much because you know where the man to go. Uh, but other than, you know, when I was on planes and stuff like that, or when I was in airports or, you know, having to crash in hotels, whatever, you know, but you know how much I travel, I was using it religiously.  And it was, it was, I think it was something along the lines of it...it made me feel like I was home, right?  And it took any of the pressure of where are you, what you are doing, off, and I just, I was able to fall asleep and for someone with massive ADHD and sleep apnea, you know, that's a really good thing, so, I mean, I'm a huge fan.  Um, tell us about, so, so last time we talked to you was I believe 2000….I want to say March of 2018. So it's been almost two years, um, has the company grown? How's it doing? 

Yeah. Great questions. Um, the company has grown pretty significantly, um, we've probably grown over a 100% since we’ve talked. Um, but what we're doing now is really just getting ready, um, for, for growth. Um, we've done a lot of really interesting things which we can explore. Um, one is, you know, continuing our ADHD studies, um, which is, you know, we have grants for, to, to validate that we can be an effective treatment, um, to help, you know, other treatments that people are doing.  We've done other things where we're taking the same technology and we're doing it with people that are going through surgery. So pre and post-op, and we're finding through some of our pilot studies, um, people are waking up twice as fast from anesthesia. Um, and we're also, you know, creating systems for enterprise companies as well, so we're really, um, spreading the foundation to build and grow on. And, um, you know, it's been really interesting, especially with this pandemic where people's whole lives have changed to somewhat, and they've been really looking for tools to be able to help them keep their same level of productivity or their same sleep patterns, and like you were mentioning, and we've had a lot of people, gravitate  towards, um, you know, tools like Brain FM. 

So let's actually talk about that for a second. Cause you mentioned, you know, that it, talk to me first about the fact that people are waking up twice as fast from anesthesia, that sounds... like really, really awesome.  Talk to me a little bit about that. What kind of study? 

Yeah, it’s really exciting.  So, so, you know, what's,...what's really cool is the idea of functional music has been around forever.  There's binaural beats and isochronic tones.  We’re a different approach called Neuro phase-locking, um, and the... the cool thing is that there's actual real science that is happening in your brain, right?  So, kind of like when you shine a light bulb in someone's eye, it contracts because of an outside stimulus... that's what's happening in your brain, when you’re listening to Brain FM. We're actually aligning the functional networks of your brain to communicate more effectively. And that is the reason why people are waking up from anesthesia faster, was because of the physical effect that we're having, um, on people. Um, so it's, it's really exciting because not only can we help people in their regular life, but we've stumbled across this possibility of helping people in, you know, alternative settings. Um, and it's very exciting because if we can help people, um, you know, wake up faster, there's a lot of really great stuff there, um, but there's even more really interesting stuff pre-surgery, where if we can lower your blood pressure before or during surgery, we might be able to, um, you know, help cardiac arrest and things like that. It's way too early for us to tell, um, but it's fun because we're, we're basically starting to see that the real science that we have in our product is, is, um, an effect that's not only effective in focus or sleeping, it's, uh, effective in much more areas. 

That is amazing work, and I love the fact that you're a technology company that's actually respecting the science and using it the right way, I think that's fascinating.  I remember when I first interviewed you, um, I was, I was, uh, good friends at the time, I still am, with a woman who I also had on the podcast who was a  PhD, um, at Harvard, she was getting her PhD and she couldn't stop raving about you guys.  She heard about you on the podcast and then immediately downloaded and was addicted because it's like, “oh my God, this calms me down as I'm trying to study, right?”  And that was huge for her because she couldn't, her focus was, was, was a big thing, so I love that it's, it's, it's moving on into more science.  Talk to me for a second, about the second part of what you said when it comes down to, um, uh, doing, uh, getting people calm or focus in this ridiculous dumpster fire dystopian nightmare that we're currently living in. Um, you know, I mean, literally they, they, you know, I can't, I have to, I've learned to shut off.  I mean, I always shut off my phone, but now I keep my alerts, my, my news alerts off most of the day, because I go down a rabbit hole, right?  10am,, it’s, you know, a CNN alert needs to forget the James Earl Jones, this is CNN. It needs to come with the tagline about “what now”  right?  And so let's start reading a story, so, so instead of that, talk about what, what, um, Brain FM has learned, and is doing to help people sort of, not only focus, but stay calm and, you know, not want to jump out a window every five minutes in, in this nightmare that we're living in. 

Yeah. Well, you know, it's really interesting. So, you know, our bodies and our minds are made to mirror the environment that we're in.  So I'm sure you've heard sayings, like, you know, the people that you, surround yourself with... the people you are, um, you know, what goes in your mind, uh, you know, where energy goes, attention flows and results didn't follow. I think this is a Zig Ziglar quote, right? 

Right. 

Um, and, and it's all, it's actually true, so what happens inside of your brain is, is, is where you know where your attention is, that's where things like your reticulated activate your RDS RAS system is, is, is looking for, so when you buy a car, and then you see everyone that has the same exact car, that systems like that in place, um, and when you're looking at negative things or something like that, it's sometimes helps us skew to be more negative sometimes.  So it's really important to control your environment, um, and what's really difficult sometimes is, um, you know, having that stuff in your mind and then still trying to be productive, right. One of the easiest things though, that we can do by maybe ... we can't physically control our environment, but we can control our environment through sound.  So, you know, putting headphones on from its own place without even Brain FM, you can really block out, especially with sound canceling headphones, the technology that we have today,  It’s really easy to put yourself in a corner in your house, put on headphones and escape, and then there's an interesting thing where if you add that and then Brain FM with all the science that we're creating, um, what we're finding is people are able to say, okay, no, this is my focus time. Um, this is my relaxed time, and, um, it's, it's very interesting. So when, when this all started, we started doing focus sprints together. so we created, you know, YouTube lives of a couple of hundred people coming together and saying, this is what I'm going to do today.  And from that, we started really learning about how to just develop really strong habits to make sure that we are maintaining healthy mental states, and just a healthy life.  So, you know, one of the things that I started getting into is every single morning, no matter how I feel, I have an iced coffee and I have Brain M playing, right?  Um, I also do a chill session throughout the day, soI'll do it like after lunch or something like that, just to make sure that I'm, um, you know, being able to like, like plug in, and then unplug, and, uh, when we started explaining this and sharing this with people, we found a lot of people were like,   “I don't know what I would do without Brain FM,” especially, you know, having, you know, their, their, their husbands in the same room or their kids, or their cats, you know, I have a cat running around right now, I don't know if you can hear him, um, and it's, it's things like that, that all combined, to creating this habit with technology, to make sure that we are really the ones in control. 

No question about it. I think that, you know, you said you mentioned something about habits and as, since we're at the beginning of the new year, obviously this won't air for a couple months, but you know, everyone says, resolutions, resolutions, resolutions.  I've always been in the opinion that resolutions fail, but rituals succeed and you create rituals by creating habits, right?  And so I'm not going to lose 20 pounds by tomorrow, right? and believe me. I've tried, but what can happen? Is that I can vow to get up a half an hour earlier every day and just try to do that for 30 days and, and, and exercise, right.  What will happen at the end of that month is that I will have created a ritual that will transform into the resolution that I wanted, right? And so music and sound plays a huge part in that, in my, in my experience, in that I know that, you know, I'm a Peloton junkie, as you know, and, and I, I took, um, I had my best output I've had in months the other day, ‘cause it was the greatest showman ride. And I know every song by heart, right?  And, um, well, top of my lungs, right. you know, dying, you know, and my, my, my, my organs are spilling out of my body, but because music can do that in so many facets and so many facets it's creating, you're creating habits and rituals.  And I almost look at along the lines of, I, I, told my daughter, there was absolutely no way we were getting a puppy, uh, during lockdown, which of course means I have a puppy now. And as I tried to train it, it really is just repetition, repetition, repetition, and you get the dog, you know, you get the dog in the habit of going out at 4:30 in the morning to pee... Talk to me about 4:30 in the morning to pee, right?  And so it's the same thing, you know, if that, if you hear that music, that specific type of music, it tells you it's time to chill, it's time to ramp up. So under that, and I think that that more than anything, it needs to be a lot more studies into that. And you have some grants. Well, you're learning.  And you mentioned that you're learning about, uh, what music can do for ADD/ADHD and neuro-diverse brains touch on that for a second. 

Yeah, sure. So we have a, a lot of grants that we've, um, we're currently, you know, waiting to hear back from as well as, um, some grants that we're executing. Um, it's very interesting.  So, you know, we...some of the adaptive technology that we talked about in the beginning with, as those rhythmic pulses and what we're doing is we're adding modulations to sound, um, and what's happening is it's kind of like, almost like a helicopter effect, like   and it's in a certain pattern.  That is, um, is aligning those functional networks. What we find in ADHD brains is that that pattern has to be ramped up significantly higher because of the hyperactivity, um, that, that, uh, people with ADHD have. And what's really interesting is when we combine that with this higher level of, um, modulations in the music, what we're able to do…  is help people unlock their flow state very quickly and faster in ADHD brains than we are in maybe normalized brains.  Um, you know, we've, I, and I love your podcasts because, um, you know, it's all about ADHD as a superpower. Um, I believe that with someone that has it as well, and it's very interesting because, um, we're starting to unlock why and, and starting to harness that. So, um, one of the things we just actually released in our app is this thing called the Neural Effect filter where you can actually say, I want high setting, you know, or low setting or whatever, and start taking the technology and control it yourself, and um, people with ADHD, um, click that high button all day because that's exactly what they need to help support them, um, and the really interesting thing is, is part of the reason why Brain FM works so well, um, is not only the, the, the biological component, but because it's actually distracting your brain just enough to help you be more effective.  It's kind of like, taking care of your monkey mind almost. 

Um, it makes, that makes sense. It makes complete, perfect sense. I remember before my parents knew I was ADHD, and I was just a disruption in class, I remember that they would never a punishment for me, it was, I wasn't allowed to listen to music while I worked, and that was the biggest mistake they ever conceivably could have made because I did so well once I had music going in it, even to this day, I mean, I, you know, we all have music memory, right. We hear a song and we think, “oh my God, I remember exactly where I was at that moment. I still remember. I still remember, uh, waking up, uh, I guess my alarm went off, but it was, I must have been like 14, 15, 16. Uh, my alarm went off and I was, I was, I was,uh, it was soft. It was like a Saturday, so they didn't have to wake up early and it was a radio clock radios, and it was, it was the song, um, uh, St. Elmo's Fire,  Man In Emotion by John Parr.  And I remember listening to the whole song sort of half asleep, half awake, and seeing it by the end of the song I woke up and I was like, this is going to be the greatest thing in the world. this level of focus and, and, and, you know, to this day, it's still pretty hard to get back. You know, it there's so much that that being able to take a certain percentage of your brain and just like you said, distract it to do something else, allowing you to focus on the stuff that matters, you know, when you, when you stop and think about it, um, uh, one of the, one of the things about ADHD is, you know, kids get in trouble all the time for speaking out of turn, I remember I used get in trouble for making the, the kids laugh, like being the class clown, and what I learned later in life was, that I was actually trying to give myself more dopamine. Uh, so I could sit down and focus, right? I was actually getting in trouble because I wanted to learn, right. I couldn't stay still. I couldn't because I wanted to focus, but I needed the ... And so, so it's the same thing, being able to distract the brain in one way allows you to focus better in another way, it's phenomenal. 

Yeah. And I think we're just starting to figure that out. Like neurochemically, um, you know, biologically, uh, there's, there's a lot of really interesting things, um, the more we study Brain FM, the more, um, and this sounds weird, but the more impressed we are with, with the, the kind of perfectness of, of the, the system, you can do similar things that, you know, these modulations, you can do it in light, you can do an Vibracoustic. So like by, um, you know, vibrations and things like that, um, you can do it with other mediums, but what's really interesting is your ears are one of the most sensitive parts of your body.  Um, and they can, they can, um, detect, um, frequencies and things way more intense than...than other parts right?  And it really allows you to not, uh, have to like pay attention. It's something that works well with, with what we're doing in our daily lives. So most of us sit at a computer and we have to sit down and work right, and you can't have flashing lights in your face and all that stuff, but you can easily put headphones on and it like aids you and supercharges you rather than taking something away. Um, and it's fun to start figuring this out and, and start making the product better. Um, while we learn about the human brain at the same time.

I think it's the best part is that, is that, you know, the more I start to sort of understand my brain and learn about it and, and I don't want to say biohackers God, that word is so fucking overused right?  You know, I, I don't, I don't need someone to tell me what macronutrients I need to be injecting in my eyeballs or some crap like that, but the premise of just understanding how your brain works, I don't think enough people take the time to realize that, you know, the, the best tools are the ones that you understand completely how they work. I mean, when I became a skydiver, I had to learn every single inch of my parachute because you know, it has that sorta job of, you know, saving my life. And I, you know, you don't want your last 30 seconds on this planet before you impact it, you know, to be what does that thing do? And maybe it should, you know, should they have done that? And, you know, and so you learn and, and, and you feel more confident and safe, right?  I trust my gear. I, I trust my training and my gear, and I think that we all need to spend a little more time understanding our brains and learning about our brains and learning what affects, what, you know, it's something as simple as why I exercise so early. I know that if I do have a better day, right?  I'm not, I'm not a PhD. I don't, I'm not, I'm going to do, uh, you know, a neuroscientist. I don't understand what the chemicals, uh, what their names are, but I understand what happens when I get off the bike, right… and how I feel. And so, yeah, I think more people need to do that. I love that you guys are taking the role in that.  Um, we’re running out of time. Dan, it's... it's Brain.FM, I know that we used to have a, a, um, a, a discount code for you guys, so I'm assuming I'll get a new one from... from you guys, and we'll, we'll hook that back up because I want to start promoting it, we'll promote it on the, uh, on the site and the podcast, but I really appreciate you…. you spending the time.  Do you have, like a blog or do you have a... what's your social so people can follow you and all your, all your exploits. 

Yeah. I mean, so I don't really do tons of socials. Um, you know, I have an Instagram, which is just the Clark, um, which you can find me, but, um, but yeah, I mean, I really putting all my heart and soul and Brain FM right now, and then, uh, eventually I'll have a social life again.

Awesome, I love it, and, and know you, I thought the same thing until I sold my company and no, you, you don't, you'll, you'll find something else to do and you won't have a social life again, it happens. But anyway, Dan, thank you so much for taking the time, guys, this is Faster Than Normal. We love what we do, do, and we love just as passionate as Dan is about Brain FM, we are just as passionate about what we do here. If you liked what you heard, drop us a review, leave us a note, shoot me an email. Let us know who else we should have on the podcast, we're always looking for new guests, we would love that. Reach out any time http://www.petershankman.com/  at Faster Than Normal at @petershankman.  We will see you next week with a brand new episode. Thank you again for listening. Have a great day.

Credits: You've been listening to the Faster Than Normal podcast. We're available on iTunes, Stitcher and Google play and of course at www.FasterThanNormal.com I'm your host, Peter Shankman and you can find me at petershankman.com and @petershankman on all of the socials. If you like what you've heard, why not head over to your favorite podcast platform of choice and leave us a review, come more people who leave positive reviews, the more the podcast has shown, and the more people we can help understand that ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Opening and closing themes were composed and produced by Steven Byrom who also produces this podcast, and the opening introduction was recorded by Bernie Wagenblast. Thank you so much for listening. We'll see you next week. 

Mordecai and I have been friends in same orbit.. at least since the dawn of the Dotcom world. He is the Chief Strategist of Blue Thread Marketing, a boutique Israeli digital agency working with clients that have spanned across 8 countries. He also serves as the New Media Director for the city of Jerusalem's tourism division. Mordecai recently was ranked as 2019 Top Digital Marketing Influencers. Mordecai is an avid blogger and an active contributor to the digital marketing space, including contributions to Fast Company and mentions in Buzzfeed, CMO.com, Forbes & Inc. His articles have been featured on industry-leading sites including Social Media Today  Business2Community, Social Media World, Post Planner, and co-schedule. Mordecai recently launched Empathize It, a podcast focused on entrepreneurship, empathy and the digital economy. Mordecai is part of the global network of key opinion leaders for Huawei, China's largest and fastest-growing tech company. Today we talk about systems and practices this man with many talents and jobs uses to keep it all happening, healthy and growing. Enjoy!

 

In this episode Peter & Mordecai discuss:

So many people have asked if Peter does private coaching- so now it’s happening!! Check out shankminds.com/ADHDCoaching

1:16-  Intro & welcome Mordecai Holtz!

2:46-  When were you diagnosed with ADHD?

4:08-  Exercise is key. On systems & routines to get you up & moving each morning! Ref: Peter’s book “Faster Than Normal: Turbocharge Your Focus, Productivity, and Success with the Secrets of the ADHD Brain”

5:08-  Ref:  OnePeleton.com   https://twitter.com/onepeloton

5:33-  You do like.. a million things, and you’re based where?

6:10-  Talk about how you’re able to separate & focus on your different jobs and also make time to do all of them.

7:21-  You get up super early! How does the time difference affect your work?

8:13-  What’s your home life like?

9:27-  It’s working for you!! What would be your top three pieces of advice for our listeners?

11:12-  On explaining your strengths to others

12:00- Are you listening to this podcast on double or triple playback speed? ;-)

12:20-  Tell us about a time where your ADHD really has worked to your advantage

14:20-  What are a few tools you employ often; digital or otherwise? Ref:  Google Calendar  Notion App

16:05-  How can people find you Mordecai? NoHoltzBarred.com @MordecaiHoltz:  Twitter, FB, INSTA, LinkedIn

16:30-  Thank you Mordecai! And thank YOU for subscribing, reviewing and listening. Your reviews are working! Even if you’ve reviewed us before, would you please write even a short one for this episode? Each review that you post helps to ensure that word will continue to spread, and that we will all be able to reach & help more people! You can always reach me via peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. You can also find us at @FasterThanNormal on all of the socials.

17:00-  Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits

As always, leave us a comment below and please drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! As you know, the more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! Do you know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note, we’d love to hear!

Miles Mendoza is an author and freelance writer living in New York City. His writing often draws upon experiences as a veteran and various other emergency service roles he’s occupied. His poetic essay, “Escape From Harlem,” was published in The Void magazine’s December 2020 edition. Another, “Exotic Fruit,” was featured in the AT THE PITH art exhibit at the Nook Gallery in Oakland, California. Most recently, the author collaborated with artist and Professor Tiffany Lin to develop a satirical news story highlighting workers' rights issues (www.tlinart.com/fight-santorg). In September of 2021, Miles published his first book. "Speaking in Midnight Tongues and Other Symptoms of Neon Fever" is a collection of poetry, essays, and short stories that address themes of addiction, trauma, and creativity. When not freelancing, the author maintains a poetry and fiction website: www.MilesWrites.Blog. His work can also be found on his Instagram account: @mileswrites. Today he’s sharing about hyper-vigilance, a different- maybe more observant side/speed of the ADHD brain, and advice on how your anxiety can kind of direct you towards being more efficient, if not productive. Enjoy!

 

In this episode Peter and Miles discuss:  

 

1:17 - Intro and welcome Miles Mendoza! Ref: “Escape From Harlem”

3:20 - What’s it like to be a freelance writer and be working on everything all the time & have ADHD?

5:49 - Ref: Ten Ways to be Happier When You Live/Love Someone Diagnosed With ADHD

6:09 - When were you diagnosed?

8:00 - upon joining the military

9:20 - What did you learn in the Marine Corps that you still apply to your daily routines?

11:00 - Ref: FTN episode with Jack Walston

12:25 - on processing everything at the same time

12:33 - on processing speeds

14:05 - on hyper vigilance

15:10 - about the effectiveness of flash cards

16:24 - Tell us more about how you processed the Will Smith slap?

17:42 - How can people find more about you and what you’re doing? Web: [17:42 - How can people find more about you and what you’re doing? Web: www.MilesWrites.Blog  Socials: @mileswrites on INSTA 

18:21 - Thank you Miles! Guys, as always, we are here for you and we love the responses and the notes that we get from you; so please continue to do that! Tell us who you want to hear on the podcast, anything at all; we’d love to know.  Leave us a review on any of the places you get your podcasts, and if you ever need our help I'm www.petershankman.com and you can reach out anytime via peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. You can also find us at @FasterNormal on all of the socials. It really helps when you drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! As you know, the more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! 

18:55 - Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits

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TRANSCRIPT:

Oh, hellooooo-Ladies and gentlemen my name is Peter Shankman and this is Faster Than Normal. Welcome to another episode! I am your host. I said that already. I am exhausted. I flew in last night from Montana. Boy are my arms tired. It was a three-hour delay on the flight. Um, I got home around 2:00 AM. I had to be up at six to get my kid to school. Um, oh. And by the way, I'm in the middle of an 120 hour water fast. So I am about 60 hours in and I am just exhausted. So don't come near me. I will kill you. But that being said, we have a phenomenal guest. 

Y’know.. there are some sites out there on the internet that are just amazing in terms of knowledge and things you can learn. And then there are sites that are just cesspools of filth and depravity. And I was on the cesspool side of the coin a few a month ago or so, and I was on Reddit and I was reading about it. It was right around the time of the Chris Rock Will Smith slap. And I was reading an article about it or a story about it, and I read it and I saw this quote that came from a guy and ran into his quote, said, dude, I have ADHD. So maybe this is just a me thing, but do you know how many of my day-to-day interactions slash reactions are autopiloted while my brain is working on a delay to process what was actually said. So.. what that told me, first of all, the brothers from another mother type thing, but what was amazing about that is that there really are two types of ADHD. There's the ADHD that says, oh my God, someone's not even halfway through their sentence, but I know I have to respond. I know what they're gonna say. And let me just respond right now and lemme interrupt. And then there's the other half. That says I'm just going to watch this because I, my brain has to catch. Everything is moving so fast and my brain moves so fast. But in this situation, I'm going to catch up and make sure I know all the facts. That is what our guest was talking about on Reddit. His name is Miles Mendoza and Miles is an author and a freelance writer. He's living in New York city. We met on Reddit. He lives like 20 blocks for me and his writing draws upon experiences and various other emergency service roles he's occupied. His poetic essay Escape from Harlem was published in The Void magazines’ December 2020 edition. And another exotic fruit was featured at the, At the Pith Art exhibit at The Nook gallery in Oakland, California. He's from the Bay area. He lives in New York city and in September of 2021, he published his first book Speaking in Midnight Tongues and Other Symptoms of Neon Fever: Poetry & Essays, which is a collection of poetry, essays, and short stories that address themes. Trauma and creativity; pretty much sounds ADHD to me. Every single theme in that, in that, uh, book of short stories is something that we've all dealt with as ADHD and that whole brain thing- we're in talk about it. Miles. Welcome. Glad to finally have you on the podcast, buddy. 

Nice to meet you.Thank you for having me. 

So talk let's let's go back. So you live in New York city. You're married. Um, you're a journalist slash a freelance writer slash author. Let's talk for starters about what it's like to be freelance and to be working on any given thing at any given time when you have ADHD. 

Well in many ways, it's great. You, um, you're working on a bunch of different things. Your brain is stimulated on a bunch of different subjects all the time. I wouldn't be able to do this 10 years ago though, because I had to develop a bunch of different skills that I.. like to overcompensate for what would have been a very messy approach to business. So I, I, I work off of, I think I have multiple to do lists every single day and in a lot of those to do lists, uh, have to do with like, Take my dog out for the second time today, you need to go up three times. So I need to put that on the list. You need to go up three times. So every single, I didn't hear everything from like haircut to have lunch is on this to-do list. And if there's not enough yellow check marks on that list at the end of the day, I know I did a bad job. Uh, so, but then there's the great thing of like, I get to research different subjects which is. Essentially, I've tried to commodify what I did with my days anyways. So I I'm the kind of person who falls into, um, an obsession on a new subject every other day, I'll fall down rabbit holes. So I try to like, to really kind of take that momentum and just try to commodify it. And, uh, for my own business, it has worked to a certain degree. Um, I do get myself into a lot of situations where I am, uh, I over-packed myself at work because I feel best when I don't have any idle hands, idle parents for at least myself, as some of the ADHD tends to lead to trouble. And, uh, and that's what I was kind of writing about. Um, I wrote a, uh, an essay about, um, what it's like to live with a wife who does not have ADHD in any way, in fact, a very, she's a great student. She's about to finish her, um, nurse anesthesiology master's program. And when she picks up a book, that's what she's going to read until it's time to put it down. Whereas I have hundreds of books I've read most of them, but I have not finished..most of them, you know, that's, that's just kind of how my brain works. 

It's funny. You mentioned that I wrote, uh, one of them when I was going through my divorce success at 16, one of the most read articles I published on medium was, um, Ten Ways to be Happier When You Live/Love Someone Diagnosed With ADHD. You know, it was, it was the whole premise that, you know, there'll be times when I have this great experience and all I want to do is share it with the person I love and I'll call and they'll be in a meeting, but they're not answering their phones so obviously it's because they know that I'm calling they don't want to talk to me and they hate me and in my mind I've already broken up gotten divorced moved on with my life um, you know, and then they call me back and they're like, you know, th’f*ck's wrong with you? So yeah, I totally, I totally get that. But. When were you diagnosed?

You know, interesting story on that. I, uh, I came, I come from that generation where like, it seemed like every other kid in the class was diagnosed, uh, right about right about when I was in middle school. So what was that; in the late nineties, early two thousands. And I was already. I clearly had it, but I don't think it was just coming into the national conversation um, so, you know, I, I did well on tests. I was a nice enough kid with my family. I just didn't do my homework. I’d either forget about it or just could not get up to the point of performing it. And as I got older, that became more and more of an issue. And so I think that somewhere around fifth or sixth grade, I went to a doctor. And that was a pediatrician, but the problem was that I was? able to keep up with  conversation with him. He put me down in like the lower range. He was like, if he has ADHD that he's like, I, I can give you the prescription, um, on the diagnosis, but he's on the lower range. And so I remember getting Ritalin when I was a child and it, it, I, it didn't react well with me. I, I don't know if you've ever seen the episode of the King of The Hill where Bobby gets a Ritalin. 

Oh my God favorite show! 

Yeah, exactly. So like, it was pretty much that I was like, I was just sitting, staring at a wall. My parents freaked out. They were like, no, get him off of this. Uh, so I never really thought about it too much.I kind of knew that I had, it was in the back of my head. Um, but it really didn't become an issue for me because, uh, my approach to school was all over the place, but, uh, it didn't become an issue until I impulsively joined the Marine Corps. And then suddenly having your ducks in order is very, very important. And yeah. And there were a lot of moments where to this day, I think back to bootcamp, I, I'm not a religious guy per se, but, uh, I almost turned to Jesus in that sense, because there were these moments where. I did not know, like you have to have your things, like, they will tell you, you need, you know, here's the 10 things on the gear list and you have to have them when you had asked for. And I was like, cool, I've got my 10 things. And then there would just be nine things and like, okay, now w where is it? And like, I need this right now. And then something would just appear. So I, I, I remember at one point I was like, there is a supernatural force looking out for me. I now realize it was probably some dude next to me going, I got to help this idiot. But, yeah, so I thought 

I want to stop. I let’s stop and talk about that for a minute. 

Of course. 

So you joined the military, [[microphone rustles across entire frequency spectrum]] and I have said multiple times on this podcast that if I was smarter about what was actually going on in my brain when I was younger, because ADHD didn't exist when I was a kid. Right. You’re disturbing the class did.. and I have a feeling that if I had been smarter about this and been more knowledgeable, I might've done the same thing because today my life is entirely based on rituals calendars alarms, set ups, do this, then do this. Then, you know, when COVID hit and I had, I would give a speech on zoom and then have the three days of travel that I'd normally be traveling busy to do nothing it was, it was hard, right? The calendar had to be full. So it seems me like Tell me what you learned. I'm fascinated by this. Tell me what you learned in the military that you were able to then apply, especially in the Marines, they were able to apply to life everyday. I mean, is that where you got the concept of the to-do list and the calendars and all that?

Yeah, exactly. So what the military does is it creates like a huge amount of consequences for when you screw up. So suddenly you're kind of always in a fight or flight reflex, and I'm not just talking, I'm not talking about combat or anything. I'm just talking about day-to-day life about living in the fleet is you need to, you need to be places 15, sometimes 30, 45m early. And so you start building buffers into your life and you start realizing like, okay, I don't want to spend my weekend on duty, or I don't want to get my ass chewed out by a staff Sergeant or something like that. So you start to like build in all these things, so you can live a decent life and not everything comes out of the military with you. You do relax a bit. I certainly relaxed quite a bit, but, um, And you do keep these certain things. Like I have like internal timers that tell me like, Hey, you're getting close to that meeting per se for like for today, I knew I had to be at a certain place to do a certain thing. And I started having like internal alarm clocks go off before and it's like, you should be ready 15 minutes beforehand, because what if, you know, you get mugged on the way back to your apartment and you're, you know, now you're late for the worst thing possible is to be late. And you start to worry about how you appear to the world around you because that perception and military.. is often “perception is reality”. 

Right? Wow. Okay. Interesting. We do a lot of the same things and, and it, it, it, it.

Back in 2001, a former Navy seal who's since passed away a man named Jack Walston, I've had him on the podcast. Very, very, influential man in my life, he started a course, uh, for civilians, uh, where he'd come to.. he was based in Houston and he'd bring it to New York for two weeks or two weeks, four times a year where you'd basically just go and play in central park from 4:00 AM to 7:00 AM and get your ass kicked. Right. It was basically bootcamp. And, you know, for someone who you know, up until the early two thousands, you know, only ran by pressing X on a joystick, um, you know, and to the store for cigarettes, like wanting to do this and actually enjoying it and needing it in my life and doing it like 15 times was massive for me. And, you know, they're totally unexpected, but I get it now. And then the more I talked to the people like you, the more, I totally understand it. You, these rituals, these things that, you know, I'm a free spirited, are actually what ground you and what allow you to be creative because you're not worried about, okay, I'm going to miss this meeting or that miss this appointment or go down this rabbit hole.

Uh, absolutely. It's uh, to me, I, I think we live in a pretty anxious society and I I'm sure part of that internally. Uh, but I it's like weaponizing your anxiety. Like let that anxiety kind of direct you towards being productive, or at least being efficient. 

Very cool. So let's talk for a second about sort of that slower brain.  Do you think that the concept of ADHD is faster than normal? It's faster brain? The, the, the, the premise that we are always thinking 20 steps ahead and, and that's what we need to control because otherwise, you know, we're going to crash into a tree, um. In your, from what I'm hearing from you, you're actually sitting and processing the reason you might have a, you mentioned something that, where you said, uh, you know, there'll be times when when you know, you've been called out or you're about to get into a fight and you don't, you don't even flinch and everyone thinks that oh wow, he's so, he's so brave, but no, you just haven't really processed what's been going on yet.

Yeah. So for me, it is still an issue of like doing too many things too fast. A lot of times when I'm having a conversation, I, I have like, uh, I've been diagnosed with hyper vigilance, so I'm paying attention to everything in the room. I’m listening to conversations next to me. I'm watching people walk into the room. Uh, and, and I know that that sometimes comes with ADHD. You don't necessarily have to have like, Uh, trauma necessarily to spark this, but it is, it's an over-processing, it's like more Ram than, than hard drive. It's operating with one and not the other. So it's, I am, I am paying attention, but it is possible that I may have rehearsed inter-reaction already. So like, I mean, you know, I'm going to go meet with a friend for lunch. Uh, I know how long it's been since I met that friend. I know the questions that I should ask. I am then applying like I am, I'm now deploying that social plan or that social plan while interacting with them.  And then as I'm doing that, I am also getting dragged, congratulating myself for deploying that correctly and not listening to the answers. It's not that I don't want to; it’s not that I don't value what they have to say; it's just that my brain is sometimes applying more focus on some background things that are going on as well. 

Well, I think that happens in, in terms of, you know, we're constantly, when you're able to see a lot of what you're doing also is figuring out what the next question you ask is what the next, where the conversation is going. Um, and I've noticed that happens to me when I meet someone for the first time and I ask them to name right as they're about, tell me the name I’ve already moved on to think about what I'm gonna say next and I will never remember the name. Ever.

Absolutely. Uh, the names, uh, spouses names. If I, I I'm sorry. A lot of my friends is, uh, third spouses.. I probably will never truly know their names. I will always be asking other friends or my wife, what is that person's, uh, girlfriend or boyfriend's name, you know, or before we even get there. 

That's funny. You're very fortunate to have a wife who's a, who’s got your back like that. 

Oh, she's incredibly tolerant for someone who just learns.. that's what I've noticed is that, um, a lot of ADH deers are, I don't know how we describe ourselves. Um, we, we absorb information. We can interact with it very intensely and then five years later, have no idea how to do that again, like our brain dumping abilities are quite impressive almost. Uh, and, and. 

No. It's funny, many times I remember in school, one of the things that was was, you know, I hated tests and things like that, but when I had one, I would sit down.. once I discovered flashcards, right  my life changed. I'd sit down. I've learned it. I get tested on it, I’d pass and then puke it up. It's gone, right? 

Right? It's like, it's like your brain does a deep fragmenting and it just like just tosses it and there might be shreds of it there, and you can fall back on it. But for me, I, it, it meant that I needed for a career to rely on internal skills that were actual, like baseline talents that I would always kno. For me, that was always writing so I that's what I, what I ended up going to ultimately, I also have, had I had a very adventurous personality. So for a long time emergency services for EMS, all of that, I loved it because I was just excited to be out there on the street and see what was going on right now that I'm, I'm calming down a little bit and I want a little bit of a safer career choice it’s I had to go back again to the thing that never left me. It was my ability to write, edit and whatnot, but, uh, learning actual new skills and then just holding onto them for years at a time. Never really been my forte. 

Interesting. Tell us about more about the slowing brain. You, you can use Will Smith as an example. You're watching it happen in real time and yet  you weren't processing. I, I think in all fairness, millions of us watching in real time didn't process it. 

Uh yeah.. It's one of those things where it's like, I, I identified mostly because like in real life, when, when events like that happen, they don't, they don't make sense. And they don't make narrative sense. If you're making a movie, the first thing you're going to do is show Will Smith, like getting angry at the joke. Right. But in real life, yeah. He's going to laugh with you. Uh, people react to things illogically sometimes. And I just identified with that for me. When I, when my wife's telling me a story, I sometimes I I'm trying to process and keep in mind everything that's going on. And it makes what her words coming out of her mouth it's a little like watching a washout VHS tape. And it's you kind of, you know it because you've seen the, you've seen that video so many times, but you're not getting grasping all the details in the weight of everything that's going on. So you kind of have to say either stop or say that to me again, or in my case, I often am able to replay back events. So I'm just operating on like a 15 to 22nd delay before I fully understand what's going on. 

Very, very interesting. Tell us, uh, I know you have a website that I mentioned earlier. Tell us again, tell us where people can find you things like that. 

[17:42 - How can people find more about you and what you’re doing? Web: https://www.nontradaccelerator.com/academic-coaching Socials: @mileswrites on INSTA www.tlinart.com/fight-santorg ] 

In September of 2021, Miles published his first book. "Speaking in Midnight Tongues and Other Symptoms of Neon Fever" is a collection of poetry, essays, and short stories that address themes of addiction, trauma, and creativity. When not freelancing, the author maintains a poetry and fiction website: www.MilesWrites.Blog.]

Oh, uh, Myles writes DOB blog is where I post, uh, I try to curate the best of my material at the mind, poetic essays, um, poetry, uh, some fiction I write in a broad spectrum. And then, uh, you can also find me at miles writes on. Instagram, uh, which is where I usually, that's more of my, my rough draft contents are, you'll hear me scream about some political opinions here or there, but for the most part, you can find all my best material on mileswrites dot blog right. 

Awesome. Very cool. Well Miles, thank you so much for taking the time! 

Guys. You've listened to Miles, man. I really appreciate you coming in and being so honest and you know, that's, I guess that's the one, my one, you get one shot a year where you find something worthwhile on Reddit. So I guess that was it, um, for this year. So I appreciate you taking the time, man. Thank you so much.

Of course, thank you. 

Guys, listening to Faster Than Normal as always you know the drill. If you like what you hear then leave us a review. If you want more info or advanced a dog just jumped in my lap oh hello Waffle. And we would love to know more, feel free to share uh what you're thinking. We will see you next week with a brand new interview. Thank you for listening. Stay safe, stay well.

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Credits: You've been listening to the Faster Than Normal podcast. We're available on iTunes, Stitcher and Google play and of course at www.FasterThanNormal.com I'm your host, Peter Shankman and you can find me at petershankman.com and @petershankman on all of the socials. If you like what you've heard, why not head over to your favorite podcast platform of choice and leave us a review, come more people who leave positive reviews, the more the podcast has shown, and the more people we can help understand that ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Opening and closing themes were composed and produced by Steven Byrom who also produces this podcast, and the opening introduction was recorded by Bernie Wagenblast. Thank you so much for listening. We'll see you next week!

Melissa Finkelstein is a New Jersey- based author, lawyer, and proud mom of three. Melissa has been writing and rhyming since she could form words. After graduating from Fordham Law, she began her career as a litigator in Manhattan. Because rhyming has always been her passion, she created a custom poetry business, Designer Rhymes so she could maintain that creative outlet. Once she had her son (7), and twin daughters (4), each with unique personalities and needs, the stars aligned for Melissa to publish her first children's book. Picky the Panda and the Tickly Tail is the first book in a series of three to come from author Melissa Finkelstein. Picky the Panda is a heartwarming story about a highly sensitive panda, which shares lessons of embracing sensory differences, practicing empathy, and recharging when overwhelmed. Picky the Panda was inspired by Melissa's daughter Skylar who has sensory processing disorder. Picky the Panda is now available on Amazon and in select children's bookstores. Enjoy! 

In this episode Peter and Melissa discuss:  

01:20 - Thank you so much for listening and for subscribing!

01:39 - Intro and welcome Melissa Finkelstein!

02:48 - So from Law to Children’s books; tell us your story!

05:40 - Isn’t it amazing what kids teach us. Are you finding that people are familiar with the topics in your book?

06:57 - What led to getting your daughter diagnosed?

09:30 - How old is she now and have all of your children read the book?

10:15 - Do you think that she’s beginning to, (or will), benefit some from advances in awareness, research, etc?

11:18 - What’s been the reaction and feedback to your book outside of the family?

12:00 - Is the book being used to explain to your daughter's classmates about Sensory Processing Disorder?

13:30 - On possessing supercharged senses

14:25 - How can people find more about you? Web: Everywhere fine books are sold

Socials:  @melissafinkelsteinbooks on INSTA

14:45 - Thank you Melissa!

15:02 - Guys, as always thanks so much for subscribing! Faster Than Normal is for YOU! We want to know what you’d like to hear! Do you have a cool friend with a great story? We’d love to learn about, and from them. I'm www.petershankman.com and you can reach out anytime via email at peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. You can also find us at @FasterNormal on all of the socials. It really helps when you drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! As you know, the more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! 

15:41 - Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits.

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TRANSCRIPT via Descript and then corrected.. somewhat:

[00:00:34] Peter: Hey everyone, how's it going? My name is Peter Shankman and this is Faster Than Normal. I wanted to see if you expected me to say it, try to shake things up a little bit. Okay. It is a Thursday here in a very cold New York City. We have to say a fond farewell to fall, which lasted about. Two and a half days, and we are most certainly into winter. It's about 34 degrees outside right now, sunny, but cold as hell. So I am inside with a sleeping dog and with Melissa Finkelstein. She's actually in New Jersey, but we are talking today because Melissa is a New Jersey based author, lawyer, and proud mom of three. She's been writing and rhyming since she could form words. Her words, not mine. After graduating from Fordham Law, she began her career as a litigator in Manhattan. She created a custom poetry business called Designer Rhymes. So here she is as a litigator. Did you, I, I gotta ask you later, remind me to ask you if you actually rhymed during court cases. Cause that would've been awesome. Mm-hmm. . But why are we talking to her today? We're talking to her. She has a son who's seven and twin daughters who are four. They each have unique personality and needs. That's where she decided to publish her first book called her first Children's book called Picky the Panda and the Tickly Tale. It's a first book in a series of three and Picky The Panda is a heartwarming story about a highly sensitive panda who shares lessons of embracing sensory diff differences, practicing empathy and recharging when overwhelmed, and I think we can all relate to that Picky The Panda- on Amazon and everywhere you get children's books. Welcome Melissa. Good to have you. 

[00:02:15] Melissa: Good morning. Thank you so much. I'm so happy to be here. Thanks for that intro

[00:02:18] Peter: And just in case you ever think that nothing good comes out of divorce. Melissa came to me through my ex, let me get this right, my ex sister-in-law. 

[00:02:32] Melissa: That's right. 

[00:02:33] Peter: My ex-step sister-in-law. Right.

[00:02:34] Melissa: I think you're stuck with her. I think she's just your sister-in-law still. 

[00:02:37] Peter: Yeah. My sister-in-law, she reached out to me and said, you know, hey, have a guest for you. I'm like, I didn't even know you knew I had a podcast. So good to know . Anyway, it is great to meet you, Melissa. Thank you for taking the time. So from law to children's books, tell us your story! 

[00:02:52] Melissa: Sure. So I've always been a writer and a rhymer, um, as I said, and that's really been my passion and that's kinda how I wound up in law. Um, I thought, you know, I'm really good at writing. I'm good at. Reading and problem solving. My skill sets seem to fit. I'm gonna go be a lawyer. It sounds pretty fancy and you know, I can have all this success and, um, I did have some fun and, you know, some fulfillment doing it, but I really missed like the joy and the whimsy of my childhood, to be honest. Um, so I toyed with the idea. Maybe I would be a preschool teacher. I know that couldn't be more opposite from being a litigator in Manhattan, but I really just wanted to use my creativity. My fun, you know, happy go lucky personality and doing like corporate insecurities litigation really didn't bring me that kind of joy. Um, as you might expect. And, you know, my life was all about disputes and I, I'm all about making peace. I'm like, what am I doing? Why am I fighting for a living? So this, this isn't bringing me joy anymore. Um, so all along, as you mentioned, while I was litigating, I had my little side gig, which just really was. You know, a passion project and bringing me happiness and it was creating custom poems for people for, you know, milestone occasions and that kind of thing. And I loved making others happy through my words. And so once I had my kids, I thought, you know, this is perfect. They're all so different. You know, they're, they learned so much from children's books and I think this would be a great outlet for me to use my words and. You know, I, I'm starting a series of three books, each of which are inspired by my three kids. So they're like my little muses at this point. Um, and in doing so, I'm focusing on what, you know, one of their biggest personality, um, pieces or struggles or challenges are to, you know, try to reach children like them. And in doing so, I wrote and published my first book, Picky The Panda and the Tickly Tale as you mentioned. And it is inspired by my little girl, Skyler, who has sensory processing disorder. And I didn't realize that by sharing her story, um, you know, I actually have become kind of a sensory processing disorder advocate and someone who is working. My butt off at this point to bring awareness to this condition and to what children like Skyler and um, like so many of your listeners might be experiencing. And that has been one of the most beautiful things to come from pivoting into my role as a children's book author. 

[00:05:22] Peter: It's interesting because, you know, I mean, first of all, I had some nursery school teachers who definitely could have been litigators, but, but that's neither here nor there. Um, , it's interesting, you know, you made that switch. Kids do that. They, they, they have this uncanny ability to take whatever you think is your thing and just completely flip it on its head. Um, the concept of sensory processing disorder much like ADD, a ADHD executive function disorder. Not a lot is known. And so bringing, I, I'm assuming one of the reasons you wrote the book was to bring awareness to sensory process. Absolut, what are you finding, um, when you tell people about it, what percentage would you say understand, oh yeah, of course. I've heard of that. Or, or, you know, is it, I mean, are you, are you, is it a constant battle with the teachers? Is it, how, how, how are you finding that to be?

[00:06:14] Melissa: It's becoming a much more wide spread. Um, you know, thing that people are aware of right now, but I think really the book shares this Panda's experience as being a highly sensitive, um, individual and what she goes through. And I think people are really relating to her experience more than they may have known or been aware of a diagnosis or a condition, um, called sensory processing disorder. So that's really been beneficial to me. Um, so yeah, I would say. I, I don't know. It's a smaller percentage than I would like for people to be aware of because it is a very real condition and you know, a very intense experience for those who go through it. 

[00:06:57] Peter: How did you discover that your, how did you get your d daughter diagnosed? What was, what was sort of the key takeaways that, that made you say, Hey, we should look into this? 

[00:07:06] Melissa: So she was in, so she's a twin. I'll start with that. So, um, I was constantly seeing her right next to her twin sister, and, you know, all kids are different obviously. So she was having a very different experience as a baby, a child than her twin sister was. So I think that helped make it more apparent to me that she was going through something and she was in an obvious discomfort and, um, just kind of unsettled a lot of the time. And, you know, I knew there wasn't anything medical going on with her because she, she was doing okay medically, we were bringing her to the pediatrician. Everything was fine, but I could just tell that she was uncomfortable. And my son at the time was in occupational therapy for a different issue that was going on. Um, and so I brought Skylar when she was one years old to this pediatric occupational therapist. Who I've come to know and trust and had her assessor and right away she said, this is something sensory going on. And to be honest, I was a doubter at first. Um, I didn't really know very much about sensory processing disorder or sensory sensitivity or any of that. And, um, I can tell you later that I've come to realize that I actually have a lot of sensory challenges myself, which I've learned through my daughter. So anyway, this pediatric, uh, occupational therapist evaluated her and right away she knew it was something sensory. Um, I watched the evaluation and I was like, you know, I don't know. I'm not really seeing it because she was, um, exposing to her to certain sensory, tactile, um, you know, things like sand and foam and, you know, different manipulatives that she could touch, and I thought she was fine. I'm like, you know, I see her getting her hands messy. But all along there were these little cues that were going on that she was able to pick up on. So just for one example, she showed me that while Skylar was, you know, digging into these Orbis, which are these like liquidy beads that children can play with, she was actually salivating and had like, Drool coming out of her mouth while she was doing it because her sensory system was just so overloaded, um, that while she was willing to do it, her system actually couldn't handle it. So that's just one example of how, you know, we came to be aware of it and then, you know, all the cues and clues just sort of lined up after that. And occupational therapy has been one of our greatest tools for her so far, 

[00:09:22] Peter: I'm sure. How old is she now? 

[00:09:24] Melissa: She's almost five. Okay. 

[00:09:26] Peter: And has she, has she. Do you read the book to her?

[00:09:30] Melissa: Yes. Yes. I, all my children have read the book and they love it. And my other two children wanna know when theirs are coming out and they are in the works. , 

[00:09:39] Peter: One of the things that I've discovered, um, uh, about sort of, ADD & ADHD when you're talking to kids about it, and so I'm assuming the same thing is, is truly is, it's all about how it's framed When I was growing. Um, you know, a ADD didn't exist. What existed was sit down, you disrupt in the class disease. And, and so I, kids our age, um, if they eventually got diagnosed had also had to overcome the stigma of 30, 40 years of being told they're broken. are you seeing with kids your daughter's age because of advances in research? Advances in, uh, awareness? They're not going through the whole concept of you're broken, they're not gonna have to heal from that. They can start looking at what they have as, you know, a difference as opposed to being broken. 

[00:10:36] Melissa: Yeah, I really hope that's the case, and I agree with what you said. Um, and one of the purposes of this book is to frame heighten sensitivity or. Sensory challenges as a gift. And I know that that's something that you like to speak about, um, in terms of adhd and I absolutely agree with that. Um, so in terms of heightened sensitivity, you know, yes, it can present struggles and challenges, but it can also be your greatest gift. It can be, you know, the way you use your imagination and can be creative the way you are compassionate and empathetic and can show love. So it can really be a strength. And that's one of the things that I'm hoping to share with children who may feel like Skylar, um, as term in terms of their sensitivity, 

[00:11:18] Peter: What's been the reaction or the, what's been the feedback to the book or the reaction to the book, um, outside of your family? 

[00:11:25] Melissa: Oh, it's been wonderful. I've been hearing from so many families saying, you know, we have a little picky at home. Um, you know, my daughter like, wants to read it every day. She feels like Pickalina so it, that's been the best part of this. When I set out to become an author, I just wanted to use my words to make children and families happy and, you know, provide them with a good bedtime story. I actually didn't have these higher goals of, you know, bringing such awareness. and acceptance to children with differences, but like that has become the greatest gift. And the thing that I'm most proud of and most excited about in my journey so far.

[00:12:01] Peter: Is the book being used, um, as sort of a way to explain to your daughter's, classmates about the different, because I imagine that much like ad although ADHD manifests in different ways, I imagine that sensory processing disorder must manifest itself in some ways that would make the kids go, what the heck's that all about?

[00:12:20] Melissa: Absolutely. So there's a page in the book where Picky the Panda um, has become so overwhelmed that she's feeling dysregulated and she's hiding under the table in her classroom, and she is rocking and crying because she is so overwhelmed and her body feels such big feelings. And the students. Who are her animal friends gather around her and they yell Picky. It's ok because you know, they're just trying to be kind and they're like, come outta the table, everything's great. But for her, everything's not great at that moment. So that, you know, that doesn't work for Picky and it takes different strategies to get her to be able to recharge and calm her body down. So I think, you know, empathy and understanding and realizing that we are all different is definitely one of the biggest messages. So, yes, to make children, um, and classmates who encounter kids like Skyler or who have other differences to be accepting and empathetic. 

[00:13:12] Peter: I like the concept of supercharged senses in the book because, you know, adhd, I consider it a superpower and I try to frame it as a superpower. So the concept of supercharged senses sort of seems very similar in the respect that you just have to, you know, if, if when I talk about adhd, I talk about the fact that. You know, most people are given Honda Accords for brains and we're given Lamborghini's, and so that's great, but you have to learn how to drive it, or you're gonna crash into a tree. You know, anyone could drive a Honda. You need training to drive a Lamborghini. And so I'm assuming it's the same premise with supercharged senses. I really love that term. 

[00:13:46] Melissa: Yeah, thank you. And absolutely, I agree with that. Something we have to learn to adapt to and adjust to. But like I said, it, and like you always say, um, it can really be seen as one of our biggest gifts. Very cool. So my daughter can, she's, you know, the first one to smell something stinky or she can see something a mile away. She can hear that train coming, you know, 10 stops away. So, you know, she really does have supercharged senses, but it also can lead her to feel very overwhelmed and heightened at certain times.

[00:14:15] Peter: Very cool. How can, so I'm assuming, yeah, it's available on Amazon, it's available everywhere. Um, how can people connect with you? Are you on Instagram? Are you on Facebook? 

[00:14:24] Melissa: Yes. So I am on Instagram at Melissa Finkelstein books. Um, and that is a great place to follow me. I'll have information about Picky the Panda um, sensory processing awareness and about my forthcoming books, um, the next of which will be out in early 2023. 

[00:14:42] Peter: Very, very cool. Melissa, thank you so much for taking time to be on Fast Than Normal today. I really, really appreciate it. 

[00:14:47] Melissa: Thank you so much. It's been wonderful. 

[00:14:49] Peter: Awesome guys. Check out the book. It is a lot of fun. Picky, I love, I love, I love the title Picky, the Panda and the Tickly Tale, talking about sensory processing disorder as supercharged senses. I love it. We back next week with another interview. This is Faster Than Normal. God, talk.. I mean fast- talk about fast, right? The entire year it's, it's almost Thanksgiving here next week in New York, it's gonna be Thanksgiving and I have absolutely no idea how that happened. And it's Christmas and it's New Year's and yeah, it's essentially summer already next year. So I dunno how we got there. But we will see you next week with another interview. Thank you so much for listening. Remember that neurodiversity is a gift, not a curse. And we are all on this train together. Talk to you guys soon. Stay tuned.

Credits: You've been listening to the Faster Than Normal podcast. We're available on iTunes, Stitcher and Google play and of course at www.FasterThanNormal.com I'm your host, Peter Shankman and you can find me at shankman.com and @petershankman on all of the socials. If you like what you've heard, why not head over to your favorite podcast platform of choice and leave us a review, come more people who leave positive reviews, the more the podcast has shown, and the more people we can help understand that ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Opening and closing themes were composed and produced by Steven Byrom who also produces this podcast, and the opening introduction was recorded by Bernie Wagenblast. Thank you so much for listening. We'll see you next week!

Having ADD or ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Hear from people all around the globe, from every walk of life, in every profession, from Rock Stars to CEOs, from Teachers to Politicians, who have learned how to unlock the gifts of their ADD and ADHD diagnosis, and use it to their personal and professional advantage, to build businesses, become millionaires, or simply better their lives. Our terriffic Guest today in her own words:

Joia McDaniel is not just a dynamic force in the supply chain industry, but also a passionate advocate for neurodivergence. As the architect of Supply Chain GOAT she has over two decades of award-winning experience and an armory of creative ideas that set her apart in her field.  Born and raised in Detroit, the epicenter of the automotive world, Joia was primed early on to understand the complex dynamics of supply chains. Today, she resides in Fort Worth, Texas, expertly balancing her role as a business maven with her life as a loving wife and mother to four spirited children. Joia’s journey to success is one that defies convention. Living with ADHD, she's found a unique perspective that she applies to her work and life. Far from being a limitation, her ADHD has proven to be an extraordinary capability. It propels her creativity, drives her boundless energy, and fosters a level of hyper focus that enables her to delve into complex problems until they're solved. Her Auditory Processing Disorder has refined her listening skills, helping her catch subtle cues others might miss and use these insights to fuel her innovative approach. Joia's distinctive prowess has shaped her success and fueled her passion to advocate for the neurodivergent community. She actively promotes a better understanding and acceptance of neurodiversity, highlighting the unique strengths and talents that neurodivergent individuals bring to the table. She is a testament to the fact that different minds have a place in our world and can lead, innovate, and excel. Joia McDaniel is a trailblazer, a thought leader, and an advocate. Her contributions to the supply chain industry and her commitment to fostering neurodiversity make her story a powerful narrative of exceptional ability, resilience, and impact.  Enjoy and hey, thanks so much for subscribing to Faster Than Normal!  

[You are now safely here]

00:40 - Thank you again so much for listening and for subscribing!

01:43 - Introducing and welcome Joia McDaniel CEO of Supply Chain GOAT 

02:40 - So how does one grow up in the supply chain?

04:36 - On the rewards of a career in Supply Chain and Logistics; is it a sexy career choice now?

05:42 - How did you first get diagnosed?

06:21 - Oh no.. Not the Meatz!!  

07:58 - What were the first major changes that you noticed personally after you got diagnosed?

09:51 - So.. we have tons of kids who are college students or just getting out of college, figuring out what they want to do with their life. If they wanted to look at supply chain, tell us why, number one, and then tell us what they should be doing to get involved in that industry? #SummerJobs #SupplyChain #Neurodiverse

10:43 - Why is it the perfect career for neurodiversity? This is Joia’s favorite question!

12:25 - Is working in the Supply Chain like putting out one fire after another?

13:11 - On Passion for your job/work/gig/world/client/account/boatshoes/recycle bins

13:46 -  How do our New Summer-shiney subscribers find out more about you? 

joya@supplychaingoat.com. My website is www.supplychaingoat.com. It's not up as of June 13, 2023, but iscoming soon, so those are the ways that I could be reached.

14:36 - 500 POINTS FOR USING THE WORD SAUNA!! Ahhhh.. summer swim & spa days…. 

00:00 - Hey, hellooo from Earth!!@ ERF!  YEs! You right there with the cool earbuds and big grain Golden brain! Yes YOU dear!  We are THrr~rilled that you are here & listening!! Repeat in forward and to your kiddo’sx!  ADHD and all forms of Neurodiversity are gifts, not curses. -Peter Shankman. And ooh-ooh now.. and just by the way, if you haven't picked up The Boy with the Faster Brain yet, it is on Amazon and it is a number #1 One bestseller in all categories. Click HERE or via https://amzn.to/3FcAKkI My link tree is here if you’re looking for something specific. https://linktr.ee/petershankman

00:00 - Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits. Guys, as always thanks so much for subscribing! Faster Than Normal is for YOU! We want to know what you’d like to hear! Do you have a cool friend with a great story? We’d love to learn about, and from them. I'm www.petershankman.com and you can reach out anytime via email at peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. You can also find us at @FasterNormal on all of the socials. It really helps when you drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! As you know, the more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse!  All right, guys, as always, than you for listening. Love that you're here. Any news, shoot us a note. Petershankman.com go to fastennormal.com everywhere but Twitter. We are on Blue Sky now at Peter Shankman on Blue Sky. [Ed- I will siphon -in BlueSky and learn about that next week!! If not in two or so, cooL??  -Ed]

[Also Ed here. SorryIFneedbe: This is a relatively brand new experiment in editing show notes, transcriptions sort of; so if you notice any important, or significant goofs we’ve missed here or along, please do let us know @FasterNormal  Thanks! -sb] 

EXTRA CREDIT + GENERATED BY AI and NOT proofread much really here below:

———————————————

[Yaaaay CastMagic.io. Go-go-Gadget AI! -tell us in the comments or emaiL:  -Ed]

Is this thing on??

1. Who is the guest of the episode?

Answer: The guest is Joia McDaniel, an advocate for both the supply chain industry and neurodivergence. 

2. How has COVID impacted the supply chain industry?

Answer: COVID has increased the attention on supply chain as more people realized the importance of understanding each link in the process. 

 

3. What are the cognitive differences of the speaker, and how have they helped them in their career?

Answer: The speaker has ADHD and auditory issues, which they consider their "superpower" in the supply chain industry. 

 

4. What changes did the speaker experience after being diagnosed with ADD?

Answer: The speaker experienced a significant change in energy levels, ability to complete tasks, gained more confidence, and was able to hyper-focus more effectively after receiving a diagnosis of ADD. 

 

5. How did understanding the diagnosis and accommodations help the speaker?

Answer: Understanding the diagnosis and accommodations helped improve the experience for the speaker in their career. 

6. What company did the guest create, and how much experience does she have in the field?

Answer: The guest created Supply Chain Goat LLC and has over two decades of experience in the field. 

7. Where was the guest born and raised, and why is it important for understanding supply chain dynamics?

Answer: The guest was born and raised in Detroit, which is important for understanding supply chain dynamics because of its connection to the automotive industry. 

8. What sparked the guest's interest in supply chain?

Answer: The guest's interest in supply chain was sparked by growing up around the automotive industry and being fascinated by watching the process of turning car parts into a whole vehicle. 

9. What are some challenges that neurodiverse individuals face, and how can they excel in supply chain?

Answer: Neurodiverse individuals can struggle with transitioning from a high-stress state to a calm state, but can excel in supply chain because of their ability to connect with different people and be natural people pleasers. 

10. What is the name of the podcast, who is the host, and where can it be found?

Answer: The name of the podcast is Faster Than Normal, the host is Peter Shankman, and it can be found on iTunes, Stitcher, and Google Play, as well as www.fasterthannormal.com.———————————————————————————

—

TRANSCRIPT via Castmagic.io and then corrected.. somewhat, (Ooh-ooh! 1234-now Fiiifth and likely final re-trial run is today June 13, 2023. #gen_AI_for_whut?? 

Peter Shankman [00:00:40]: And here's the host of the Faster Than Normal podcast, the only man who goes skydiving to calm down + focus, Peter Shankman.

Peter Shankman [00:00:40]: Greetings, everyone. Happy day. It is time for another episode of Fast Than Normal. My name is Norm McDonald. No, that's not true. I'm Peter Shankman, but I wanted to see if you guys are listening because I say that every single week. It is great to have you here. Everything is good. It is a gorgeous day. We're finally into summer almost, but it's good enough. It's nice out. Everyone's happy. Dog is sleeping. Let's see how long that lasts. So I am good. I'm glad you're with us, and I'm glad our guest is with us today, a lovely young lady named Joya McDaniel. Joya McDaniel is pretty interesting. The told me before we started that she's really nervous because she can't believe that I chose her to be on this podcast. I'm like, okay, you have obviously no idea who I am because I'm not special in the slightest, but there's nothing to be nervous about. But that being said, I'm thrilled that you're here: Welcome, Joia.

Joia McDaniel [00:01:26]: Thank you. Thank you, Peter. I appreciate that.

Peter Shankman [00:01:28]: So you have an interesting bio. You're like a dynamic force in the supply chain industry, right? So you're the reason that during COVID no one got any of the things they needed, right? That was all on you.

Joia McDaniel [00:01:40]: No, absolutely not, because I wasn't a part of that.

Peter Shankman [00:01:43]: There you go. Someone didn't hire you for the right time, and that totally screwed up the entire country anyway. She's a passion advocate, not only in the supply chain industry, but also passionate advocate for neuro divergence. As the architect of as the architect of supply chain Goat LLC, she has over two decades of award winning experience in an armory of creative ideas that set her apart in the field. She was born and raised in Detroit, which is the epicenter of the automotive world, as we know. So she was primed early on to understand the dynamics of supply chain. Now she lives in Texas, and we'll talk about that. But she's expertly balancing her role as a business maven with her life as a loving wife and mother to four spirited children. She is neurodiverse. She has ADHD Add. She's not a unique perspective that allows her to apply her work, so she applies this to her work in life. Here's what I want to know. This cool thing. Her auditory processing disorder has refined her listening skills, helping her catch subtle cues others might miss. So essentially you'd be one hell of a poker player.

Joia McDaniel [00:02:37]: Yeah, maybe so. I don't play, but I can learn fast.

Peter Shankman [00:02:40]: There you go. All right, Joy. Welcome to Faster. We're glad to have you here. So how does one grow up in the supply chain; how does that happen?

Joia McDaniel [00:02:49]: So being from Detroit automotive, automotive is pretty much centered around supply chain. But as a kid, you don't know about supply chain. You just know you see one vehicle. I mean, you see the arts turn into a whole vehicle. And with both my parents being in the automotive industry, one at GM and, the other at Chrysler, it was just my life. I grew up automotive. I just heard all the conversations and it just kind of stuck with me. And it's literally just ingrained in my DNA because literally that's all that Detroit used to talk about during my days of growing up. And it's just going to see my Dad, seeing what he did, it was just always intriguing to see how he put one part on and then at the end you have this beautiful car. And so, yeah, that's pretty much been my life. And I don't know if you've heard of that saying, don't shut the line down, but that is like a common phrase in Detroit. So you can't shut the line down because it's expensive and it's almost like you're just going to hell. Like, literally it's just than serious. So having that ingrained in me, that started me out with the interest of just automotive, but I didn't, like I said, grasp the whole supply chain concept until after college, actually, and I got my first job and I just pretty much fell into supply chain in the automotive industry. And it's just been going nonstop, literally since then. So that's how automotive supply chain kind of ingrained in it to where I am now.

Peter Shankman [00:04:26]: It's kind of fascinating when you think about it. You found it amazing and you found it enjoyable. Joia McDaniel [00:04:36]: Yes, absolutely. It's a very rewarding career and it's kind of like the new sexy word now. You really didn't hear about supply chain too much before, COVID so now everyone's trying to understand all the dynamics of supply chain. And it's such a layered field, and you really have to understand each chain, I mean, each link of the supply chain to really be good in this industry. Add that's something that my ADHD and my auditory issues has really helped to put me in a position of just excellence regardless of what I'm doing, literally, it's just effortlessly. So I'm excited. I find it to be my superpower. And it didn't always be like this. It wasn't always like this at all. I definitely had my challenges before I really understood what was going on. But definitely once you hone in and you know who you are and what you have and capable of the industry is just amazing for our brain type.

Peter Shankman [00:05:42]: So let's talk brain type, let's talk neurodiversity. How did you first get diagnosed?

Joia McDaniel [00:05:47]: So I was diagnosed in the third grade, and I was diagnosed because my mom was getting calls from the teachers I wasn't listening, I wasn't focused and all this stuff. And so was diagnosed from school, from my performance in school, Add. My mom, she never put me on any medication growing up. Instead, we did I don't know if you've heard of, like, the Bach remedy flowers. Yeah, we did that. And then I had a diet. No sugar, no meat. Literally, it was like that for 18 years. She was very, oh, my God.

Peter Shankman [00:06:21]: No sugar I can handle, but no meat. Oh, my God.

Joia McDaniel [00:06:24]: Yes. It was crazy. And it wasn't until I came home from college and my grandmother was frying some pork chops, and they smelled so good and, oh, my gosh, diet is broken. I cannot do this anymore. But, yeah, it's been going on since the third grade, but my mother never talked about it. I just knew that I had to take these drops, but she never said what it was. So when I got my career started going, things just started getting a little weird, like, okay, why can't I focus? Like, I need to why am I forgetting to do this? And just why is things just really weird? And so I went to the doctor again, I had the diagnosis, but I was never told about it. So I went to my doctor, and I literally told him this phrase. I said doctor, I am stupid. I don't know what's going on. I need some help. And just pulling my records and going through just my previous records and taking questionnaires, definitely. And then I told my mom. She's like, oh, yeah, you've had that since the third grade. I'm like, you know what? That's pretty much my story. And ever since I've had the official diagnosis of me knowing once, you know, it just kind of what do people say? It's like you're putting the wipers on when it's raining. But, yeah, it's been amazing. Now that I know and have an understanding, and I don't know how I was getting by before that.

Peter Shankman [00:07:58]: Tell me what it was. So what was it like when you finally after you got diagnosed and you started, I guess whether it was medication, sort of understanding, Add, learning it, what were the first major changes that you noticed personally?

Joia McDaniel [00:08:10]: Well, the first major changes was my energy. I've always been high energy, but my energy was different because I was able to actually get things done, and I would get things done, and I was able to multitask with actually getting the things that I was multitasking completed and just more confidence and stand up, able to hyper focus more. I would say that's some of the first benefits that I definitely experienced once I got the official diagnosis. And once you get it and you know Add, you understand some of the accommodations that you may need. That helps too. So you can understand exactly what's going on with you. But not being able to tell your employer and kind of mask in those things that I would say was the most difficult. You didn't ask that question, but that's something that kind of ties into that because it's all good. Add, you perform and you're a stellar. You're doing all these great things and getting these awards and everything but the masking and the background. It takes a long time to get things done for me back then before I learned updated processing. But it took a while to get used to having to do things differently and having the wheel and the brain power after medication. 

Peter Shankman [00:09:51]: Let's shift gears for a second. Go back to logistics and supply chain. So you say that it's great for.Someone with Neurodiversity, supply chain is awesome. So we have tons of kids who are college students or just getting out of college, figuring out what they want to do with their life. If they wanted to look at supply chain, tell us why, number one, and then tell us what they should be doing to get involved in that industry To get involved in that worl.

Joia McDaniel [00:10:07]: So what they should be doing is looking into manufacturing, cohort classes or just anything dealing with automation, logistics. You could take courses at a community college. Even in high school they have transition classes and study groups and things like that. Just reading, reading and learning about supply chain, understanding the dynamics of it and what all it entails. What was your other question?

Peter Shankman [00:10:43]: Sorry, tell us about so you mentioned neurodiversity. Why is it the perfect career for neurodiversity?

Joia McDaniel [00:10:49]:  Okay, so it's the perfect career for neurodiversity. This is my favorite question because literally, supply chain moves so fast. Everything is moving so fast, Add. There's always something new going on. Every day there's a new problem, there's something going on. And in order to keep up with that fast paced scale, you have to have the ability to stop what you're doing maybe, and then go to something else and totally hone in on that and then go back to what you were doing before and have it be seamless. People communication, it can be a struggle with ADHD of people in supply chain, but we're natural born people pleasers. So sometimes you get intimidated. But communication, being a people pleaser actually works because you're dealing with so many people from so many different backgrounds and we're just able to connect with just about anyone. I'm sure you definitely can understand that. So that's definitely a plus. And then just being able to not just see one portion or one link when someone makes a decision and let's say for instance, sales, you know, that okay, they made a decision in sales. So this is going to impact production. This is going to impact forecasting. So it's like this huge like you just have this brand and you just know from the onset that if this happens, then that's going to happen. So definitely those are definitely things people.

Peter Shankman [00:12:21]: With ADHD and Neurodiversity tend to be Really good at, putting out fires..Really good at, putting out fires. Is this a kind of industry where It'S one fire after anothe

Joia McDaniel [00:12:29]: Absolutely, yes, absolutely. There's fires almost every day. And I don't care how good your supply chain is. I mean, it's so layered, it's so deep that you're always going to have something to do. Add it wasn't oh, I'm sorry, go ahead.

Peter Shankman [00:12:42]: No, I just want to own into it because I want to follow up because that brings up an interesting question because we're really good people with neurodiversity are phenomenal putting on fires. But how do you handle the concept of, okay, I just put in a fire. Now I have to go home and listen to my children or listen to my husband or calm down or not because I can imagine you put in a fire and you solve a huge problem. You must be high as a kite. Dopamine hit from that. Must be off the charts. So how do you then go home And turn it off? Joia McDaniel [00:13:11]: It's difficult because you're so passionate. We're passionate people and you're excited, especially if it gets accomplished and it's favorable terms and it's just having a partner that understands what I do and being supportive and can listen to my stories and kind of bring me down some, that helps. But the ride home when I was going to the office, especially if I had to go through traffic, it was a lot a huge transition to go from that. It's like going from fire into the sauna. ####SAUNA! 

Peter Shankman [00:13:46]: Fascinating. I love this. I want to get a job with you. Very cool. Joy than you. How can people find you? How can they reach you?

Joia McDaniel [00:13:54]: So you can reach me at joia@supplychaingoat.com. My website is www. supplychaingoat.com. It's coming soon, so those are the ways that I could be reached.

Peter Shankman [00:14:08]: We will link all of that in the podcast. I am greatly, greatly appreciative of you taking the time. Thank you so much. It was really great to have you.

Joia McDaniel [00:14:15]: All right. Thank you, Peter. I appreciate it.

Peter Shankman [00:14:17]: All right, guys, as always, than you for listening. Love that you're here. Any news, shoot us a note. Petershankman.com go to fastennormal.com everywhere but Twitter. We are on Blue Sky now at Peter Shankman on Blue Sky. [asap is good; I know -Ed]

We'll talk about this every episode, but any interesting guests, shoot us a note. We'd love to have them on as well. Stay safe, stay happy, have a great week andBy the time this comes out, it'll Probably be summer, so stay cool and we will talk soon.Thanks for listening, guys.

—

Credits: You've been listening to the Faster Than Normal podcast. We're available on iTunes, Stitcher and Google play and of course at www.FasterThanNormal.com I'm your host, Peter Shankman and you can find me at shankman.com and @petershankman on all of the socials. If you like what you've heard, why not head over to your favorite podcast platform of choice and leave us a review, come more people who leave positive reviews, the more the podcast has shown, and the more people we can help understand that ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Opening and closing themes were composed and produced by Steven Byrom who also produces this podcast, and the opening introduction was recorded by Bernie Wagenblast. Thank you so much for listening. We'll see you next week! 

Thank you to RxGo for sponsoring this episode! RxGo is a free prescription discount card that can save you between 10 to 84percent of your out of pocket expenses. We all have to deal with medications, especially when you are neurodiverse like we are. With RxGo, not only can you search for your exact medication’s pricing at your local pharmacy, but if your insurance doesn’t cover it, and if you have to pay out of pocket, you can save between 10 and 84percent off of your medication costs by using this card! There is no application, no health restrictions, no fees and the card never expires! So, it you have any medication needs and want to save, please check out www.RxGo.com/faster  Thank you again to RxGo for sponsoring today’s podcast!

—

A full time speaker since 1995, Ben has been sharing his story of growing up with ADHD & Dyslexia with church groups, students, teachers athletes and organizations all over the world. Through the use of live art and storytelling he has curated a powerful & entertaining program! Adding to his many works of art, he is the author of “Simply Special: Learning to Love Your ADHD”. Today we talk about kids, (he credits his daughters for helping him overcome a fear of speaking to elementary age children), how to find teachable moments, The Chalkguy LEGO Drive, and how kindness can often be contagious. Enjoy!

 

 

In this episode Peter & Ben discuss:

2:14-  Intro & welcome Ben!

2:48-  What’s your story; when were you diagnosed?

3:48-  What was it like growing up; with what kinds of things were you dealing as a kid? Ref:  Simply Special book

6:33-  We develop survival skills early in school- did you realize that was happening? [How did you begin your career of speaking?]

8:10-  On deciding on a Major in college

9:48-  Tell his about this LEGO project you’ve started!

11:35-  On picking teachable moments

13:19-  On how generosity is contagious

15:00-  How can people get in touch if they want to join in? www.SimplyBenGlenn.com or directly at www.GiveYourBricks.com

16:32-  How can folks get in touch with you on the socials? www.SimplyBenGlenn.com  YouTube  INSTA FB Twitter: @SimpleADHDExpert 

17:59-  Thank you Ben! And thank YOU for subscribing, reviewing and listening. Your reviews have been working! Even if you’ve reviewed us before, would you please continue to do so. Each review you post helps to ensure that word will continue to spread, and that we will all be able to reach & help even more people! You can always reach me via peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. You can also find us at @FasterThanNormal on all of the socials.

18:17-  Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits

As always, leave us a comment below and please drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! The more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! Know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note, we’d love to hear!

Hey there everyone! Psyched to welcome a best-selling author this week, Kim Scott!

Kim is the author of the NYT & WSJ bestseller Radical Candor: Be a Kickass Boss without Losing your Humanity. Kim led AdSense, YouTube, and Doubleclick teams at Google and then joined Apple University to develop and teach “Managing at Apple.” Kim has been a CEO coach at Dropbox, Qualtrics, Twitter, and several other tech companies. Additional information is available athttps://www.radicalcandor.com/ Follow her on Twitter @kimballscott

This episode is fun, because we talk about what it’s like to manage people – specifically those who are neuroatypical. Got employees? Heck, got friends? Listen to this episode. You’ll learn a lot.

My favorite line: “Radical Candor sounds different with each person to whom you talk”

Enjoy the podcast!  As always, leave us a comment below, drop us a review on iTunes (PLEASE!) and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! Know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note – We’d love to hear!

PS: Don’t forget – We have the #1 online video course for turning your ADHD into a superpower – The FTN Course is 38 three minute videos, watchable at your own pace, covering everything from work, to home life, to exercise and health. Check it out!

Having ADD or ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Hear from people all around the globe, from every walk of life, in every profession, from Rock Stars to CEOs, from Teachers to Politicians, who have learned how to unlock the gifts of their ADD and ADHD diagnosis, and use it to their personal and professional advantage, to build businesses, become millionaires, or simply better their lives.

 

Our guest today is Aleksandra Czech-Seklecka. She is an entrepreneur originally from Poland, now living in Scotland. Her career journey has been diverse and shaped by a deep curiosity and drive to pursue multiple passions, holding degrees in cross-cultural psychology, media psychology, and cultural studies with a specialization in Japanese culture, along with certification in the Japanese language. In her own words:

Growing up, I faced many challenges. I come from a difficult family background and was bullied throughout most of my life, which deeply impacted my self-esteem. These experiences, combined with the struggle of living with undiagnosed ADHD and with chronic pain, with undiagnosed endometriosis, pushed me to develop resilience and determination. I learned early on how to persevere, which has shaped the way I approach life and business today. After a few career starts I moved into project management at Samsung R&D Institute Poland, gained certifications in Prince2 and Agile, and co-created a Project Management Office for Android commercialization across Europe. After moving to Scotland, my career took an unexpected turn due to health challenges. I was diagnosed with endometriosis (finally after 20 years of suffering), which required multiple surgeries and led to a significant gap in my employment. This challenging period pushed me to reinvent myself, and I decided to focus on building my own business. During this time, finding work was made even more difficult by the timing of Brexit, which created additional barriers. So instead of banging my head against the wall, I decided to build my own business. I had many ideas, but I was constantly searching for something that could truly help others because I love helping people. That’s when VanFill was born - an on-demand platform connecting customers with transport providers using empty spaces in vans and trucks, helping underserved communities access delivery services. The idea came to life when I organized a collection of medical supplies in Scotland for Ukraine. I realized that this platform would be another way I could help others. I turned this idea into reality by learning no-code tools to build the prototype. Since then, I have participated in numerous accelerators and business programs to develop the skills and networks needed to bring VanFill to life. Throughout my life, I’ve been actively involved in volunteering - supporting women with chronic pain and health conditions, working with different charities, and helping minority groups. In addition to my entrepreneurial work, I am deeply committed to advocating for women living with chronic illness and chronic pain. As someone who also lives with ADHD, I know firsthand the mental and physical hurdles that can arise. Through my journey, I want to inspire and empower women facing similar challenges to pursue their goals despite the obstacles. Currently, I am writing a book aimed at helping entrepreneurs, with a special focus on those living with ADHD and chronic conditions, offering guidance and inspiration for navigating the challenges of building a business while managing health difficulties and living with ADHD. I believe that no matter the challenges - be it chronic pain, personal struggles, or professional roadblocks - there is always a way forward. We just need to find the right map and guidance to not get lost on our way. Enjoy!

[You are now safely here]

00:40 - Thank you for listening and for subscribing!!

01:20 - Introducing and welcome Aleksandra Czech-Seklecka! Ref:  https://www.vanfill.co.uk

02:50 - What was growing up with ADHD like for you in Poland?

04:00 - On finding a focused pursuit for her passions and talents

05:40 - Endometriosis and finding a name for what was wrong, in order to build a support kit

06:50 - On adjusting to being ADHD

07:20 - About not knowing what’s wrong with your partner

08:10 - Explaining the gap in her resume/CV

09:10 - On rethinking her life after being diagnosed and not being able to walk for a year

10:00 - On finding her niche 

10:50 - On starting your own business with ADHD and how to avoid being bored

12:15 - On social media marketing, distractions/choices and being ADHD

13:00 - About the benefits of time blocking, logging ideas and setting priorities 

13:58 - What other rules and tools do you put into play to make sure things happen?

15:20 - On overwhelm and emotional processing

16:02 - Never underestimate screaming out in nature with friends!

16:50 - Spousal help and office/task management

18:06 - How can people find you?

Via https://www.vanfill.co.uk also on LinkedIn  And @akaiworlds on Instagram and LinkedIN

18:30 - Forthcoming book teaser

19:35 - Thanks so much for listening to Faster Than Normal. Please join us again very soon!

Know anyone doing wonderful things with #ADHD? We would love to have them on and listen to how they are using their #neurodiversity to their advantage. Shoot me an email and we will get them booked!

My link tree is here if you’re looking for something specific. https://linktr.ee/petershankman

Big ups to FitKit for supporting the podcast this week. FitKit offers a number of different wellness products for both mind and body that make healthy living SIMPLE! I love their products and live by them when on the road. All of the kits are portable and packable, fit right in a carry on and most come with bands and tubes, a jump rope, 250 exercises and other great tools and resources. No excuses, especially when they include a 6 week nutrition and fitness plan as well as 24/7 email access to their dietitians and trainers! All the kits range in price from $10-$40 but if you use the code FTN, you get 20% during the month of January. Whichever kit you chose, you can take comfort in knowing they have been created by fitness, nutrition and wellness experts with the sole purpose helping you get healthy and fit. Not only are the FitKits great for individuals, but every organization should get these for their employees or clients. Each Kit can be fully branded with your logo, they offer volume pricing and starting at just $4, there is a FitKit for every budget. Companies like Keurig, Marriott, Dell New York Presbyterian Hospital among others have branded the FitKit products as a creative way to encourage health while at the same time promoting their brand. Win – Win. The best part: people love receiving them! Learn more at fitkit.com. Check them out. I love them.

 

Welcome to another episode of Faster Than Normal! Happy that you’re here!

We’re talking this week with Lyle Ungar and Sharath Chandra Guntuku about their study: "Language of ADHD in Adults on Social Media".

Lyle is a Professor of Computer and Information Science at The University of Pennsylvania. His current research focuses on developing scalable machine learning methods for data mining and text mining,including deep learning methods for natural language processing, and analysis of social media to better understand the drivers of physical and mental well-being.

Sharath is a post-doctoral researcher in the Perelman School of Medicine and in the Department of Computer and Information Science at the University of Pennsylvania. Prior to joining Penn, he completed his PhD studies on building machine learning algorithms to model users’ personality in multimedia preferences at the School of Computer Science and Engineering at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore. His current research aims to leverage large-scale social media image and text data to model social health outcomes and psychological traits.

SHOW NOTES:

1:18 FitKit.com

2:17 Welcome and Introductions

3:18 How did you get the idea for the study “What can Twitter reveal about people with ADHD”?

4:18 Twitter, dopamine, posting and an immediate gratification connection?

5:17 Time condensing and ‘slow media’ among teens

6:34 Mood swings and possible self-regulating online? Language and nuances

8:09 Immediate feedback loops

9:05 Downtime. Typing with purpose. Condition-specific Apps?

10:20 Bombwords, double-check delay and e-tools

12:35 No mirriors yet in Social Media. Yet.

13:07 Many different types of ADHD and what Social Media can tell us

15:00 If the goal is to better understand the condition, then what’s next?

16:15 What some Social Media Research shows and will we see a shift once people with ADHD understand how to use it for Good?

18:00. How can we follow your research. the World Well Being Project www.WWBP.org

18:45. Thank you!

19:05 Outros

 Dr. Luisa Sanz is a psychiatrist with over 25 years of experience working mainly with young people. She is immensely passionate about her work, and at the root of all she does, is the drive to help others through understanding, acceptance, compassion, respect and love. Such passion and devotion are unquestionably the results of having two brothers with schizophrenia and living its consequences from the age of 7. Being originally from Madrid, Spain, she moved to England at the age of 26 to specialize in Psychiatry and still lives there. Throughout her professional career, Dr. Sanz has actively contributed to developing services, improving the provision of care for individuals with ADHD/ASD and their families, including developing pathways to optimize diagnosis and treatment. Her special interest has always been in neurodevelopmental disorders, particularly ADHD but also ASD, and this is where she’s mainly focussed her work. During her recent career break working as a regional Clinical Director for Mental Health services in the National Health Service, Dr. Sanz founded Mind Yr Life for the purpose of eradicating the stigma around Mental Health (MH). Mind Yr Life does so by, firstly, sharing credible information on MH conditions/illnesses, secondly, having open and honest conversations about personal experiences with MH problems and, thirdly, adopting an attitude towards a) acceptance and love, b) humbleness with an open mind, and c) staying grateful and positive. Today we’re talking about her organization and the path that lead her here. Enjoy!

In this episode Peter and Luisa Sanz discuss:  

1:12 - Intro and welcome Luisa! 

2:17 - So what pushed you towards focusing your work towards ADHD, ADD, ASD?

3:20 - Talk about some of the challenges you went up against; how attitudes towards the neurodiverse and the environment there was prior to, and after your time at NHS?

5:30 - What have you noticed in terms of changing the conversation/ breaking the stigma?

7:22 - How to break stigma?

8:53 - Tell us about your organization Mind Yr Life!

10:00 - We don’t exactly have a blood test for all things neurodiverse, do we

10:50 - Dr. Sanz on her family’s experiences with mental health

11:20 - A bad attitude and ignorance are usually contagious

 12:17 - When people don’t know about mental health illnesses, or about most things for that matter they may feel fearful or threatened; and often times they try and put a person down because that makes them feel more in control, more secured. So.. there is a lot of work to be done! 

12:54: How can people find more about you and what you’re doing? 

On the Web: www.MindYrLife.com

Socials: @MindYrLifeMYL on Twitter  Facebook @mind.yr.life on INSTA and Luisa Sanz on YouTube

16:00 - Thank you Luisa! Guys, as always, we are here for you and we love the responses and the notes that we get from you so please continue to do that! Tell us who you want to hear on the podcast, we’d love to know.  Leave us a review on any of the places you get your podcasts, and if you ever need our help I'm www.petershankman.com and you can reach out anytime via peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. You can also find us at @FasterNormal on all of the socials. It really helps when you drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! As you know, the more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! 

16:30 - Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits

—

TRANSCRIPT: 

 

[00:00:38] Peter: Ladies and gentlemen, good day, and welcome to another episode of Faster Than Normal. My name is Peter Shankman. This is the number one podcast on ADD and ADHD and I'm thrilled that you joined us today. We have an unusual guest well all of our guests are a little unusual. This one is unusual, cause she's actually a Doctor. As you know, we have people from all over the world who join us at Faster Than Normal from, from professors to rockstar actual rockstars. Remember we had the band Shinedown. We've had politicians, we've had CEOs. We've had regular ordinary folk and occasionally every once in a while, we've brought in an actual doctor and today is one of those days. 

Please welcome Dr. Luisa Sanz who is a psychiatrist with over 25 years of experience working mainly with young people, incredibly passionately. Her drive is to help others through understanding acceptance, compassion, respect, and love. She's originally from Madrid. She moved to England at the age of 26, specialized in psychiatry, still lives there throughout her professional career. She's contributed to developing services, improving the provision of care for individuals with a ADHD and ASD and their families, including developing pathways to optimize diagnosis and treatment. She spent good number of years as a regional clinical director for mental health services in the national health service, she also founded something called Mind Yr Life for the purpose of eradicating a stigma around mental health mind your life does so by sharing credible information on mental health conditions and illnesses. And by having open honest conversations about personal experiences with mental health problems, and thirdly adopting an attitude towards acceptance and love humbleness and open mind and staying grateful and positive. Well, we are grateful and positively thrilled that you joined us today. Dr. Sanz thank you!

So for taking the time. 

[00:02:10] Dr.Sanz: Oh my pleasure. Thank you to you for inviting me!

[00:02:14] Peter: So, what pushed you towards focusing on ADHD and ASD 

[00:02:20] Dr.Sanz: I believe that when I first went into specializing in psychiatry, initially I went into adult psychiatry, but I found it a little bit overwhelming because I, I have two brothers who had schizophrenia, and there was too much of the same outside and inside, you know, outside at work and inside at home.

So I decided to specialize in children and adolescent, and I thought that I could possibly intervene early life. Uh, of these, of these people and make a bigger difference. And, uh, without a question of doubt, ADHD is the most common condition in mental health altogether, but much more in children and adolescents.

So being such a common condition, I was just driven towards, um, to, you know, to, to these, these, these conditions. 

[00:03:11] Peter: Interesting. And what was the attitude before you joined, um, national, uh, health service? I'm assuming you spent a lot of time focusing on changing the environment and changing the conversation.

How was the attitude before you joined and, and, and can you cite, uh, sort of some of the challenges you went up against, uh, in changing that conversation? 

[00:03:32] Dr.Sanz: Yeah. Uh, I think Peter that, uh, for me, because, because I grew up with mental illness at home, you know, through my brothers, I think I, from, from day one, when I became a psychiatrist, I was different in a way to many of the psychiatrists.

Because I had believed mental illness from, you know, very, very close in the household. Uh, so my, my approach was different and I, from the very beginning, I always empathize the empathize, the, the, uh, you know, with patients and, and, and, and felt, felt them closer in my heart. And, uh, and you know, the conversations that I always had were, were around.

Being more compassionate and, and definitely, definitely not judging, not making assumptions and just accepting people for who they are. Um, in, in with ADHD. I, I, I always believe everything happens the, the way it's meant to. And I was meant to specialize in, in know, neurodevelopmental disorders, ADHD in particular, because, um, more than

anything ADHD. I realize that, you know, precisely we can't judge, we can't make assumptions because most of the times those are wrong and people with ADHD my daughter, Peter has ADHD, but people with ADHD are so incredibly creative, charismatic, uh, you know, gifted and, and because of, of others judging and criticizing, we tend to.

You know, hinder all those talents and, and, and beautiful, beautiful personalities. So, um, you know, you, your question was how, how have I tried to change those conversations? How have they changed? I suppose that from, from where I stand, my conversations have always been similar. The response I've had is different because for people that know me now, they know they know the type of conversations they can have with me.

[00:05:30] Peter: What have you noticed in terms of changing the conversation? I, I kind of feel sometimes, and I I'm gonna continue to do it, you know, until my last breath, but I sometimes feel like it's like emptying the ocean with a, trying to empty the ocean with a teaspoon. Right. It's it's, you know, for every person that we talk to and explain.

That, uh, different does not equal bad or that, or that, you know, this is not a disability per se. Uh, we come across schools or, or doctors, whatever who, who treat this exactly as such as a disability. And, and when you're seven years old and you're diagnosed with ADHD, uh, and you're told the first thing you're told, the first thing your parents are told is that you are less than everyone else.

That's a hard stigma to shape. 

[00:06:10] Dr.Sanz: It, it is aweful and, and the conversations have changed because when I first started, you know, working in ADHD 20 odd years ago, um, the, I had to speak to professionals, to doctors about the fact that. It was a genetic condition. It wasn't about bad parenting. It wasn't about children just being awkward and difficult and naughty.

And that those conversations were with professionals. I still occasionally have one of those conversations with a doctor, with a teacher, but not as often more often, uh, than not now people accept that it is a condition, that it is a genetic, uh, inherited, uh, condition. But generally people don't understand how it shows and how it really, uh, what it really means.

And again, this, this very wrong assumptions about, you know, when people, don't people with ADHD, don't do certain things. This is still this assumption that they've just been awkward and oppositional, whereas, you know, they don't see what really is happening. In the brain in the executive, you know, function in the, in the brain and in the neuropathways pathways of the brain.

So those conversations are still going on and will continue to go on for a very long time. But Peter, that is about stigma and that is about. You know, uh, you know, how, you know, lack of understanding because there's two aspects to the conversations. One is the lack of understanding of what it really means.

And the other is, uh, seeing it as a, as you very well defined it as a disability, as a, as a, uh, people are less for having ADHD. So it's, it is both things. 1. People don't understand the actual signs and symptoms and how it really presents. And two then is, you know, very stigmatized and is very derogatory the way it's spoken about.

[00:08:11] Peter: It's interesting because you know, other diseases, for lack of a better word, other conditions, you know, they, they don't seem. I guess they don't see it as stigmatized. Right. You know, you don't, you don't look at, um, I mean, mental health as a whole, it has always been stigmatized, but you know, you're never gonna tell someone with cancer.

Oh, just pull yourself up by your bull straps or just pay attention more. Right. And yet when the condition is unseen, uh, like ADHD or any foreign mental health, it, it, it it's always seemed like it's much easier to, um, I don't wanna say mock it, but much easier to sort of dismiss it. Right. Which is, I think very, very frustrating for millions of people.

Talk to us about, um, uh, Mind your life. I'd love to know a little bit about, uh, this, uh, organization you founded 

[00:09:01] Dr.Sanz: well it's, uh, I'm, I'm incredibly passionate about it because the, the purpose, the reason why I created my new life was precisely to eradicate the stigma. And you very well just mentioned Peter, that, um, you know, with mental health, we, at this moment in time, we can't get away.

You know, the stigma that is attached to it. And you're absolutely right with other physical illnesses. You know, people are much more understanding, supportive and, and caring with mental health, uh, is very difficult to get that genuine attitude from, from people in general. And the reason comes from the lack of, uh, uh, research and, and investigations with cancer.

You can get, you know, some, uh, radiology, uh, Investigation to prove, oh, here there's a tumor. And you can see it is in your livers in here or there, you can do some bood tests and say, yeah, you've got anemia. And this is, this is how it shows with mental health. We can't really, we don't have any x-rays any blood tests or any other physical.

Investigation that we can prove what the reason, what, the reason which leads to people, just having opinions. You know, we, um, I sometimes have to laugh when, you know, I hear conversations I'm on the, you know, on, on the cafe, whatever people are making, you know, diagnosis about anxiety, depressions, schizophrenia, even.

And I, I think, gosh, you know, most of the psychiatrists you know, that struggle to really, you know, with challenging presentations to get it right. Nevermind people in the streets, but, but we all think we know more than we do. So mind your life was founded because I, I am, you know, uh, very frustrated when I. See in general public, uh, making assumptions about people with mental health problems.

And I lived it. I, you know, I was seven years old when my eldest brother became ill with, with the first signs of his schizophrenia. And, and I, we suffered as a family, the stigma we had to move, uh, house because the neighbors were really harsh and, you know, and then, and then I was a teenager when my second brother became ill.

So even more of the same. And I, you know, I was, I was a young person thinking, gosh, you know, why, why? You know, public professional services are making life so hard for my brothers and for myself, there's no need for that. And unquestionably Peter. And this is where my heart is. We make people, we make, conditions much harder, much harder because of our, our attitude, because of the way we judge him, the way we, we assume. And, and, and I know my brother one, my eldest brother passed away last January. And, you know, I had beautiful conversations with him before he passed. And I asked him, you know, what, what he would, you know, want to tell people that have mental health problems and, you know, and his words were along the lines of, you know, we we've got each other, we understand what we go through.

We just can't take it to heart, what people say and assume about us, because that would kill us. And, and it's really sad when, when people with mental health problems live lives like that. So Mind Yr Life was created to really try and influence people's attitude towards anyone with mental health problem.

In fact, Towards anyone that is considered to be different. Um, because when we, when we don't know, we feel threatened and, and people don't know about mental health illnesses about mental conditions and, and they feel threatened because of the ignorance most times. And then they judge and they try and put them down because that makes them feel more in control, more secured.

So, you know, there's, there's, there's a lot of work to be done there about eradicating the stigma. But, you know, we, we can, you know, we bit, bit by day by day, you know, we get there, 

[00:12:54] Peter: no question about it, Dr. Sanz how can people find, uh, more about you and, and, and where can they go to get more?  

 

On the Web: www.MindYrLife.com

Socials: @MindYrLifeMYL on Twitter  Facebook @mind.yr.life on INSTA and Luisa Sanz on YouTube

[00:13:00] Dr.Sanz: I thought of the name.

And I thought, um, you know, that mind obviously is about caring and looking after, and, and mind is about mental health and, and your, your is spelled with a Y and an R because I thought it's about you. It's about us, but it's about your responsibility and every single one, taking responsibility over, over mental health, over attitude and, and, and changing.

And, and life is about, you know, precisely about why, why we live these lives, how do we live it and how do we, you know, live it in a way that is that we, we achieve happiness. Um, so mind your life spell, as I said, with the Y and R um, you know, I've got in the website, there's, I'm, I'm, I'm doing lots of interviews to people that, you know, very willingly speak openly about their experiences with, with mental health.

I like to think that I lead by example. And I, I have an interview where I speak about what my experience growing up was, you know, when with, with mental health problems at home and, and, and we do do interviews and we, you know, I I've recently, um, wrote a, a journal, which is a wellbeing guided journal to help people.

Particularly people, you know, with, it's not specific for ADHD, but people with ADHD tend to need more guidance, more support, you know, a little bit of a prompt. And, and this journal is to change behaviors. You know, that sometimes you think, oh, I wish I, I could eat more healthy or I could do more exercise or I could make my bed every morning or, you know, so, so it it's to.

It's to, uh, support people in making those changes. And the journal starts with giving lots of information about why consistency is important, how, how the brain works and how this consistency provides the, you know, the, the, the, what is needed for, for changing behaviors. So in mind your life, we have. As I said, you know, um, interviews to, uh, to learn more about what people really experience.

We have videos that I've, I've uploaded that I do them myself for, for everyone. They're not for professionals they're for everyone that want to learn a little bit more about ADHD, there are three videos on ADHD. There are some on autistic spectrum condition and that there'll be more ?___? We, we, we upload information, informa educational videos.

We've got these journal as well. And we do loads of the things, um, that we keep, you know, uploading on the website to, to try and, you know, first make sure that people with mental health problems don't feel that they are on their own because we are all on the same boat. And, and, and second to help those that really want to understand mental health conditions better and support those with mental health conditions in a, in a healthier manner.

You know, uh, we've got the information available as well. Excellent. 

[00:15:58] Peter: Well, Dr. Sounds thank you so much for taking the time. We really appreciate you coming on faster than normal. And, uh, we'll have you back again. 

[00:16:04] Dr.Sanz: Oh, I, I love that Peter. Uh, I would love that. Thank you so much for having me today. 

[00:16:10] Peter: Always guys, as always, we appreciate you listening. If you like what you heard, you could drop us a review. I know I say that every week. I really mean it this time…. —

 

Credits: You've been listening to the Faster Than Normal podcast. We're available on iTunes, Stitcher and Google play and of course at www.FasterThanNormal.com I'm your host, Peter Shankman and you can find me at shankman.com and @petershankman on all of the socials. If you like what you've heard, why not head over to your favorite podcast platform of choice and leave us a review, come more people who leave positive reviews, the more the podcast has shown, and the more people we can help understand that ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Opening and closing themes were composed and produced by Steven Byrom who also produces this podcast, and the opening introduction was recorded by Bernie Wagenblast. Thank you so much for listening. We'll see you next week!

I met our next guest at the Adobe Summit in glittery Las Vegas a couple of months ago. She was the youngest presenter in attendance! She’s an award winning actress, film writer, co-author of a young adult novel “Then and There, Here and Where” -which is set to publish this Spring. (Did I mention her age yet..?) Recently nominated a top GenZ influencer, she is currently creating her own greeting card line, oh yes, and she too has been diagnosed with ADHD, and also Dyslexia. Esabella Karena joins us today to talk about her journey thus far. Enjoy!

 

In this episode Peter and Esabella discuss:

1:00-  Intro & welcome Esabella!

2:30-  When were you diagnosed with ADHD?

2:50-  So ‘grade one’ was in 2010 for you aye..

3:20-  How did ADHD blossom for you; how did things go after your diagnosis?

4:05-  What was different for you when you moved to your new school?

4:50-  On knowing if you’re in the right school

5:25-  Was it easy for you to fit-in & make friends?

6:08-  How did you get through that tough time?

6:48-  Kids are going to understand that it’s ok to be different. What advice would you give to kids who have just been diagnosed, or who are maybe just realizing that they have a gift; that they are special.

7:30-  Tell us more about you! What else are you up to lately?

8:32-  How long have you had your tutor?

8:50-  Tell us more about the extra-curricular activities that may be ‘not so normal’ for someone your age; like hosting a Variety show for example!

9:58-  What do you think makes a good Influencer?  ref: Generation Z Program

10:57-  It seems you’re prettymuch on top of the world right now; what’s next for you?

11:37-  What would you tell kids, especially ADHD & Dyslexic kids, who might have parents who are not as understanding as your’s? Or, what advice would you give to parents in general?

12:41-  Talk about some of your screw-ups?

13:37-  Do you think making mistakes is how you learn?

14:00-  What quote would you want people to remember you by?

16:12-  How can people reach you?  INSTA, Twitter, FB @EsabellaKarena www.EsabellaKarena.com

16:40-  Thank you Esabella! And thank YOU for subscribing, reviewing and listening.  Please.. stop right now and write us a review, EVEN IF you’ve reviewed us before, so that we will all be able to help & reach even more people!  You can always reach me at peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. Also at @FasterThanNormal on all of the socials. 

17:12-  Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits

As always, leave us a comment below and PLEASE drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! The more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! Know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note, we’d love to hear!

The Faster Than Normal ADHD T-Shirts are live! Grab yours before the campaign ends next week!

So whenever I talk about taking ADHD meds, I call it my "expense report medication." That is, if I'm forced to take medication, it's only for things that truly won't get done otherwise - I don't take Concerta all the time, usually rarely. But occasionally, it's needed, for those things people with ADHD just simply don't want to do. Like expense reports. Or benefits forms. Or claims forms.

That's why this week is a special treat for us: Josh Verne has founded multiple companies, and as always, comes from a place where he realized that what he has is a gift, not a curse.We're going to find out how all of these things can be done, with ADHD, by talking this week, not to someone with ADHD, but with OCD. We're going to find out how Josh uses his OCD to do some of the things that we couldn't imagine doing - And the best part? Josh's secret lies in two things: His outlook on life, and enjoying what he does.

You know who else that works for? Us!! Enjoy this interview. You're going to like it.

In this episode, Peter and Josh discuss:

• Josh's story and OCD (02:06)
• Negative vs positive outlook (04:28)
• Having devices automate mundane tasks (06:59)
• Running an employee benefits company (08:48)
• Meetings (10:53)
• The challenge with having to always finish a task (12:03)
• Enjoying what you do (13:01)
• Relaxation (14:14)
• Success secrets (15:03)
• Boxing (15:43)

Links/Mentions

• FlockU
• Joe Frazier

As always, leave us a comment below, drop us a review on iTunes (PLEASE!) and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven't already! Know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note - We'd love to hear!

Jason Hsieh is the founder of LakiKid, a growing company who provides quality and affordable products that help neurodiverse children with their daily challenges. LakiKid is an eCommerce company that helps kids with special learning needs like Autism, ADHD, and Sensory Processing Disorder by providing support, education, and products. In 2013, Jason's son, Keanu, was diagnosed with Autism and ADHD at  the age of 2 while they were still living in Japan. They decided to move to Seattle, Washington because they just could not find the help their son needed in Japan. In the winter of 2017, Jason then founded LakiKid with a mission to help kids with Autism, ADHD, and Sensory Processing Disorder by providing support, advice and products that will reduce anxiety and improve attention span, improve sleep and inspire confidence in interpreting their senses. It is his mission to help neurodiverse kids live a life full of possibilities. LakiKid runs an online support group with 2400+ parents and weekly educational video podcasts. It has helped over 20K+ kids with it’s products since its inception in 2017. Their products are also being used in 300+ locations including NBA Arenas, Football and Baseball stadiums, Aquariums and Zoo’s across the United States as part of  KultureCity’s Sensory Inclusive Initiative program. Jason appeared on 6 podcasts (ADHD Support Talk Radio, SPED Homeschool, Become A Fearless Father, Silent Sales Machine Radio, Ecomcrew, and  Once Upon A Gene), and has also been a keynote speaker at the Selective Mutism Summit. Today we talk in-depth about what led him to start LakiKid  Enjoy!

 

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***CORONA VIRUS EDITION***

 

In this episode Peter & Jason discuss:

 

   :53  -  Intro and welcome Jason Hsieh!

 

1:55  -  On the difficulty of finding adequate resources in Japan to deal with any kind of neurodiversity 

 

3:11  -   On the stigma around getting help & support, then talking about it, especially as a parent

 

3:47  -  On an actual diagnosis at age 2 in Japan. What caused you to move to Washington, was there just zero help available in Japan?

 

4:50  -  Is Tokyo also progressive when it comes do neurodiversity?

 

5:47  -  On how Jason started https://lakikid.com/  and what prompted him to start it

 

6:56  -  On the company itself, the products offered

 

6:55  -  On the advantages of not only helping children in the home environment, but more of a global, general public service.

 

7:32  -  On the sensory inclusive movement like www.kulturecity.org is pushing, and response thus far

 

8:51  -  On the future plans for www.lakikid.com

 

9:05  -  How has the response been to your partnership?

 

10:38  -  On the possibility of partnering with other schools, or districts 

 

11:11  -  On how his son has adapted to the “new normal” w/ COVID, homeschooling etc.   

 

12:00  -  On more & more parents realizing that they too may have ADHD, after a child’s diagnosis

 

12:11  -  How do people find out more? Website: https://lakikid.com/ They have a monthly video block that they partner with occupational therapists, as well as different educational materials that people can check out. Lost of free materials!  Follow them at @LakiKid_Sensory on Twitter  @LakiKidSensory on Facebook and HERE on YouTube

 

13:14  -  Thank you Jason! And thank YOU for subscribing, reviewing and listening. Your reviews are working! Even if you’ve reviewed us before, would you please write even a short one for this episode? Each review that you post helps to ensure that word will continue to spread, and that we will all be able to reach & help more people! You can always reach me via peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. You can also find us at @FasterThanNormal on all of the socials. As always, leave us a comment below and please drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! As you know, the more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! Do you know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note, we’d love to hear!

13:42-  Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits

 

TRANSCRIPT: 

Hi everyone. Peter Shankman and you are listening to another episode of Faster Than Normal, which is always nice. It's great to have you guys. I hope you're enjoying your day, wherever in the world, you might be. We're going to Washington state today and we're going to talk to Jason Hsieh, who's the founder of https://lakikid.com/ a small and growing company that provides quality and affordable products that help neuro-diverse children with their daily challenges.  They're an e-commerce company and Jason founded it. They help kids with special needs like autism ADHD, sensory processing disorder, and they provide support education and products. In 2013, Jason’s son Keanu, best name ever, was diagnosed with autism and ADHD at the age of two, while they were still living in Japan.  They moved to Seattle Washington because they just couldn't find the help their son needed back in Japan.  We're going to talk about that,  In the winter of 2017, Jason founded https://lakikid.com/ with the mission to help kids with autism, ADHD, and sensory processing disorder….processing disorder by providing support advice and products that will reduce anxiety, improve attention, span, improve, sleep, and embrace confidence for the kids.  It is his mission to let neuro-diverse kids live as full a life or a life full of possibilities as possible. Talk to me, Jason, welcome to Faster Than Normal, thank you for being here. 

Hey, good morning. How are you? Thank you for having me on your podcast. 

Definitely tell me about. So I've heard from other people that in Japan, it is very hard to get the resources needed to deal with any kind of neuro-diversity.  Is that true? 

I would say a 100% true and that it's not just in Japan... and I'm from Taiwan. My wife's from Japan after we got married, we moved to back to Japan, but that's also the case for Taiwan as well, because I think we, in alot of Asian community and Asian countries. There's a huge stigma around mental disabilities that people tend to avoid talking about it.  Pretending it doesn't exist. What does try to hide it?  So that's kind of that kind of mentality in the society lead to lack of resources and lack of openness to openly talk about those kind of issues. 

I imagine it would be difficult if there is a stigma around it that that getting help and getting support and then coming out and talking about it in itself would just be difficult.

Of course for sure, and that's something I also struggled with when I first learned about my son's diagnosis back then, and I actually went through almost six months of denial. I refused to accept that there's something wrong with my son because we, my family does not, no one else to have mental disabilities.  Like how can this happen to my son? Just doesn't really make sense, and I think that's a process that… alot of the parents, especially Dad’s, I think goes through a lot more than a Mom, because I think we don't interact with the kids as much as the Mom’s do, and that tends to kind of create some kind of barrier.  And also as men, we tend to try to fix stuff, but Autism, ADHD or something like that is not something you can fix. That's something you need to create. Well, I guess, make it better and make improvement, but you couldn't really fix that kind of thing. 

 

And you said your son was diagnosed at age two in Japan.  So when he was diagnosed, what did the doctor say? You know, I mean, he told you, OK, your son has, you know, a central processing disorder, ADHD. Um, did he…. was there...,  was there help available?  What... what happened? I mean, cause you obviously moved to... you moved to Washington, you moved to Seattle. Um, was there just nothing available?

So, um, that's actually a perfect example for this is we didn't even find out about it until my wife pointed something out was kind of strange because every time she would take our son to the playground, he doesn't play with any other kid. He tends to play in his own corners for the whole time, for like one or two hours straight.  He doesn't even look at any other kids during the whole time. So that sounds really strange to my wife and that's where she brought up, uh, the proposal. OK, maybe we should have to have him take a beat, take a look at, and the first thing we got half of after we talked to the doctor in Japan is like, OK, this is a potential issue.   But unfortunately in the area that we used to live in, which we live in Tokyo, one of the largest metropolitan areas  you can imagine you have almost as much population, as the city of New York, but we can only go to 2 therapy centers that provide any kind of services for our son with the kind of symptoms that he has.   So that is not a good situation to being in, to living in the city was population over 10 million people, but you can only go to two locations to find help. 

That's pretty amazing when you think about it, that that's all that. Um, is available at, out of, you know, you look at, uh, Tokyo and, and, and, and cities like that, and you think that they're so progressive, when in fact it's actually very the opposite. 

Unfortunately that's a 100%t true, even so, they are very technology-wise, they are very advanced, but when you come to mental disability and kind of services that you can get, I think they are of these 10 year behind the United States and a lot of the Western countries.

Hmm. So let's talk about https://lakikid.com/  You moved, you moved to Seattle and you realized, okay, you're just going to start a company that will help these kids because what, there was nothing available. I mean, there was obviously a lot more support available here. So what prompted you to start the company? 

I think it's really just by connecting with other families that also have kids with special needs, and also at that time, the biggest struggle we have, is the insurance that we initially got. When we moved back here, it doesn't cover ABA therapy, which is an intense one-on-one behavior therapy that a lot of the kids with autism will use. And I was also trying to find out additional ways to supplement our family income.  That's why the idea of creating a business and helping other families, kind of similar to ours, that's where the idea was coming from, and also by talking to other families that also have similar issues, but they couldn't really find a lot of affordable products and solutions that can really help their kids, that's... that's where the idea originally come from. And we have since grown to something a little bit bigger than that, which I can talk a little bit more. . . 

 

Yeah. tell me, so tell me about the company. Tell me about the products, tell me about what you do, talk about it. 

For sure. So https://lakikid.com/ as a company, we are quote “mission is to empower support and educate kids with, uh, different sensory issues.”  And we partner with, um, different non-profit organizations. One of the biggest non-profits that we partner with is called https://www.kulturecity.org/sensory-inclusive/….start with K.  Uh, they have, uh, one of the, um, they are an international non-profits. They have locations in both US, Canada, Canada, Australia, and UK. I see  right now, they have over... 500 different locations, uh, inside one of the biggest programs called https://www.kulturecity.org/sensory-inclusive/and I'm just honored that we are able to partner with the non-profit and by providing sign of our product into their program and what their programs do, is still go into locations like zoos,  aquariums, NBA stadiums, football and baseball arenas, and they'll do, they'll do three things  for all those locations.  First, they will provide staff training so the staff is aware of the sensory challenges for the kids that have ADHD or Autism will face when they go to a public arena like NBA stadiums.  Second, they will provide a physical tool that's free to use for the family, they call a sensory bag.  Inside the sensory bags,  we have noise-canceling headphones, fidget toys, and a weighted blanket, which we designed for  https://www.kulturecity.org/sensory-inclusive/ for them to use. Our weighted blanket is unique in the way that we make it.  A, the material is different that kids can write on the blanket itself, use a water pen, so it's a 100% interactive, and last but not least, is they also help those arenas and locations to build sensory rooms, which is essentially a quiet space that a family can go to in case the kids is having a meltdown now, uh, while attending those kinds of events.

Interesting. So it's, you're thinking more of a bigger picture in that regard, it's not just to, to help the child, you know, when they're at home when they have it, It's, it's, it's, it's more of a global thought. 

Of course. I think we, uh, at our core, we believe in the sensory inclusive movement that https://www.kulturecity.org/sensory-inclusive/ is pushing, and it's all about creating a more accepting environment, not just at home and classroom, but also in the public, in the public, the general public as well.

What's the response been?  

Oh, https://www.kulturecity.org/sensory-inclusive/ and us, um, I think collaboration has gone a long way and the response has been very positive and of course, um, like everything else, uh, we all get affected because of the COVID situations, because all the location, I just mentioned almost every one of them got shut down because of COVID and including our business, because we do a lot of, uh, um, transaction with  school, and as you know, majority of the schools, oh gosh, shut down at the same time last year when the COVID situation happened, so it has been a very tough year for us last year, and we are kind of struggling right now, trying to recover from, from the, from the fallout of that. But hopefully this year will be a much better year.

 

Cool. So tell me what you have planned for the future for https://lakikid.com/ ?

Yeah, so one of our biggest programs that originally were planning to launch last year, but because of COVID, we didn't happen, but we have a new program we're working on called Sensory Inclusive Classrooms, which the idea is to implement what  https://www.kulturecity.org/sensory-inclusive/ is already doing in the NBA stadiums and all the different locations I mentioned earlier, but inside a public school environment, by providing a similar kind of training for the general education teacher, for the parent educators, and also help them provide some of the tools, like sensory tool that the teacher can use in the classroom and also helps out of the school to build sensory room if they have the budget and the space to do so. 

Awesome. Are you... are you looking at partnering with, uh, other schools or districts or things like that?

That's one thing we're working on. We do have a pilot program here in Washington that, uh, implementing before COVID, but because of the COVID situation, everything kind of got shut down. We are kind of waiting to see…. some of the schools are already starting to reopen here in Washington, but not all of them. So kind of waiting to see what the situation is going to turn out and how the vaccination roll-out is going to be before we decide what we’re going to do with the school program again. 

What has, uh, how has your son, uh, adapted with, with COVID and with homeschooling and all that? 

I would say that was one of the biggest struggles.  That's very common for the parents in our community, in myself and my wife included because it's very hard to focus even in-person, I mean, let alone saying remote learning because you're just staring at the screen and that’s something my son definitely still struggles with, um, focusing and, um, like being able to pay attention in class because he has not just Autism, but  ADHD as well. 

So yeah, totally. I could see the... the biggest problem for me was the lack of movement, you know, running around, running around and around and everything just stops, you know, and move... movement is living for someone with ADHD.  So not being sort of just being stuck at home and not really doing anything has been brutal.   

For sure, and that's one more thing I want to share that I actually didn't realize I had ADHD myself until I was doing all the research and all the study for my son and the more research and the more study I was doing, I realized I was checking 9 out of the 10 boxes for…. that was ADHD myself.

More and more, more and more parents, more and more parents get diagnosed because their children get diagnosed and they realize, wait, this looks really familiar. 

Exactly. Yeah. It's, it's kind of, it kind of explained my, my childhood story because I went to five different high schools myself, because I sweat a lot during school and I couldn't really pay attention, and I didn't know why. Then I was just keep on being told that I was, I wasn't a very good student, but now with the diagnosis... is kind of explaining a lot of the things that happened to me when I was young. 

Yeah. Jason, how can people find more, uh, what's the website for https://lakikid.com/ ? 

Yeah, they can find more https://lakikid.com/  It's spelled as lakikid.com. We have a monthly video block that we partner with occupational therapists, and we also have different educational materials that people can check out our product. And most of... most of the, um, we have a lot of free resources that we're trying to provide to the families as well.

Awesome. Jason Hsieh, thank you so much for taking the time to be on Faster Than Normal, I really appreciate it. 

Thank you so much for having me. 

Definitely.  Guys, thanks for listening. If you like what you hear, drop us a review, leave us a note, we'd love to know more.  We'd love to have, if you have any guests you think should be on the podcast, tell us, uh, send us an email at https://www.shankman.com/ or   https://www.fasterthannormal.com/   or  @petershankman  ,  Peter Shankman (@petershankman) • Instagram photos and videos  Peter Shankman (@petershankman) | Twitter all the socials. We would love to hear it. And, uh, we'll try to get your guests on the show as well. This podcast is for you and it's about you. So thank you for listening, have a great day.

Credits: You've been listening to the Faster Than Normal podcast. We're available on iTunes, Stitcher and Google play and of course at www.FasterThanNormal.com I'm your host, Peter Shankman and you can find me at petershankman.com and @petershankman on all of the socials. If you like what you've heard, why not head over to your favorite podcast platform of choice and leave us a review, come more people who leave positive reviews, the more the podcast has shown, and the more people we can help understand that ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Opening and closing themes were composed and produced by Steven Byrom who also produces this podcast, and the opening introduction was recorded by Bernie Wagenblast. Thank you so much for listening. We'll see you next week. 

Ryan started his first business when he was 14 and has been hooked on business ownership ever since. He has learned to channel his ADHD into tons of energy which helps him to outwork his competitors, and has honed the creativity to find solutions for complex challenges. After graduating Saginaw Valley State University he moved to the paradisiacal Florida Keys, where he began his marketing business, Promotions Guy. In 2016, Promotions Guy expanded to Michigan to be closer to family. He’s a former City Commissioner, an active Rotarian, a guitarist in his church band, Youth Hockey Coach and a member of various Non-Profit Boards. He loves helping others in any way that he can and we at FTN do too! I hope you enjoy our visit with this creative marketing entrepreneur! 

 

In this episode Peter & Ryan discuss:

0:50-  Intro & welcome Ryan Schraffenberger!

1:45-  So, your resume is kinda all over the place and it still sounds like you love everything you do; tell us about that?

2:30-  When did you get diagnosed w/ ADHD; tell us your story?

3:22-  Tell us how you learned to harness all of you energy and turn it into positive energy.

4:13-  Why do you think so many people stick with jobs/professions, etc. in which they are not happy?

5:12-  On Mondays & then end of happiness for some

7:20-  You play guitar. Why and what role does it serve in your life?

8:47-  How do you balance your passion for hockey while coaching the game!?

10:17-  How do you handle bad calls in a game?

11:44-  On managing high energy

12:18-  What are your ‘go-to’s for staying calm?

13:00-  In Marketing, how do you deal with a client who just doesn’t, or will not get it?

14:10- What do you hope people will understand about us and about ADHD?

15:46-  How can people find you Ryan? www.PromotionsGuy.com email: Ryan@Promotionsguy.com or via LinkedIn or FB

16:41-  Thank you Ryan! And thank YOU for subscribing, reviewing and listening. Your reviews are working! Even if you’ve reviewed us before, would you please write even a short one for this episode? Each review that you post helps to ensure that word will continue to spread, and that we will all be able to reach & help more people! You can always reach me via peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. You can also find us at @FasterThanNormal on all of the socials.

17:11-  Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits

As always, leave us a comment below and please drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! As you know, the more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! Do you know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note, we’d love to hear!

This week's Faster Than Normal podcast is brought to you by the greatest headphones I've ever used in my life, Sudio Sweden. You know I can't workout without music, right? These headphones lasted me over TWENTY FOUR HOURS OF MUSIC ON ONE CHARGE!

The sound quality is off the charts, the bass beats are deep, the trebles are crisp... They're truly amazing. And thanks to our podcast, you can get yours for 15% off by using code FTN15! Check them out - (I have the Sudio Tre, but they're all amazing!) Click this link to see all the headphones they have, and remember, use FTN15 for 15% off your order!

https://www.sudio.com/us/ earbuds

It’s good to be back home folks! This week I sit down to visit with Jason Channell. He’s a Director at WrightIMC, a digital marketing agency in Dallas. He previously was a Digital Marketing Manager for Infinite Agency. Previous to that he was an operations manager for PFSWEB. And previous to THAT, he was a store manager for The Vitamin Shoppe. He’s found through his various experiences in various industries, that he loves to coach organizations and help people to improve. In his spare time Jason loves to ride motorcycles, usually on a quest to find the best local BBQ! He and I are both listening back to this episode of Faster Than Normal in our headphones.  Crank it up and enjoy!

In this episode, Peter and Jason discuss:

0:40- Thanks again to Sudio.com for sponsoring this podcast!

1:57- Intro and welcome; introducing Jason Channell

3:23- Jason’s story

5:15- Marketing + Psychology = good results

5:54- What happens when you are faced with tasks that you don’t enjoy, or haven’t studied?

6:56- So what is your process when you’re NOT obsessed with stuff you need to do?

8:23- Have you ever had a boss that did not understand what’s going on while you are maintaining your “zone of focus”? 

10:44- Do you have a deep-work/private work space?  What works for you?

11:44- When did you discover that you were obsessed with certain things, like, more than just ‘liking’ something a lot?

13:20- How do you manage your obsessions? 

14:42- Do fitness and diet play a role in your life too?

15:43- What do you do to get back into a good routine when life brings change?

16:40- How can people find you to talk more?  TWITTER @El_Fenix

17:05- Thank you Jason!!

17:17- Faster Than Normal Podcast info and credits

As always, leave us a comment below, drop us a review on iTunes (PLEASE!) and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! Know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note – We’d love to hear!

 

This is a great kid, mature beyond his years. I discovered Everett when someone sent me an article about him competing in the Intel International Science & Engineering Fair, (Bio-Medical Engineering category), and winning out over 1,800 competing students from 80+ countries!  He’s brilliant and certainly has a bright future; just listen to how he answered “What do you wanna do with your life”? What were you doing in High School? I’m thankful we got to spend some time with him this week. Enjoy! 

In this episode, Peter and Everett discuss:

:50- Intro and welcome Everett!  ref: Intel International Science & Engineering Fair Awards 

2:00-  When did you first get diagnosed?

2:36- How did you wind up scoring so high in Math & Science?

4:25- None of us with ADHD are quite alike are we?!

4:48-  Why did you ask for more challenging work?

5:53-  Tell us about your 10th grade Science project. What is a “3D Printable Transtibial Prosthesis”? 

7:30-  Rachel Cotton interview 

7:50-  What changed for you right after you were diagnosed?

10:05-  On:  adapting, learning moments, accepting and growing.

12:15-  What do you want to do with your life?

14:11-  On finding your niche

15:05-  Advice to ADHD parents

16:00-  How can people find you? INSTA: @EVKroll

16:42-  Thank you so much Everett!! This was awesome.

17:18-  Faster Than Normal Podcast info and credits

As always, leave us a comment below, PLEASE drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! The more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! Know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note – We’d love to hear!

Roy Scott is the Founder and CEO of H3 Enterprise, an EdTech company powered by the arts, entertainment and social interaction. Considered by many as the "Sesame Street of the 21st Century". With ten plus years of experience in the music industry, a passion for technology and helping the youth, Scott turned what he loved into a business. H3 was launched in 2013, quickly gaining traction through their live engagement and online content, contracting with such companies as Blue Cross Blue Shield, SHAPE America, The LeBron James Family Foundation and many more. Currently, Scott serves as writer and executive producer of H3 content. He has a great skill of cultivating relationships and creating new opportunities through innovation. We first met at a conference in Omaha and I think what he’s doing with H3 and the results he’s getting are amazing. Enjoy! 

In this episode, Peter and Roy discuss:

1:00- Intro and welcome Roy! 

1:50- What is H3 and how did it begin? 

3:33- Countless studies show that movement & activity can lead to massive changes in a kid’s learning; tell us about some of what you’re seeing?

5:05- Tell us about some of the results you are seeing after getting kids active & moving in class

6:32- Getting kids settled down, focused & ready to learn in 45 seconds, versus 5 minutes by using H3 is impressive! Is that result consistent? 

7:43- Why do you think there seems to be such a hesitancy by schools to employ more consistent physical activity into the daily lesson plan?

8:18- On antiquated systems and resources-

9:13- What new techniques are you seeing from new teachers?  (Simpsons ref)

11:16- What’s next for H3? (See the latest here on Twitter)

12:37- What age group tends to benefit the most, or is it universal?

13:23- Roy, how can people find out more out H3 and reach out to you? 

www.https://www.h3tv.com   Twitter: @Healthy_Hip_Hop  

Personal Twitter: @RoyScottBoycott INSTA: @royscott.boycott

13:52- Thank you Roy!!

14:13- Thank you for listening!!

14:29- Faster Than Normal Podcast info and credits

As always, leave us a comment below, PLEASE drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! The more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! Know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note – We’d love to hear!

I want to thank you for listening and for subscribing to Faster Than Normal! I also want to tell you that if you’re listening to this one, you probably listened to other episodes as well. Because of you all, we are the number one ADHD podcast on the internet!! And if you like us, you can sponsor an episode! Head over to https://rally.io/creator/SHANK/?campaignId=1f99a340-203f-498e-9665-24723a5f8b7a  It is a lot cheaper than you think. You'll reach... about 25k to 30,000 people in an episode and get your name out there, get your brand out there, your company out there, or just say thanks for all the interviews! We’ve brought you over 230 interviews of CEOs, celebrities, musicians, all kinds of rock stars all around the world from Tony Robbins, Seth Godin, Keith Krach from DocuSign, Danny Meyer, we've had Rachel Cotton, we've had  the band Shinedown, right? Tons and tons of interviews, and we keep bringing in new ones every week so head over to https://rally.io/creator/SHANK/?campaignId=1f99a340-203f-498e-9665-24723a5f8b7a  make it yours, we'd love to have you, thanks so much for listening!  Now to this week's episode, we hope you enjoy it!

 

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Today we visit with the man who single-handedly brought the automobile industry into the world of social media, and the founder of Scott Monty Strategies. Scott Monty was the 2nd person we ever interviewed on Faster Than Normal and he and I go back many, many years now. With a voice that can still melt butter, he’s continued to do great things and we’ll catch up today, but for starters:  Scott Monty is a strategic communications & leadership coach and advisor who helps the C-suite embrace better communication with timeless and timely advice. A Fortune 10 leader whose background in classics positioned him to see through the shiny objects, Scott can drill down to understand the common human needs from throughout history that still drive us all. He was ranked by The Economist as #1 atop the list 25 Social Business Leaders and Alan Mulally, the CEO of Ford Motor Company, called him "a visionary." Scott spent six years as an executive at Ford, where he helped turn the company around with an uncanny ability to merge technology with humanity. He served as a strategic adviser across a variety of business functions, leading the company's global social media strategy. He also has a another decade and a half of experience in communications and marketing agencies. Scott's clients have included companies such as Walmart, IBM, McDonalds, Coca-Cola, and Google. He is a trustee of the Detroit Symphony Orchestra, a past board member of the American Marketing Association, and has advised a number of tech companies. He writes the Timeless & Timely newsletter, to help leaders make sense of today with lessons from the past, and hosts the Timeless Leadership podcast. We’re happy he’s back to visit with us today. Enjoy! 

 

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In this episode Peter and Scott discuss:  

2:13  -  Intro and welcome back Scott Monty!!  (You can hear Peter’s first interview with Scott here)  Ref:  Our Storytelling/Public Speaking course is here

3:13  -  What have you been doing Scott?  Ref:  Chameleon’s Collective

3:49  -  So is all of your family back to “normal” now? 

4:10  -  What have you been doing to keep sane during the pandemic? How do you see public stages in the near future, do you see any of that coming back right away?

6:11  -  On being in the current post-quarantine mode of how/when will it all be back to some sort of normalcy and getting not only remaining vigilant health-wise, but getting our brains OK with things going back to the way they were pre-pandemic.

7:30  -  Let’s talk masks & vaxxs across the world

9:00  -  On trying to stay sane during throughout the pandemic, and methods you’ve used to keep yourself and your mind busy.  Ref:  Timeless & Timely newsletter. All things Scott Monty here

12:41 – On social audio content.  Tell us about where you see it going and your involvement in that arena. Ref:  What is Clubhouse?

14:21  -  Where do you see social audio fitting into our future?  (Large conferences vs. smaller but w/ extensions of virtual visits for after-conference discussions, breakout rooms, etc) 

17:17  -  If you’ve never been to a CES, or a Mobile World Congress show, it’s kinda an ADHD person’s dream!

19:14  -  On avoiding home distraction. What do you do, what are your steps and advice on keeping focus when you keep getting interrupted, etc?

23:00  -  Where can people find you?  Website: https://www.scottmonty.com/  Like myself, has has a crypto coin called the Timeless Coin: https://rally.io/creator/MONTY/ and the symbol is https://rally.io/creator/MONTY/   Our Storytelling/Public Speaking course is at: https://shankman.lpages.co/scott-peter-speaking-early-access/ and we’re talking about it here and on the Socials: @ScottMonty on Twitter  Scott Monty Strategies on Facebook and via Email: scott@scottmonty.com

24:09  -  “pon·tif·i·cate”

24:55  -  Guys, as always, we are here for you and we love what the responses and the notes that we get from you. I got an email from someone just a couple of days ago, who said to me, let me see if I can find it, um, I probably can't of course, but I got an email from someone who said that they were just so incredibly thankful that of all the things that uh, and here it is. Okay.  “Hey Peter, wanting to click you a message to say thank you.  I don't know how I went through 24 years of my life not knowing I had ADHD, but listening to your new book and the podcast had me in tears. I knew I was different, never understood, why but I'm so excited to learn how to live my best life. Using my ADHD positively. I have an hour and a half to go, an hour and half into your book and can already tell it will be life-changing for me, thank you so much.”  Guys, we get these all the time and they just, they never stopped making me happy. So please continue to shoot us a note. Tell us who you want to hear on the podcast, we’d love to know.  Leave us a review on any of the places you get your podcasts, and if you can ever, if you ever need our help, I'm www.petershankman.com and you can reach out anytime via peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. You can also find us at @FasterThanNormal on all of the socials. As always, leave us a comment below and please drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! As you know, the more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! Do you know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note, we’d love to hear!

26:02  -  Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits

 

TRANSCRIPT: 

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Hi guys. My name is Peter Shankman. I'm the host of Faster Than Normal.  I want to thank you for listening, and I also want to tell you that if you've listened to this one, you probably listened to other episodes as well of Faster Than Normal.  We are the number one ADHD podcast on the internet, and if you like us, you can sponsor an episode.  Head over to shank.mn/sponsor  - that's shank.mn/sponsor. It is alot cheaper than you think. You'll reach... God about 25….30,000 people in an episode and get your name out there, get your brand out there, your company out there, or just say, thanks for all the interviews we brought you over 230 interviews of CEOs, celebrities, musicians, all kinds of rock stars all around the world from we've had... God, who have we had...we've had Tony Robbins, Seth Goden, Keith Krach from DocuSign, we've had Rachel Cotton, we've had  the band Shinedown, right? Tons and tons of interviews, and we keep bringing in new ones every week, so head over to shank.mn/sponsor  grab an episode, make it yours, we'd love to have you, thanks for listening.  Here's this week's episode, hope you enjoy it.

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You're listening to the Faster Than Normal podcast where we know that having ADD or ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Each week we interview people from all around the globe from every walk of life, in every profession. From rock stars to CEOs, from teachers to politicians who have learned how to unlock the gifts of their ADD and ADHD diagnosis, and use it to their personal and professional advantage.  To build businesses, to become millionaires, or to simply better their lives. And now, here's the host of the Faster Than Normal podcast, the man who attributes a lot of his success to his inability to sit still, Peter Shankman, 

Hi everyone, Peter Shankman welcome to Faster Than Normal. We were, we were… turning on the…. zoom and got a recording in progress, I thought, which I've never heard a sound never heard before…. that was interesting, but it is lovely to be back. And it is a Monday morning here in New York City, almost almost Memorial, that is the week before Memorial Day… so people start, uh at a hundred percent, and by Thursday they just don't give a shit anymore, and then they go into the long weekend and they come back and that's pretty much it for summer.  So we should be, we should be good. So we'll see you guys in September. All right…. good show, anyway…. the person I have joining me today, I think it was my third or fourth interview back when Faster Than Normal first started, Scott Monty is an old, old friend. A great, great guy, I met him eons ago, about 400 years ago when he was working at Ford Motor Company, um, probably when I was still running heroin, uh, we stayed in touch. We've been friends ever since he is out on his own. Now he is a writer. He is a storyteller galore. He and I have put together a storytelling course. We launched several months ago, which has done really well. He does a bunch of things. He lives somewhere near Detroit.  I believe has a really cool family, has a pension for bow ties and he wears them with aplomb. Except today he's not, but anyway, it is lovely to see you, Scott…. welcome back. 

Thank you, Peter. This call is being recorded just for your awareness. 

Oh, lovely, lovely to have you back. 

It's been a while since I've been here.

Indeed. We've done some other stuff, but I haven't had you on a podcast in a while. What have you been doing, man? What's been going on?

Oh, you know, the usual just living my best pandemic life. Um, you know, this, obviously the speaking business shifted quite a bit, uh, so I threw myself in the more consulting, but then that's been fine, um, I recently signed up with a, a collective of individual consultants called the https://chameleoncollective.com/ and basically we all remain independent, but we have a bunch of a hundred or so people to call on if we need other people to round out projects that we're working on, or if we want, offer ourselves up to their projects, so it's a, it's a nice arrangement. 

Very very cool, so you're all back? The whole, family's all back, you're all set with that alright? 

No, every... everyone except the, uh, the seven year old, yes.  

Right.  Yeah. I'm in the same boat. My eight year old is a, apparently no one cares about the, about the kids from age zero to age 12. But, um, hopefully at some point in the next several months, that will, that will happen. 

Absolutely. 

So what have you been doing to keep up yourself sane? I mean, you had a, almost as crazy travel schedule as I did back in the day. Um, have you seen any of that start to come back or have you seen anything come back in, in... on public stages?  I mean, I did my first speech a couple weeks ago, what about you? 

Well, I was never quite as a travel weary as you, but I, you know, I, I probably spent at least a quarter to a third of my time on the road.   And I mean, did you just at a certain point in your life, you just, you get a feel for it and it's like clockwork and when it stopped, it was really, really weird.  Okay. The, the benefit for me is we, we have all sorts of routines here at home and the kids in particular needed to keep their school up, even though school was shut down. So, you know, there, there was a rhythm to every day. It wasn't completely random, so I think that helped. A great deal is having some sort of pattern, some sort of regular routine, uh, to go on. And now that they're back in school, you know, I drive them every morning. Uh, so it, you know, I get a chance to talk with them. I get a chance to unwind on the way home, listen to a couple of podcasts, so it's a nice rhythm and I'm having a real difficult time trying to imagine going back to the way things were back to... quote unquote... normal, before, because I think it's going to be really difficult to reclaim the world as it was, but we're not going to remain in this kind of limbo that we've been in over the past year, either.

I think, I mean, there will be definitely a point where we say, okay, it's as normal as it's going to get. I mean, I was at the gym this morning and they've relaxed the mask rule, right? I mean, I was still wearing one, but they, there were, half the people there with no masks on, so I think, I mean, I think we're getting there. I was in, you know, (indistinguishable)  last week or two weeks ago was in Texas, um, you know, fortunately, uh, the 300 people in the audience, no one was wearing a mask because, you know, I guess, you know, COVID never actually hit Texas, so that was good. But, um, it was a, uh, iIt was weird. It was weird to be in that, in that environment, and so I think that that two things have to happen is that, is that one, it has to be safe enough to do it, but the second thing, our brain has to be okay with that. It has to be okay with, you know, you don't realize 16 months, 18 months of hunkering down as it were. Um, it's kind of hard to fully open your eyes when they turn on that light. 

It really is, and for me, the first trip I went on after not having traveled for over a year, it was weird trying to pack…. for one, I'm like, I've lost my muscle memory, muscle atrophy, and I'm like, oh, okay. Do I have everything in my, in my toiletry kit? And have I packed enough underwear and all the rest, but, you get to the airport and it's kind of dystopian, you know, first of all, it's not as crowded as it usually is, you look around and everybody, alot, at that time, at least everybody was wearing masks and you're like, what hell hole have I just emerged from and into? And, and as we get back, as we gradually get back, we're going to see this mix. I don't think, uh, I don't think masks are completely going away. And you think you've traveled in Asia quite a bit, right? They... they've been wearing masks when they travel and when you see them in the airport all the time. Um, and to me, it's actually makes great sense because it's great hygiene. I haven't had a cold in the past year. I wonder why that is, you know? 

That’s the amazing thing that I've always said is America has no idea how unbelievably stupid it looks on the world stage, right? And the amount of times I've traveled to Asia in the past 15 years where everyone's wearing a mask to the point where they give them out at the hotels, right? And, and I remember in December of 2019, I was in Bangkok and I got sick. I got violently ill. I had been in Abu Dhabi and then came home for like two days to see my daughter and then flew right to Bangkok and just the travel has got me down and it was December of 19, and I walk into this hospital in Bangkok, um, uh, a phenomenal one of the top hospital in the world I walked in and I'm like, Hey, I think I just have some sort of, uh, bronchitis or something. They're like, oh, no problem, sir, to step right this way. But please put on this mask, right? And it was like the most normal thing in the world, right? And when you realize. I think the problem was that we, we made, uh, we made putting on the masks about helping others, we should have convinced people that it was about helping themselves. And then everyone would have worn one, right? If we just said, oh yeah, if you wear this mask, you know, people will think you have much more muscles and everyone, everyone would've worn it.

Have you heard the latest thing with trying to get people vaccinated? The, uh, somebody from the CDC or one of the government agencies and doing a public call, said people who write that they have been vaccinated on their profiles are 14% more likely to match with a date on Tinder and match.com and these other services.

Yet. It's just yet another reason I'm so glad I don't have to be on any of those dating sites. What have you been doing to stay sane? You know, for people like us who do a million different things, part of the way we stay sane is by doing a million different things. And for a lot of the time, I mean, you know, you and I, you and I combined it let's do a course together because, uh, what the hell else are we going to do, right?  So what have you, what else have you been doing to stay sane and how has it been working? 

So being able to create something that, you know, we're both passionate about that we love that we're pretty good at and being able to share it with others, people, you know, just that, that brought me a lot of energy.

Right? and, and, and focus, you know, because we knew there was something that we, there was a specific outcome we were going for and, and you, and I, you know, kind of pressuring each other on a, on a schedule and a timeframe, and, um, eventually getting a really nice course out, um, you know, I've been, I'm not a huge exercise fanatic uh, certainly not to the degree you are, but, um, I've been taking walks every day, particularly with my seven year old daughter.  She loves to go out and explore, and we live in this wonderful little neighborhood where there's... there's parks and ponds and wildlife and everything, and, and she loves to walk the dog, so we go out and we make that part of the ritual, okay? Aside from that, like professionally, um, I've been creating a lot of content when I do https://www.scottmonty.com/p/newsletter.html      newsletter, that comes out twice a week, once a, in the middle of the week for everyone, that's a free version, um, a Friday version that is just for subscribers, where they get extra content, uh, links and a recommended book and a recommended podcast, and then what I've been, I've been doing a couple of other things with audio, but before I get to that, I want to say, I, I always get these other ideas. You know, a lot of times when I'm out walking or when I'm doing other stuff, I have these ideas that I want to write about, but they don't fit into, the, the broader cadence of what I want in my newsletter, so I.... I created kind of a little branch off of the newsletter, so the newsletter again is called https://www.scottmonty.com/p/newsletter.html  and I've created this other little branch off of it called https://www.timelesstimely.com/s/bonus, and it's just random thoughts that come to me, things that I think are inspirational, things that I think people might want to read, right. Uh, and I just published one on Saturday. Now I normally, normally don't publish on Saturday, but it was about the, uh, the habits of happy and successful people. And that has been one of my most popular newsletters posts of all time. People have just gobbled that up. So I feel like I'm onto something there and it makes me want to do more, okay?

You should, yeah….

Um, no, I mentioned audio. So what I've done with, uh, the public newsletters, I've, I've done an audio version of it. So I basically just read it, into the microphone and distribute that to my, subscribers, because there are some people that just prefer audio, they don't have time to read or they don't like reading, and I don't know if they put me on double speed or one and a half speed or whatever, so I sound like Alvin and the Chipmunks, but hey, whatever... you know, I'm giving people options to consume content the way they want to, and I like audio. I mean, I've been doing a lot of stuff with https://apps.apple.com/us/app/clubhouse-drop-in-audio-chat/id1503133294 and moreso with https://www.firesidechat.com/ and https://racket.app/ you know, some of these social audio things, um, and I started a new podcast on https://www.firesidechat.com/  called https://firesidechat.com/scottmonty where I bring on a leader every week and I interview them about one virtue of leadership, one habit of successful leaders, whether it's humility or optimism or resilience or, you know, one of those kinds of big type things, and I explore with them how they actually express that virtue in their daily and professional lives. 

Very cool. Tell me about, so let's talk about audio for a second. I, you know, so many people I've been on https://apps.apple.com/us/app/clubhouse-drop-in-audio-chat/id1503133294 ... I've I've, I was one of the first people to get an invite. Uh, our mutual friend Serina sent me an invite back in like November of last year or something was still in beta, and, um, I remember getting on and, and my first thought was, this is great, I don't have to be on video so I don’t have to devote a lot of my brain power to it, I can just listen. And then the more I used it, the more I found it was actually the complete opposite. I had to actually listen, right because, you know, if you miss 10 seconds and someone calls your name, you're like, I have no idea what you're talking about right?  And so for me, for the ADHD side of me, it kind of drove me crazy. We're moving towards audio, there's definitely gonna be a part of social audio that will exist and continue to exist. I don't know if so many of the, of the, the apps that are out there now are gonna are going to survive. But, you know, I sorta think it's a step above podcasting, it's interactive, it's both ways. Um, but it really, you know, you come on, you have to do an hour on this thing. It really requires your attention, and I'm wondering, at what point people are just gonna sort of throw up their hands, and say okay, I can't do that, right? I can't give you, you know, right now, sure. It launched at the perfect time, what the hell else are we doing with our lives, right? We were sitting at home all day so of course I'll go and listen to a six….and getting bottled a six hour chat on audio why not? I don't have to go to the bed. I could be naked doing it, and I'm gonna have to, you know, put on pants. But I think that as we evolve, whether it's to doing more, getting outside more things like that, I think audio is going to have a place, but it's not going to be anywhere near as, Oh my God, everyone needs to write about https://apps.apple.com/us/app/clubhouse-drop-in-audio-chat/id1503133294  now for the next 30 years type thing that it was. Where do you see it sort of eventually, uh, fitting in. 

Well, first of all, when you mentioned being in a https://apps.apple.com/us/app/clubhouse-drop-in-audio-chat/id1503133294 room, and someone calling your name and you're not paying attention, you know, flashbacks to school for me, you know, where I'm just daydreaming and suddenly called on, I'm like I missed the last….

exactly….

….three minutes of what you were talking about and, and, you know, bright students like you and I um, know enough to be able to BS our way through and answer and sound like we know what we're talking about, even though we weren't listening. Um, you know, th th that, that happens all the time and, and your point is well-taken.  https://apps.apple.com/us/app/clubhouse-drop-in-audio-chat/id1503133294  and the live social audio platforms require attention.  Look at the show we're on right now, is, is this really right for this audience? Well, look, here's, here's the deal. If you're really interested in something, you know, this, you get hyper-focused right, you, you dig down and it works really well. And when you don't have a lot of other distractions around you, particularly in a pandemic, um, it's perfect, but when we go back to a more, uh, where we approach a more normal kind of life, what we used to know, um, I think this we'll see a bit of a slide off, and we've already seen the adoption curve waning on https://apps.apple.com/us/app/clubhouse-drop-in-audio-chat/id1503133294 where their, their installs have, have dropped, and I'm even seeing statistics that, uh, room numbers are lower, not as many people are participating. And here's the thing, for the majority of people, the vast majority of people, they would rather listen than talk. They would rather be an audience member than on the stage, and that's fine, that's completely okay. And not everybody has time for that. And to me, https://apps.apple.com/us/app/clubhouse-drop-in-audio-chat/id1503133294 has replaced the big conference, right?  All of these in-person events that we couldn't go to, where you see people up on stage where, whether it's a keynote or a fireside chat or a panel discussion, that's what https://apps.apple.com/us/app/clubhouse-drop-in-audio-chat/id1503133294 feels like. And as we get back to these in-person events, as we begin to open up more, I think a really strong use case for these social audio apps, particularly the live ones, are akin to breakout rooms or after conference follow-ups, where you can have a room of 20 people and it doesn't have to be this mass audience. You can have a room of 20 people and say, Hey, let's talk more about what we just saw at the conference. Let's take the sales team and make a custom presentation for you.  I think there will be all kinds of applications coming out of in-person events, where you go, let's grab a clubhouse room together and discuss this further. 

I think that that, isn't it, because in the beginning you said, you know, it's replacing the conference, which we can’t go to, and then you said no, it’s replacing sort of the... after-conference events, and that's the part I agree with. I don't believe in any choice of the imagination does the, the, uh, conference world is going away. Um, it'll shift, but I'm losing my (indistinguishable)  and I hope to God that it doesn't, because for people like us, you know, for those listening to the podcast, if you've never been to a huge event, like a https://www.ces.tech/ show or, or, um, https://www.mwcbarcelona.com/attend/registration?gclid=CjwKCAjw2ZaGBhBoEiwA8pfP_mkMO14toxgCeDnMzPaPdD0J4yqwK7PdpC6uE04-CwE_UMF4C6gbcxoCOJoQAvD_BwE in Barcelona or anything like that, it is an ADHD person's dream because you can go in and you can sit down for a two hour panel on, you know, why 5G-Level 14-AB spec one, is better than 5G-Level 14-AB spec 2.0, and get all the info you want, or, you can just walk the floor and collect t-shirts right?  It’s literally the perfect experience, so I don't see that going away, but I do see that our attention spans are going to have to be directed to other places when we can't get to all of you. I think that the concept of going to all of these conferences, right, is going to be put to the test. I don't think we're going to be in that many... as we used to be. I think there are going to be, you know, a couple that we still do every year, but I think the majority of them are going to be, um, are going to be either digital or virtual or in some cases audio. so I think that for people with brains like us, we're going to have to come up with a way to sort of understand and utilize those conferences or those, those audio rooms or those video rooms, wherever the presentation in the best way we can. I was talking to a company who's planning on doing a…. who's playing on doing virtual rooms at conferences, so you have a team of 200 people instead of sending 190 of them to the conference, you’ll send 10 of them to the conference and they will have their own virtual room where they can have meetings and bring in other people who can then meet with you back in your office in Detroit or LA or whatever…. virtual. So I think in alot of different ways that this is going to, this is going to evolve, but I do believe that audio, is one of the good benefits, is, is one of the good benefits. Um, what are you doing to avoid home distraction? Um, I mean, I saw just, even on the call, like at some point someone came into the room, I’m not sure If it was Katie, your wife, whatever, someone, someone barged in and, or you went on mute really fast. It's like, what, what are you doing to allow yourself those times when you’re like, when you have to write  https://www.scottmonty.com/p/newsletter.html   those are not.... small newsletters, those are like probably the longest newsletter. I don't subscribe to many long newsletters and is part of the longest newsletter I subscribe to.  I remember it's like, it's a Curb Your Enthusiasm, as (indistinguishable) you have to write that you can't just sit down and do it again, you have to sit down and commit to that, right. 19:39 So what are you doing to avoid the distraction? 

Well, first of all, the, uh, the reason I went on mute is because my seven year old came in here to use the electric pencil sharpener, homeschooling, uh, and God bless my wife for, uh, being a teacher for the last year, um, I couldn't have done it and I couldn't have done this without her either. Right. So, I mean, you learn to live with it, you know?  We make rules around here, you see the doors closed, then you don't come in. I've actually toyed with putting one of those neon on air signs. uh, up in the, I've got a transom over my, uh, my office door here, I was going to put a, a neon sign up there so people outside could see it. They don't care. They'll still barge in any way. So, uh, to a certain extent, you just kind of resign yourself to it, you know, OK, I need to live with this, um, but I find quiet times during the day when I know I won't be interrupted for me, uh, indelibly it's after everybody goes to bed, I do some of my best work at night, I'm kind of a night owl anyway, although I love mornings, I can be a morning person if I get to bed early enough. Um, so it's either getting up early before everyone is up. I don't like waking my wife up with my alarm if I get up early, um, or it's staying up late when everyone else is in bed. Um, every day on my calendar, I have carved out two hours of quiet time of writing time.

Now whether I actually write or not, you know, I could spend two of those hours doing reading, and for me, reading is a really important part of writing because it inspires me in terms of the ideas I get the source material I quote, and it's like walking right, you, you, you remove yourself from the thing you're supposed to be focused on and you end up getting more inspired along the way, and then you just find the time to, to jot something down.  I keep a notepad on me, or I put it in my One Notes on my phone, um, and I get back to it later when I can delve into it, right? 

No. I mean, that makes sense. I think as long as you have, I mean, for me, you know, uh, being a recent, newly, newly, recent dog owner, um, you know, the concept of taking him to the, to the dog run because it's New York City, I can't just let him off the leash anywhere, but I can take him to the dog, run a few blocks away and, and let him sort of, you know, go crazy, and, uh, I'll sit there with my, with my, uh, my phone or whatever, and I'll, I'll read or I'll even, I'll even dictate, you know, and get some ideas down and then come home and, and, and open the computer and write them down, so, no, definitely. Um, It's definitely, uh, it's produced new ways. I went to my, my office space the other day, you know, I kept an office, a Regis space, and I went there for the first time  in like two months, right?  And I had  one whole piece of mail and, um, you know, but I was throwing stuff out because I'm getting rid of the space when...when the lease ends in July, and it was just like, I remember when I used to have to come here and that was the only place I could work, right? I couldn't because my kid was younger and now my kids at school all day, right? So I have at least from 9-3 to be able to get stuff done, um, and, and I'm finding that…. as travel starts to come back, now, I'm going to South Africa, June 1st and I have, or July 1st,  (indistinguishable)  I literally have a, a list of 14 things I want to write over the course of a 14hr non-stop flight from New York to (indistinguishable). And so I'm, I'm, I'm almost at the point where I'm putting stuff off, so that I will have nonstop, uh, time, so I'm, yeah, I'm excited. I'm excited for what's to come and hell, you know, saving $1600 bucks a month on an office space is not a bad thing, you know? Um, so you're still at https://www.scottmonty.com/  um, you, as like like,myself, have a crypto coin, um, your coin is, uh, what is your coins name? 

Uh, https://rally.io/creator/MONTY/ and the symbol is https://rally.io/creator/MONTY/ on https://rally.io/

So you can find Scott’s coin on https://rally.io/ and I'm sure that if a few people reach out to you, you'll drop them a few points. 

Absolutely.

Scott's coin like mine, and like the rest of the cryptocurrency world is currently on sale and incredibly working like a lot cheaper than ever will again, with any luck, and should be, and go... go grab some, some coins from anyone on the, on the Rally network, but, um, Scott. Thank you. I appreciate, I appreciate the time and guys, you should sign up for Scott's newsletters. It's one of the few newsletters that I actually take the time to read. It is... it is a well-worth, worthwhile read and it comes out a couple of times a week and he has a free version of papers and I subscribe to the papers and it was worth it, so Scott… as always a pleasure to have you on the podcast, man. It's good to have you back. And, uh, you are a shining example, like many of us that, that ADHD can benefit.  One thing I love about Scott is that he's a shining example that ADHD can benefit you, and it doesn't… there are cases where you don't have to speak 400mph.  Scott is one of the calmest and most pontificational, that's not a word, but I've made it speakers I've ever met in my life. You sit down and listen to him, it’s like you're listening to a graduation speech, uh, produced by someone who was raised in the Taurian Era, and it's just amazing.  It's amazing to listen to you, Scott has a phenomenal speaking voice and a great storyteller, um, I'll put a link to the storytelling course in the, in the, in the, in the comments as well…. in the show notes as well, but Scott, thank you for taking the time, always a pleasure to talk to you. 

Thank you, Peter. And I think you and I are like the ying and yang to each other when it comes to ADHD because it's a great reminder, there is the inattentive type, and then there is the hyperactive type and both can be as debilitating as you allow them to be, but both can also be as foundational and constructive as you want them to be, if you know how to use your superpower. So thank you, Peter, for allowing me to use mine. 

A hundred percent ditto.  Guys, as always, we are here for you and we love what, um, the responses and the notes that we get from you. I got an email from someone just a couple of days ago, who said to me, let me see if I can find it, um, I probably can't of course, but I got an email from someone who said that they were just so incredibly thankful that of all the things that uh, and here it is. Okay.  Hey Peter, wanting to click you a message to say thank you.  I don't know how I went through 24 years of my life not knowing I had ADHD, but listening to your new book and the podcast had me in tears. I knew I was different, never understood, why but I'm so excited to learn how to live my best life. Using my ADHD positively. I have an hour and a half to go, an hour and half into your book and can already tell it will be life-changing for me.  Thank you so much.  Guys, we get these all the time and they just, they never stopped making me happy. So, so please continue to shoot us a note. Tell us who you want to hear on the podcast, we’d love to know  leave us a review on any of the places you get your podcasts. And if you can ever, if you ever need our help, I'm www.petershankman.com and you can reach out anytime at https://www.fasterthannormal.com/ or at @petershankman on Twitter and all of the other socials. We will see you next week as always, thank you for listening. We'll talk to you guys soon, stay safe.

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Credits: You've been listening to the Faster Than Normal podcast. We're available on iTunes, Stitcher and Google play and of course at www.FasterThanNormal.com I'm your host, Peter Shankman and you can find me at petershankman.com and @petershankman on all of the socials. If you like what you've heard, why not head over to your favorite podcast platform of choice and leave us a review, come more people who leave positive reviews, the more the podcast has shown, and the more people we can help understand that ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Opening and closing themes were composed and produced by Steven Byrom who also produces this podcast, and the opening introduction was recorded by Bernie Wagenblast. Thank you so much for listening. We'll see you next week. 

Nick Seluk is the New York Times Bestselling cartoonist behind Heart and Brain comics and creator of The Awkward Yeti. He is the author/illustrator of two books with Scholastic, creator of the card game OrganATTACK, and enjoys finding new projects and mediums to work in. Nick lives in Michigan, where he enjoys occasionally going for a very slow, painful run. 

Today we’re talking about his ADD and how he harnessed it to create a career! Enjoy!

 

***CORONA VIRUS EDITION***

 

In this episode Peter & Nick Seluk discuss:

:47-  Intro and welcome Nick!  Check out his work that I love here https://theawkwardyeti.com

2:12-  Tell us your backstory, tell us what it was like growing up?

5:00-  Growing up as a kid were your distractions primarily drawings, doodling then?

6:20-  What would you say to our listeners who are emailing and saying, how do I figure out what I really want to do and how do I turn it into success, despite whatever degree I’m allegedly pursuing? 

11:40-  Have you had a moment where you realized/it hit you that ‘holy crap, I can make a living and survive by doing this for a living’?

13:00-  Do you still suffer in any capacity from imposter syndrome?

15:24-  Have you noticed any changes in the way you live your life during all this COVID madness? How are you handling it in regards to your ADD, etc?

17:43-  What is a life rule, or two that you really have to keep in place, otherwise, everything just goes to shi*&?

18:20-  How can people find you?  Find Nick’s website at https://theawkwardyeti.com and @theawkwardyeti on Twitter  INSTA and @AwkwardYeti on Facebook

18:38-  Thank you Nick Seluk! And thank YOU for subscribing, reviewing and listening. Your reviews are working! Even if you’ve reviewed us before, would you please write even a short one for this episode? Each review that you post helps to ensure that word will continue to spread, and that we will all be able to reach & help more people! You can always reach me via peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. You can also find us at @FasterThanNormal on all of the socials.

STAY HEALTHY - STAY SAFE - PLEASE WEAR YOUR MASK.. until next time!

19:40-  Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits

As always, leave us a comment below and please drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! As you know, the more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! Do you know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note, we’d love to hear!

We have a new sister video cast called 20MinutesInLockdown! A video podcast devoted to learning fascinating lessons from interesting humans all around the world, all in 20 minutes or less!  20 Minutes in Lockdown was born in early April of 2020, when we were in fact, in lockdown, and couldn’t do much of anything. Realizing that more than ever, people could benefit from learning from people outside of their comfort zone – people with interesting stories to tell, people with good advice, people with useful ideas that could help improve lives, we started hosting short Facebook video interviews, and we grew from there. (Plus, you can actually see my hair colors change before your very eyes!) Check it out:  www.20MinutesInLockdown.com

 

TRANSCRIPT: 

Hey guys, Peter Shankman, welcome to another episode of Faster Than Normal. We're going to have fun today this is going to be a great episode! I got Nick Seluk here. Nick… you've seen his stuff. You might not know his name, but you know, his comic. Nick is the cartoonist behind the amazing, The Awkward Yeti. Have you ever seen this? I guarantee you, you have, I've shared them with my ADHD audience, you probably shared them with friends. There's no question about it because it speaks to anyone who has any type of neurodiversity going on in their lives- a hundred percent. He's the cartoonist behind Heart and Brain comics and as I said, The Awkward Yeti. He’s the author and illustrator of two books with Scholastic, creator of the card game Organ Attack, and he enjoys finding new projects and mediums to work in. Nick lives in Michigan, where he enjoys occasionally- I love, I love this knowing for a very slow painful run. Oh my God. I've found my soul mate. I've found my, my, my… This is awesome. Nick. Welcome to Faster Than Normal man. 

Thanks for having me, Peter. 

Oh, this is awesome. I was just telling you before we started all, I'm a fan boy of yours, but a huge fan for years.Your, your comics speak to, they speak to everyone, but my God, I mean the, the, the ones you do where the brain just sort of goes off on us like we're perfectly happy. Everything's fine. And then, we'll say something and now we're up all night and we're screwed. It is just beautifully done for those with ADHD, because that is literally how we live our lives. Now you have.. ADD you were telling me, so tell us your backstory, tell us what it was like growing up, where you, obviously, you said you were diagnosed around, uh, what'd you say? 38 or so? 

Yeah, around the age that I am right now, 38. I, as you can imagine was not a very good student. I hung out with really intelligent people, really good students and I always thought, Oh, I must just be kind of the clown with the group. That's fine. So, you know, this mediocre student never knew how to study. I was the one in college who was pulling all nighters with people who were studying, but I was just there distracting them. But I never did it for a test. So, um, yeah, it was just, uh, I.I needed to figure out like what's going on with, um, my focus and everything. And I finally saw a psychiatrist and I was telling them about my anxiety and my depression and, uh, you know, things like that. And, and then I said, well, you know, maybe some of the impulsiveness, there's some ADD element, and he's like, yeah, Yeah. He immediately, yeah. Some, some good stuff that Adderall, um, which is, which was really great the first, week for those of you who have taken Adderall. It's wonderful. Um, but the funny thing with my comics is I think they are pretty, uh, They do display a lot of the tendencies that I have with ADD. And I've even had, I think years ago, somebody said you should probably get yourself checked out over, ADD in the comments and I remember at the time I was really offended by it. Oh yeah. How dare you diagnose me? About how little attention span. I have. Um, and it turns out they were right. So if I could find them I’d probably say thanks.

 

Begrudgingly angry. Thanks. No, I, you know, it's totally true though. I mean, I've, I've been on stage, you know, before I, before I got diagnosed and started making ADHD a mainstream of what I talk about, I mean said, I'd be on stage. We'd be like, wow. You know, you're a really fast mouse and a really fast brain, you know, you should, I wonder if that does that affect you negatively? And I'd be like, bitch, please. How dare you? You know? But no, that's exactly what it is. And, and, and I always, I always compare it to like, um, Every once in a while, you'll catch an interview on TV or something with some sports figures, some music, musician or something who's clearly hi at the time they're playing it off. Like they're playing it off like they’re not, and they're just trying really hard to participate in the conversation, but you're watching them and you're watching their facial expressions. Yeah, it's obvious you're high, you know, stop trying to hide it. Just be high. It's sort of exactly the same thing. Um, so tell me about you growing up as a kid, you were always on assuming, you know, even me for college, like school and whatever it wasn't that great. Or, you know, as it were, did you, were you a, was your district or your distractions primarily, um, uh, drawings. Doodling or yeah, drawing?

Absolutely. In class. That's all I would do. I would, I couldn't pay any attention to anything that didn't interest me, which was about 80% of school. So it's any wonder I even made it to college at that rate, but yeah, I would draw comics in class and I'd share them with my friends and that was pretty much how I spent school. I never got any better at it. And I think that has something to do with the attention span too. It was just, I, I. Love the drawing, but I didn't have the focus to sit there and, and get better. Like do fine Art had took a couple of classes here and there, but, uh, I think cartoons ended up just being the perfect medium for me. So I could express things without having to really commit to say 10 hours doing an intricate drawing or painting or something. 

A lot of our listeners are students or college students, things like that are just out of college, you know? And they're constantly emailing, Hey, I don't have. You know, even on Adderall, even on Conserta, my attention span, you know, I'm trying to figure out what I love. Right. It seems to me that you figured out what you love and to manage, to turn it into a career. Right. You know, at least one that would seemingly support you. So what would you tell. All these kids who, you know, are, are emailing and saying, how do I figure out what I do and how do I, how do I turn it into success? You know, they're saying, Oh, you know, I got my degree in this or that. And I just love it. I can't imagine doing the rest of my life and I get bored and I get stressed out about it. I think there's still very much a very much a stigma, even though it's dropped a bit, there's still a very much of a stigma of, um, and what you love as opposed to doing, you know, getting the 40 hour job, every job, and then doing it 40 years ago, even though that doesn't exist anymore. It's, you know, our parents' generation, obviously, that's what they have. And so it takes a very sort of enlightened parent to be okay with that, doing that and I think we have another, another generation to go before that starts to let up a little bit. 

Yeah. Um, finding what you love to do is really difficult. And I, I did not go right into it. I tried, I tried to get syndicated when I was 18. I was making a strip and sending it into at least one syndicate who rejected me, of course. Well, funny thing is later, they ended up being my first publisher. 

So you can take a second. You can tell us how awesome of a feeling that was. 

That felt really good. I pursued one publisher because they used to publish Calvin and Hobbes.

Awesome. 

And that's, that was my favorite strip or one of my favorites. And, uh, so I didn't shop around and it was just like, it's this, or it's nothing basically. And it worked out after a while, but I spent, you know, I went to school for, uh, I wanted to do Music Production and then I shifted over to Psychology and that ended up being really good for me because I could kind of BS my way through it because there was a lot of essays and it's like, I can, I can kind of convince you that this makes sense. Um, so I got through my degree that way, um, you know, in science, uh, in more straightforward sciences, you can't do that as much because you really have to stick to facts and figures and you know, there are. Real answers. 

I think that is, I think that is something that we do because, you know, I have a journalism degree, right. And well, I know how to write as long as I had a right. You can't tell me I didn't do the assignment. 

Exactly, when it came to the formatting, this is where I really struggled because I didn't care. Um, and it's, it's really difficult to do something that you don't care about. Like even with the medication they want to help you care about something they will just help you follow through to something you are willing to do. So I ended up of course, with a degree in Psychology going into Graphic Design, uh, that natural transition for somebody like me. Um, so I did Graphic Design and it kind of worked my way up and it was an art director for awhile and was managing a team and I did the whole soul sucking corporate job for about. 10 years and I hated it and I hated the people I was around. I started thinking I was one of them and I got really dark and depressing and still, I just, I put all of my energy into this thing that I really loved doing. And I already knew that I loved doing, and it was my escape. Um, and then it became my desperate attempt to get out of it. And so I think it took me about a year and a half of working on it maybe two years, but I've. I mean, I, I worked my ass off when I was like, uh, when I was making comics initially I was riding in the car on the way to work. I would, if I was at the stop light, I’d scratch down a quick comic and then I'd get to work. I just to take my lunch break in the car and. And do comics in there. And then like once things were going, I I'd be doing emails and shipping out orders and before work in the morning, and then after work and I still, I had kids and a wife. And so I was still busy with that too. And you know, social life, but I like when you want something bad enough, that's the kind of work you have to put into it as I'm sure, you know, Peter.

No question about it. And you know, it's interesting because even though you're busting your ass and you're constantly exhausted and you're 24 hours a day, you know, if you're not doing your real job, you're doing this. So you get to, hopefully one day become your real job, no matter how much you're doing that, it still doesn't feel like work because you love, you love it so much that you constantly want to do it, right?

Yes, absolutely. I mean, what I do now, you know, any new projects I'm working on, it never feels like work. I'm not really thinking about, you know, what kind of, what's this going to turn into? Um, monetarily, I like I'm working on a video game right now and I'm not really thinking about- is this video game going to make me a bunch of money. I'm thinking I really want to make video game because I've never made one and I don't know much about it and I think it would be fun to try to do this. Um, there was no, Oh no, no, no. That's all right. I was kind of trailing off. Anyway. 

Have you had a moment where your, where you realized the moment hit you, where you realized, holy crap, I can make a living out of this and I can survive this and, and this is going to be, you know, this is the future I wanted. I mean, I remember when I was, when I was a kid, I was always nervous if I didn't have a complete answer to something, if it's not a guaranteed way of doing something and finishing something and knowing how it was gonna work out, I'd be crazy. Right. And I couldn't, I, you know, I'd be, I'd be anxiety filled and now I'm just like, Well, yeah, I know I'm not traveling, and  COVID’s hit and I’m doing some, some digital keynotes and I'll make it, I'll make it. And, you know, eight year old Peter be like, who the fuck is this? Right? How the hell is, how the hell is he okay with this? Not like, you know screaming and downing Xanax or whatever you had that moment, as well?

Yeah, I think so. I. Yeah. I feel that all the time, like, I, I just, I feel that I can make things work. And I remember the first time I felt like I could actually do what I wanted. It was a very early on when I was posting on Facebook for awhile. I, I got to a point where I had 33,000 followers and this was a turning point. I was working on a project and trying to start a business with like an old colleague and, um, And it wasn't really going anywhere. And I called him and I said, you know, I've got 33,000 followers and I actually think this could be something, so I'm done with this project and I'm focusing on this other one. And so it was an interesting gut feeling because I think it was just the rate that I had gotten to 33,000 felt like a trajectory that would sustain and I was right. I have a 2.4 million now on Facebook. So. I think it's pretty cool that I was seeing it that early on. Um, you know, I looked, I just looked for the patterns and things, I guess.

 

You know, it's, it's, it's interesting. Do you still suffer in any capacity from imposter syndrome? I'm assuming you do because every everyone like us does. 

Oh, big time. 

Let's talk about that for a second. Tell us about that. 

Um, how do you experience it?

So the best way I can describe and positives. And I've done this before in the podcast that people who listen know, um, everyday I wake up sure. That today is the day. The New York times is going to have a full front page story about what a complete fraud I am and how none of the success I have is real. I've just fallen into it. And then obviously they don't. But then the reason they don't is because I don't know when you're important enough for New York times to do a story, a front page story on someone like me. Well, you know, and, and I get these, I get these speaking gigs that people call me in the email, me, and I'm like, Wow. It was amazing. I made so much money this year, doing what I love sitting on stage and talking. It was all just a fluke. That won't last, it can't be real…yet it has lasted quote unquote for over 20 years. Right. It's completely lasted, but it's still in my head. I see it as that.

I, I can not see my own success. I'm completely blind to it and, uh, I sometimes have to sit down and this may be maybe once a month or so. I'll force myself to think and say, listen, you had 80,000 likes on your comic on Instagram and you are so down on yourself right now, you're an idiot. Like you're not seeing this for what it is. Think of it as an absolute number. Now, 80,000 people took the time to read and participate in the posts, but I just can't even seem to see that. And I, I look at other Artists at any level of success and I think there's so much better- they are actual cartoonists where I'm more just, I just sketch things and I can't seem to.. 

I always see there might be 50,000 comments thanking me for something awesome. And then there's a one comment who says you're terrible. And of course that's the one I see, the other 50,000 completely don’t matter. 

Yeah, that's the one that is more important than all the rest, they're just being nice. But the one in a million who was all; that was like stupid. That, that person was correct. That's the truth that one person spoke the truth.

Nobody else was willing to speak. Where do you see, um, where you, I mean, we're, you know, we're obviously a weird time now, right? What do you see? Have you noticed any changes in the way you live your life? We were talking about this earlier. You said you can't go to the bar as much, but have you noticed any changes that you think might affect you or might affect that, that the focus more on neurodiversity? And one of the things I've noticed is that it's so much easier. To quote, unquote, forget about the schedule that keeps me on point. It's so much easier to forget about the fact that I have to exercise every day or I don't have a good day. And I have, you know, it's always easier to forget about the fact that dude, if you eat everything in the fridge, you're going to get much, much fatter, you know, what are you seeing and how are you handling that in this sort of weird new post-apocalyptic nightmare that we're all in?

Not having accountability and a schedule is difficult. You know, I used to have a, a strip that I did for an online publisher for web, And I think I did Two a week. So it kept me on schedule and I found that everything else kind of went along with it. So if I, I knew I had to do those and it would kind of motivate me to do my other comics. Um, but at the same time, having very little restriction over overtime. Like once I've gotten used to, this has been really beneficial because I've noticed, you know, I'll do whatever I want whenever I want um, I'm, I've been running a lot more lately, like the last month. Like every other day, at least I'm running because I can, I just run what I feel like running. Right. It doesn't have to fit into any schedule. And I like, I don't have to be in an office or anything. So, you know, if I've done enough work that I feel satisfied and it's like, Two o'clock, three o'clock in the afternoon I'll just go out. You know, of course, absolutely. Without question in the worst possible time, I'll get it done. And..I’m starting to hit a groove. I've got good projects to work on where there is some accountability, like I’m trying to get an animated series going with a company, so I have to deal with them. And then the video game I'm dealing with the program, or, you know, I have people that need me and rely on me. I think that is necessary, or I probably wouldn't get anything done, especially a home where it has, you know, TV, iPad, phone, distracting me constantly.

What is a life rule, or two; that you have things that if you don't do, everything just goes to shit?

Um, if I don't do something creative, I, I am like dying inside and that kind of spirals. So I, I have to be creating something and it doesn't matter if anybody sees it, um, I just have to be doing a project that's like creating something new. That's my, that's my main thing, like that's what drives me and keeps me going, is just being productive. 

How do people find you now? Obviously the awkward Yeti, um, is, is, is we're going to see where else do people find you?

Oh, Facebook, Instagram, Twitter. Those are great places. Um, and yeah, the AwkwardYeti.com. 

Very, very cool. I have no doubt that people are gonna reach out to, I, I I'm so thrilled. It was funny. I, when I emailed you and sent you a message, I'm like, you know, I really would love to have you, I'm sitting here going; you have you’ve had over 200 episodes, major celebrities like Tony Robbins, why the fuck are you sitting there going, you know, beginning to get all worried that he's what he’s going to say saying was, this was..I was excited about this. There's no was he’s going to say yes. So I’m thrilled that you did, man. This was really awesome. And, uh, really appreciate you taking the time.

I really appreciate you inviting me on!

Most definitely. And, and we'll definitely have you back. We'll do some more over time in the future- And again, thank you for being here! 

Guys, just a phenomenal interview with Nick from The Awkward Yeti it's a phenomenal interview. We really appreciate him being here. If you liked what you heard as always, this is your first time you can subscribe if you liked what you heard, you could leave us a review somewhere on iTunes or Google play or wherever you download your stuff from. I think we're even on the Alexa. Yeah. So I have to say that because there's Alexis all in the house cancel. And if I don't say yes, a little start bothering me what I want.So thank you so much. ADHD is a gift, not a curse, as you know, and we will see you guys again next week. Thanks for being here. Have a great day. Stay safe, wear a mask. 

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Credits: You've been listening to the Faster Than Normal podcast. We're available on iTunes, Stitcher and Google play and of course at www.FasterThanNormal.com I'm your host, Peter Shankman and you can find me at petershankman.com and @petershankman on all of the socials. If you like what you've heard, why not head over to your favorite podcast platform of choice and leave us a review, come more people who leave positive reviews, the more the podcast has shown, and the more people we can help understand that ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Opening and closing themes were performed by Steven Byrom and the opening introduction was recorded by Bernie Wagenblast. Thank you so much for listening. We'll see you next week. 

Born in Brooklyn without a silver spoon in his mouth, partially blind in one eye, and Dyslexic- back before “Dyslexia was even a ‘thing’, this man’s current net worth is over One Hundred Million Dollars. Today we are lucky to visit with Mr. Larry Hite. Larry is an investor, trend follower and pioneer of system trading and the guaranteed fund concept. He is best known as the founder of Mint Investment Management Company. During his 13-year tenure at Mint, the composite of funds achieved a compounded annual rate of return greater than 30% before fees during that period. Hite pioneered the use of the “guaranteed fund” concept, which helped Mint become the first hedge fund to raise over $1 billion.  In 2000, he founded Hite Capital, a family wealth management firm. He was profiled in the book Market Wizards by Jack Schwager and won the Hedge Funds Review Americas lifetime achievement award. The Financial Times wrote “Hite’s development of complex, algorithmically driven models that aimed to spot and follow market trends delivered average annualized returns of more than 30 per cent to his clients.”

Today we’re talking about how he started his life in “survival mode”, dealt with his blindness & Dyslexia and made better for himself from what he had been given. Enjoy!

 

 

In this episode Peter & Mr. Hite discuss:

0:45-  Intro & welcome Larry!  

1:32-  You grew up in Brooklyn before Dyslexia was even a thing! What was that like for you?

2:28-  So how was school; were you a public school kid also?

3:10-  How did you find your path forward?

5:00-  After you finished school, what was your next move?

6:20-  How were you working with numbers & figures daily, yet also Dyslexic?

7:47-  A lot of our listeners get grief because they don’t conform to “the normal ways of doing things”. What was your experience?

8:22-  Talk about how you went from living in survival mode, to starting your own firm

9:47-  So, did you have a few clear paths forward then; options?

10:20-  What advice would you give to someone who feels they don’t have the ability to succeed?

12:28-  On making do with what you have

14:05-  When you ran Mint and after you became the first hedge fund to raise over a billion dollars, did you ever feel like you had succeeded?

14:50-  Thank you Larry; this has been a pleasure! By the way, may we ask your age?

15:00-  Thank you Larry! And thank YOU for subscribing, reviewing and listening. Your reviews are working! Even if you’ve reviewed us before, would you please write even a short one for this episode? Each review that you post helps to ensure that word will continue to spread, and that we will all be able to reach & help more people! You can always reach me via peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. You can also find us at @FasterThanNormal on all of the socials.

15:38-  Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits

As always, leave us a comment below and please drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! As you know, the more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! Do you know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note, we’d love to hear!

~Happy Holidays everyone~

What happens when a furniture designer and a PhD in applied physics decides to change his life and then help others do the same? You get  this week's guest, Anders Fabech Rønnau.

Despite being a Ph.D. in Applied Physics and a Furniture Designer, he is now a leading ADHD Coach and ADHD Coach Trainer in Denmark, and has taught parenting programs since 2010 and ADHD Coach training since 2012. His primary focus is on ADHD, however, his methods work very well with differently wired people with Asperger’s, OCD, Tourette’s and other diagnoses – as well as ”normal” people with ”normal problems”.

Happy listening! :)

In this episode, Peter and Anders discuss:

• Anders' story (02:49)
• What is cognitive enhancement (06:21)
• Transforming your brain (07:29)
• Mind vs brain (10:45)
• Working with metaphors (11:11)
• Types of patients and trends in Denmark (12:58)
• Medication and working with kids (14:19)
• Anger issues (16:50)
• Message to parents (18:08)
• Defeating imposter syndrome (20:08)

André Brisson, P. Eng., is the host of The Impulsive Thinker Podcast, the podcast for the high-achieving ADHD entrepreneur. Andre owns an entrepreneurial consulting engineering company and recently started Tactical Breakthroughs where he is developing the ADHDTransformation Journey program. Diagnosed late in life with severe ADHD and mild Asperger’s(ASD), the mechanisms and systems he created to overcome his undiagnosed ADHD havehelped him succeed. He credits his undiagnosed ADHD as key to his success and a factor in restricting success. Since discovering how to turn his ADHD into a strength, people havesought him out for help with using their ADHD as a strength to drive success. André Brisson has a special ability is devouring and learning complex information and simplifying for others to solve complex problems. Like most entrepreneurs, André has started multiple companies, the two of which failed for various reasons. Learning from those failures, André now operates three very successful companies, including a self-managing entrepreneurial engineering firm specializing in niche markets that require unique training, experience, and impulsive instinct to try new things. Enjoy!

In this episode Peter and Andre discuss:  

00:45 - Thank you so much for listening and for subscribing!

00:48 - Welcome Andre Brisson!

02:40 - What is your success key for imparting complex information to the neurotypical? Ref: Ringette

04:15 - Simplifying the complex

05:06 - On the differences between informing and teaching

05:30 - When did you get diagnosed and what brought all that about?

06:02 - On inventing a “character” for yourself to be perceived as “not abnormal”.

07:00 - On then importance of being unique 

07:45 - You said you were beginning to scare your kids- can you go into details on that? Ref: emotional dysregulation

09:55 - Have you ever bought anything strictly on impulse? Tell us in the comments! ;-)

11:00 - Parenting with ADHD/mild Asperger’s prior to a diagnosis

12:20 - So when you got diagnosed, what was the treatment plan? Ref: DBT, CBT Executive Function What is Time Blindness?

13:36 - On learning your strengths and maintaining, managing and delegating what’s not best for you. Aka Peter’s “life rules”

15:15 - A bit more on delegating and staying in the lane, on the road.

16:38 - How can people find more about you? Email:  andre@andreb.ca

André Brisson

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/andre.brisson.1447/

LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/in/andrebrisson/

Twitter: @fatrol

Website: www.andreb.ca

Objective Engineering Inc.

Website: www.objectiveeng.ca

Tactical Breakthroughs

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TacticalBTs

LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/company/tactical-breakthroughs/

Twitter: @tacticalbts

Website: www.tacticalbts.com

The Impulsive Thinker Podcast

Facebook : https://www.facebook.com/impulsivethinkerpodcast

LinkedIN: https://www.linkedin.com/company/impulsive-thinker-podcast/

Twitter: @impulsivthinker

Website: www.theimpulsivethinker.com

16:51 - Andre, thank you so much!  Ref: Faster Than Normal the book!

17:75 - Thank you. Guys, as always thanks so much for subscribing! Do you have a cool friend with a great story? We’d love to hear. I'm www.petershankman.com and you can reach out anytime via email at peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. You can also find us at @FasterNormal on all of the socials. It really helps when you drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! As you know, the more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! 

19:08 - Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits 

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TRANSCRIPT via Descript and then corrected.. somewhat:

[00:00:38] Hey everyone, Peter. Shankman welcome to the episode of Faster Than Normal. I'm thrilled that you're here. It is great to have you again, we have a fun guest today. I'm gonna start with his tagline because his tagline pretty much says everything ;it's simplifying your complexities, which I think is just the best description I've ever heard of someone who works with people with A D D ADHD, people who are. ADHD. I love that. It's just so clear. Andre, Brisson and I, I screwed it up. I tried my was really hard to get. That was good. Was good's the host of the Impulsive Thinker podcast, very similar to FTN. Podcast for high achieving ADHD entrepreneurs. He owns an entrepreneur consulting engineering company, and recently started another company called Tactical Breakthroughs where he's developing an ADHD transformation journey program. He was diagnosed later in life with severe ADHD and mild Asperger's and the mechanisms and systems he created much like the stuff I did to overcome his undiagnosed ADHD have helped him succeed and he credits his undiagnosed as a key to his success and a factor in restricting success as well. So that's ING to discover, um, Since discovering how to turn his ADHD into a strength people have out for help using their ADHD as well.\ You talk in your bio about how you have special ability for taking complex information and simplifying for others and first thought, when I heard that was something that happened with me. And I think my mom, like five years ago when she got a new iPhone and she was having a problem doing like four things. And so I just went over there. The their, my parents' apartment. And I'm like, here, gimme the phone done. Dun dun dun. She's like, great, but I didn't learn how to do it. Right. Right. And I realized I'm terrible at taking complex information that I understand and teaching people how to understand it. I just want to do it and get it done. That's an ADHD thing. So let's, let's start there. What is, what is your sort of success key there where you actually have the ability and the, the patience or whatever it is to take that information and simplify it down so other people can learn it as opposed to just doing it for them. 

[00:02:55] Andre: Well, the, to me, that's the key difference is I don't do it for them. I've always helped people understand, break down something complex into simple steps or layman terms so that they can act on it. And then they can think about it differently to act on it at a future time. Um, like for example, and on in Canada here, we have Ringette. It's a, it's a, it's a sport on ice for women. So basically they got a rubber ring with a spear, their stick. And I, I referee then I was in an evaluator and, uh, an officially evaluator. So what I actually did was I always asked them what's. The rule, like usually you guys say this occurred, this occurred that I call it right or not. So I go by and says, what's the rule. The rule says this. And then we break down the steps of what occurred and apply the actual rule to those steps. So I step it out for people so that they can understand it. And if you don't understand the first way, I tackle it at a different angle until they get it. And what I'm trying to teach them is stepping out the thought process to come with their own conclusions, with the facts that they know they already had. And didn't realize it. Okay. 

[00:04:04] Peter: That makes sense. Yeah, it does. It does. It's interesting. Cause that, that takes patience and, and that's one of the few things that most people with ADHD simply don't have anywhere near half of.

[00:04:15] Andre: Mm-hmm yeah. The thing is a lot of times I can simplify that complex information. So someone understands it and so that they can act on it and I can make it real. So usually I, I I'm able to connect something that's in their life or someone else's life or mine. And that's what I do a lot on the podcast is this is a snare that happened. It kind of happened to me. And then people, once you make it real people seem to click with it better. 

[00:04:39] Peter: Yeah. Makes sense. And, and yeah, I mean, that's, that's a, a, you know, my keynote speaking trait, you tell stories that people have people who relate to and all of a sudden, it's not some guy on stage talking about something foreign, it's something. Oh yeah. I get that. 

[00:04:51] Andre: Yeah. I. I had a chat today with two different people. We, I kind of, I blurted this out and I thought it was pretty smart now to think about it now, but I think there's a difference between informing to understand versus educating, to teach. So if, and for me, I was talking about advocacy as you know, I, I stopped educating people. I just tried to inform people so they can understand adult ADHD and the differences. 

[00:05:17] Peter: That makes a lot of sense. I think that also the more informed they are, the more they feel like they can have a handle on it, as opposed to. I guess educating. Yeah. Yeah. They might not necessarily get, no. That makes sense. Tell us about, um, your background. You said you were late, you were late, uh, diagnosed how late? 

[00:05:36] Andre: Uh, about four years ago when I was 44. Oh, wow. Um, and then that was a, that was all because of a life Tempest. As I've been calling had three perfect storms collide at once. Um, got into a bad business partnership. I got bored with my first company once it got successful. So I S sabatoged that. Things weren't going well at home. And my Sy symptoms overtook me and controlled me for a couple of years to the point where my kids are just looking at me scared. And I said, I gotta get help. Huh. And got the diagnosis. I went actually to get the diagnosis to prove it wasn't ADHD. Cause I thought there was something worse, wrong with me. Because that diagnosis, like it was too simple of a solution to explain my last 44 years and develop a character that I became so I can fit in and not be looked as abnormal. And then, so I got really good at playing this character. Now I'm learning how to be me and to differentiate the two, because it almost became, you know, I almost, I brainwashed myself to believe that that was the person I was or shouldn't be.

[00:06:38] Peter: No, I get that. I mean, it's, it's, you know, fitting in and not being, uh, you know, and not sort of ever really fitting in with the crowd or with, with, uh, any group in, in school, you know, and that takes a toll. I don't think, I think we're just starting to realize what kind of toll that takes on people, um, and how much, uh, that that's re you know, those early forming, forming years are really responsible for sort of right. The kinda stuff you deal with. 

[00:07:03] Andre: And then I was overlooked because I was doing well in school. Like I'm also gifted. Um, and so since you're successful and you're doing well in school, you can't have it. You're just not doing what you're supposed to. You're not trying to hard enough for, you know, stop being unique. That was my favorite word. You're too unique to be part of this and I've always fought the right to be unique. And I always thought we should all, we're all different. I understood why we were always trained to say we're everyone's alike, but we're not. We're all unique.

[00:07:35] Peter: So what, when you get, I'm curious, you mentioned something, you said, um, you said you had symptoms that were starting to, uh, that were starting to scare your kids. Ex can you go into detail on that? 

[00:07:47] Andre: Oh, emotional dysregulation times 2 million. Um, it didn't take much to spark me off. And then all I would do was I'd just be screaming at them for something silly. And when I started being cognizant of a screaming at them, for being silly, my brain was actually saying, Hey buddy, you're overreacting here. You should stop. And then I got the other part of my brain going, eh, forget it. Let's keep going. I'm already into it. Um, so when I saw those look in their eyes, it gave me a. It scared me cuz I saw myself. Um, there when I was a child and that's when I said no, no more, no more. So I went and got help. So the emotional dysregulation definitely took over, um, and enforced, uh, and then my impulsivity and the no filter uh, aspect of my brain having no filter, just my impulsivity, my ver my words would just come out and I just started not caring anymore. And that's when I said that, that, that the symptoms took over, um, impulsive bias, impulsive business partnerships, knowing that it was not going to be good. Um, and for me, I realized with time, since my diagnosis, I have a fear of being idle and when I get bored, that's when I could become dangerous. And that's when, so my physical hyperactivity, even at, as an adult kicks in, if I'm bored and then what happened was with my other company, once the startup phase was done and we're successful in maintaining success and having good gradual growth, I was bored. The, the entertainment, the interest was gone. So I created chaos. Impulsively trying this, trying that in muscle dysregulation, continuing. Um, and, and then just going on with the inattention, not caring, I had a really great point and it just escaped me. It'll come back to that's yeah.

[00:09:46] Peter: I mean, that's that happens all the time. You, you go down the route, press rabbit, home, like, wait, my original point was like five feet away from that. Yeah. Um, I think that probably, I think every episode

[00:09:55] Andre: and the impulsivity of buying stuff. You know, spending sling money, losing cash flow, all that type of stuff. That was it. 

[00:10:03] Peter: It's interesting. I've never, I, I, I, I understand that. And I get that. I I'm fortunate. I don't think it ever, I never went down that rabbit hole too much, but I've certainly made impulse. I mean, you know, mm-hmm, virtually everything I've ever bought in my life has been impulse by, I, I do you wind up doing research on the product you bought after you bought it?

[00:10:22] Andre: um, No. I usually do all the research ahead of time. So I know what I'm buying is good is just deciding to do it. Like the one was, Hey, we got a bunch of cash in the bank account. Um, I've been looking at building a server. This is quite a few years ago getting a server for the office. We got a big team, so I'm just gonna blow 40 grand right now, rather on a finance plan. Um, cuz at the same time I didn't care. Um, which was part of it, which was the interest part. Um, but the other thing too Peter. I think that I think a lot of people are getting diagnosed later in life. And for me, I never realized this about two years ago was. It really started to take control. My symptoms. When I had kids, when they disrupted my, my rhythm at home, my routine at home, that was my calm down time. When I got home, I could rejuvenate and now having being stuck, cuz you're scheduled being disrupted all the time. Cuz kids just want to be with you. They just wanna last minute try different things and no, no, I like, I just sat down, I'm ready to do a bunch of stuff and now you're disrupting me. So that's when I think it started to steamroll the effects of these symptoms. 

[00:11:35] Peter: I totally totally get that. It's it's a, having a kid. I got diagnosed before I had my daughter, but it was Def it's definitely a, um, you know, you sort of, you get this vibe where it's like, okay, uh, dinner's over, you know, I have an hour till I have to put her to bed, I'm gonna, you know, I'm gonna sit down and breathe and just whatever. And then it's like, dad play with me. And of course I, I will, but it took a while to sort of, uh, be able to focus entirely. Right, right. And 

[00:12:01] Andre: not oh, huge. You know? Yeah. Yeah. Yeah. And then you feel shitty as a, as a parent, cuz you can't give your full attention or you're always thinking, how can I get outta this? I , how can go back to what I was doing exactly. Cause I need to get that done. I gotta get it done. What's going on? Right? 

[00:12:14] Peter: No question about it. So when, so when you got diagnosed, what, what was the, uh, what was the treatment plan? Was it medication? Was it, .

[00:12:22] Andre: We, uh, tried medication, uh, I think I'm part of that 20% that doesn't work well. Um, but I think the, some of the medication I was on at that time, I needed it just to settle and almost had stopped my brain for a while so I can just catch my breath and take everything in. And then, um, Slowly got off of it. Um, but for me, the big thing is I just hyper-focused for a good year and a half on learning everything I could about ADHD interesting and simplifying it. And that's why I tell people like educating yourself the effects and then is huge. And then I was part of therapy group therapy. Now I'm just finishing up my dialectal behavioral therapy. I've done cognitive behavioral therapy, ah, even the group therapy on how to have fun. But it was a neurotypical direction, but anyways, um, a lot of talking with similar people helped. And then for me to simplify ADHD down to, I think it's its core, it's an executive functioning dysfunction and time blindness. Those two affects the, the, the, the DSM symptoms of inattention hyperactivity, impulsivity, and inattention. Um, that made a lot of sense to me. And then at the same time, shortly before my ADHD diagnosis, I got diagnosed with type two diabetes. And that's when I realized I can't get rid of it. Like I diabetes, I can't get rid of it. Nothing I can do can cure it, but I can manage it and extend my life. And that's what I saw with ADHD. .Manage the symptoms so I can work well. And I had a mantra my whole time for a long time saying your strengths can become your weaknesses. And when I put that together with my ADHD symptoms, as long as I can manage my symptoms, That's how, why I succeed as an entrepreneur and those are my strengths, but if I let them go be overutilized or underutilized and then become my strengths. And that's when I say ADHD can become a disorder, is when they're impeding your day to day.

[00:14:23] Peter: I agree. I, I think it's another way of saying, you're saying the same thing that I say a different way, which is, you know, you have to have. These life rules that you can't deviate from because you know, you, your brain works a certain way. And so you put these right pro processes into place that allow you to utilize it to your best ability. Mm-hmm . And if you, if you deviate from that, you're gonna go off the road. 

[00:14:42] Andre: Right. And, and then the other thing I discovered too, so for, I don't know, I can't do math. I'm an engineer. I need a calculator here. Um, so about a good 20 years, all I did was read all the self-help books. I've taken almost every assessment out there to identify strengths, but my therapist actually said you were doing all that to find out what was wrong with you to concentrate on what's not good enough to build on. So with my diagnosis, I took there's three good tools that I use that really identifies my talents and strengths. And. Take those. And I help people with these assessments too, to understand what's your unique strength and talent. So if we could just stay in those abilities, Then it's easy to hyperfocus and you're having a lot of fun and you're not, and don't waste your time on things you're not good at and you don't like doing that. So as an entrepreneur, it's handy, you, you got staff, you can have people, you delegate a lot of those, but I help people understand what their unique talents and strengths are, where they should be spending their time, where they can get a lot of energy and enjoyment every day, be creative and then have a team around you that just take care of the stuff you don't like.

[00:15:50] Peter: That's a hundred percent given you, have you have someone or people to do the stuff that you're terrible at? I mean, that's, you know, for 14 years now, I've had, I've had my assistant, it's a game changer. 

[00:16:00] Andre: Yep. Like we got a minimal limited brain mental brain, uh, energy, right. Every day. And I think ADHD, we just have a really good ability to effectively use it to run all day, or we have a really great efficient way to inefficiently use our mental energy and at the end of the day, it, so if we're starting to do things we don't like to do all day, then we're really, really burnt out at the end of the day. But if we can stay in that lane, man, you can do that seven days straight and not get, get tired.

[00:16:29] Peter: It's a great way to put it. It's a great way to close too. I wanna keep us to our 20 minute mark. Uh, tell us how people could find you? 

[00:16:36] Andre: Uh, you can find me at, uh, Andre, Andre, b.ca I'll take anyone's email. Um, but you can find me on LinkedIn. Our tactical bts.com is another source. 

[00:16:47] Peter: We'll put all the, all the, all your links that you gave us. We'll put 'em in the, uh, in the podcast notes. Andre, thank you so much for taking the time. This was really, really informative. We're definitely gonna have you back, uh, at some point in the near future. 

[00:16:57] Andre: Well, I appreciate you having me, Peter. And, um, like I said, like, I don't think I said this, but, uh, yet till now, um, you're Faster Than Normal book. I actually bought it five years ago, thinking it was one how I can work faster. then I bought it again, uh, and read it. And then I found the other book, but I think I really liked your aspect too, that, you know, it's not a disorder. It's our, it's a, it's a very unique ability of doing things and to not thinking as a negative. And, and make it work. And I really, a lot of stuff in there I re not reflected it hit me. I can, I understand exactly what was in there. And it was also comforting to know what I created in the past. Unknowingly. I was on the right track. So I thought it was a really good book and I do recommend it to a lot of people.

[00:17:45] Peter: Thank you, man. That's a really, really kind of you. Guys as always, Faster Than Normal, We wanna hear what you're thinking. We wanna hear of any guests you might wanna hear from,  shoot us a, a email Peter@shankman.com. We're on all the socials. You know, our, our handles by now. Thank you for listening. We will see again next week with another guest, we appreciate you and know that ADHD and all forms of neurodiversity are gifts, not curses! We'll see you next week!

[00:19:08]Credits: You've been listening to the Faster Than Normal podcast. We're available on iTunes, Stitcher and Google play and of course at www.FasterThanNormal.com I'm your host, Peter Shankman and you can find me at shankman.com and @petershankman on all of the socials. If you like what you've heard, why not head over to your favorite podcast platform of choice and leave us a review, come more people who leave positive reviews, the more the podcast has shown, and the more people we can help understand that ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Opening and closing themes were composed and produced by Steven Byrom who also produces this podcast, and the opening introduction was recorded by Bernie Wagenblast. Thank you so much for listening. We'll see you next week!

Lisa Betts-LaCroix is a podcaster, speaker, actor and dancer. As host of the Super Power U Podcast she does long-form interviews revealing the mental models and tactical skills needed to be your very own superhero. She's been featured in over one hundred films, television episodes and movies-of-the-week. Lisa is a dance performer and speaker who inspires audiences to embrace vitality, passion and reclaim empowered living in later life. In spite of taking up dance at age 50 she has also recently become a World Champion Pro-Am American Rhythm Ballroom dancer. We talk about all about her story here today. Enjoy!

 

In this episode Peter and Lisa discuss:

1:25-  Intro and Welcome Lisa!

2:00-  You have an amazing bio- tell us your story and a bit of your history.

3:15-  When were diagnosed? Were you diagnosed?

5:30-  On recognizing your own brain.

6:25-  You talked about people saying “Me also” when you began to share with friends. Do you think there is some sort of magnetic pull between those of us who have ADD/ADHD?

8:05-  How do you handle the things you have to do, that you really dislike doing?

9:22-  What do you do nowadays with that emotion, or passion?

9:40-  On outsourcing 

10:57-  Tell us about your Podcast, “Super Power U”  ref: FasterThanNormal, Tim Ferris, Pat Flynn, Michael Gervais

13:10-  So what was it like working with Kathy Bates!?!  ref:  The Late Shift, Fargo TV series

14:42-  How does one become a World Champion Ballroom Dancer.. like yourself?

16:48-  Do you find that dancing gives you the same serotonin & dopamine high that runners often talk about?

18:53-  How can people find you Lisa?  Super Power U Podcast, Facebook: @SPUPodcast Twitter:  @LisaBL. INSTA:  @LisaBL

19:30-  Thank you Lisa and thank YOU for listening!  Would you please leave us a review? Yes, you, dear reader. I know I say it all of the time and I’ll ask once again below- but when you leave YOUR review, it really does help OTHERS to find us here! As always, you can always reach me at peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. Also at @FasterThanNormal on all of the socials. 

20:00-  Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits

As always, leave us a comment below and PLEASE drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! The more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! Know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note, we’d love to hear!

Having ADD or ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Hear from people all around the globe, from every walk of life, in every profession, from Rock Stars to CEOs, from Teachers to Politicians, who have learned how to unlock the gifts of their ADD and ADHD diagnosis, and use it to their personal and professional advantage, to build businesses, become millionaires, or simply better their lives.

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Hey guys, Peter Shankman the host of Faster Than Normal. I wanna talk for a second about the Skylight Calendar, the wonderful sponsors of this episode and one of the things that keeps myself and my daughter on track. Skylight sits on your wall and tells you what you have to do today; what chores your child has to do today. It's basically a family calendar all-in-one. You can color code. It is amazing for people with ADHD. I am truly in love with this thing. We look at it every single day. It tells us the weather. It tells us what's on our calendar. It tells us what chores are left to do. Oh, time to feed the dog! - Mark it off on the calendar. My daughter can check the box when she's done and the chore disappears. It is one of the best things we've ever had. You can get yours with a discount using code: PeterShankman for 10% off, up to 30 bucks off. You’re gonna love this Skylight calendar.  And you are gonna love.. I mean, truly it is amazing for people with ADHD or basically anyone who wants to keep track of their schedule. It sits on the wall, added bonus. You can throw your own photos onto it as a screen saver- on your wall! So now your wall has pictures. That's cool. Check it out. I'll put the link in the show notes. https://www.skylightframe.com code:  PeterShankman

00:40 - Thank you so much for listening and for subscribing!

01:38 - Say hello to my daughter Jessa Shankman!

02:17 - How old are you and what grade are you in?

02:22: So when you think of the letters ADHD what do you think of?

02:43 - Do you get distracted sometimes? What do you do when you do- if you do, to re-center and focus?

03:30 - About daily routines

03:50 - What do you think about your Dad and ADHD?

05:00 - On getting distracted and realizing that you have become so. How do teachers help?

05:22 - What do you think kids can do to be more focused? 

05:52 - When is a fidget spinner really helpful?

06:42 - Can a little water help you focus? If so why do you think that is?

07:15 - What would you tell a kid who realizes that they are being distracted, doesn't like school and doesn't know how to fix any of it? 

08:09 - Ref: Amanda Steinberg’s interview sponsored by Bouncy Bands https://www.fasterthannormal.com/ftn-052-failing-doesnt-mean-youre-a-failure-with-guest-amanda-steinberg/

08:24 - On the importance of being comfortable and being able to employ a comfortable posture

08:52 - Do you think that when you exercise it helps or hurts your focus?

09:10 - What about recess?

09:30 - Do you feel more focused if you've had a good night of sleep?

10:01 - Anything else you wanna tell kids who might have ADHD or might be distracted once in a while?

10:48 - Jessa and Peter’s big shout outs to Skylight calendar!

11:18 -  The Boy with the Faster Brain is now out! https://amzn.to/3FcAKkI

11:40 - Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits.

[After this interview Peter's dog, Waffle submitted a request to share more 'screen time' in future interviews. You can check-in on him here:  @petersdogwaffle on INSTA 

Guys, as always thanks so much for subscribing! Faster Than Normal is for YOU! We want to know what you’d like to hear! Do you have a cool friend with a great story? We’d love to learn about, and from them. I'm www.petershankman.com and you can reach out anytime via email at peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. You can also find us at @FasterNormal on all of the socials. It really helps when you drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! As you know, the more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! 

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TRANSCRIPT via Descript and then corrected.. mostly somewhat: 

[00:00:40] Peter:  Hey guys, Peter Shankman, host of Faster Than Normal. I wanna talk for a second about the Skylight Calendar, the wonderful sponsors of this episode, and one of the things that keeps myself and my daughter on track. Skylight sits on your wall and tells you what you have to do today, what chores your child has to do today. It's basically a family calendar with all in one, you can color code. It is amazing for people with ADHD. I am truly in love with this thing. We look at it every single day. It tells us the weather. It tells us what's on our calendar. It tells us what chores are left to do. Oh, time to feed the dog, mark it off on the calendar. My daughter can check the box when she's done and the chore disappears. It is one of the best things we've ever had. You can get yours with a discount using code: PeterShankman for 10% off, up to 30 bucks off. You’re gonna love this Skylight calendar.  And you are gonna love. I mean, truly it. It is amazing for people with ADHD or basically anyone who wants to keep track of their schedule. It sits on the wall. Added bonus. You can throw your own photos onto it as a screen saver on your wall. So now your wall has pictures. That's cool. Check it out. I'll put the link in the show notes. https://www.skylightframe.com code:  PeterShankman

[00:01:37] Peter: Hey guys, Peter Shankman, host of Faster Than Normal. I wanna talk for a second about the Skylight Calendar, the wonderful sponsors of this episode, and one of the things that keeps myself and my daughter on track. Skylight sits on your wall and tells you what you have to do today, what chores your child has to do today. It's basically a family calendar with all in one, you can color code. It is amazing for people with ADHD. I am truly in love with this thing. We look at it every single day. It tells us the weather. It tells us what's on our calendar. It tells us what chores are left to do. Oh, time to feed the dog, mark it off on the calendar. My daughter can check the box when she's done and the chore disappears. It is one of the best things we've ever had. You can get yours with a discount using code: PeterShankman .Check for the link in the show notes. And you are gonna love. I mean, truly it. It is amazing for people with ADHD or basically anyone who wants to keep track of their schedule. It sits on the wall. Added bonus. You can throw your own photos onto it as a screen saver on your wall. So now your wall has pictures. That's cool. Check it out. I'll put the link in the show notes. 

Welcome to Faster Than Normal. My name is Peter Shankman. I am sitting here today on a one-on-one interview with one of the most incredible people I've ever met, and I guess I kind of have to say that cuz we're talking to my daughter. We're talking to Jessa Shankman. Say, hi, Jessa. 

[00:01:54] Jessa: Hi, my name is Jess Shankman and I am the daughter of Peter Shankman. 

[00:01:57] Peter: We are gonna talk today about, we're gonna talk to my daughter about what it's like to have a Dad with ADHD. And we're sitting here, we're joined by Waffle the dog. And we'll take a picture and, and put it up as well of all three of us on all family on one couch. But we are talking today about what it's like for a Dad and for a Daughter when a Dad has ADHD and how a daughter deals with it. So, Jessa how old are you?

[00:02:18] Jessa: Nine. 

[00:02:19] Peter: Nine. What grade are you in?

[00:02:21] Jessa: I'm in fourth grade.

[00:02:22] Peter: Fourth grade. So when you think of the words ADHD and letters, adhd, what do you think of? 

[00:02:27] Jessa: Well, when I think of adhd. I just think of like the letters and the word or, yeah, the letters. I think of like, like a, what do you call? Like a just random numbers, like math. I just think of like when I think of adhd, I think of people who get distracted. 

[00:02:43] Peter: People get distracted. Okay. And do you get distracted sometimes?

[00:02:48] Jessa: Yes. A lot actually.

[00:02:49] Peter: A lot. And what do you do when you get distracted? 

[00:02:51] Jessa: Well, sometimes when I get distracted, I. lose focus or I, like, I keep doing it, but then if I realize I've gotten distracted, like today I was just, uh, like fidgeting or singing or something and I wasn't paying attention that I have to read my book. So then I was like, okay, yes, you have to read your book and be focused. So I just try to do that. 

[00:03:15] Peter: And how do, what happens when you, when you do, do you do anything special to help you refocus? We talked about sometimes you do exercises or, um, 

[00:03:24] Jessa: I don't usually do exercises, but sometimes I just need to get my mind. So I take, I don't usually take deep breaths, but I just try to get my mind in focus by using my mind.

[00:03:35] Peter: So breathing helps though, right? Sometimes taking deep breaths. Yeah. And sometimes when you're a little too hyper or sometimes we'll do exercises together. We'll do like, 

[00:03:42] Jessa: I was too hyper to read today, 

[00:03:43] Peter: too hyper to read today, what didja do like a Peloton workout or something. Normally if you get a work workout in the morning, you're pretty much focused all day.

[00:03:49] Jessa: Yeah. 

[00:03:49] Peter: Yeah. But I mean it also happens cuz you know you're also nine, so sometimes that happens. What do you think about when you think about your Dad and ADHD? 

[00:03:57] Jessa: Sometimes when I like ask him to like read me this or do something, he doesn't listen the first time and he sometimes gets distracted. But then if I say again, he's like, sorry, what'd you say? And then he listens. 

[00:04:14] Peter: So I think anyone can really have that. Anyone can get distracted. Right? So sometimes, but, but you also know that I do certain things to help you, control my ADHD like what? What do I do to control it? Like exercise and stuff like that? Exercise, yeah. I get on my bike every morning, 

[00:04:27] Jessa: right? Get on the bike If I [unintelligible] every morning. Yeah. 

[00:04:30] Peter: So I get on the bike and I do things so I'm able to focus better. But it's not, do you, do you see, like, do you have friends who have a hard time concentrating too? 

[00:04:39] Jessa: I don't think so. Most kids are prob, most kids are, oh yeah. One friend is, uh, but I think some, some of my friends are, but then they get, um, like focused.

[00:04:54] Peter: I think a lot of times what happens, especially when you're younger, is that you get distracted and you don't realize you're distracted. Right? So you're like, oh, what? And then you were like, oh, wait a second. I wasn't paying attention. 

[00:05:02] Jessa: that's what I do.

[00:05:03] Peter: Right. And that can be, that can get you in trouble sometimes. Like if a teacher's saying something, you have to listen. Right? 

[00:05:08] Jessa: Sometimes my teacher does point it out to me. 

[00:05:10] Peter: So your teacher, when your teacher points out to you, what does he say? 

[00:05:13] Jessa: He says, Jessica, Jessa.. Like, he just says that and he, 

[00:05:18] Peter: so he just says your name and then you like it sort of snaps you back in.

[00:05:21] Jessa: Yeah. 

[00:05:22] Peter: What do you think kids can do to be more focused? 

[00:05:27] Jessa: Have a fidget maybe near them, but also be, that being said, a fidget is a fidget. It could be more distracting. 

[00:05:35] Peter: Well, you're sitting here right now, you're playing with a little bit of slime, right? . 

[00:05:38] Jessa: Yeah, but I'm focused. 

[00:05:40] Peter: You're focused because you're giving your fingers something to do. Yeah. Right. So you're playing with your slime and you're rubbing it and like, so turning it into a ball, a ball or something like that. 

[00:05:49] Jessa: Sometimes a fidget can be really helpful and sometimes it can be distracting. 

[00:05:52] Peter: When is it really helpful? 

[00:05:54] Jessa: Uh, helpful. Like when you're, when you are kind of focused, but then like your hands are just like, Just like doing anything and you like, it's just, I don't really know how to say this, but sometimes when you're distracted, if like you're doing a math class or any class that you don't love and you like get bored, you should get something in your hands. Or it could be like a marble or it could be a piece of slime, but like not, not something to really get you distracted, like something that you can make a whole town out of. like clay. You can't have that. We You can't. It's a little something. Yeah. Just like a marble or like a, A magnet. Or a fidget spinner.

[00:06:34] Peter: That's a really good suggestion. So the goal is like to keep yourself sort of a little bit occupied. Keep your hands busy. 

[00:06:39] Jessa: Yeah. Keep your hands busy, but keep your focus on the teacher. 

[00:06:42] Peter: Do you think that you get more or less distracted if you've drank some water? Less like you drink water and you get less distracted.

[00:06:49] Jessa: Sometimes I do that, like sometimes I'm like, okay, I gotta go and get my water bottle. And then I drink, like, um, I drink a little bit of it, and then I'm like, okay, sit back down and focus on the Math. 

[00:07:00] Peter: So sometimes your distractions, your brain can be helped by water. Why do you think that is? 

[00:07:06] Jessa: Maybe the water just gets you refreshed.

[00:07:08] Peter: Yeah. 

[00:07:08] Jessa: And like,

[00:07:09] Peter: because your body may have like a lot of water. Yeah. The majority of your body is water, right? Yeah. What would you tell a kid who realizes that he or she is being distracted and doesn't like in school and doesn't know how to fix it? 

[00:07:22] Jessa: I would tell them to, if you realize you're getting distracted, then just notice it and try or drink a and drink water or just shake it up.[as Waffle laps at his water bowl in the background] Maybe like I would say raise your hand. Just go to the back of the room and maybe do like, maybe like I, you can't do jumping jacks in the middle of a class. Maybe some squats. But I would say, yeah, not even, maybe just like, maybe just moving your feet or something. Maybe standing up. Yeah, just standing up. Cuz sometimes if you're sitting down, you could easily be distracted. Just stand up and take a breath or take a break.

[00:07:58] Peter: I think there's also, there's um, you know, there's a company we had on the podcast called Bouncy Bands, where they make little bands that go on the bottom of the chair and you can just move your feet to those. Oh, really? So yeah, those are like helpful too. But yeah, I think at the end of the day, movement just stand up movement. Really helpful. Right? Really? Yeah. Just it's hard to sit down all day. Yeah. Back when, back when we were cavemen, we never sat down all day. If we sat down, we were sleeping. If we stood up, if we, if we weren't sleeping, we were hunting stuff and getting food.

Right? 

[00:08:24] Jessa: Yeah. Like also there's like, I sit on something that does not support my back and that makes it even harder to really sit and my back sometimes during the day. 

[00:08:35] Peter: What do you sit on that doesn't Like a chair or just a bench? 

[00:08:38] Jessa: You know, there's a bench. Oh, they bench in school. Yeah. But then most of the time if I'm like, I wanna, I want like I need to stand up, I would do that and then I would grab a chair, which, you know, it's better for me, like,

[00:08:51] Peter: yeah, definitely. Do you think that when you exercise it helps or hurts your focus? Helps. 

[00:08:56] Jessa: Helps. I just say like move your feet. Like you can't like, just like maybe like do, I don't think you should do like jumping jacks or squats. No. That's kinda tough in the middle of the class, but I think you should just like move your feet or move your arms.

[00:09:10] Peter: Like how do you feel after recess? Are you focused?

[00:09:12] Jessa: After recess, I am focused, but sometimes a little bit distracted. Recess gives you a time to run around, but some people don't run around. But .Do you? I sometimes, yeah. I, I don't love to run around that much. I don't love the game tag or, but sometimes I just sit and like try to get myself ready for the next. Or for the class or just, you know.

[00:09:35] Peter: Do you feel more focused if you having a good night sleep? 

[00:09:36] Jessa: I think so, yeah. Because sometimes I'm really tired in class and I'm like, I probably didn't get a good night's sleep. That explains, I went to bed at nine last night. Um, but I think sleep, I think you should really get a good night's sleep for you to help. Cuz you could be really tired in class. Yeah. And that wouldn't be good. You would fall, you would like almost fall asleep or you could just be like really tired that you would just fidget and just do this and you wouldn't pay attention to anything. 

[00:10:01] Peter: Anything else you wanna tell kids who might have ADHD or might be distracted once in a while.

[00:10:05] Jessa: I think just standing up, taking a break and then sitting back down, sitting in a comfy seat. You don't wanna sit in like a bad seat where you can get really distracted easily. I think you should just sit in a chair and listen or try to listen. Just take a break if you feel distracted or something like that. And yeah, that's it. 

[00:10:28] Peter: Awesome. Guys. That was my daughter, Jessa Shankman, who is enough to come on the podcast today, interrupting her day of, she's off this week, so interrupting her day of playing with slime and, and, and playing Roblox and, uh, talking to her friends. But really, really appreciate you taking the time, Jess. I love you very much.

[00:10:43] Jessa: Love you too. 

[00:10:43] Peter: Okay, guys. You've been listening to Faster Than Normal, my name is Peter Shankman. As always, we are thrilled that you're here. Big shout out again to Skylight Calendar. That frame, that calendar has saved my life countless times.

[00:10:53] Jessa: Can I tell them about it? 

[00:10:53] Peter: Yeah, go ahead. 

[00:10:54] Jessa: Skylight is really good cuz it helps me with my chores and like if I see like feed the dog, or clean up after breakfast, I can just tap it when it's done. And it also has cool pictures. You can upload pictures on it. 

[00:11:04] Peter: Yep. It is a very, very cool product. We both love it. Strongly recommended. Check the link out in the show notes, get a discount with the code. Peter Shankman. Guys, thank you so much for listening as always thanks to Steven Byrom, our wonderful executive editor and producer who creates amazing episodes for us every week. [Thank you too Peter! -sb]  We will see you next week. We are thrilled that you are here. ADHD and all forms of neurodiversity are gifts, not curses. And by the way, if you haven't picked up The Boy with the Faster Brain yet, it is on Amazon and it is a number one bestseller in all categories. So check it out, The Boy with the Faster Brain. It is a children's book about neurodiversity. 

Jessa: I love it. 

Peter: Thank you, Jessa. Guys, thanks for listening and we'll see you next week. Say bye, Jess. 

[00:11:39] Jessa: Bye 

[00:11:40] Peter: Bye guys! 

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Credits: You've been listening to the Faster Than Normal podcast. We're available on iTunes, Stitcher and Google play and of course at www.FasterThanNormal.com I'm your host, Peter Shankman and you can find me at shankman.com and @petershankman on all of the socials. If you like what you've heard, why not head over to your favorite podcast platform of choice and leave us a review, come more people who leave positive reviews, the more the podcast has shown, and the more people we can help understand that ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Opening and closing themes were composed and produced by Steven Byrom who also produces this podcast, and the opening introduction was recorded by Bernie Wagenblast. Thank you so much for listening. We'll see you next week! 

This week, we talk to John Ruhlin. He's written an amazing book called Giftology, and the whole premise is on the concept of gift-giving. Why is this ADHD-related? Well, by nature, faster than normal people like us tend to be very giving. We like helping, we want people to like us. How do we do it, though, in such a way where we don't come across as trying too hard? I know for me personally, it's not always easy. That's why I'm a huge fan here of John's new book, and his whole philosophy. I think you will be, too. Enjoy!

In this episode, Peter and John discuss:

• John's story (03:51)
• Business cards and gift giving (06:22)
• Scheduling and following up (08:36)
• Top tips for streamlining and staying focused (11:25)
• Working with an assistant (12:32)
• Favorite apps and software (14:38)
• Writing on airplanes and tech fasts (16:16)
• What's next for John (18:55)

Links/Mentions

• Book - Giftology
• Book - Deep Work: Rules for Focused succes in a distracted world
• Book - Zombie Loyalists
• The Ruhlin Group / @ruhlin (Twitter) / johnruhlin (Facebook)

As always, leave us a comment below, drop us a review on iTunes (PLEASE!) and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven't already! Know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note - We'd love to hear!

Corey Berrier- The Sales CEO has over 25 years of experience training individuals and teams on high performance sales processes. The Sales CEO is a boutique coaching firm specializing in sales development with a focus on ADHD. Using his ADHD superpower Corey has developed systems and processes that allow business owners to maximize employee experience and revenue. Corey uses a proprietary system to guide businesses to higher sales results, focusing on every aspect of the process. A hands-on approach is used, with feedback provided throughout the entire process, which helps clients to achieve results faster. Our proven results have helped hundreds of professionals across multiple industries achieve improved sales results. Corey is a Keynote speaker, International Coach and Consultant and hosts the Top Rated podcast “Successful Life Podcast” and he co-hosts the only ADHD Sales Podcast in the world called “ADHD SALES LEGENDS', with Callye Keen. Corey is writing a book on ADHD Sales and Entrepreneurship that will be out later this year. Today we learn how he’s begun using his ADHD superpower, better. Enjoy!

In this episode Peter and Corey discuss: 

1:40 - Intro and welcome Corey Berrier!

2:16 - Corey, why..why why why are companies so stupid?!

5:30 - How can you now better things for clients via your, and possibly their, ADHD?

7:20 - Tell us what it was like growing up as a kid, where you’re from, when you were diagnosed?

9:15 - After a few minutes into an interview, do you ever ask clients “so.. are you ADHD too”?

12:21 - On rejection sensitivity

14:04 - How can people find more about you and what you’re doing? www.CoreyBerrier.com and on the socials @CoreyBerrier on INSTA  Facebook YouTube and https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreysalescoach/ on LinkedIn Also via his podcasts: “Successful Life Podcast” and ADHD SALES LEGENDS

14:54 - Thank you Corey! Guys, as always, we are here for you and we love the responses and the notes that we get from you; so please continue to do that! Tell us who you want to hear on the podcast, anything at all; we’d love to know.  Leave us a review on any of the places you get your podcasts, and if you ever need our help I'm www.petershankman.com and you can reach out anytime via peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. You can also find us at @FasterNormal on all of the socials. It really helps when you drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! As you know, the more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse!

15:25 - Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits

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TRANSCRIPT:

Yo, yo, yo what's up! Welcome to another episode of Faster Than Normal! My name is Peter Shankman. This is the one day a week, but I try to do as many interviews as I can because ADHD. I don't know, interviews and in the middle of that, and I'm answering emails. I get an email from someone who says hey, sorry for the slow reply. Um, we're pausing for now. So we'll be in touch. This is a client, this is a company who I've been trying to hire, not to give me money. I wanted to give them money, right. And after like two weeks, three weeks, four weeks of back and forth of contracts and everything, Hey, we're pausing guys. If you're an entrepreneur and you run your own company, there's absolutely a reason you can make money. All you gotta do is be slightly, slightly better than idiots like this. What I'm trying to give you upwards of 500,000. And you're gonna pause. You're a moron. Okay. I got that in my system. Anyway. Literally it just happened like 30 seconds before I started this call so hey, got it out of my system with apologies to Corey Berrier who's our, who's our guest today who did not sign on to hear me ramble, Corey- thank you for being here.

Corey started his business coaching in 2014. When he got tired of business, struggling to make sales and not have the ability to offer solutions. It's all shit. I have a company you should probably talk to; I just got off the phone with them. Anyway, Corey, working with his training clients who owns a small plumbing company and the owner asking you to talk with the sales team. That led to where he is today. He's based in Raleigh. He was diagnosed at age 8 and his services extended to wherever he's needed, whether it be online on the phone. Corey has excellent guidance and excellent coaching and he is going to talk about his ADHD journey starting right now. Corey welcome! Sorry about that random intro, but oh my God. Why are companies so stupid?

So it's a great, great question. Peter you're so right. You have to be a little bit better, right? You just have to be a little bit, so you're you're right. Your company does need to talk to me because they're making very bad decisions, but a lot of companies do that. Peter. I’d love to start this out by tying this to exactly why we're on the call, which is, you know, I've, you know, the thing that you ran out about me is changed just a little bit. So I don't work just with plumbing companies now I work with, well, I work with a lot of different companies. I work with consultants all over the world, and I also work with a lot of trades companies, but here's the. Really the biggest thing that I want to drive home. And why I'm on this call with you is, you know, about five months ago I realized I had no fucking idea what ADHD really meant for me. And I've been taking medicine Peter for 36 years, 36 years. And so I just, I had no idea that, you know, I forget shit all the time. I, you know, I lose stuff; my phone's in my hand and I'm looking for it. Like all the things. I you thought that, you know, I burnt my brain up doing drugs years ago or drinking. That's the truth. That's what I thought for years. And so when I, so one of, in one of my entrepreneur groups, I noticed, I noticed a guy did a post in the word he used the word neurodivergent. I have never seen this word in my entire life. And when I saw it, I'm like, damn, that is such a cool looking word. That was the first off. And I'm like, I got to figure out I'll let me just ask the guy what it means. Well, he didn't answer me. And so I'm not certainly not going to wait for him to answer me. So I just went and figured it out myself. Of course. Yep. So I Google it and it takes me to YouTube. So I like, okay, well I'll just watch one of these videos and see what it is. This guy is literally talking about me! And I'm like, holy fucking shit. What the fuck is going on? How I just, how am I just now understanding this. And the truth of the matter is, is guess what he was like. I didn't have a reason to look at. I didn't know. I didn't know. You know,

you never put two and two together, right?

Yeah. And so the reason that I believe I am so much better in my job now at working with these companies is because you know] this; most people are ADHD. Business owners, most people that are sales, right? Those are the two people I worked with. So imagine how much more money they're going to make. If I can shore up those areas where they don't even see the problem. In other words, if they've got half her and she's not following up well, you and I both know the reason for that, but he may not. He or she may not know the reason for that. And if they do know that. What's that going to do for their business. Holy cow. Right?

It might, it blows my mind. It really does. No, you look at, and then look, there there's two types of, of, of, of sort of companies that are mistaken, right. Because the type of companies just take it because exactly what you said, they don't understand how to better target their brain, how to better use the functions they have. Those are the ones that you can help. Then there are companies that are just stupid because they're idiots, right. And, and they just don't see the value they are leaving on the table. And Unfortunately, I think it's a lot, a lot more of them, a lot more out that they're just run by idiots. But no, I think that, you know, one of the things when I went out on my own as an entrepreneur, probably 20, 20, whatever years ago now, um, you know, I had no idea what I was doing, but I knew there was something I could do. And that's, I think a key thing that.. like, you realize the same thing right. In that, in that you're not sure what it is, but there's something out there there's some way that you can better things. Right. So give us some examples of that.

Well, I think this, I feel like this is the example, and I'll tell you, Peter, for years, I've been, you know, I've owned multiple businesses and I've done great, but some of them, and I had failed miserably with some of them. And at the end of the day, like here's the deal. I went through all of those businesses and all of those things. To lead me to where I am today because I can serve the people that I work with at such a higher level, because I understand the things that they're going through. I understand I can look at somebody. I can ask, you know, this people, you can ask somebody one or two questions and, you know, If they're not just like you are not right; by the way they answer. And so that's where I feel like my superpower lies is that I've taken my love for sales. I've taken my ability to connect with people and to connect people with other people, collaborations and harnessed that into I guess you would say the 88, I guess you would say that I use my ADHD to yeah, to better serve the people I work with because I can see things they can't

Tell us about when you were diagnosed. Tell us what it was like growing up as a kid. How, how did you grow up in South Carolina, where are you from?

So I'm from North Carolina. That's a great question. I'm actually from Mayberry, Peter. Yep. Yep. Good old freaking Mayberry going up, you know, I didn't have a bad childhood. I didn't, um, And in ADHD, where now looking back where it affected me was, you know, I made terrible grades. I hated school. I would rather be doing anything other than that. Outside of that, I mean, I was never put into a special ed class, which I've, I've interviewed now. I'm writing a book about this, uh, ADHD sales and entrepreneurship. And so I've interviewed, um, close to 50 people now that are professionals in the field. And. And what I'm finding is there's a lot of people that do get put in special education classes, they get put in, you know, they get labeled and I'm sure I got labeled, but I never got labeled quite like that. And so you didn't really ask me that- you asked me how my childhood was, was pretty good. I mean, I think it was a good childhood. I got into a lot of trouble. I mean, I was constantly doing something. But, you know, but I'll tell you what, I think one of the things that I think would have helped me more than anything I think is probably if they, if, if teachers then could have understood what they understand now, I think, I think my journey with school would have been a little easier. I think. I don't know that for sure.

No, I believe it. I believe it. There's definitely a, a, you know, there's a level of, I sort of the same way and that in that, you know, sit down and you disrupt the class disease was not what I had, but it's, it's what teachers knew. It's all the teachers. Right. And, and, and to, to an extent it's crazy as it is, it's something important. Unfortunately, it's still going on that way. Right. There's still, it's not as, I mean, there's a little bit more understanding, but it's not as big as it ever was.

You're right, Peter. So let me ask you this. You're a perfect person to ask this question to. So when I bring this up to people, um, you know, when I, when I'm talking to another entrepreneur or business owner that I'm starting to have conversations to work with, how would you, you know, if you've noticed this about somebody, is it something that you would bring up in that setting?

Well, you know, I can tell immediately if someone's ADD or ADHD and I call it ADHDdar, right. It's similar to Gaydar. Right. I, I also believe that, um, you know, there are a lot of people who don't appreciate it to the same level that I do. I have this, you know, I love my ADHD. Right. I think my ADHD is the greatest thing in the world and I love what it can do for me and how it can help me. (I didn’t get the entire phone ring removed). But there are a lot of people who have not had that experience yet. And so they sit there and they're kind of like, uh, this is the worst thing in the world. So I don't necessarily bring it up unless the conversation brings itself or lends itself to that. I think a lot of times there, you know, until you know, that answer. Until, you know, that answer. I tend to be a little quiet.

But not labeled probably because there is, I mean, you know, this was a lot of into negative labels around ADHD and delight you because I understand my ADHD it is a super power because I understand what I really suck at. I'm getting what I am just not going to need no matter what, the reason behind it, there are certain things, Peter, I'm just not going to do period.

No, a hundred percent. And I think that we get used to what we know and used to what we're good at. And, and we learn to be what were we learned to do what we're good at better and ignore, you know, or, or in this case pass off what we're not good at.

But you know, so my wonder and I'm, like I said, I've interviewed a lot of people and I, I found, and this is just my observation, that a lot of people in a lot of people that I interviewed, just feel like that the information they have about ADHD is really not worth a whole lot because they have ADHD themselves. And I think it's a common misconception also outside that with salespeople is same thing. Right? A lot of people think that salespeople are shady or shitty or are slimy or whatever you want to call it, but that's just a common misconception. That's just not the truth.

Well, except, I mean, there are certain, there are look there's there's truths to every reality and there's false. There's falses in every reality right? There are a lot of people there a lot. I've met a lot of sales guys who are incredibly slimy and I wouldn't wanna work, but I've also met some of the nicest people in the world. So I think it's the same thing with ADHD. I mean, I've met people who use ADHD to their advantage and they’re still assholes. I think people use. Right. So it's, you know, there's two sides to every single conceivable coin in the world. I think that that labeling people in any capacity, right. Call me ADHD, but I'm so much more than just that. Right? I think everyone is so much more than just that. So at the end of the day, you know, I don't know if the labels help.

I don't know either, but I tell you one label that did help me and you'll find, you might find this interesting is; when I uncovered what rejection sensitivity meant. And I didn't know that that's not even a, I saw even a medical term. I don't believe, uh, I don't think it's in. I don't think you would know the answer to that. I would not. I identify with that shit boo, big time, big time. I don't, I don't get to, I'm not a victim, but I understand now why sometimes I might receive what, what Peter says to me, to hurt my feelings. So to speak. And if I know that, guess what, I can be prepared for that and I can handle it with more emotional intelligence.

I agree. I agree. I think a lot, again, also understanding sort of the way the brain works in that regard. Not everything is going to be an insult, or even meant as an insult. And there've been countless times when I have been in situations where I'm like, okay, I think I, a couple of. Um, I'm walking down the street. I'm not feeling great about myself and I, I I'm looking at my phone. I could see me as I passed some guy. I don't even look at him and him go Jesus. And my first thought is, oh, wow. He really saw how fat I feel today. Right. That's ridiculous. It totally didn't happen. But our brains are designed in such a way that yeah, we're gonna go to the worst possible. So, no, that's not always the case.

Yeah, that's, that's a great point. That is a great point. And you're right. There are always, everything is subjective, right? It just depends on who's looking at it and how they're looking at and how they're feeling that day. It could always be a different answer, you know? A hundred percent, a hundred percent.

Very cool. How can people find you and get more about you?

www.CoreyBerrier.com and on the socials @CoreyBerrier on INSTA  Facebook YouTube and https://www.linkedin.com/in/coreysalescoach/ on LinkedIn Also via his podcasts: “Successful Life Podcast” and ADHD SALES LEGENDS—

Sure. So you can go to my website, CoreyBerrier.com. You could follow me on all the social channels @CoryBerrier And I'm going to, uh, I'm going to send you a link. Uh, Peter, I don't know if it's okay. I need to ask you before. If we can, if I can send you a link to a download it all it is it's just a competence is for ADHD people just to help your confidence. That's all it is. It's as part of the stuff that I work with people on, uh, it's a very, very small part of what I work people with people on, but I would also argue that it's maybe one of the most important things that I work with people on.

Please do. We'll we'll include it in the show notes. Sure.

Thanks my man. Well, Peter, thank you so much. I really appreciate this. It's been great.

The pleasure was mine. Corey, thank you so much for taking the time. I appreciate it guys….leave us a review. If you think you want to be on the podcast, shoot us a note peter@shankman.com We will see you next week with a brand new episode. It's so great to have you. And it's so great to be back recording again in the studio. Talk to you guys soon, take care.

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Credits: You've been listening to the Faster Than Normal podcast. We're available on iTunes, Stitcher and Google play and of course at www.FasterThanNormal.com I'm your host, Peter Shankman and you can find me at petershankman.com and @petershankman on all of the socials. If you like what you've heard, why not head over to your favorite podcast platform of choice and leave us a review, come more people who leave positive reviews, the more the podcast has shown, and the more people we can help understand that ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Opening and closing themes were composed and produced by Steven Byrom who also produces this podcast, and the opening introduction was recorded by Bernie Wagenblast. Thank you so much for listening. We'll see you next week!

This week's guest is Brian Fanzo.

Happy listening! :)

In this episode, Peter and Brian discuss:

• Brian's story (02:57)
• ADHD and desk jobs (06:24)
• Daily rituals (07:31)
• Accountability and rewards (11:29)
• Personal battles and being yourself (12:53)
• Dealing with haters (15:54)

Links/Mentions

• Brian Fanzo (Website | FB | Twitter) Isocialfanz
• SMACtalk | FomoFanz (Brian's podcast)
• Flipboard (app)

As always, leave us a comment below, drop us a review on iTunes (PLEASE!) and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven't already! Know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note - We'd love to hear!

PS: Don't forget - We have the #1 online video course for turning your ADHD into a superpower - The FTN Course is 38 three minute videos, watchable at your own pace, covering everything from work, to home life, to exercise and health. Check it out!

Today’s podcast is made possible by Sudio headphones! They are the most incredible sounding headphones I’ve ever heard in my life! They give you 7 HOURS of battery life, look beautiful and the portable case will give you up to 6 days of standby time! Our discount code is fasterthannormal which will give you 15% off any purchase! Just click on this link to use the discount: https://www.sudio.com/us/earphones/tolv-pastel-blue  Thank you Sudio for sponsoring today’s podcast!

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Remember that rainy night, just this past Winter’s eve, when you resolved to drop 25lbs, be fit & super-excited by the time this Summer’s swimsuit season arrived? Us too. Today we’re talking about strategies, just in case that didn’t just magically happen for you. We are joined by Katie Rickel. Dr. Rickel graduated summa cum laude from Duke University with a Bachelor of Science in psychology and earned a Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Florida. She completed an APA-accredited clinical internship in health psychology at Duke University Medical Center, with advanced training in behavioral and bariatric obesity treatment, as well as the psychological management of chronic pain and illness. Dr. Rickel has expertise in treating anxiety disorders, including obsessive-compulsive disorder and specific phobias. Her research has been presented at various professional conferences and published in scientific journals. She has also appeared on “The Dr. Oz Show” and has been quoted in several popular media outlets, including the Wall Street Journal, Huffington Post, Health magazine, Yahoo! Health, Women’s Health magazine, Weight Watchers magazine, andabcnews.com. She is now the CEO of Structure House, which has been named the nation’s leading weight loss treatment program. In existence since 1977, Structure House has helped more than 40,000 participants achieve their wellness goals and live their best lives. Dr. Rickel generously shares her expertise & experience with us here today. Enjoy!

 

In this episode Peter & Katie discuss:

2:28-  Intro & welcome Dr. Rickel!  ref:  www.StructureHouse.com

3:20-  Before we get into all of this, would you tell us a little bit more about your background please?

6:20-  Let’s talk about ADHD & that premise of “all or nothing”

9:25-  On how emotions play a role in cycles of an “all or nothing” mindset, especially when it comes to weight loss

10:20-  What are some tips you might share in order to keep us from getting into a bad cycle?  ref:  The National Weight Control Registry 

12:50-  Apps for ADHD food journaling:  Lose It!  My Fitness Pal or just take a picture of your meals.

14:31-  What other secret tricks would you recommend?

16:00-  On the importance of how you look & feel

17:00-  On turning to your strengths

18:14-  What percentage of your patients have ADHD?

19:21-  How can people find you if they would like to learn more?  www.StructureHouse.com @StructureHouse on: Twitter, FB, INSTA, Pinterest, LinkedIn

20:38-  Thank you Dr. Rickel! And thank YOU for subscribing, reviewing and listening. Your reviews have been working! But.. even if you’ve reviewed us before, please continue to do so, so that word will continue to spread and we will all be able to reach & help even more people! You can always reach me at peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. You can also find us at @FasterThanNormal on all of the socials. 

21:14-  Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits

As always, leave us a comment below and please drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! The more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! Know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note, we’d love to hear!

Having #ADD or #ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Hear from people all around the globe, from every walk of life, in every profession, from Rock Stars to CEOs, from Teachers to Politicians, who have learned how to unlock the gifts of their #ADD and #ADHD diagnosis, and use it to their personal and professional advantage, to build businesses, become millionaires, or simply better their lives. 

 

Our Guest today, Maria Austin, is the lead actor in the Apple TV feature film, “Mercy,” and she will be on stage at the Playground Theater in West London playing in “Agatha,” a multi-award winning play, written by Angela Davis. Maria also founded the production company, Dawn Chorus Films, which is working to bring more women to professional TV crews. Maria is passionate about telling women’s stories and experiences and she was diagnosed with #ADHD at 30.

 

Enjoy! 

 

[You are now safely here]

 

00:00 - Thank you again so much for listening and for subscribing!!

 

00:44 - Introducing Maria. 

 

02:25 - Maria’s diagnosis story and what she is learning now. 

 

03:35 - Being a woman growing up with undiagnosed #ADHD. 

 

05:20 - Going to school with #ADHD. 

 

07:16 - Maria’s theater experience. 

 

09:04 - Why she founded Dawn Chorus Films. 

 

11:27 - What would you tell a young person who wants to perform but is scared? 

 

12:50 - "Hyperfixation helps my acting career."

 

Connect with Maria on Instagram @mlaustin92

 

If you haven't picked up a copy of my book The Boy with the Faster Brain yet, it is on Amazon and it is a number #1 One Bestseller in all categories! Click HERE or buy your copy at https://amzn.to/3FcAKkI. My link tree is here if you’re looking for something specific: https://linktr.ee/petershankman.

Having ADD or ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Hear from people all around the globe, from every walk of life, in every profession, from Rock Stars to CEOs, from Teachers to Politicians, who have learned how to unlock the gifts of their ADD and ADHD diagnosis, and use it to their personal and professional advantage, to build businesses, become millionaires, or simply better their lives.

Hey guys, Peter Shankman the host of Faster Than Normal. I wanna talk for a second about the Skylight Calendar, the wonderful sponsors of this episode and one of the things that keeps myself and my daughter on track. Skylight sits on your wall and tells you what you have to do today; what chores your child has to do today. It's basically a family calendar all-in-one. You can color code. It is amazing for people with ADHD. I am truly in love with this thing. We look at it every single day. It tells us the weather. It tells us what's on our calendar. It tells us what chores are left to do. Oh, time to feed the dog! - Mark it off on the calendar. My daughter can check the box when she's done and the chore disappears. It is one of the best things we've ever had. You can get yours with a discount using code: PeterShankman for 10% off, up to 30 bucks off. You’re gonna love this Skylight calendar.  And you are gonna love.. I mean, truly it is amazing for people with ADHD or basically anyone who wants to keep track of their schedule. It sits on the wall, added bonus. You can throw your own photos onto it as a screen saver- on your wall! So now your wall has pictures. That's cool. Check it out. I'll put the link in the show notes. https://www.skylightframe.com Discount Code:  PeterShankman for 10% off, up to 30 bucks off.

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Entrepreneur, social media expert, influencer and now CEO of the hottest events in NYC, Liv Schreiber has a vision for changing how New Yorkers meet and build relationships and social communities. In the past, it was intros from friends, families, gym workout buddies or boring dating apps. Today, New Yorkers are growingly turning to the 26 year old Schreiber who's “Hot and Social” events are selling out in 36 seconds. Hot and Social has developed an event strategy where the attendees not only have an opportunity to meet and speak with their peers but an invitation to become friends in a world that many times seems so uninviting and cold. The events have continued to gain traction, and the waitlist for Liv comes from a family of entrepreneurs which you frequently will see in her content. The tagline of her company is "99% of the attendees show up alone, 100% leave as friends". This unique concept has led to some of the largest restaurant and club companies in NYC to reach out with the hope of securing a Hot and Social event for some of the most well known venues in the City. Schreiber is overwhelmed with the support and can't wait to bring her concept to other cities.  Schreiber has already worked with brands such as Anheuser-Busch, Moxy, REVOLVE and Rumble. Her TikTok and Instagram accounts have been blowing up- giving Schreiber the ability to package her social, with Hot and Social's accounts and event sponsorship. The Digital Renegades CEO Evan Morgenstein sees Schreiber as a perfect new client, "Myself, coming from Rockland County and having my family in the event promotion business most of my childhood, I see Liv as a refreshing new take on bringing people, brands and unique experiences together. Liv is so smart, she lives this lifestyle- so it's authentic and she has her finger on the pulse of the 22-35 year old market in NYC and beyond. We are going to make this an international brand and I can't wait!"

00:40 - Thank you so much for listening and for subscribing!

01:44 - Welcome and introducing Liv Schreiber!

02:17 - On the importance of not feeling alone in a classroom setting.

03:34 - We don't need a lot of friends, but we need a few good ones. Would you agree with that?

04:20 - Tell me what your story is, how you came up with this idea. What's your background?

05:00 - Ref: Brand Caffeine

06:24 - What pushed you to decide to do something for friendship; as opposed to like dating, relationships, or the usual fare?

08:40 - Tell us about the people who go to & enjoy these events? To me it sounds like a root canal?

09:43 - What do people talk about?

11:00 - Why do you think we as adults sort of forget how to make friends?

12:26 - How do people find out more about you Liv? Web:  https://www.livschreiber.com

Socials: @livschreiber on INSTA and TikTok  Then.. @hotandsocial on INSTA and Liv’s Styling account is @styledbylivschreiber in INSTA & TikTok

12:25 - Can more friendships benefit everyone with ADD or ADHD and Neurodiverse?

13:07 - Thank you for your work here Peter! 

13:18 - Thank you Liv!

13:20 - Another big shout out to Skylight calendar!

13:24 - We are thrilled that you are here!  ADHD and all forms of neurodiversity are gifts, not curses. And by the way, if you haven't picked up The Boy with the Faster Brain yet, it is on Amazon and it is a number one bestseller in all categories. So check it out. Click HERE or via https://amzn.to/3FcAKkI

My link tree is here if you’re looking for something specific. https://linktr.ee/petershankman

14:06 - Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits.

Guys, as always thanks so much for subscribing! Faster Than Normal is for YOU! We want to know what you’d like to hear! Do you have a cool friend with a great story? We’d love to learn about, and from them. I'm www.petershankman.com and you can reach out anytime via email at peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. You can also find us at @FasterNormal on all of the socials. It really helps when you drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! As you know, the more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! 

—

TRANSCRIPT via Descript and then corrected.. mostly somewhat: 

[00:00:40] Peter: Hey everyone, what's up? My name is Peter Shankman. I'm the host of the Faster Than Normal podcast, and I wanna give a big shout out to Skylight for sponsoring this episode again, Skylight Calendar, guys, I told you about this thing before. I love it. It sits in my kitchen wall and tells my daughter exactly what she has to do. It tells her what she has to bring to school. It tells her what she can leave home. It tells her what chores have to be done. I don't have to yell at her anymore. She doesn't complain. We can throw photos on there of family, of friends, of my parents, of her, of of her mom's parents, everyone. She sees everything. She can touch screen it when she's done. She loves going over feeding the dog and then touch screening to say that she's fed the dog and the chore disappears. They're color coded, which is great for people like me who have ADHD and people like you. Check out Skylight. It is a phenomenal, phenomenal calendar. It'll make your life so much easier and simpler,. You'll have so much less to complain about. Skylightframe.com . Use code Peter Shankman and get up to 30 bucks off your first offer. And I wanna thank them again for sponsoring the podcast. The Skylight calendar is incredible. Skylight frame.com. Check it out. https://www.skylightframe.com Discount Code:  PeterShankman 

 

 

Okay guys, another episode of Faster Than Normal! I am thrilled that you're here! About two or three months ago. I had coffee with the one we're about to talk today. Her name is Liv Schreiber and Liv calls herself, the one who's making friendship cool again, and it's really interesting. She runs a very cool company where she basically throws parties to let people make friends, and we're talking about that, but we're also talking a bigger picture about friendships. So Liv, welcome to Faster Than Normal- so good to have you!

[00:02:11] Liv: Hey Peter, you're the best. So good to finally get to be talking to you here. This is awesome! 

[00:02:17] Peter: Now I'm glad to have you. I wanted to do this for a while. It's, um, you know, it's interesting, the, the, I was, I was talking last week to a elementary school. I was reading them the new book, the Boy with the Faster Brain, and everyone was, you know, it was funny to watch the kids, right? Because 30 kids in the classroom and they bun Bud buddy up with their friends to walk to the auditorium where we were doing the speech that's, I was following them, you know, talking to the teacher and I look over and all the kids have somehow buddied up with another kid and they're all holding hands and there's one who, I guess, I guess someone was absent and didn't have anyone to hold hands with and he's just sort of like walking behind everyone. And he looked a little sad. My daughter was with me cuz she had the week off from school and she walked up, she grabbed the kid's hand. Right. And my daughter's nine. This kid I think was like five or six or whatever. And, and you immediately saw the change in the kid. The kid was like, he went from like, we have no one to talk to. Like, oh, someone's holding my hand. Yeah. And he was all happy and everything. Uhhuh. It really is amazing. We don't, you know, we joke, I joke a lot that I hate people. Right. I don't think we talk enough about how valued and how important friendships are, not relationships, not dating, not marriage like crap, but the concept of friendships, right? We don't need a lot of friends, but we need a few good ones. Would you agree with that? 

[00:03:29] Liv: Absolutely. And when you think about it this way, like you're, you know, that kid grows up and he moves to New York City and he doesn't know anyone and he is starting a new job and he doesn't have anyone to talk to. Like, that's debilitating and, and just one person can make a huge difference in his life. So, you know, I was that kid. I moved to New York and I knew no one, and I was jealous of people in the street who had plans. And Peter, I'm not weird, you know. I have friends, but for some reason in your twenties and your thirties, it's so hard to make those adult friendships that really can make a huge difference. So, um, I noticed that and just kind of got sick of having this, this issue and figured other people might as well. 

[00:04:12] Peter: Tell me for, okay, so let's go back. Tell me what you do. Tell me your story. Um, you're not, you have never been diagnosed ADHD but you're pretty sure you have it. I met you, I knew in about three seconds you did. Tell me what your story is, how you came up with this idea. What's your background? Tell us the whole thing. 

[00:04:26] Liv: Yeah, absolutely. 

[00:04:27] Peter: As far as my audience is gonna know, looking at your photo, they just say, oh, she's six foot. Of course she goes to all the clubs. Of course she has tons of friends. I'm right.

[00:04:34] Liv: I'm actually five four. I'm not six foot. 

[00:04:36] Peter: You come across very tall in your photos. Tell us the biggest story about you.

[00:04:39] Liv: So I'm uh, from New Jersey. I have a twin brother. Grew up with a family of entrepreneurs. Every single hu human in my family line has been an entrepreneur. My dad has major ADD, um, and I've always just had a million different things that I love to do. My brain is non- stop. It's exhausting being inside of it. Um, I have a really hard time focusing on just one thing. Um, I have little quirks and, and things that I actually read about in your book that I thought were just me things, that happen to be, um, ADD things. So I've kind of harnessed it as my superpower and the things that I really love. I've been able to turn into businesses that make money. So the first is brand caffeine. Uh, my twin brother and I own a digital marketing agency and we launch content strategy, paid ads for brands and personal brands. Um, so we're responsible for making people blow up on social media and their sales. Um, but in terms of my personal, I, on Liv Schreiber have, um, a following on Instagram and TikTok, both of which, um, on my explorer pages think I have ADD as well. So I'm constantly getting fed, you know, signs. You have ADD every day. Um, and then, you know, I started Hot and social about a year ago. Where people come to meet new people. It's not weird. They're not weird people. It's all super cool and um, the premise is everyone comes solo and leaves as friends. So it's really, really special and very fulfilling. 

[00:06:12] Peter: I like that. What brought you to create something where people, you know what, most people have created a dating app. Create a relationship app. I remember, I remember going to the hell back in like early two thousands, going to the hell that was the J-Date, matzo balls every Christmas and, and, and leaving and thinking that there was no hope for humanity and I wasn't really wrong. But, um, tell me what, what, uh, pushed you to decide to do something for friendship as opposed to like dating relationships, which is usually where everyone else goes.

[00:06:39] Liv: Yeah. Number one, I'm not like a, a very sexual influencer showing my boobs on Instagram. So it, it just wouldn't, as a Lisa Lit, our shared friend would say, no fit my brand aesthetic. Um, That's number one. Um, it started out as hot and single because my twin brother was single. And I go around and I interview people who are hot and single, but that's just not the root of who I am. So in honor of that authenticity, um, switched it over, rebranded to hot and social. And the point is, is that when you come in just looking for friends or just looking to meet one other people, you're always pleasantly surprised and leave with more, especially if you do happen to meet a romantic connection. It's not something that you went in looking for. And I think that's the problem with a lot of dating apps is people are going in with this expectation and being let down every time. 

[00:07:32] Peter: Yeah, it makes sense. I mean I think that that, you know, especially cuz dating apps need people to get let down in order for them to continue to make money. Exactly. Right. If everyone on dating apps found everyone immediately, they're, they're, you know, dating apps anymore. 

[00:07:43] Liv: Right. And the great thing is there is a cap in, I guess some societies on romantic partners, but there's no cap on friendship. You can come and come back and come back again and still, you know, be excited by new people that you're meeting. 

[00:07:58] Peter: It's very possible. Um, tell us about the people who go to these events, because I imagine that if you're going to an event to make friends, right, there's two types of people who go to the, to an event to make friends type of people who, you know, I don't think people imagine like, oh, this is actually gonna be fun. I'm looking forward to this. You know, for, for a lot of people, d, ADHD, going into a room full of people where the expectation is you have to talk to all these people. You've never met. Right. And you have to, uh, make small talk for an hour, two hours, three hours is the equivalent of going to a dentist. 

[00:08:33] Liv: No, no, no. 

[00:08:35] Peter: I'm not saying, I'm not saying that's what you do, but for a lot of people with adhd, I mean, I don't necessarily know if going to a, going to a room, Hey, you're gonna go to this room and you're gonna, there's a hundred people there and you're gonna talk to 50 of them, and good luck. You know, that, that, that, I don't know. Root canals, I, I sort of broke up my mind. So tell us why this is different and tell us how people sort of survive this and enjoy it? 

[00:08:54] Liv: Okay. I love that. That's really funny. Um, so the number one thing is everyone's on the same page, so you're picturing yourself as going somewhere alone, where other people may know each other. This is. Peter. This is like freshman year of college. Everyone's on the same playing field. No one knows each other at the events. I show up solo. So it's really exciting because if you're someone that's looking to challenge themselves or just try something new or get out of the typical bar scene, it's really awesome because the energy is actually like ADD puppy. It's so friendly, so warm, so welcoming, so much great energy because you can literally turn to anyone there and know that they want to talk to you. I know that you wanna talk to them. Um, 

[00:09:43] Peter: what do people talk about? 

[00:09:44] Liv: Talk about everything. Where are you from? Where in the city are you? And we always have an activity, so it's not just like gathering people in a room with drinks. I barely drink, so it, that just wouldn't make sense. What we do is we do fun things. So, um, we're having pickleball tournaments. We had one on Friday, we have another one this coming Friday. So you know, everyone like does some rose and rally. We're drinking rose, and then we're going to rally. And learn how to play on the courts. We have comedy shows coming up, so it's like there's always an experience and something to talk about or look forward to or bond over. Um, and I think that's what makes us different. 

[00:10:19] Peter: There's obviously a need for these things, right? Why is it so hard to make friends and not so much just, you know, oh, in New York, I think it's hard for adults to make friends, period. Because we're, as kids, it's sort of expected of us, right? I remember I have this great photo of my daughter, um, when she's like two years old and she's with a bunch of her friends on the playground and we, someone said, okay, it's time to go, everyone, get your buddy. And they just walked over and they immediately held hands and there was no, uh, issue with that because that's what they're trained to do, right? So we trained them to do that. But at some point as we mature the concept of go find your buddy disappears, right? And people either go out on their own or they have their own social circle and they don't wanna move out of. Why do you think that is? Why do you think we, for lack of a better word, forget how to make friends?

[00:11:10] Liv: I think we get so absorbed by our own selves and, and by our own lives that we kind of forget that the world is going on around us. Like I, I think work comes into play and finding a partner comes into play and friendship kind of gets pushed to the side. Um, and it's sad because people kind of start, stop growing, right? Like, you know, every year in college we're forced to learn something new. But you become an adult and you kind of forget that that life is like a classroom too, and you have to constantly be pushing yourself and learning new things and meeting new people. So, you know, I, I don't think it's anything to shame ourselves about. I think it's just about remembering, oh, this thing's still going on, and, and there's so many people that are super cool that are out there that we don't even know exist yet. 

[00:12:02] Peter: It's very, very possible. I think that, that we get into these ruts, we get into sort of these moments where it's like, okay, I'm good. I have enough. Right? I don't need more. I don't want go through because it's hard to make friends, right? No one ever said it was easy, and so if we don't, if we have what we have and we're comfortable and we're in our comfort zone, we don't necessarily have to do more because that's hard to do. The problem is nothing grows in your comfort zone, and so over time you need to do that.

[00:12:23] Liv: No, I, I, exactly. I hear you. I agree with that.

[00:12:26] Peter: Uh, Liv how can people find you? What? I know you have a phenomenal Instagram. I follow it. What, what? Tell people what it is. So how people can find you more. 

[00:12:31] Liv: It's at Liv Schreiber. L i v s c h r e i b e r. Um, and Hot and Social is Hot and social. H o t and s o c i A L. Am I okay. I need to wake up. Um, But yeah, I'm super excited and I think also having ADD or undiagnosed ADD for everyone who's watching is actually such a benefit in friendships because you know, there's no one else who can text 20 of their friends at eight in the morning and check in on them and ask them how they're doing. Like I think having ADD actually is a huge, um, it, it, it's really a huge asset to my friendship. So, Peter, I'm really grateful that you've taught me that and reading your book and hearing, uh, you know, about all your tips and tricks on this podcast has really helped me. So thank you so much. Yeah.

[00:13:18] Peter: I appreciate it. Thank you. It's great. It's great to have you and, and, and hopefully we can connect again and see each other in person again. I had a lot of fun over that coffee a couple months ago. It was fun. 

Um, Guys, you've been listening to Fast Than Normal. We appreciate you. We love that you're here. If you haven't already checked out the new book, the Boy With the Faster Brain, it was on Today in New York yesterday on the Today Show. It is blowing up. It is. It is gaining a lot of traction, if you haven't, please leave us reading on Amazon. We love that. But either way, we will see you next week with a brand new episode. Thank you again to Skylight frames, skylight calendar, https://skylightframe.com. Check them out. To 30 bucks off with code PeterShankman. We will see you guys next week. Have a wonderful, wonderful week. Stay safe, stay healthy! ADHD and all Neurodiversity are gifts, not curses. We'll see you soon. 

—

Credits: You've been listening to the Faster Than Normal podcast. We're available on iTunes, Stitcher and Google play and of course at www.FasterThanNormal.com I'm your host, Peter Shankman and you can find me at shankman.com and @petershankman on all of the socials. If you like what you've heard, why not head over to your favorite podcast platform of choice and leave us a review, come more people who leave positive reviews, the more the podcast has shown, and the more people we can help understand that ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Opening and closing themes were composed and produced by Steven Byrom who also produces this podcast, and the opening introduction was recorded by Bernie Wagenblast. Thank you so much for listening. We'll see you next week! 

Having #ADD or #ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Hear from people all around the globe, from every walk of life, in every profession, from Rock Stars to CEOs, from Teachers to Politicians, who have learned how to unlock the gifts of their #ADD and #ADHD diagnosis, and use it to their personal and professional advantage, to build businesses, become millionaires, or simply better their lives. 

Our Guest today, Gracie Gold is a two-time U.S. figure-skating champion and #Olympic bronze medalist. She lives in Wilmington, Delaware, and trains in suburban Philadelphia. Gracie holds the record for the highest short-program score ever by an American woman. Gracie is also a writer published in The Cut and recently wrote a book, Outofshapeworthlessloser. 

 

Enjoy! 

 

[You are now safely here]

 

00:00 - Thank you again so much for listening and for subscribing!!

02:10 - Introducing and welcome Gracie Gold.

04:34 - Gracie in her own words. 

06:11 - Rescue dogs as a metaphor for humans. 

07:30 - Gracie’s take on #womanhood and #humanity. 

09:53 - What would you say to people who are worried about past habits and symptoms coming back to the surface? 

12:02 - The power of redirection. 

15:10 - How to break the habit of picking out flaws and focusing on bad angles. 

17:40 - The failed #anorexic. 

21:21 - How to balance self-deprecating humor and not going too far. 

25:10 - All or nothing. 

31:51 - Thanks so much for enjoying "Faster Than Normal”! We appreciate you and your hard work so much! Onwards! We’ll see you next week right back here!

 

Buy Gracie’s book, Outofshapeworthlessloser here.

 

Connect with Gracie:

Instagram: @graciegold95

Twitter: @GraceEGold

Facebook: @Gracie Gold

Website: graciegold.figureskatersonline.com

 

If you haven't picked up a copy of my book The Boy with the Faster Brain yet, it is on Amazon and it is a number #1 One Bestseller in all categories! Click HERE or buy your copy at https://amzn.to/3FcAKkI. My link tree is here if you’re looking for something specific: https://linktr.ee/petershankman.

 

This will go down as one of the top five interviews I've done so far on FTN. This week, we talk to Emily Anhalt. Emily - get this - did her doctoral dissertation on people with ADHD who succeed by utilizing their ADHD, as opposed to medicating it!!

This woman is my unicorn. It's a truly eye-opening interview, and one you need to listen to immediately. When you're done listening, you also need to watch her TEDx talk on the same thing, posted below. I'm so thrilled to have met Emily, and have no doubt we'll be collaborating on many things to come in the future.

LISTEN TO THIS EPISODE. It's a game changer.

In this episode, Peter and Emily discuss:

• Emily's story (05:27)
• Why a lot of research isn't done on ADHD (06:48)
• What can we do to break through the stigma of ADHD (08:39)
• Lessons learned from interviewing people with ADHD (09:48)
• Thoughts on medication (10:34)
• Tips for functioning without medication (13:46)
• Procrastination (16:28)
• Emily's top three tips for turning ADHD into a strength (20:02)

Links/Mentions

• TEDx Appearance 
• @emilyca5 (Twitter)

As always, leave us a comment below, drop us a review on iTunes (PLEASE!) and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven't already! Know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note - We'd love to hear!

I want to thank you for listening and for subscribing to Faster Than Normal! I also want to tell you that if you’re listening to this one, you probably listened to other episodes as well. Because of you all, we are the number one ADHD podcast on the internet!! And if you like us, you can sponsor an episode! Head over to https://rally.io/login/ It is a lot cheaper than you think. You'll reach... about 25k to 30,000 people in an episode and get your name out there, get your brand out there, your company out there, or just say thanks for all the interviews! We’ve brought you over 230 interviews of CEOs, celebrities, musicians, all kinds of rock stars all around the world from Tony Robbins, Seth Godin, Keith Krach from DocuSign, Danny Meyer, we've had Rachel Cotton, we've had  the band Shinedown, right? Tons and tons of interviews, and we keep bringing in new ones every week so head over to https://rally.io/creator/SHANK/?campaignId=1f99a340-203f-498e-9665-24723a5f8b7a  make it yours, we'd love to have you, thanks so much for listening!  Now to this week's episode, we hope you enjoy it!

——

Sivan Hong's career spans over two decades in several industries and professions, including holding esteemed positions as a professor at New York University’s Stern School of Business and former partner at The Bridgespan Group. Today, Sivan authors and illustrates the children’s book series The Super Fun Day Books, including “Benny J. and the Horrible Halloween”, “George J. and the Miserable Monday” and “Emily D. and the Fearful First Day”.  Her inspiring books focus on neurodiverse children, who overcome their challenges with perseverance and bravery.  Sivan also occupies seats on the Board of several foundations and non-profits. When she’s not working, Sivan enjoys being a wife to her lovely husband and a mother to their two wonderful children.  They have a dog and cat and live a quiet and contented life in their home in Connecticut. Today we learn what caused her to make such a drastic career switch and the inspiration behind her newfound love as an Author. Enjoy! 

---------- 

In this episode Peter and Sivan discuss:  

2:10  -  Intro and welcome Sivan Hong!!

3:04  -  So how in the world did you go from being a Professor at NYU Stern and a partner at Bridgespan, to writing children’s books for neurodiverse kids?   

3:34  -  Why Sivan changed careers

4:00  -  What did Sivan do over COVID?

5:05  -  On the ever-changing definition of neurodiversity. Tell us how your experience has been getting the “ADHD is a gift! “message across to people, which is not always something people want to hear.

6:27  -  On the challenge of undoing ‘social programming’/branding

7:21  -  On Peter’s struggle when his book first launched. 

8:26  -  Though we’re trying, not everyone considers neurodiversity, or even being ‘not the same’ truly a gift, not a curse. How do you teach your children about it?

10:03 – On playing into your strengths and using them as superpowers, as opposed to focusing on any negative.  

11:05  -  Tell us about your books and more about how they were inspired? (Links to ref’s below)

13:28  -  Where can everyone find you, and buy your books? 

Benny J. and the Horrible Halloween  George J. and the Miserable Monday  Emily D. and the Fearful First Day. You can get them, [above], on Amazon and also via her website  https://sivanhong.com/  Sivan on the Socials:  sivan_hong_author on INSTA  and @sivanhongauthor on Facebook

14:00  -  THERE ARE NOT ENOUGH BOOKS LIKE THESE! Awesome work & thank you Sivan!

14:12  -  Guys, as always, we are here for you and we love what the responses and the notes that we get from you. So please continue to do that, tell us who you want to hear on the podcast, anything at all, we’d love to know.  Leave us a review on any of the places you get your podcasts, and if you can ever, if you ever need our help, I'm www.petershankman.com and you can reach out anytime via peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. You can also find us at @FasterThanNormal on all of the socials. It really helps when you drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! As you know, the more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! 

14:29  -  Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits

TRANSCRIPT: 

—

Hi guys. My name is Peter Shankman. I'm the host of Faster Than Normal.  I want to thank you for listening, and I also want to tell you that if you've listened to this one, you probably listened to other episodes as well of Faster Than Normal.  We are the number one ADHD podcast on the internet, and if you like us, you can sponsor an episode.  Head over to shank.mn/sponsor  - that's shank.mn/sponsor. It is alot cheaper than you think. You'll reach... God about 25….30,000 people in an episode and get your name out there, get your brand out there, your company out there, or just say, thanks for all the interviews we brought you over 230 interviews of CEOs, celebrities, musicians, all kinds of rock stars all around the world from we've had... God, who have we had...we've had Tony Robbins, Seth Goden, Keith Krach from DocuSign, we've had Rachel Cotton, we've had  the band Shinedown, right? Tons and tons of interviews, and we keep bringing in new ones every week, so head over to shank.mn/sponsor  grab an episode, make it yours, we'd love to have you, thanks for listening.  Here's this week's episode, hope you enjoy it.

—

Hey everyone, Peter Shankman here, and this is another episode of Faster Than Normal, but you know that, ‘cause you subscribed and you're listening, and what else would you expect?  Anyway, glad to have you here, great to be coming to you today, again from New York City in a rainy New York City, I don't think it's ever going to be sunny again. But either way, it is a lovely day when you're up and awake and you know, a little rain into every life, little rain must fall, so good to be here. We have a guest today who somehow managed to go from being a Professor at https://www.stern.nyu.edu/... to author and illustrator of children's books for neuro-diverse children.  So we're going to talk to Sivan Hong, and we're going to figure out how one goes from being a professor at NYU and a former partner at the https://www.bridgespan.org/?gclid=CjwKCAjwiLGGBhAqEiwAgq3q_tuyxlwvwXJvl6cltkhHAbTye-zgYPQfad_79-Fp8jqPIQ6QI4y0nxoCbDwQAvD_BwE to authoring and illustrating children's books, which is pretty cool.  She also sits on several non-profits and does a bunch of stuff and lives in Connecticut and says... says she has a lovely husband and is a Mother to two wonderful children. They have a dog and a cat and they live a quiet and contented life, in Connecticut. How…. uh, we’ll talk later about how it's possible to be content in Connecticut, cause I've never, I don't understand that, but either way, Sivan, welcome to Faster Than Normal.  

Thank you so much for having me Peter. 

So, okay, so, you know, just living your life, professor at https://www.stern.nyu.edu/ the partner at https://www.bridgespan.org/…. and one day you just wake up said, “Hey, you know, I'm bored, I’m gonna start doing children's books for neuro-diverse kids, sort of exactly how it happened?”

Exactly how {laughter} exactly how it happened. Um, no. I had this fast track career. And then I became a Mother of a kid who was diagnosed with Autism and ADHD, nd I realized that I couldn't have this fast-track  career and give him all the attention that I needed to give him. And then I had another kid with ADHD and so I set up, OK, I did the career thing. I was a professor, I was a partner. I did all of this other stuff, right now I'm going to focus a lot of my attention on being a Mom, um, which is very kind of 1950’s of me, but I'm totally at peace with that.  And over COVID instead of making sourdough bread and, um, and doing all those other things that people were doing, mm, my undiagnosed ADHD came out and I wrote three children's books about neuro diversity. And so my hyper-focus was on that, because I realized as my kids are growing up and they're still young, they're seven and nine, there weren't a lot of books out there that highlighted how cool it was to be neurodiverse and talked about characters with neuro-diversity and showed how successful they were in the problems that they faced.  And I felt like this was something that I needed to do. I am a big proponent of the fact that neuro-diversity is a gift, right? Like my kids refer to themselves as X-Men and that's what, um, I wanted to share. So that's how I went from professor to children's book author. 

I love that X-Men, that’s very very cool.  Tell me about, you know, it's interesting, so the concept of neuro-diversity it is changing, right, and podcasts like this and, and books like yours, things like that, we're starting to figure out, sort of the fact that it’s not so much a diagnosis, right? There's….there's a gift to it, um, if you understand how to use it.  What has been your experience, um, trying to get that message across, because it is a difficult message sometimes that people don't necessarily wanna hear.  

So it's interesting. I think you look at it from a couple of different directions. So in beautiful Westport, Connecticut, where I live, there is a separate PTA for special education parents. And you have a group of parents in this town who say, you know what, we're going to embrace the differences in our kids and we are going to do everything we can to advocate for them and to create this community where, when a parent get a diagnosis for their kid and it can be super isolating and really, really scary… this group of parents is there to kind of show them the way to be like, no, you know, there's a path to move forward and it's such a kind of cross to bear. What struck me as really interesting, and I'm fairly new to social media, which is embarrassing, but true. Um, when I started to post a lot about being, um, proud proud of your neuro-diversity and showing it as a gift, there were some people who really took offense to it. 

Oh yeah, I believe you.

There were people who were, you know, who are like, no, it's a disability or no, it has to be this deficit, and the world needs to view us as people with a deficit. And, uh, I'm so taken aback by that way of thinking, right? When you step back and you think about the incredible geniuses that we have in this world today, and then frankly, that we've had in the past, we could not be where we are as a society today without neuro-diversity.

No question about it… and it's so true what you say though... because, you know, for whatever reason, some people are stuck in this opinion that, oh my God, it's a curse, and you know, it's a negative diagnosis and it, it goes against, uh, the good and, and, and, and you're broken. I remember when Faster Than Normal came out, the book... when the book came out... actually wasn't allowed to post, I got banned from the ADHD https://www.reddit.com/subreddits/... on https://www.reddit.com/... because they don't look at it as a gift, and they're like, oh, well, you know, he, he thinks that it's positive and it's really not. And, and, and we don't want to, have this conversation. I'm like, you guys, you're being so obtuse, it's incredible. 

Well, and it's a huge disservice to our kids, right? Like I don't want my kids walking around feeling like there's something wrong with them, in fact, my seven-year-old said the other day, he's like, “Mom, I'm not telling a lot of people that I have ADHD because I don't want to brag.” And I'm like….

Ah, I love it!

…., that is the right attitude. That is what we want our kids to feel, right. Because that's the only way they are going to capitalize on the gifts they have.  If they walk around feeling terrible about themselves, because they're different, and that their brain is wired differently, they're never going to succeed. They're never going to be able to achieve all the things that they should be able to achieve. 

That is awesome. I love that. I don't want to tell people, cause I don't want to brag.  That's wonderful. Have there been…. talk about the negatives. Um, cause I'm, I'm assuming it hasn't been, uh, uh, you know,,,, perfect the entire time. So what is your, what is your kid has had to learn and adapt to? 

It's not perfect, because any elementary school kid, frankly, middle school and high school kids, they want to be the same, right?  Like... different isn't a good thing, and, um, my kids are bi-racial, so they look different to begin with, um, and then I'm adding this additional layer of complexity around their identity, um, and, and that causes problems right?  In the same way that my nine-year-old has said to me, I wish I was white. There have been times where he said, I wish I was normal, right?  And, and he's like, you know, his autism impedes his ability to be the kind of athlete that he wants to be, you know, like he dreams about being in the NBA and he'll say things like, I think my autism is going to prevent me from being in the NBA. And in my mind, I'm like, it's pretty much because you're half Jewish that's going to prevent you from being in the NBA… {laughter}  ..., but in that kind of mentality is, is the heart breaking part. But it's our job as parents. It's our job as a community, it's a job as society to turn it around and I'm like, you know, you may not be an NBA player, but one day you have the opportunity to own a team and that's way cooler. So like how do you turn it around and make it a strength even when they have those heartbreaking moments?

Yeah, no question about it. And you know, it's, it's, it's interesting because the, um, I mean, sports is never my thing either, uh, uh, but you know, I discovered acting right and then discovered singing, other things that I love to do. I'm being on stage. I mean, I get paid now to speak in front of thousands of people, and I'm amazed that every single time I do it, that, you know, that it works so well and I enjoy it so much, but it's, it's exactly that it's, it's playing into it, the strengths, right?  And not looking at the negatives, but focusing on playing into the strengths.  

Right, and the same way that there are differences across the board in people, you never want to focus on the negative side of those differences.  You recognize that it's there, but that's not what the focus is supposed to be on. The focus is supposed to be on, what do we do to succeed, right?  And if that means that you have to wear headphones because you have a sensory issue and loud noises is a problem, so you wear headphones, but then you move on and you succeed right? That's what we need to be focusing on.

No question about it. Tell us about the books.   

So, um, the two that are published already, one is called, um, https://www.amazon.com/Benny-Horrible-Halloween-Sivan-Hong/dp/B08W7DWJ8Z and it's a true story of, my now... nine year old being terrified of being in the Halloween parade in kindergarten., and, um, the true story is, is that he didn't actually go..  Like it, it felt way too overwhelming for him to participate in something like that and so the following year with the help of his special education teacher, we came up with a plan and he found a way to do it, and now he loves Halloween. And so it's, it's a book about kind of overcoming your challenges, and what I love about it, is that you do see a character in this book wearing headphones, right?  I have yet to find a children's book with that kind of illustration and it totally normalized the difference. And then the second book, um, is really kind of the story of my seven year old with ADHD who every Monday, hates school right?   And has this incredible school anxiety, because as we know, it can be overwhelming. It can be hard, everything could possibly change and the things that he does in order to overcome and turn those Mondays around to being a good day. And then the book that's coming out this summer, it's called https://www.amazon.com/Emily-Fearful-First-Super-Books-ebook/dp/B094S9RSJ3/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=emily+d+and+the+fearful+first+day&qid=1624048339&s=books&sr=1-1 and that one's about, you know, starting a new class and, and that character also is neuro-diverse. And now I have to kind of slow down writing and illustrating these books because my publicist is like, no, no, no, no, you can't release a book every 3 months, but, but I, for me, I'm in introvert and I meant, um, I'm fairly positive that I have dyslexia and ADHD and actually, today, I'm going for my neuro psych evaluation because my kids were like, we did it, you should do it, Mom….

… there you go….

and I was like, yup, I'm all in. I'm all in. Um, but it's really easy to step back and just hyper-focus on this. Um, but I realized that in order to be a, uh, an author that you have to take some time to market your books and, and talk about them and do podcasts like this, which are really, um, cool.  So that's where my focus is on right now. 

Awesome. I love it. So let's, uh, tell me, then tell us the name of the books again and where can people find them,,, I know one is https://www.amazon.com/Benny-Horrible-Halloween-Sivan-Hong/dp/B08W7DWJ8Z and then https://www.amazon.com/Emily-Fearful-First-Super-Books-ebook/dp/B094S9RSJ3/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&keywords=emily+d+and+the+fearful+first+day&qid=1624048339&s=books&sr=1

Right, and you can get them on Amazon and you can get them on my website at https://sivanhong.com/ and then, um, you can follow me on social media at https://www.instagram.com/sivan_hong_author/  um, on Instagram and then on Facebook as well. 

Awesome, Sivan Hong, thank you for taking the time to be on Faster Than Normal Sivan, I really appreciate you’re…. you’re you're doing great stuff that the, there are not enough books out there that explain to kids that they are not broken, that they're gifted, and so I love the fact that you're doing that and you're, you're filling it very, very needed uh, niche. 

Thank you so much for having me, Peter, this was a blast.

By all means.  Guys as always, you're listening to Faster Than Normal.  If you like what you hear, drop us a review note, uh, leave us a note, drop me a note, let me know you're out there. It gets lonely here in my apartment sometimes, so always happy to hear from everyone, but that being said, thank you for listening, we'll see you again soon. 

——

Credits: You've been listening to the Faster Than Normal podcast. We're available on iTunes, Stitcher and Google play and of course at www.FasterThanNormal.com I'm your host, Peter Shankman and you can find me at petershankman.com and @petershankman on all of the socials. If you like what you've heard, why not head over to your favorite podcast platform of choice and leave us a review, come more people who leave positive reviews, the more the podcast has shown, and the more people we can help understand that ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Opening and closing themes were composed and produced by Steven Byrom who also produces this podcast, and the opening introduction was recorded by Bernie Wagenblast. Thank you so much for listening. We'll see you next week. 

This Faster Than Normal podcast is brought to you by the greatest headphones I've ever used in my life, Sudio Sweden! You know I can't workout without music, right? These headphones lasted me over TWENTY FOUR HOURS OF MUSIC ON ONE CHARGE!  The sound quality is off the charts, the bass beats are deep, the trebles are crisp... They're truly amazing. And thanks to our podcast, you can get yours for 15% off by using code FTN15! Check them out - (I have the Sudio Tre, but they're all amazing!) Click this link to see all the headphones they have, and remember, use FTN15 for 15% off your order!

https://goo.gl/2qorG4

If you live near Port Jervis, NY or have kids that play basketball in the area, then you most likely already know of Andrew Marotta. I did not, until he reached out to me a few months back. I read his book in one weekend and loved it! Both of my parents are retired educators and administrators, so Andrew and I share way more than just the common thread of having ADHD!  I’ve since given them both a copy :-) He and I connected for a phone interview just a few days after that first read and this is how it went. I’m grateful to know him now- what a great, energetic guy! I hope you enjoy this visit with Mr. Marotta as much as we did.  Happy springtime! -Peter

 

 

In this episode, Peter and Andrew discuss:

0:40- Thank you to Sudio.com for underwriting this podcast!

1:50- Intro and welcome

2:43- Andrew’s book: THE PRINCIPAL: Surviving & Thriving. 125 Points of Wisdom, Practical Tips, and Relatable Stories for all School Principals

2:58- I love this book!! 

3:28- Welcome, Andrew

3:40- Two Authors. One great amount of mutual respect.

4:30- So, how long have you been a Principal?

5:00- Public School, it ain’t easy is it…

5:34- Do you think being a High School Principal is a perfect job for someone with ADHD?

7:12- Teaching versus becoming an Administrator

7:46- Andrew talks about how he began earning the trust of his new community

9:17- What role does exercise play in your life Andrew?

10:00- On ‘looking the part’

10:40- Paying attention and having to be constantly ‘on’ as a Principal. (Multi-tasking for 3pts!)

11:24- No, Andrew’s wife did not instruct me to ask him this question

12:05- Andrew answers: “What tips would you give to people about giving someone your complete and undivided attention”?

13:42- Let’s talk about a few points you make in your book:

15:33- On making time to be present

15:48- On daily lunchtime in the cafeteria

16:45- On your and your family losing anonymity 

17:37- On being prepared. Tip #90: “Know the Teacher’s Contract, the Law and the Rules”.

18:50- On always making the right call

18:58- LIGHTENING ROUND:

19:01- What’s the most helpful advice you’ve ever received?

19:52- Describe the scariest moment of your life thus far?

20:23- You’re trapped on an island. You can bring 3 things with you and one of them has to be living- Go!

21:14- Leatherman products  yep.

21:56- Thank you to Principal & Author Andrew Marotta!

22:14- Andrew, how can people find you if they wanna check out what you’re doing?

www.AndrewMarotta.com or AndrewMarottaLLC@Gmail.com

Twitter: @AndrewMarotta21 

22:38- Thank you Andrew!! 

22:56- Faster Than Normal Podcast info and credits

As always, leave us a comment below, drop us a review on iTunes (PLEASE!) and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! Know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note – We’d love to hear!

Matt Raekelboom is an ADHD positive Landscape Architect, as well as co-founder of the "It's Fun To Try Hard" movement based in Ontario, Canada.  While running a full-time business of his own, Raekelboom is out to teach those in need how to smile again- even when their minds can be their biggest competitor.  He completed his first marathon on October 20th 2019. Having lost over 80 pounds in the last 2 years and in addition to kicking food addiction, drug addiction, and alcoholism; Raekelboom was compelled to start the "Try Hard" movement.  Sharing his story about how accomplishing something as simple as making his bed in the morning, is turning him in to the man he never thought possible.  He is now setting out anew with his team of "try hards" to prove that anyone of any age, and any size, can do anything if they set their minds to it and just have fun!  Today we’re talking about Matt’s journey with meds, addiction, entrepreneurship, discipline, routine and not feeling all alone.  Enjoy!

 

 

In this episode Peter & Matthew discuss:

1:09-  Intro & welcome Matt!

2:15-  So what’s your story? When were you diagnosed?

3:15-  How old were you when you were first put on meds?

3:53-  Tell us about your life transformation; all of this is kinda new for you still, right?

6:00-  On starting his first business

7:00-  On routines and disciplines 

7:35-  Why do you think that so many people with ADD or ADHD feel like they are alone, and the only ones struggling- even though the numbers, and awareness continue to go up- at least in your situation?

9:30-  Let’s talk for a sec about addiction. How did the cycle turn for you?

11:45-  What did you do to flip the switch?

13:30-  What are you doing each day to make sure that you stay on the right path?

14:44-  On marathon training

16:40-  How can people find that sign up and you?  www.ItsFunToTryHard.net  "It’s Fun To Try Hard" pages on: Facebook and on GoFundMe  Personally on the socials @MattRaekelboom  INSTA  FB

17:00-  Thank you Matt! And thank YOU for subscribing, reviewing and listening. Your reviews are working! Even if you’ve reviewed us before, would you please write even a short one for this episode? Each review that you post helps to ensure that word will continue to spread, and that we will all be able to reach & help more people! You can always reach me via peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. You can also find us at @FasterThanNormal on all of the socials.

17:51-  Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits

As always, leave us a comment below and please drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! As you know, the more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! Do you know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note, we’d love to hear!

Skye Rapson is an academic and coach with over seven years of experience working in adult education. Skye has studied in various fields, including Psychology, Sociology, and Public Health, and is now a Doctoral Candidate in Population Health. She was diagnosed with ADHD at the start of her doctorate. Since then, Skye has dedicated her time to researching and disseminating ADHD studies, founding Unconventional Organisation in 2020 to provide ADHD adults and managers with strengths-based, neurodiverse-friendly ADHD coaching and workshops. We’re learning about how and why she began, today. Enjoy!

In this episode Peter and Skye discuss:  

00:40 - Thank you so much for listening and for subscribing!

01:01 - Intro and welcome Skye Rapson!  Ref: Interview with Sally Willbanks, founder of ND Renegade [actually based in Australia]

01:57 - So you were diagnosed at the beginning of your PhD program?

03:00 - What changed and maybe made more sense after your diagnosis?

03:39 - Ref: Interview with Rachel Cotton, another PhD student w/ ADHD

04:00 - How did your priorities shift?

04:27 - What Skye found of from her peer group at university

05:55 - Let’s talk about your “Unconventional Organization” Ref: Her podcast: Unconventional Organisation with Skye Rapson and her coaching service: https://www.unconventionalorganisation.com

06:54 - What kinds of trends did you find when you started conversing with other neurodiverse folks?

07:42 - On changing the way we get things accomplished 

08:40 - What would you now tell your 15-year-old self?

09:03 - How can people find more about you? Web: https://www.unconventionalorganisation.com Socials: @unconventionalorganisation on INSTA and Facebook 

09:24 - Guys, as always thanks so much for subscribing! Do you have a cool friend with a great story? We’d love to hear. I'm www.petershankman.com and you can reach out anytime via email at peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. You can also find us at @FasterNormal on all of the socials. It really helps when you drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! As you know, the more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! 

09:58 - Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits 

—

TRANSCRIPT via Descript and then corrected.. somewhat: 

[00:00:37] Peter: Hey everyone, Peter. Shankman welcome. The episode of Faster Than Normal today is a PhD. We seem to be doing a lot of doctoral candidates lately. I don't know why doctoral candidates seem to get diagnosed, but maybe cuz they're smart enough to know that something's not, uh, normal, like other people. And they're like, Hey, let's figure that out. But either way we get another one here. Her name is Skye Rapson and Skye's an academic coach with over seven years of experience working at adult education, she has studied in various fields, including psychology, sociology. and public health and is now a doctoral candidate in population health in New Zealand. So we are a long way from home today. She was diagnosed with ADHD at the start of her doctorate. And since then, she's dedicated time to researching and disseminating ADHD studies, founding unconventional organization in 2020 to provide ADHD, adults and managers with strength based neurodiverse friendly ADHD, coaching and workshop. Skye, welcome. 

[00:01:35] Skye: Hi. Yeah. Great to be here. 

[00:01:37] Peter: Good to have you here. So ADHD, you know, it, it's interesting. We had, we have there's someone else from New Zealand who we've had on the podcast. Um, she runs, uh, oh God, what's the name, but neuro neuro it's line of t-shirts neuro… Oh, I'm spacing on it now. I have one of them. It's awesome. Awesome shirt. I'll remember it, but, and we'll put it in the liner notes, but yeah. Um, long way from home. So good to have you, you were diagnosed at the beginning of your PhD, uh, beginning of your doctoral research. Yeah. 

[00:02:04] Skye: Yeah, no, I was diagnosed. I actually thought I had, um, dyslexia. I went in, um, postmasters. Um, so I'd done my masters and. It was good, but it was tough. And, um, right at the end, I thought I should probably go and see if I, if I might have dyslexia. I know it, you know, it's something that my family have talked about potentially having. Um, and I came out, um, several weeks later with an ADHD. Uh, you know, you probably have ADHD and a couple of other things as well. 

[00:02:30] Peter: So you were surprised you were surprised at that. 

[00:02:32] Skye: Yeah, it, it made a lot of sense. I mean, you wrote out, read out all the different things I'd studied, you know, tell me you have ADHD without telling me you have ADHD. I kept getting to the end of a degree and being like, well, you know, this might not be for me. I think I need to switch to a totally different area and learn a totally different subject. Um, and so, um, you know, in hindsight it made a lot of sense and I learned about ADHD, but I hadn't put the pieces together in, in. Fit my life. 

[00:02:58] Peter: Amazing. What, tell me about what it was sort of like sort of the wake up call once you were diagnosed, what sort of started to make sense?

[00:03:05] Skye: Yeah. So in terms of what made sense, I, I really focused on understanding why I was burning out because what I was experiencing was a period, you know, up until that point, I'd done a year generally at a time, you know? And so I would, I would study something really intensely for a year, work on it, stay up all night, you know, do weekends. And then I would burn out and I would need a break. And then I would be like, well, I guess maybe this isn't the subject for me and I'd come back and I would do something else. And that was very much how my ADHD was, was manifesting. 

[00:03:39] Peter: Now I believe that we had a, another PhD on the podcast named Rachel Cotton. She was one of our first interviews and she always talked about how, uh, she thought it was perfectly normal to live on, you know, uh, 14 caffeine tablets away. Yeah. , you know, um, But no I get that. So, so talk about, um, after you got diagnosed and, and things sort of changing, what, how did your priority shift?

[00:04:01] Skye: Yeah, so, so one of the first things I actually did was I, um, I created a community in my university of other people who were postgraduate, um, who were also neuro diverse. I had worked in adult education for a really long time. Um, I'd done a lot of tutoring in universities and I'd sort of told myself when I started the PhD, I'm not gonna do that. Cuz you know, I, I tended to take on too many classes and it was distracting from actually doing the writing. Um, and then when I found out I had ADHD, I was like, oh, but like, you know, one group won't hurt. And so I started I started a group and um, and started connecting with people and learning as much as possible, not just from the research, which. You know, later on writing about, but the very first thing I started to do was to talk to other people. Who'd had those same experiences. 

[00:04:48] Peter: And what did you find out? 

[00:04:49] Skye: I found out that people were kind of frustrated with the university system, um, in terms of, you know, how it fit and how it worked with how they worked. And I think that was really, um, really helpful for me because it meant I didn't spend too long sitting in that space of feeling like it was just me, which so many people with ADHD, I know had that feeling because I immediately was launched into the space of, oh, we're all experiencing these struggles.

[00:05:15] Peter: And it was sort of one of those lessons. I remember sort of the same thing when I finally got diagnosed, everything started to make sense. Part of me was pissed off because, you know, I, I, I I'd spent so much energy. Mm-hmm over the course of my life fighting things that, that, you know, swimming upstream when I didn't really have mm-hmm I'd just gone with the flow. It would've been that much easier.

[00:05:31] Skye: Yeah. Yeah, no, it's definitely, it's definitely, um, a tough thing. And, you know, there was a little bit. Sadness as well. I think to look back on my more was at that point, my twenties, um, and realize that, yeah, it had just been a different, if I'd known a slightly different way of working, it wasn't that it had to be hugely different, but just some adjustments, it could have been so much easier.

[00:05:55] Peter: So let's talk about, uh, unconventional organization. Tell me about it. 

[00:05:58] Skye: Yeah. So, um, I started on unconventional organization in 2020, um, after I'd, you know, worked with the universities, I started working with schools and then when, uh, COVID hit and we all had to go back to our homes. I was looking for an opportunity to keep doing what I really loved to do, which is connect with people and work with people. Um, and I found ADHD coaching. And so I started doing that alongside at that point, um, writing articles. Cause I really wanted to learn more if I was gonna do this kind of space properly, I wanted to learn about the research. And so I, um, started writing articles and challenging myself to put them up every week as a way of, of, you know, keeping myself accountable for that. And, um, those two things sort of ballooned into, into what we have now with, um, you know, people who are training to become coaches with us, um, who also have ADHD. And then also having that, um, that research space as well. 

[00:06:51] Peter: And what did you, so tell me what, one of the interesting things I always, I always ask, what did you find when you started conversing with other people and being like, Hey, we share the same brain. Right? What kind of trends did you, did you find? 

[00:07:02] Skye: I found that people were working a lot harder than people realize people with ADHD. I, I found that a lot of the people that I spoke to would come to me and they'd say, I'm not getting enough done. I need to, you know, and even the people that, you know, the coaches would often come to us as well. And, you know, say I haven't been, I haven't been achieving at the level that I want to, and then I'd ask them what they're doing, because that's part of coaching. We get very specific about what your day looks like and people were spending a lot of time trying to work. And, and in that way they were expending a lot of energy. It just wasn't necessarily, um, giving them the outcome that they were looking for. 

[00:07:40] Peter: Right. And one of the things you learn is that, is that it's sort of a self limiting, uh, prophecy, because you wind up expending all this energy. You're not getting the results. So you try harder and it's still the same thing. Right. So you, so you, you're going down this rabbit hole and you can't win. 

[00:07:53] Skye: Yeah, no, exactly. And then, and then the worst part, you know, at least for us was that people would say, oh, well then I don't deserve to have a break. I don't deserve to have fun. And so we'd end up in this sort of self-fulfilling cycle of just, you know, not getting the dopamine, working hard, feeling like you don't deserve to get a break. So you definitely don't get the Domine and you're continuing to keep trying.

[00:08:13] Peter: Right. And so I guess one of the best lessons there is change the way you try. 

[00:08:18] Skye: Yeah, exactly. Exactly. Yeah. And, and it's about, you know, we think about it in terms of experimentation. We often say, you know, if something doesn't work or it doesn't work for you, we just keep, we just keep adapting it. We just, we just check it out and go. That's interesting, that doesn't work. And then, you know, in, in the case of working with the coach, you come back and you say, Hey, that doesn't work for me. And they go, that's fine. Like we can adjust it. 

[00:08:41] Peter: Right. What would you have told your 15 year old self, if you knew, if you knew that and what you know now? 

[00:08:46] Skye: That's a really good question. I think I would tell my 15 year old self. It's not about finding the perfect career. It's about finding the perfect environment. 

[00:08:56] Peter: Oh good. Oh, I like that a lot. That's a great quote, great quote. Oh, I like, yeah. I really, really love that. Yeah. Um, Skye, how can people find more about you? How can they get, 

[00:09:05] Skye: yeah, you can find us, um, at, [Web: https://www.unconventionalorganisation.com Socials: @unconventionalorganisation on INSTA and Facebook ] um, unconventionalorganization.com, uh, with a Z or with an S depending on which country you're from. Um, we also have, um, a lot of articles about different strategies you can use on the website as well as. And then ADHD coaching as well. 

[00:09:22] Peter: Awesome. Well, I love this sky. Thank you so much for taking the time. I appreciate it all the way from New Zealand. What time is it over there?

[00:09:27] Skye:  Um, it is 5:40 AM . 

[00:09:30] Peter: Okay. So either time to get up, or time to go to bed; I'm gonna assume time to get up.

[00:09:32] Skye: Time to get up!

[00:09:34] Peter: Skye, thanks for taking the time guys. Thanks for listening. You know, the drill, uh, fasternormal.com. Leave a, uh, review anywhere you like iTune, stitcher or Google play, whatever I'm at Peter Shankman, we're faster, normal on Twitter, faster than normal on Instagram, everywhere. And we'll be back next week with another interview of someone just as awesome because of that is what we do.
We will see you soon. Thanks for listening

 

Credits: You've been listening to the Faster Than Normal podcast. We're available on iTunes, Stitcher and Google play and of course at www.FasterThanNormal.com I'm your host, Peter Shankman and you can find me at shankman.com and @petershankman on all of the socials. If you like what you've heard, why not head over to your favorite podcast platform of choice and leave us a review, come more people who leave positive reviews, the more the podcast has shown, and the more people we can help understand that ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Opening and closing themes were composed and produced by Steven Byrom who also produces this podcast, and the opening introduction was recorded by Bernie Wagenblast. Thank you so much for listening. We'll see you next week!

This is not one for the kiddo’s folks, today we’re taking about Sex. It IS really important and good though, and you are very likely to feel better afterwards! Today we talk a little about Ari’s new book, “ADHD After Dark: Better Sex Life, Better Relationship”. We then discuss: The Neurotypical+ADHD relationship, Meds & Sex, Does our ADHD make us extra kinky, Why don’t we ever talk about Sex & ADHD at the same time, Communication habits, and Ari gives us lots of great advice. Enjoy! 

A little more about our guest today:      

Ari Tuckman, PsyD, CST is a psychologist, certified sex therapist, international speaker, and author of four books on ADHD, including his newest, ADHD After Dark: Better Sex Life, Better Relationship which helps couples with one ADHD partner improve their sexual and relationship satisfaction. He has appeared on CNN, National Public Radio, and XM Radio and been quoted in The New York Times, USA Today, The Washington Post, The Boston Globe, USnews.com, The Daily Mail (UK) and many other media outlets. He is a former board member and current conference committee co-chair for CHADD, the national ADHD advocacy organization. You can find more information about his books and upcoming and recorded presentations at adultADHDbook.com

 

 

 

In this episode Peter & Ari discuss:

0:57-  Intro & welcome Ari!  Get his new book here!

1:30-  If you are not already familiar CHADD.org  is a great resource for all things ADHD! 

1:55-  So Ari, what does ADHD have to do with sex?

3:25-  Why do you think people don’t think, or maybe just don’t talk about how ADHD affects their sex lives?

6:00-  Do you think the ADHD promotes a higher level of experimentation/kinkiness?

7:54-  Talk about sex and communication differences/barriers in the “Neurotypical + ADHD” partnership?

10:57-  On communication and circumstances in the relationship

12:54-  Let’s talk about meds, stimulants and their effects on a sex life

14:55-  On how stimulants are perhaps most effective

16:38-  It takes two

18:20-  What advice would you give to the partner with ADHD who is trying to make things better in a relationship?

20:47-  Ari’s book is “ADHD After Dark You can find it at www.AdultADHDBook.com

21:00-  Thank you Ari!! And thank YOU for subscribing, reviewing and listening. Your reviews are working! Even if you’ve reviewed us before, would you please write even a short one for this episode? Each review that you post helps to ensure that word will continue to spread, and that we will all be able to reach & help more people! You can always reach me via peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. You can also find us at @FasterThanNormal on all of the socials.

21:27-  Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits

As always, leave us a comment below and please drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! As you know, the more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! Do you know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note, we’d love to hear!

Camille Roney is a certified Academic Life Coach whose work has appeared in the New York Journal, Quizlet, MD Femme, Motivate MD, and more. She empowers students to earn competitive grades while actually ENJOYING the process and overcoming obstacles that may be impacting how they show up in their academics. You can learn more about how Academic Coaching can transform your high school or college student at her site: https://www.nontradaccelerator.com/academic-coaching. Today she’s sharing ways you can identify within yourself, via the use of a data, how to identify your, individual, best learning techniques! Enjoy!

In this episode Peter and Camille discuss:  

0:57 - Intro and welcome Camille Roney!

1:28 - How do you get kids to enjoy it no matter the subject?! (i.e. Math) 

4:18 - Ref: Yerkes-Dodson law

5:15 - On being in the zone of focus/flow

5:30 - Q&A for Peter about how he gets into and stays in the zone/flow

6:52 - On teaching students to be bored

8:26 - Tell me about first time college students and their study habits?

10:10 - Success leaves clues. These clues may present as follows…

11:38 - Give us some quick tips. i.e. I have a test tomorrow and I haven’t started studying, what can I do?

14:13 - How can people find more about you and what you’re doing? Web: https://www.nontradaccelerator.com/academic-coaching Socials: @RoneyCamille on Twitter @thelearningmom on INSTA and @thelearningmomnet on Facebook

14:26 - Thank you Camille! Guys, as always, we are here for you and we love the responses and the notes that we get from you; so please continue to do that! Tell us who you want to hear on the podcast, anything at all; we’d love to know.  Leave us a review on any of the places you get your podcasts, and if you ever need our help I'm www.petershankman.com and you can reach out anytime via peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. You can also find us at @FasterNormal on all of the socials. It really helps when you drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! As you know, the more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! 

15:23 - Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits

TRANSCRIPT: 

Hey everyone, how are you doing? My name is Peter Shankman, you are listening to Faster Than Normal the internet's best, number one, most listened to podcast on ADD & ADHD and neurodiversity and it's because of you. I'm glad you're here. Thank you for that. Makes me happy. 

We’re talking to Camille Roney today. Camille is a certified academic life coach whose works appeared in New York journal Quizlet MD Femme, Motivate MD, and more. Here's the thing she empowers students to be to earn competitive grades while actually enjoying the process and overcoming obstacles that may be impacting how they show up in their academics. I’ll repeat that: she teaches kids to enjoy learning. All right. So Camille, you're obviously lying, um, welcome to Faster Than Normal. It's good to have you! 

Thank you for having me Peter!

So, so you teach kids to enjoy learning the problem with ADHD is that when you enjoy something. You get dopamine from it. If you're interested in it, you get dopamine from it when you explore it, if you don't enjoy it, you don't get domaine from it. So when, you know, if it's English class or something that I loved great, all the dopamine in the world, math or science, not so much. So you're telling me that you figured out a way to get kids to enjoy no matter what the subject let's talk about that.

Absolutely. Yeah. I'd love to, I'd love to dive in. Um, so in my experience, There's a few different ways that we can approach it. One is how we're approaching studies in general and the expectations that we have around it. So many students. In fact, I would say the majority of us humans come to school with the expectation that we're about to be bored out of our minds.

 

And therefore we have, we create the evidence to support that. And a lot of us are just thrown content at regardless of whether it has anything to do with anything that we as individuals care about at all. So what I like to do is invite students to consider what's important to them. What are their personal values, their interests, what are they into? And then there's a few different approaches that we can back; that gives us a bit of a compass with how to approach the studies. Do we need to integrate aspects of those into school? Um, what, you know, relating those values back into the, what the content that they're learning. So if they, um, decide that let's say peace wellbeing, global, um, like global warming global wellbeing. If we're approaching that with say social studies, we can say, okay, how was this really? How did this stuff that happened way back? How could that have impact a global warmingm, or how could that have impacted global wellbeing? How did this impact the wellbeing of others- that kind of invites us to get creative with the content and play with it because some content you really, really have to get creative with- how am I going to make this interesting? And if you, if you assume, let's say a student sits down for physics class, and the first thing that runs through their mind is I suck at physics. It's going to be awful. Rightfully so. But if you can say, if you're thinking throughout the course, um, man, I can't like I’m mesmerizing these formulas so that when I sit at the dinner table tonight with my family, I just get to brag about it and man, I will look so smart and like that we'll feel good. That's their motivation. That's totally fine. That's great. Also, um, you're you, are you familiar with the The Yerkes-Dodson Law of Performance? 

No. Tell us.

Okay. Beautiful. Beautiful. Imagine that this charge, if you will, on the, this graph on the X axis, you have stimulation. So low to high stimulation; and on the Y axis, you have performance. If this bell curve shape and on the left-hand side, we've got like, so you're under-stimulated therefore your performance is low. You're bored. You're not having fun in the middle the peak stimulation level you've got focus. Engaged energized, genuinely having a good time. And then on the far end, you've got anxious, stressed, restless. I like to consider both internal stimulation and external stimulation and considering how the classroom itself plays into that curve. I also like to invite students to consider. And I'm curious what your answer to this here is Peter; what's an example where it's a case where it's really easy for you to get into flow. Like you just, you don't even realize how much time has gone by, you're just your blinders are on your in the zone and it's just, it's amazing. You're completely in flow. 

When I’m on an airplane.

Gorgeous. Tell me more. 

So when I get on the airplane, I'm flying to Asia. I have 14 hours with nothing but my laptop in front of me and I started working. Next thing we've touched down 14 hours later and I, I mean, I wrote my last two books entirely on airplanes. 

Okay, cool. Can you give me another example with a completely different example of when you're in flow?

Umm… looking at the dog park and there were other dogs playing. I can, I can go to work for a while and let the dogs just have fun and get lost. 

Gorgeous. Okay. So what are, what are some of the common themes between those scenarios?

Headphones. Allowing myself to focus on the task at hand. No distractions.

Beautiful. How can you apply that to your school? Work life, something that you don't want to do? 

I would assume to get into the same zone when I'm doing something I don't want to do. But of course, the problem is, is that the problem is, is that you get bored with it. And then you wind up looking for distractions.

Is there something wrong with being distracted? 

No, there's nothing wrong being distracted. Unless it leads you down a rabbit hole that then prevents you from doing the work in the first place. 

Yeah, exactly. One of the most incredible skills that I wish we were taught in school that took me  just way too long to do, to figure out, is I teach my students how to be bored. We're often taught that boredom is like this awful negative experience. When in reality, it's just one of many human experiences that we have and there's nothing wrong with it, reframing it from negative to a positive. And what I see in so many of my students is that where again, when you approach school with the expectation that it's going to be boring. Yes- we create that. If we come with the expectation that it could be fun; that shifts things like a bit. We can actually create different behaviors so that we are enjoying the experience more. So let's say, um, to sit down to study a student suddenly starts bringing their favorite drink every time, some type of like fizzy soda or something that they genuinely enjoy, or like this pen that just like it glides so smoothly on the page that you think that you're going to die. Like, it’s fun. Like enjoy the experience. It doesn't have to be awful for us. Like honestly, if you want to. If coming to school and like a Hawaiian shirt and a wearing a lei and sunglasses, if that helps you like have more fun in school, that's a win, right? 

No, that makes sense. I mean, when, you know, when you think about it, does it make sense in terms of how you.. It's essentially what you're saying. It's a different way of looking at things.

 Yeah. Yeah, absolutely. Tell me about the college student, who's in college for the first time and is on their own for the first time. And you know, whether they're neurodiverse or not, and all of a sudden they don't have a parent watching over them and then no one watching over them and they never, they never really learned that study to learn to do it. Now they're stuck in a thing where it's like, oh, no one can tell you where and when I can go out; no, one's going to stop me and they get kicked out, right?

Well, let me first say, there's nothing wrong with going out. I encouraged students to enjoy the college, the university experience, like what a magical time in someone's life. But when else are you going to be surrounded by so much diversity of experiences and people? Fantastic. What I like to suggest is. sorry, let me, let me take a step back. What I often see is people falling into this trap of, oh shoot. The expectation suddenly skyrocketed on my performance levels in academia, but I haven't, we haven't like we haven't had a class called how to read since like the third grade, yet the expectations of our reading skills are completely different since then. So what I, the tracks that I often see students in is they look around I what everybody else is doing and they just do that. So they're copying word for word what's on the lecture slides at the cost of not paying attention to the lecture. They're apt to suddenly sit still in a class for three hours at a time, which is a huge shock for a lot of students transitioning from high school. They've got all these things on their plate. And frankly, it's too much for a lot of people when you just try and do things the way everyone else is doing. What I like to say is success leaves clues. So let's look at the data, look at your information completely objectively, something that is so fantastic about academia is you do some work and you get a result. You get a specific number grade. So what you can do is take track, like keep track of as much data as you, as you feel comfortable with such as, um, how much sleep did I get before a test? Was I hungry while I was studying? What methods did I use? How many, how long did it take me to read this content that I read every word, consider the data and then look at the results of those yields because, but students often, like what I often say to my students, if you've mastered a very specific way of doing things. And you now have, are starting to collect the data of what type of result that yields. whether you like it or not is up to you. But this is a fantastic time to experiment and try new things and see what works and what doesn’t. And the key isn't to do everything. The key is to do what you know, works best. Finish all the rest. You don't have to, like, you can get through your entire degree without taking a single note. If that doesn't work for you, stop taking notes. You're wasting your time. Use it in another method for studying and really comprehending information. I think give your brain a break! 

Makes sense. It does make a lot of sense. Tell me about, um, give us a couple of quick tips. Um, other than the ones that you've given us are great. A couple of quick tips. I have a test tomorrow, um, I haven’t started studying, what can I do? I'm not saying that's what they should do every time, but. 

Right. This is such a good question! Okay. What is your favorite- to go from short-term memory to long-term memory for this specific type of content, because you should be studying, you know, how you study for Calculus, for example, should it probably looks very different from how you would study an English class. So that's my first question. How you go from a short-term memory to long-term retention. Just do that. If you get time to do anything else, that's gravy. Fantastic. So, um, I like, I get really into things like techniques, like speed reading or different memorization techniques. The high yield thing is to, sorry. My recommendation for you is strictly focused on the high yield content. Master that. Use your course syllabus or, um, a professor teachers outline on what's going to be covered on the test, how that, how the content is going to be tested matters, like how you study for a multiple choice problem. Uh, exam, it looks different than how you would study for an essay exam. So again, that's a matter of data collection. What works for you for that specific type of content and work with that. Um, my, if I had to give you just one, one quick takeaway from this is: As you're reading your textbook, never go beyond a single paragraph without asking yourself. How would Mr. Jones test me on this content? 

That’s really good!!

And you would think that that takes you longer to get through the content, but because we're strictly focusing on the high yield content, you're not reading every word in the whole, you know, in the assigned reading and because you're really giving yourself that time to get curious and play around with the content. Oh okay. I can see this being a multiple choice question. What would some of the potential answers be? And like really getting curious and creative with the content. Chances are, you don't have to review at all before the test. You've taken the time to really master it the first time, bringing it from short-term memory, to long-term retention, applying it based on how it's going to be questioned, know quizzed or examined on. And then you move on. 

Excellent. I love it. Very cool. Um, Camille, thank you so much. How can people find you? [[ Web: https://www.nontradaccelerator.com/academic-coaching Socials: @RoneyCamille on Twitter @thelearningmom on INSTA and @thelearningmomnet on Facebook ]]You can find me on Instagram. I'm at the learning mom or on my website, a non-trad accelerator.com. 

Awesome. We will definitely link to all that. We will have you back. There's a lot of fun. Camille Roney, thank you so much for taking the time! I really appreciate it. 

Uh, guys, as always Faster Than Normal, we try to bring a new and interesting different ways to learn and think about, ADD and ADHD and all forms of neurodiversity, as well as fun stuff. I know recently we've had some interviews about. We interviewed someone who, um, works with drug addiction, we talked to an accountant to is helping people with ADHD   in their math. If you know anyone who you think might be a good interview for us, let us know. We would love to have them on the podcast. You can find me at, at Peter Shankman. You can find past episodes at FasterThanNormal.com or anywhere that you get your podcasts, including-“Alexa”. I have to say her name very softly, because if I say her name..And if I say it three times Jeff Bezos appears in my apartment and tries to sell me something. So thank you guys for listening. We will see you next week. Camille, thank you for being here. ADHD is a gift, not a curse as is all neurodiversity, stay safe and stay well. —

Guys you've been listening to Faster Than Normal. We love when people come to us and say, Hey, I would like to be on the podcast, or when they have a great idea for a great story. And they have a great story themselves. If you're that person who knows someone who has let us know, we're always trying to find new people. We have a plethora!! of new episodes that we've recorded that are in the can that are coming up. The next three months are already filled but if you have someone to let us know, we'll record you and get you on the podcast as well. And you can find me at Peter@shankman.com  The podcast is FasterThanNormal.com on iTunes on Stitcher, Google play anywhere you get your podcasts. Thank you so much for listening and remember that ADHD and all neurodiversity is a gift, not a curse. And we will see you next week with a brand new episode. Thank you so much for listening and we'll talk to you soon!

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Credits: You've been listening to the Faster Than Normal podcast. We're available on iTunes, Stitcher and Google play and of course at www.FasterThanNormal.com I'm your host, Peter Shankman and you can find me at petershankman.com and @petershankman on all of the socials. If you like what you've heard, why not head over to your favorite podcast platform of choice and leave us a review, come more people who leave positive reviews, the more the podcast has shown, and the more people we can help understand that ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Opening and closing themes were composed and produced by Steven Byrom who also produces this podcast, and the opening introduction was recorded by Bernie Wagenblast. Thank you so much for listening. We'll see you next week!

If I’m not well organized, then nothing gets done, not on time anyway. Ellen organizes for a living!! She shares some very important advice, along with some time-honed tips & tricks with us today. You might wanna make some notes so you can remember. Here’s little more about Ellen. Enjoy! 

Ellen Delap, professional organizer and productivity consultant, launched Professional-Organizer.com in 2000.  She is an award winning Certified Professional organizer recognized for her contributions in the industry and community.  She has extensive experience in working with ADHD individuals and holds certificates of study in Workplace Productivity, ADD and Chronic Disorganization.  She works with families as a Family Manager Coach. She is currently the President of the National Association of Productivity and Organizing Professionals (NAPO).  Ellen enjoys sharing organizing and productivity tips as well as tricks and techniques as a blogger. She is an accomplished speaker and has been interviewed by ABC13 Houston and the Houston Chronicle.  She holds a Bachelor’s Degree from Smith College and a Master’s degree in education from Boston College. Ellen’s goal is to empower her clients by making a difference in their lives.

In this episode, Peter and Ellen discuss:

:23- Intro and welcome Ellen! President of the National Association of Productivity & Organizing Professionals www.NAPO.net  https://professional-organizer.com  (ref) https://challengingdisorganization.org

1:48- So how does one become a Professional Organizer, Ellen?  (Ref: www.NAPO.net)

3:18- What are 5 things, right off the bat, that people with ADHD, or ADD, or someone in their family can do to get organized?

5:13- How do we break a “just in case I might need this” clutter-keeping mentality?

6:18- What is your advice for parents who are gently trying to guide their children down the road towards practicing good organization?

7:42- Talk a little about the home environment, in regard to structures & organization?

8:55- On exchanging house cleaning services with a friend or co-worker

9:27- How about teaching organization & structure to really young children; any specific thoughts?

11:11- On Dopamine rushes via purging, and getting stuff done! The sensation of accomplishment.

11:49- How can we better organize our Digital world? So many Apps! (over 8 just to make this podcast, in fact heh ;-)

12:51- What advice do you have for college students who will be entering a small dorm room/shared-living environment for the first time this year?

13:55- On maintaining good organizational tools and products.

15:20- What is your One, Ultimate, Top Tip for clients who want to become & stay organized?

16:27- Thank you Ellen! How can we find you?  https://www.napo.net is a very strong resource! Also via https://professional-organizer.com and TWITTER 

18:25-  Faster Than Normal Podcast info and credits

As always, leave us a comment below, PLEASE drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! The more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! Know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note – We’d love to hear!

Again, this week's Faster Than Normal podcast is brought to you by the greatest headphones I've ever used in my life, Sudio Sweden! You know I can't workout without music, right? These headphones lasted me over TWENTY FOUR HOURS OF MUSIC ON ONE CHARGE!

The sound quality is off the charts, the bass beats are deep, the trebles are crisp... They're truly amazing. And thanks to our podcast, you can get yours for 15% off by using code FTN15! Check them out - (I have the Sudio Tre, but they're all amazing!) Click this link to see all the headphones they have, and remember, use FTN15 for 15% off your order!

https://goo.gl/2qorG4

This week we caught up with grown-up gamer & tech guru Russ Frushtick. Russ is the co-founder of Polygon, Vox Media's gaming, technology and pop culture vertical. He has been covering gaming and technology for over a decade now, writing for The New York Times, Laptop Magazine, The Daily, Edge Magazine and Complex. He’s also appeared as a tech expert on national broadcasts for Fox News, MTV, and the BBC. He can be heard weekly as a co-host of CNET's long-running technology podcast, “The 404”, and now on “The History of Fun” podcast.  Super cool- enjoy!

 

In this episode, Peter and Russ discuss:

0:40- Thanks again to Sudio.com for sponsoring this podcast!

2:14- Introducing Russ Frushtick

3:31- When were you diagnosed and what’s your backstory?

6:18- Adderall. What differences do you experience on, versus, off of your prescription?

7:38- Y’know that scene in the movie “Limitless”? 

8:23- Fighting a stigma

9:05- Talk to us about video games, tech and your journey with these passion(s)?

11:28- E3, yep

11:43- What tips and lifehacks via ADHD, have you been able to employ in your work?

12:40- How do you ‘reset’ when you start losing focus?

14:12- Some of the benefits of playing video games…

14:44- What are some of your most favorite video games of “All time”!?

15:25- What would be your one tip for parents who are wondering: What’s next for my child who may have ADD, or ADHD?

17:13- How can people find you on the socials? @RussFrushtick https://www.polygon.com @TheHistoryOfFun podcast https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/id1323041010

17:45- Thank you Russ!!

18:04- Faster Than Normal Podcast info and credits

As always, leave us a comment below, drop us a review on iTunes (PLEASE!) and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! Know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note – We’d love to hear!

This week, we talk to Kevin Clayson, who managed to take his ADHD, and the one trait that drives us crazy, and turn it into a major business, that's made him a fortune several times over! Today, we're going to discuss the business of follow up here on Faster Than Normal!

In this episode, Peter and Kevin discuss:

• Kevin tells his story (02:39)
• Being ok with being different (05:30)
• Rituals that help gain control on a dailty basis (08:12)
• Being a morning person and rapping Vanilla Ice lyrics (09:42)
• Having priorities (12:13)
• Advice to high school students about feeling different (13:37)

Links/Mentions

• Kevin Clayson.com
• Book - Flipping the Gratitude Switch
• Book - Rich Dad Poor Dad
• Book - The Miracle Morning
• Book - Essentialism

As always, leave us a comment below, drop us a review on iTunes (PLEASE!) and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven't already! Know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note - We'd love to hear!

Thank you to RxGo for sponsoring this episode! RxGo is a free prescription discount card that can save you between 10 to 84percent of your out of pocket expenses. We all have to deal with medications, especially when you are neurodiverse like we are. With RxGo, not only can you search for your exact medication’s pricing at your local pharmacy, but if your insurance doesn’t cover it, and if you have to pay out of pocket, you can save between 10 and 84percent off of your medication costs by using this card! There is no application, no health restrictions, no fees and the card never expires! So, it you have any medication needs and want to save, please check out www.RxGo.com/faster  Thank you again to RxGo for sponsoring today’s podcast!

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Today we’re talking about autism, orgy’s, lemon thievery, weighted blankets, feeling like an outcast, being called weird but learning to not give a hoot! (Sh*t’s about to get weird y’all, put the kids to bed!)  Jess, better known as “Jess the Prequel” on Instagram, is a comedian and host of PILF podcast, a sex-positive show where she delves into topics relating to love and relationships. Jess is proudly outspoken about being on the autism spectrum, and uses her platform to normalize autism, and break the myths and misconceptions related to the three A’s: Autism, ADHD, and Anxiety. We’re excited she’s joined us today. This is a fun one, enjoy! 

 

*WARNING: This episode contains QUITE  a lot more than just a pinch of salty language. Store the kids away and be aware of your surroundings please!

 

In this episode Peter & JessThePrequel discuss:

1:57-  Intro & welcome Jess!

3:05-  Jess, what does PILF mean?

3:40-  Tell us your story; when were you diagnosed?

5:00-  What kinds of things were you doing to mask your Autism? How did that effect you and what did you learn?

8:00-  When you are neurodiverse, do you have a stronger ability to prepare than say, the non-neurodiverse?  Ref:  weighted blankets

9:38-  On being outgoing and wanting to help others

11:00-  Ok. Let’s pivot for a few and talk about why & how you started PILF.

13:08-  The podcast is very good! So about Episode: “Rule 34, #2 Peter Cotton Gets Some Tail”… When do you think sex became this mainstream? Also, I dare say, when most people think of Autism they do & are NOT thinking about sex; yet you are bravely talking about all of the above! Do tell!  Ref:  Penelope Trunk @PenelopeTrunk 

19:35-  On how neurodivergent folks can relate to others who have been labeled “outcasts, weird, abnormal”, etc.  On learning how to not give a f&$#!

20:37-  So I wanna ask how people can find you, but first I really need to ask you about Episode 14, “Potluck Orgies”. Would you explain the context to our listeners please?  Ref: Lemon Stealer Porn

So, how can people find you? @JessThePrequel on Twitter & INSTA. PILF Podcast on Spotify & iTunes (Stitcher too)

22:36-  Thank you Jess!! And thank YOU for subscribing, reviewing and listening. Your reviews have been working! Even if you’ve reviewed us before, would you please continue to do so. Each review you post helps to ensure that word will continue to spread, and that we will all be able to reach & help even more people! You can always reach me via peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. You can also find us at @FasterThanNormal on all of the socials.

23:14-  Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits

As always, leave us a comment below and please drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! The more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! Know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note, we’d love to hear!

Having #ADD or #ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Hear from people all around the globe, from every walk of life, in every profession, from Rock Stars to CEOs, from Teachers to Politicians, who have learned how to unlock the gifts of their #ADD and #ADHD diagnosis, and use it to their personal and professional advantage, to build businesses, become millionaires, or simply better their lives. 

Our Guest today is Maggie Reed, or as she is better known online, @mermaidmamamaggie. Maggie is an online political comedy content creator, mother of two and a Speech and Language Pathologist with more than 15 years in the field.

Connect with Maggie on-

Insta: @mermaindmamamaggie

TikTok: @mermaidmamamaggie

Twitter: @mermaidmamamags

YouTube: @MermaidmamaMaggie

Threads: @mermaidmamamaggie

Enjoy! 

[You are now safely here]

00:40 - Thank you again so much for listening and for subscribing!!

01:24 - Introducing and Welcome Maggie Reed! 

02:50 - Kickoff with a conversation on #introvert- vs. #extroverted-ness.

03:20 - Maggie in a nutshell.

05:13 - Even extroverts need to recharge their batteries.

06:45 - Maggie’s path to #speechpathology.

08:34 - How #neurodiversity sometimes comes out as acting. 

10:02 - How to not feed the trolls or take hate seriously. 

11:46 - The “Block Method” for handling hate. 

13:47 - Women around the world are standing up. 

15:40 - #Feminism in the social media age. 

18:05 - Thanks so much for enjoying "Faster Than Normal”! We appreciate you and your hard work so much! Onwards! We’ll see you next week right back here! [Thank you kindly Peter and Co. I am much better now -SB] -Ed

If you haven't picked up a copy of my book The Boy with the Faster Brain yet, it is on Amazon and it is a number #1 One Bestseller in all categories! Click HERE or buy your copy at https://amzn.to/3FcAKkI. My link tree is here if you’re looking for something specific: https://linktr.ee/petershankman.

This March, Brain.FM received a grant from the National Science Foundation (NSF) to research the effects of music & soundwaves on people who have ADHD, and also those who suffer from difficulty focusing on the job. At lot of neuroscience continues to go into their work. We were happy to visit with CEO Daniel Clark in our office to talk about how it all works, and how his life’s love of technology ultimately called him aboard. Enjoy!

In this episode Peter and Daniel discuss:

1:04-  Intro & welcome Daniel. www1.Brain.FM

2:27-  So how did you first learn about Brain.FM? What is your background?

3:55-  Tell us some more about Brain.FM?

5:15-  Tell us about this concept from the neuro-diversity aspect. Who is using Brain.FM? EEG fMRI Data Center 

6:30-  Based on the research you've done thus far, how exactly does music bring one to an increased mental state? A.I. Composer  Human Composer 

7:56-  Everyone is different- how do you customize for each brain? Neuro Phase Locking (ref also *13:30) 

8:50-  Binaural Beats were once all the rage and I tried them out. Are they still a big thing?

10:50-  Tell us about the Auditory NeuroScientist that you are working with

12:00-  http://www.kevinjpwoods.com

*13:30-  On finding what music works for your brain.

13:50-  Tell us a little about how A.I. helps you create music

14:58-  On White noise

16:00-  Why is it that USA Greco-Roman Wrestling is so popular on your site?

17:20-  Folks, the site is Brain.FM  How can people follow you Daniel? TWITTER: @BrainfmApp  Facebook: BrainFM

17:45-  Thank you Daniel! And thank YOU for listening! Please let us know what you think of this new in-office format below!

18:22-  Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits

As always, leave us a comment below, PLEASE drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! The more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! Know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note – We’d love to hear!

This episode is underwritten by HealthIQ, and we couldn't be happier to have them! See, one of the things I’m so passionate about when I talk about how I use my ADHD to my advantage is exercise, right? It’s obvious that a workout in the morning greatly boosts my brainpower and lets me use my faster brain to do great things.

But here’s the other benefit of exercise: Engagement in high-intensity exercise once per week decreases risk for cardiovascular mortality by 39% for men and 51% for women, and according to a 2009 Study in the International Journal of Sports Medicine, men who did high-intensity exercise have a 35% lower risk of all-cause mortality. For women the risk reduction is 44%. THAT'S HUGE. If you’re exercising to improve how you manage your ADHD, AND you’re getting the extra benefits of a much healthier body, then guess what: You should be paying less for your life insurance! That’s where Health IQ comes in.

Health IQ uses science & data to secure lower rates on life insurance for health conscious people including runners, cyclists, strength trainers, vegans, and more. 56% of Health IQ customers save between 4-33% on their life insurance, and these savings are exclusive to Health IQ. They save their customers up to 33% because physically active people have a 56% lower risk of heart disease, 20% lower risk of cancer and a 58% lower risk of diabetes compared to people who are inactive.

Like saving money on your car insurance for being a good driver, Health IQ saves you money on your life insurance for living a health conscious lifestyle. Learn more and get a free quote at healthiq.com/FTN

Hey gang!  So this week we get to visit with Keith Lemer, Chief Executive Officer of WellNet Healthcare Plan. Keith has lobbied extensively on Capitol Hill for healthcare reform and frequently provides strategic counsel to the Employee Benefits Committee of the United States Chamber of Commerce, the world’s largest business federation. He is a member of The Economic Club of Washington, D.C. and The Young Presidents Organization’s (YPO) Washington, D.C. chapter, was named 2011’s 40 under 40 by The Washington Business Journal and 2013’s InTheCapital’s 50 On Fire. He is also Chairman of the Board of Unsung Heroes, a national non-profit that focuses on promoting awareness & appreciation for the workforce on the nation’s college campuses who keep the university running behind-the-scenes but often go unrecognized and unappreciated. People like Keith make me want to work even harder- he’s crazy-successful!!  Quick Fun Fact: After attending a 6 month, intensive Italian cooking school, Keith dreams of opening a restaurant one day.

Ok, let’s dig right in- Enjoy!

In this episode, Peter and Keith discuss:

 

• 3:30  How did a young entrepreneur like yourself begin to harness your ADHD diagnosis?
• 4:43  How not reading a 700 page book yielded “The Greek Telephone Directory”, a passing grade & ultimately Keith’s first post-collegiate job.
• 8:58  Acknowledging & owning your strengths.
• 11:00  Stirring the pot to find what works, and then better finessing our strengths will take some trial & error, stay positive.
• 11:48  Johan Wiklund’s research at Syracuse University about ADHD  and entrepreneurship. https://www.wi.tum.de/attention-deficit-hyperactivity-disorder-adhd-promotes-entrepreneurial-skills/ 
• 12:32  ADHD Kids who were not loving school, making strides via https://www.specializedfoundation.org “Riding for Focus, with The Specialized Foundation's Ted Theocheung and Dr. Kimberly Price” https://www.fasterthannormal.com/ftn-76-riding-for-focus-with-the-specialized-foundations-ted-theocheung-and-dr-kimberly-price/
• 13:20  “The Quest for Dopamine”. How do you stay focused daily?
• 15:15  How Wellnet.com is lobbying for healthcare reform on Capitol   versus their end user customers. 
• 17:25  With this superpower, there is no option for failure. 
• 18:00  KLemer@wellnet.com  800-808-1014
• 18:58  Faster Than Normal Podcast info and Credits.

As always, leave us a comment below, drop us a review on iTunes (PLEASE!) and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! Know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note – We’d love to hear from you!

We are joined today by a scientist! I love interviewing scientists! Although diagnosed as a child, Janice did not get fully treated for ADHD until her second year at Harvard. She is doing amazing research as she finishes her fifth year of the Biological and Biomedical Sciences PhD program there, and has found her way to rock life with ADHD! Enjoy!

 

In this episode Peter and Janice discuss:

:46-  Intro & welcome Janice Marie Nieves Bonilla de Ouellette!

1:40-  You didn’t get diagnosed until you got to Harvard, correct?  Tell us your story.

2:56-  How was growing up for you; how did school & your classes go?

4:36-  Can you tell any of our listeners who may be feeling like: “My ADHD is preventing me from being smart, or from being brilliant” exactly what it is that you are studying at Harvard?  ref: Biological and Biomedical Sciences, Immunology and Autoimmunity, Joslin Diabetes Center

6:02-  Your first language is Spanish. Sometimes people with ADHD are not great with languages; how are you with learning new ones?

7:04-  Tell me about the medication you are on and how it’s working out for you?

8:08-  What is your dosage frequency?

8:55-  You have been very active in Theater, Dance, etc. Do you find that physical activity helps you?

10:47-  You mentioned in your 3 page bio that you didn’t have many friend that were your age growing up. Do you think that’s an ADHD thing- to have friends that are older or younger?

12:26-  Your husband does not have ADHD. If you had to tell the non-ADHD listeners of this podcast what the one thing they could do to survive someone with ADHD, that they love, what would that be? 

14:37-  How can people find you if they want to learn more about you and what you are doing?  

INSTA & Twitter @Janice_Nieves  Email: JNievesBonilla@g.harvard.edu

15:22-  Thank you Janice!! And thank YOU for subscribing, reviewing and listening.  PLEASE.. stop right now and write us a review so that we will all be able help more people!  You can always reach me at peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. Also at @FasterThanNormal on all of the socials. 

15:47-  Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits

As always, leave us a comment below and PLEASE drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! The more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! Know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note, we’d love to hear!

*In this episode, we discuss topics that are adult or sexual in nature. Listener discretion is advised.*

Having #ADD or #ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Hear from people all around the globe, from every walk of life, in every profession, from Rock Stars to CEOs, from Teachers to Politicians, who have learned how to unlock the gifts of their #ADD and #ADHD diagnosis, and use it to their personal and professional advantage, to build businesses, become millionaires, or simply better their lives. 

Our Guest today is Kim Airs. Kim takes a friendly and honest approach to sexuality education and has been in the sexual health and wellness field for 30 years. Kim founded the award winning store, “Grand Opening!”, in 1993 after she left a high ranking job at Harvard University. Kim currently is a consultant for emerging sexual health and wellness products, she reviews products for several publications, provides product trainings, and is involved in several areas of sexual health education. She has taught countless classes on consensual sexuality, provides sex education for doctors, sex therapists, and other professionals in the sexual and wellness field, and hosts a podcast called “Sex Chats with Kim Airs.” Kim has recently been named to the 2024 Adult Video News Hall of Fame and has presented for numerous sexual health organizations and in many universities while also contributing to several well known publications in the industry. She was the inspiration for the documentary, “Orgasm Inc.,” about the prescription drug industry’s interest in women’s sexual health and wellness and she founded the country’s first amateur adult film festival. Enjoy! 

[You are now safely here]

 

00:00 - Thank you again so much for listening and for subscribing!!

 

02:13 - Why I brought Kim on the podcast.

 

02:39 - How do you go from Harvard to sex store?

 

03:20 - “I have a crazy passion about all things sex.”

 

06:07 - Sex and #ADHD.

 

07:04 - Advice for those who are uncomfortable talking about sex. 

 

09:20 - Coining the term “sexual health and wellness.”

 

12:47 - The turning point for society. 

 

13:30 - The hard signs around sexuality. 

 

Connect with Kim on: 

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kimairs/

Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kim.airs

X: @kimairs

Cameo- naughty grandma 

If you haven't picked up a copy of my book The Boy with the Faster Brain yet, it is on Amazon and it is a number #1 One Bestseller in all categories! Click HERE or buy your copy at https://amzn.to/3FcAKkI. My link tree is here if you’re looking for something specific: https://linktr.ee/petershankman.

Leslie has a lot of analog clocks in her house. She has spent many years learning how to become a time management guru, because of her family, clients and life story. She brought “Order Out of Chaos” to life from a very personal mission as her son was diagnosed with ADHD as a young child. She founded the company 15years ago with the goal of providing professional organizing, time management and coaching services; parent and family education, products and resources to families and their children to help them bring order out of chaos to their lives. Leslie is a graduate of the JST Coach Training Program for teens and college students with ADHD and is also a member of ICD and a Golden Circle member of NAPO where she was recently awarded their highest honor-the 2018 Founders’ Award.  We get to spend some time together today. Enjoy! 

In this episode, Peter and Leslie discuss:

:49- Intro and welcome Leslie!  (ref: Order Out Of Chaos, Author: “What’s The Deal With Teens and Time Management”, “Dear Organizing Coach”- a weekly column for ADDitude Magazine, Contributing writer to Family Circle)

1:34-  The concept of Chaos

1:55-  Talk some about your journey with chaos please?

2:54-  A barrier to entry

4:12-  Do you think chaos is all forms can be affected by the same types of ‘cures’?

5:20-  What are your top three ways to create order out of chaos?

6:44-  Where and how to start, to begin

9:58-  Awesome! What are some more tips please?

12:00-  One thing about time…

14:00-  Last thoughts; what are a couple of quick things people can do just to get going?

14:45-  How can people find you?  www.OrderOOChaos.com Twitter: @orderoochaos  Facebook   YouTube  INSTA  Pinterest  LinkedIn  Products: https://products.orderoochaos.com

15:14-  Thank you Leslie and thank you for listening!!

15:37-  Faster Than Normal Podcast info and credits

As always, leave us a comment below, PLEASE drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! The more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! Know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note – We’d love to hear!

Today we visit with Mark Murphy. He wasn’t diagnosed with ADHD until he was nearly 50. We talk about how he built his company and how being impulsive can sometimes be a huge benefit. Mark is a trusted travel expert, best-selling author, entrepreneur and professional speaker. He is the founder and CEO of travAlliancemedia, the leading travel trade media company in the United States. His company has been recognized 6X (starting in 2008) by Inc magazine, as one of the fastest growing privately held companies in the United States. He provides professional commentary for both consumer and business travelers, and is a frequent travel expert and travel analyst on major networks & news stations including: The Today Show, CNN, FOX Business, FOX News, and ABC, CBS,NBC and The Travel Channel. We’ll probably bump into each other again soon on our way to One Columbus Circle. Enjoy!

In this episode Peter and Mark discuss:

1:45-  Hello and welcome Mark!  http://www.travalliancemedia.com

3:25-  How did things go for you in school?

5:02-  What made you decide to get tested & diagnosed?

6:42-  What is a typical work day like for you?

8:26-  Do you do anything to minimize your daily choices and does that help?

9:10-  Tell us some about your company and how it came into existence?

11:12-  How do you decide which tasks to delegate?

13:40-  What are you NOT good at?

15:45-  What are you pitfalls, your rabbit holes?

17:05-  Has giving into impulsiveness ever been a help to you?

19:02-  How can people find you if they’d like to talk more? @MurphyTravels on Twitter/Facebook/Insta. Also at www.MurphyTravels.com and at www.TravelPulse.com @travelpulse

19:40- Thank you Mark! And thank YOU for leaving us your reviews and for subscribing!

20:13-  Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits

As always, leave us a comment below, PLEASE drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! The more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! Know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note – We’d love to hear!

Welcome to another episode of Faster Than Normal! This one combines my two favorite topics - What we put in our mouths, and what we sweat out at the gym.

Simply put, this episode is all about food and exercise, and the tips shared by our two guests will, I guarantee you, change how you look at what you eat, and what you do for activity.

From the fitness side, we speak with Amie Hoff, founder of Hoff Fitness, who shares her fitness knowledge as a corporate fitness consultant, personal trainer, media contributor and public speaker. She thrives as a motivator and role model and is regularly called upon to offer her expertise on both national and local media. You can find more about Amie at her website.

From the food side, we speak with Wendy Phillips, MS, RD, CNSC, CLE, FAND is a registered dietitian with a bachelor’s and master’s degree in clinical nutrition, certified nutrition support clinician, certified lactation educator, and a fellow of the Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics. Her background includes adult and pediatric nutrition support, public health nutrition, and nutrition advocacy. She first started investigating the science around nutrition and ADHD when her own son was diagnosed at the age of 10, and has since endeavored to educate others on how to use nutrition therapy to thrive with ADHD. Her book is available for purchase on Amazon “Nutrition Management of Children with ADHD” and she can be reached on Facebook and Twitter as Nutrition_4_ADHD. 

Enjoy this episode! I learned a ton, I hope you do, as well!

Today’s podcast is made possible by Sudio headphones! They are the most incredible sounding headphones I’ve ever heard in my life! They give you 7 HOURS of battery life, look beautiful and the portable case will give you up to 6 days of standby time! Our discount code is fasterthannormal which will give you 15% off any purchase! Just click on this link to use the discount: https://www.sudio.com/us/earphones/tolv-pastel-blue  Thank you Sudio for sponsoring today’s podcast!

—

 

Diagnosed with ADHD at age 23, Jonathan has earned his BA in Criminal Justice and a Masters in School Psychology. His first career was in Juvenile corrections, but for the past six years he has changed things to become a school psychologist. During his tenure, he has implemented precise academic & behavior systems, (Multi-Tiered Systems of Support+ADHD= MTSS on Steroids), to ensure he & his fellow educators are providing adequate support for all types of students. His work has focused on creating data systems where educators & helpers can use the data to guide their instructional practices while providing targeted interventions for the students who need it, (Academic and Behavior). The data system gives educators access to students’ demographics, academic present levels, (based on formative assessments), and behavior needs, with just a click of a button. In addition, all the information is presented in one document so that the data can be sorted for further analyses. The staff has fully embraced it, and this has led to an overall improvement of student’s academics, behavior and social/ emotional knowledge. Recently earning his doctorate in Education Learning, Jonathan’s life is now dedicated to helping all students become fearless and courageous, at any moment. Enjoy!

 

In this episode Peter & Jonathan discuss:

2:03-  Intro & welcome Jonathan!

3:16-  What’s your background story?

4:45-  You said the system failed you; what did you mean by that strong statement?

6:50-  What do you say to teachers & school districts who are trying their best to fix things, and make things work better?

9:09-  What do you think parents can do to help?

12:42-  What do you tell kids who have been made to feel that they are somehow broken?

16:38-  How can people find you if they would like to learn more?  @jrizo62 on Twitter, INSTA, FB  RizoJonathan62@gmail.com

17:30-  Thank you Jonathan! And thank YOU for subscribing, reviewing and listening. Your reviews have been working! Even if you’ve reviewed us before, would you please continue to do so. Each review you post helps to ensure that word will continue to spread, and that we will all be able to reach & help even more people! You can always reach me via peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. You can also find us at @FasterThanNormal on all of the socials.

18:03-  Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits

As always, leave us a comment below and please drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! The more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! Know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note, we’d love to hear!

Benny Lewis is the ambitious Irish lad behind Fluent in 3 Months, the world's largest language learning blog with a million visitors per month.

He has published an international best-selling book of the same title, and a series of language courses, been awarded the title of National Geographic's Traveler of the Year, and he speaks almost a dozen languages in varying degrees between mastery and quite well. All of this is despite being a weak student of languages in school, and actually studying electronic engineering and only being able to speak English in his early 20s.

He makes it his mission to inspire as many people as he can that anyone can learn a language, at any age, from anywhere in the world.

And yeah. He's an ADHD dream. Enjoy the episode!

In this episode, Peter and Benny discuss:

• Linguistics (02:06)
• Attention currency (02:36)
• Different ways of learning (04:41)
• Perfectionism (06:14)
• Forget rules (07:44)
• Lack of patience (08:33)
• Space repetition system (09:23)
• Switching gears (10:52)
• Tips to stay in control (12:16)
• A bonus tip (14:51)

Links/Mentions

• Benny Lewis (Youtube Channel)
• Fluent in 3 months (Website | Book)
• Language hacking series (Books)
• Come Sail Away (South Park Scene)
• italki (Language exchange website)
• Skype (App)

 

Having ADD or ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Hear from people all around the globe, from every walk of life, in every profession, from Rock Stars to CEOs, from Teachers to Politicians, who have learned how to unlock the gifts of their ADD and ADHD diagnosis, and use it to their personal and professional advantage, to build businesses, become millionaires, or simply better their lives.

I wanna give a shout out to Skylight Frame, the official Skylight frame. They are sponsors of this episode of Faster Than Normal. Let me tell you about Skylight! So I have a daughter, you all know, her name is Jessa, she's nine. Jessa, like any nine year old, doesn't really do what I tell her to do until I say it like 4, 5, 6, 18, 54 times. And the problem with that is that when your ADHD, you're kind of forgetful to begin with. So Jessa sits there and I tell her, Jessa, change Waffles' pee pads, my dog right? [@petersdogwaffle on INSTA] Changes defense. Okay, Dad. And she goes right back to Roblox. And then two times later, Jessa change Waffle's pad? Goes, okay, Dad goes right back to robots. And by the fourth time, I've forgotten about it. She's forgotten about it. Waffle doesn't get his pee pad changed. No one's happy. And the house smells. So Skylight Frame eliminates that. It is a essentially a calendar. It's calendar with pictures. It sits on your wall, it connects to wifi, it connects to your Google calendar, and it adds your chores. So I tell Jessa say, Hey, Jessa before you leave for school, before you get in your iPad to play Roblox, before you go to school, are all your chores done? Are they green on the board? She looks. Now I gotta change Waffles pads. Change the pads, comes back. Click. Not you waffle. I, I know you heard your name, but I'm actually not talking about you. I'm doing, doing a podcast. He click, she clicks on the, click it on the, on the chore, it goes away. When all her chores are done, she gets her iPad, everyone wins. It makes life so much easier. It is unbelievable. It's a 10" inch touchscreen display. It's digital, it's gorgeous. You put all your photos in from your photo album, you can send 'em all there. And when it's not in calendar mode, you get a beautiful display of all the pictures. Totally worth it. And as always, thank you Skylight for sponsoring this episode as well as many others of the Faster Than Normal Podcast. 

https://www.skylightframe.com Discount Code:  PeterShankman for 10% off, up to $30 off.

Roni Weiss is the Executive Director of Travel Unity, a 501(c)(3) nonprofit focused on increasing diversity in the world of travel through individual and community empowerment.  Roni was born in Long Island, New York and grew up in Snohomish County, Washington, north of Seattle.  At the age of 10, Roni began attending Edmonds Community College (now Edmonds College), receiving his Associate’s of Arts and Science with Honors at the age of 12. He graduated from Lynnwood High School at the age of 15, then attended the University of Washington, receiving double Bachelor’s of Arts degrees in Drama and English at the age of 18. Through years of world travels, Roni visited 70+ countries, including every country in Europe, six of seven continents, and taught English in Italy, France, Taiwan, and Chile, both to youth and professionals. In 2011, Roni founded RW Social, a marketing and consulting company for the travel industry and nonprofits. From 2011 to 2016, Roni worked with Africa Travel Association (now Africa Tourism Association), assisting with and speaking at ATA’s events in NYC, DC, and multiple African countries. In 2013, RW Social launched the New York Travel Festival, an event focused on innovation and sustainability in the world of travel, which served as the genesis for Travel Unity, where he now serves as Executive Director. Roni lives in Westchester County, NY with his partner, Lauren, and their four children. Today we learn how travel is changing for all people including the Neurodiverse, and about some things we can do to help move forward. Enjoy!

00:40 - Thank you so much for listening and for subscribing!

02:40 - “DEI” is a term used often in this interview; it represents: Diversity, Equity, Inclusion

02:48 - Welcome and introducing Roni Weiss! Ref:  Africa Tourism Association, RW Social, Travel Unity, NewYork TravelFest 

04:36 - So how do you go to college at age 12, and then high school at age 15?!

06:10 - Ref:  Saved By the Bell

07:00 - What made you focus on diversity in Travel, specifically?  Ref: Monica Drake

09:00 - Talk about diversity and travel. What you think can be changed, what has been changed, what needs to be changed?  Ref:  Travel Unity

10:45 - “Local and regional travel is as meaningful and you don't have to pay as much to do it”

10:52 - On tourism management, workforce, visitor-ship, community impact and representation

12:20 - Talk about Neurodiversity and Travel? What are you working on in that venue?

12:50 - Roni on his ADD diagnosis and in what ways it has played a role in his career!

13:01 - On being physically in pain due to boredom

14:00 - About how all people fit multiple ‘things’!

15:00 - On the ‘well, you don't look sick’ stereotype

15:51 - On the importance of good listening, universal inclusion, empathy, and respect.

17:10 - How do people find out more about you? 

Web: www.TravelUnity.org  Roni@travelunity.org

Socials: @TravelUnity on Twitter  INSTA  Facebook and Roni is on LinkedIN and all of his info in also on his website here: http://roniweiss.com

18:00 - We are thrilled that you are here and listening! ADHD and all forms of Neurodiversity are gifts, not curses. And by the way, if you haven't picked up The Boy with the Faster Brain yet, it is on Amazon and it is a number one bestseller in all categories. Click HERE or via https://amzn.to/3FcAKkI My link tree is here if you’re looking for something specific. https://linktr.ee/petershankman

18:19 - Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits. Guys, as always thanks so much for subscribing! Faster Than Normal is for YOU! We want to know what you’d like to hear! Do you have a cool friend with a great story? We’d love to learn about, and from them. I'm www.petershankman.com and you can reach out anytime via email at peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. You can also find us at @FasterNormal on all of the socials. It really helps when you drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! As you know, the more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse!

—

TRANSCRIPT via Descript and then corrected.. mostly somewhat: 

[00:00:40] Peter: Hey everyone, Peter Shankman. Welcome to Faster Than Normal. Another episode. Thrilled that you're here. As always, it's a Monday morning in New York City; recording Day as always for the podcast. What a lovely day outside. I think we're finally, finally hitting Spring! Of course now that I said that we'll probably have eight inches of snow by Thursday but it's still a beautiful blue sky day. I just came in from outside and it's, it's nice. It's a little chilly, but we're getting there. Guys… we made it through another winter!

I wanna give a shout out to Skylight Frame, the official Skylight frame. They are sponsors of this episode of Faster Than Normal. Let me tell you about Skylight! So I have a daughter, you all know, her name is Jessa, she's nine. Jessa, like any nine year old, doesn't really do what I tell her to do until I say it like 4, 5, 6, 18, 54 times. And the problem with that is that when your ADHD, you're kind of forgetful to begin with. So Jessa sits there and I tell her, Jessa, change Waffles' pee pads, my dog right? [@petersdogwaffle on INSTA] Changes defense. Okay, Dad. And she goes right back to Roblox. And then two times later, Jessa change Waffle's pad? Goes, okay, dad goes right back to robots. And by the fourth time, I've forgotten about it. She's forgotten about it. Waffle doesn't get his pee pad changed. No one's happy. And the house smells. So Skylight Frame eliminates that. It is a essentially a calendar. It's calendar with pictures. It sits on your wall, it connects to wifi, it connects to your Google calendar, and it adds your chores. So I tell Jessa say, Hey, Jessa before you leave for school, before you get in your iPad to play Roblox, before you go to school, are all your chores done? Are they green on the board? She looks. Now I gotta change Waffles pads. Change the pads, comes back. Click. Not you waffle. I, I know you heard your name, but I'm actually not talking about you. I'm doing, doing a podcast. He click, she clicks on the, click it on the, on the chore, it goes away. When all her chores are done, she gets her iPad, everyone wins. It makes life so much easier. It is unbelievable. It's a 10" inch touchscreen display. It's digital, it's gorgeous. You put all your photos in from your photo album, you can send 'em all there. And when it's not in calendar mode, you get a beautiful display of all the pictures. Totally worth it. Up to 30 bucks off with code: PeterShankman at www.skylightframe.com .And as always, thank you Skylight for sponsoring this episode as well as many others of the Faster Than Normal Podcast .

Alrighty, we have a fun guest today. Roni Weiss is the Executive Director of Travel Unity, a 501c nonprofit focus on increasing diversity in the world of travel through individual and community empowerment. I love that. I love when diversity is increased in any capacity, but travel is something you really don't think about. And when I booked you, Roni when I, when I got in touch with you and realized, Hey, I should get you on the podcast on my next flight, I looked around. And I was sitting in business class and was pretty much surrounded by white, middle-aged guys like myself. And that was interesting. That was the first time, I'll admit, that was the first time in my 20 something years of travel I actually looked and noticed. So you've, you've, if nothing else you opened my mind, at the age of 10, Ronnie began. At the age of 10, mind you; hear me, 10. Roni began attending Edmunds Community College, received Associates of Arts and Science with honors at the age of 12. Then he graduated from Linwood High School, laid a little backwards there at 15, and then went to the University of Washington, receiving a double Bachelor of Arts degree in job in English at the age of 18. So it's shame that he's really such a non-starter, really done nothing. He's, he's only visited 70 countries, including every country in Europe, six of the seven continents, and he's taught English in Italy, France, Taiwan, and Chile; both to youth and professionals. In 2011, he found an RW Social and marketing consulting company for the travel industry. From 2011 to 16, he worked with Africa Travel Association, now Africa Tourism Association. I think we have a very, very close mutual friend in that. And then we as in the assists with and speaks at a t a events in New York to see local African countries. In thousand 13, he launched the New York Travel Festival and event Folks in Innovation, sustainability in the world of travel, which served the genesis for travel unity, where he now serves as executive director and he lives in Westchester. He has a wife and four children, so pretty awesome. Roni, welcome.

[00:04:33] Roni: Thank you. Thanks Peter. It's good to chat with you. 

[00:04:35] Peter: So how the hell do you go to college at 12 and then high school at 15, then college get. 15. What the hell, dude? 

[00:04:41] Roni: So I was in the challenge program, the, the gifted program in elementary school. So they, they bussed us to another place and it wasn't clear where I would go to middle school. So we looked into different options. We, we vi my mom and I visited the principal at the local middle school and my mom is immensely obsessed with education. She still is getting master's degrees and such in her. Now in her 60's. So when we went there, the principal said that middle school's about socialization, not education and she didn't like hearing that. So meanwhile, I was in sixth grade with, with a guy who said he was taking community college classes and I said, You know, I, I, I, I think I'm smarter than him, so why don't I just do that? So my parents being the sort of pushy Jews that they are went and talked to the the people who were running the community college were like, what would it take to, to get our kid in? And they're like, well, he needs to prove he can do it. So take this assessment test and I did, and at first I needed to get the approval of every teacher whose class I was in. And yeah, I started the summer after sixth grade. At the age of 10. I got really involved in the electronic music department there and for my mom, her focus was, Hey, move on to to university after this. But meanwhile, I had grown up on Saved by the Bell and everybody said like, you shouldn't miss high school. It's the best experience of your life. So I'm like, okay, why don't I go and do that? So after three years of community college, including getting associates, I went to high school and it wasn't the best experience in my life, but what it did serve as was kind of a buffer because university was one of, if not the best experience of my life, being there from 15 to 18 was perfect for me. So, you know, people treated me like their younger brother and, you know, I, I got live in the dorms and that was, that was amazing. So had I gone to university starting at 13, I wouldn't have had that experience that I got to have.

[00:06:45] Peter: That's very cool. Now tell us about, so diversity came early for you in life, and what made. I mean, you were working in the travel industry already, and so was it just a natural switch to say, There's no diversity here. I mean, you, so you think travel and you think travel is a worldwide thing, and I don't think anything constitutes diversity more than like worldwide.

[00:07:08] Roni: Yeah. I, I, the thing was, as you mentioned, I, I started that event New York travel festival and we were already trying to talk about things that I didn't see being discussed as much except in certain circles. So sustainability, you know, in theory is something everybody should care about, especially if you look at it at, its kind of root of what does it mean to sustain something. It means to keep it, every business should wanna keep itself going. So sustainability and storytelling and innovative ideas in tech, I wasn't seeing it necessarily as, as mainstream. So in 2015 we had a session at the festival called Traveling While Black, and it was all black women and it was at the New York Times building and moderated by Monica Drake, who's a black woman editor at the Times. And it was clear that this wasn't being discussed. And like you, when you mentioned the business class thing, I started being aware.. And it's interesting cause people like; how has this changed in recent years? And I think representation, not necessarily in the traveling public, but marketing has changed and that's kind of a problem. But years ago I would see a financial services ad, and it would be a mixed race couple with a, a banker in a wheelchair, and then the next Ad you'd see would be a destination or a property or whatever, where everybody who was traveling was white and everybody who was serving them was a person of color. And I, I, on that side I just became aware and from the work with Africa Travel Association, from talking to black colleagues who were who felt marginalized in the industry and in their own travels. And then on the other side, I'd been working with young people for many years. So the idea that I had been around all these folks through the event I was running through doing content creation, et cetera, that people get all this value for tra from travel and as we've already noted, not everybody has those opportunities. Right. 

[00:09:02] Peter: That's very true. And so tell, talk about, you know, not to dive right in, but talk about diversity and travel. Talk about what you think can be changed, what has been changed, what needs to be changed, so, 

[00:09:14] Roni: When it comes to the work we do, we we're doing two things in Travel Unity. One is getting individuals, especially young people, to see travel is something they can do no matter who they are in a career path. Because I, no offense to you or anybody who else who takes business class, but a lot of folks aren't gonna be able to afford that. 

[00:09:32] Peter: Oh, I can't afford 'em, my clients afford it. I can't afford it to save my life, let's not.. Let's be honest. 

[00:09:36] Roni: So, so, but, but my, my point there is that, that that's the vision a lot of people have of what travel is; of like, oh, I have to spend, you know, all this money and spend, go to this fancy hotel and, you know, all of that. Or that they have to get a job where They're a consultant and somebody else is paying for it. Right. However it is, there's this perception, but the reality is, you know, you, you and I both live in New York state and when I went up to Watkins Glen State falls a few hours upstate, I was personally offended. Cause like I'm like, this is an amazing spot that people would be Instagramming the hell out of it if they were overseas and they'd go out of their way and they'd be on the plane and they'd take their selfies on it, and then they'd go to that one thing and that would be the thing. But because it's in New York state, people don't necessarily seek it out as much, and that's part of the problem. And in the city, obviously in New York City, there's so much cultural experiences that you can have.

When I was in Flushing Chinatown, after I had visited China, I'm like, I feel like I'm in China again. Yeah, so to be able to have these experiences of culture, nature, et cetera, you can do it without even taking a plane. And that's one of our big focuses that local and regional travel is as meaningful and you don't have to pay as much to do it. So that's on one side. On the other side we have our d e I standards for travel and tourism, which we developed with a lot of people back in 2020. And those are focused on the three different ways that a visitor facing organization. So any company, museum, destination, whatever it is that's trying to bring visitors in. What are the three different ways they deal with people? So management and workforce, the people who work there visitorship, the visitors, and then community impact. So what we're trying to do is make sure that voices are being heard, that things are being processed, and that's one of the biggest.

Things that I've discovered over the past few years is that we have, you know, the culture wars and all these discussions around things, but a lot of this real core diversity, equity, and inclusion work. Yes, the identities and the communities are important for a variety of reasons, historical and present. But some of it is literally just if a visitor fills out. A complaint form or a, you know, a, a wonderful compliment. Are you doing anything with it? Right? Are you doing with a, doing anything with the information you're getting? And are you listening to all the different kinds of people who are giving you feedback and information? Because a lot of time that just gets lost in the mix, and then people don't feel like they're being heard. They don't feel like they belonged. And at the very least, it's neutral, if not negative. Whereas if you actually had processes in place, it could be positive. 

[00:12:14] Peter: Yeah. Makes a lot of sense. I gotta ask the question based on this podcast, which it is, talk about neurodiversity. Are you, are you approaching that at all? 

[00:12:22] Roni: So I, for you already mentioned the, the ADD stuff. It's where, one of the things that I usually mention at the the top of this, because the things about identities is they're not monoliths. Right? Exactly. Exactly. Having ADD, OR ADHD,, you might be able to draw broad strokes about the things that you always talk about, about the chemical side of things, and I'll tell you in terms of my own sort of trajectory, first. You know, I was diagnosed and I think based off of the education path, anybody who themselves is ADD, ADHD or knows people; could see how, huh, yeah, that probably sounds like who Roni is. At a certain point I felt like I had outgrown it, and what I realized was it was kind of the opposite. I had completely structured my whole life around never being bored, right? That I was always going somewhere new. I was always having constant stimulation. And now that I'm more settled than having, you know, more of a, a regularish kinda role, I'm more aware of how different I am than neurotypical people. And how I just, I literally cannot stand being bored. It physically pains me. And you know, I will be sitting there and there will be a session of some kind, a speaker, and if I can't take it, I'm gonna go nuts. Whereas other people, they can manage to get their way through. So the idea in and of itself that neurodiversity is a part of of this is when we're talking about diversity, we're talking about all the different aspects of identity community that makes some of these concerns, needs, et cetera, different. I think one of the unfortunate things sometimes, and I understand why it's the case, but is, is that there ends up being a fixation on, on race and ethnicity in this work. And the thing about that is it, it, it loses sight of things. If you were focused on getting more black or Hispanic or Asian or whatever it is, people into space, that's fine if that's your focus. But don't say you're doing diversity, equity, and inclusion broadly if you're not looking at the identities broadly because there are disabled black people , there are gay, bisexual, Hispanic people, et cetera. And I think that's one of the things that ends up being, being lost in all this, is that idea of intersecting identities. That if you're saying that somebody is just one thing, there are two problems with that. One is they're not, they're multiple things. And also it suggests that everybody's experiences within that identity are all the same. And that's not true either. 

[00:14:50] Peter: Think one of the interesting things also is the fact that that which is not visible is often not talked about. Right. And, and you know, you hear this from people who have diseases that, that start off with a conversation of, well, you don't look sick. You know, and you have sort of the same thing in d e i in the respect that, you know, I, other than the fact that I probably need to lose 20 pounds, I look like a perfectly normal 50 year old. Right. I, I actually guess the fact that I need to lose 50 pounds makes me even more of a nor perfectly normal 50 year old. But, but you know, the, the fact that my, what you don't see is that my brain is racing a million miles an hour, and I've had to do 15 things this morning to keep it in check, right? And, and that, and because it's not visible, it's easy to overlook and it's easy to ignore. And I think that d e I needs to be, you know, needs to focus on. 

[00:15:34] Roni: I think that, you know, this comes down to, to the empathy and the awareness thing. I, I'm a big fan of the concept of neutral ignorance. That there are just things you don't know because you haven't experienced them. And as you said, if you're not seeing them at all, then how are you going to, to be aware of them? Which is why it's so important for people to be listening to other people's stories and to, it's one of the first things that we have in our individual pledge, which is just the recognition that different people have different lives and have different experiences, and that's one of the biggest problems that I see overall, you know, if I, if I make this a little more political, is that on, on the sort of stereotypical left wing side, you have people who, who get kind of absorbed in their feelings of guilt, which makes it about them. If you go to the kind of stereotypical right wing side, it's like, well, I, you know, didn't grow up with money and whatever; it's like yeah, nobody's saying you didn't have problems growing up. The point is that different people have different things and you need to be aware of that, and it needs to come from empathy. It needs to be you seeing what it's like in other people's shoes and trying to make the results, the outcomes better for everybody as much as possible. And if you're fixating on yourself and your own experiences in any way, that's not about other people, and that's not what this work is either. 

[00:16:52] Peter: Hundred percent. Hundred percent. Tell me how people can find you, because I think that this is,.. First of all, we're out of time, so I wanna have you back. That goes without saying. But tell me how people can find you. I mean, the, the, the premise of travel unity is something that's only gonna obviously grow. Right, and I'm, I'd be curious if we talk again or we will talk again to learn how it's being embraced by the travel world as a whole. But how can be able to find you for now? 

[00:17:15] Roni: So, Travel Unity is at www.TravelUnity.org. You can email me, Roni at travel unity.org. You could find me on LinkedIn in, various places, but yeah, always happy to talk to folks. You know, it's an interesting sort of world that, that we're in with Travel Unity. As you said, it's already sort of growing, so the more folks we have who are interested in what we're doing, always happy to talk to them.

[00:17:37] Peter: I love seeing d e i being included in all different categories. I think it's wonderful. Roni, thank you so much for taking the time. Really appreciate it. Guys, check out what Roni Weiss is doing at Travel. Unity. I think you really like it. Thank you for listening as always. The new book, The Boy with the Faster Brain, is selling like hotcakes on Amazon. Still it hit number one in this category. It's still there, I think. I am speaking at schools, I'm speaking at colleges, I'm speaking at businesses. As always, if any of you would like to have me there, I will do it for books! So buy books, get me to speak. That works for college and for universities and schools. That doesn't necessarily work for businesses but we'll figure something out. Shoot me an email, peter @shankman.com. Either way thrilled that you guys are listening. Thank you so much for taking the time. We will see you next week. Stay safe. Stay healthy. Bye-bye.

—

Credits: You've been listening to the Faster Than Normal podcast. We're available on iTunes, Stitcher and Google play and of course at www.FasterThanNormal.com I'm your host, Peter Shankman and you can find me at shankman.com and @petershankman on all of the socials. If you like what you've heard, why not head over to your favorite podcast platform of choice and leave us a review, come more people who leave positive reviews, the more the podcast has shown, and the more people we can help understand that ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Opening and closing themes were composed and produced by Steven Byrom who also produces this podcast, and the opening introduction was recorded by Bernie Wagenblast. Thank you so much for listening. We'll see you next week! 

Having ADD or ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Hear from people all around the globe, from every walk of life, in every profession, from Rock Stars to CEOs, from Teachers to Politicians, who have learned how to unlock the gifts of their ADD and ADHD diagnosis, and use it to their personal and professional advantage, to build businesses, become millionaires, or simply better their lives.

Over the past month, we have been fortunate enough to be sponsored by Skylight Frame. [Check it out at: https://www.skylightframe.com]  And guys, if you need a calendar for your family, for your kids, if your kids are neurodiverse- look at skylightframe.com! You order it, you hang it on your wall. It connects to your WIFI. You import your calendars, you add chore lists. My daughter knows all her chores. She knows everything she has to do. There's no more fights, no more arguments. She looks at the chores. She does them. She clicks the little button, the little touch screen, and it means that she's done and she gets her Roblox cuz that pretty much is what kids exist on today under the age of 12. They exist on, on Robux and, and apparently high quality mac and cheese. Apparently, you know, regular mac and cheese that we ate as kids. No, that's not good enough anymore. Skyline Frame is awesome. Use code PeterShankman at checkout. That will give you up to $30 off. I love the thing. You can also throw up all your photos on it. Uh, so when you're not using the calendar, it just. Scrolls your entire life by you and it looks pretty cool. It's in our kitchen. When I wake up at two in the morning to go get some cold water, I see a photo of me and my daughter or my dog, or my late cat, NASA, and it's pretty awesome. Makes my night. So https://www.skylightframe.com code: PeterShankman up to 30 bucks off. You will not regret this. If you get it, send me a note, let me know that you have it, and uh, I'll send you a photo for it. All right, again thank you to Skylight Frame! Enter discount code:  PeterShankman for 10% off, up to $30 off https://www.skylightframe.com

Our guest today is Stephanie Scheller. Stephanie has studied human psychology for more than a decade and built her first business from scratch to walk away from her job in less than five months. She has now worked with more than 5000+ companies and is dedicated to helping small business owners understand how to create their greatest impact. Using the violin to tap into the human subconscious, Stephanie breaks down the psychology behind business growth strategies and marketing that makes an impact to simplify implementation and accelerate growth. She is a TEDx speaker, a two-time best-selling author, an award-winning entrepreneur and the founder of Grow Disrupt, a company that designs and produces educational events for the ADHD small business owner! In her downtime, you'll find Stephanie playing on the violin, out in the Texas Hill Country with her horse, or in the garage painting endlessly. Enjoy!

00:40 - Thank you so much for listening and for subscribing!

Thank you Skylight Frame - Get your coupon now! 

https://www.skylightframe.com Discount Code: PeterShankman for 10% off, up to $30 off

01:45 - Introducing and welcome Stephanie Scheller!

03:04 - How long have you been playing violin?

04:30 - Is music and the Arts in general an ADHD brain booster?

04:45 - On unlocking your focus on what to do correctly!

05:20 - On having a plan for when you succeed.

05:53 - Peter’s T-shirt idea- …that was successful.

06:08 - When were you diagnosed, and how did that go?

07:20 - On ‘covering’ for your ADHD and building events that will keep us focused

08:15 - What are YOU doing to care for your ADHD?  [On Peter’s diagnosis/non-diagnosis] 

08:42 - What happens in your brain when you start playing violin? Has it always been easy?

12:00 - On finding your happy thing, and how it can completely change your life!

13:30 - What kinds of events are you doing, what kind of content and tools are you employing?

14:48 -  How do our spectacular subscribers find out more about you? 

Web:  www.GrowDisrupt.com and https://www.thestephaniescheller.com

Socials: @GrowDisrupt on Facebook  YouTube 

15:18 - Stephanie.. would you give us just a little taste of your violin, 48secs or so?

16:00 - Thank you so much for making time for all of us today Stephanie!

16:40 - Hey, you there! Yes YOU! We are thrilled that you are here & listening! 

ADHD and all forms of Neurodiversity are gifts, not curses. And by the way, if you haven't picked up The Boy with the Faster Brain yet, it is on Amazon and it is a number one bestseller in all categories. Click HERE or via https://amzn.to/3FcAKkI My link tree is here if you’re looking for something specific. https://linktr.ee/petershankman

16:40 - Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits. Guys, as always thanks so much for subscribing! Faster Than Normal is for YOU! We want to know what you’d like to hear! Do you have a cool friend with a great story? We’d love to learn about, and from them. I'm www.petershankman.com and you can reach out anytime via email at peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. You can also find us at @FasterNormal on all of the socials. It really helps when you drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! As you know, the more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! 

—

 

This week, we talk to Cameron Herold. I first met Cameron when he was working on Got Junk, a company he wound up selling several years ago. He's one of the top entrepreneurs in the business today, and his advice goes for thousands of dollars an hour. He's also, of course, ADHD. Check out his interview, and you'll be amazed how much of yourself you'll hear in his story.

In this episode, Peter and Cameron discuss:

• Cameron's story (03:15)
• Not fitting in at school (05:21)
• Feeling disappointed with performance (06:05)
• Advice for those not feeling ok with being different (07:15)
• The strength that comes from being scattered (09:00)
• Tips and tricks for surviving the day (12:04)
• ADHD and accountability (13:58)
• Top tips for running your life (15:45)

Links/Mentions

• App - Committo3
• App - Pomodoro
• App - Trello
• App - Omnifocus
• Book - Meetings Suck
• Book  - Double Double
• Book in a Box
• CameronHerold.com

As always, leave us a comment below, drop us a review on iTunes (PLEASE!) and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven't already! Know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note - We'd love to hear!

The Faster Than Normal Video Course is out! 36 videos to teach you how to take back control of your attention, your time, and your life! Check it out here! 

Imagine for a second, if you will, a man who doesn't hold back in the slightest. He works with some of the top celebrities in the world, yet doesn't have the remotest of filters on his brain, mouth, or actions. Imagine that, and multiply it by a thousand, and you get this week's Faster Than Normal Interview, Vinnie Tortoritch. 

This man is legendary. He didn't want to become a trainer. He didn't want to host a ridiculously popular podcast. He didn't want to do any of the things he does - Yet now he does them, and he's famous for it!

Why? ADHD. Listen here. You'll like it.

In this episode, Peter and Vinnie discuss:

• Vinnie's background (01:48)
• Beginning of the personal training (02:45)
• The fitness podcast (04:15)
• Internet famous (06:06)
• Zone of focus (06:50)
• Caffeine and concentration (07:41)
• How healthy habits affect the brain (08:40)
• Kids with problems or lazy teachers (09:13)
• When losers get trophies (12:09)
• The presidential fitness test (14:07)
• No sugar no grains (16:36)
• School lunches (19:19)
• For the parents (23:12)

Links/Mentions

• Vinnietortoritch.com (Official Site)
• Pure Vitamin Club (Vinnie's company)
• Fitness Confidential (Podcast)
• Jenna Marbles
• Howie Mandel
• ADHD Nation (Book)
• Grain brain (Book)
• Wheat Belly (Book)

As always, leave us a comment below, drop us a review on iTunes (PLEASE!) and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven't already! Know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note - We'd love to hear!

We are thrilled to be joined again by the makers of Skylight Calendar! Enjoy this podcast knowing  that we used it to get this one to you on time! :-) You can order yours by going to www.skylightcal.com and using the discount code  PETER  for 10% off of this 15” device up to $30. 

Having ADD or ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Hear from people all around the globe, from every walk of life, in every profession, from Rock Stars to CEOs, from Teachers to Politicians, who have learned how to unlock the gifts of their ADD and ADHD diagnosis, and use it to their personal and professional advantage, to build businesses, become millionaires, or simply better their lives.  Our Guest today in their own words:  

 I'm a neurodiverse author, researcher, and advocate. For much of my life, I felt

different from my peers, as if I was behind a glass wall, unable to connect with them.

I had my way of thinking and doing things, which often made me feel isolated and

unworthy, resulting in the need to prove myself by taking on too many challenges at

once, such as working full-time (Animal welfare officer in preclinical research) and

doing a full-time PhD (in the behavioral response of crustaceans to anthropogenic

noise), Planning a wedding and organizing a mortgage while discussing house plans

with an architect (Not counting everyday chores and exercising). I did slow down

when I got pregnant by moving to a part-time position.

Eventually, after too many meltdowns and close to burnout, I decided to step back

from my PhD and job to find answers. In March this year, at the age of 33, after living with a brain that found it impossible to concentrate, with constant migraines, anxiety and fatigue. I received a Formal

ADHD diagnosis and informal Autism. It was like a light bulb turned on in my head, and I felt a new sense of acceptance and empowerment. I started to embrace my neurodiversity and celebrate my strengths and talents. I've been on a creative spree. I've written and published two children's

books on Amazon, and I've also written a book that you could call part memoir, part

encyclopedia and part research on ADHD and Autism. It's called "AuDHD and Me:

Growing Up Distracted". In it, I share my experiences and the stories of other

neurodiverse individuals who have overcome challenges and achieved amazing

things. My goal is to raise awareness and understanding of neurodiversity, especially in

Ireland, where I live. I want to help others in a similar situation or who wish to learn

more about their unique brains. Enjoy!

[You are now safely here]

00:04 - Skylight calendar a practical, joyful organizational tool for families. 

Use the code “PETER” for a nice discount!

00:40 - Thank you again so much for listening and for subscribing!!

02:01 - Welcome Author Laura Adams!  [She loves Skylight Calendar as well]

03:08 - On the increase in ADHD diagnoses in Ireland and the lack of government support/funding for neurodiverse individuals, particularly in education.

04:17 - Tell us about your life before & after your ADHD diagnosis and how it shifted your perspective!

05:00 - Laura’s book AuDHD can be found here!  [See below for Non-US links**] 

06:00 - On understanding ADHD and how it applied to her own experiences.

06:57 - Peter Shankman highlights the common misconceptions and stereotypes surrounding ADHD and the relief that comes with getting a diagnosis.

07:30 - Laura Adams discusses the transformative effect of receiving a diagnosis and how it has empowered her to step out of her comfort zone and share her experiences.

10:07 - On becoming a Marine Biologist & researching stress & audio in crustaceans.

13:31 - On how improving focus via medication may enhance thesis writing

16:05 - How can people find you Laura?

Web: Buy her book here! 

Socials:  LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/laura-adams-297716b6 

16:29 - On the struggle to overcome Imposter Syndrome

17:00 - Thanks so much for joining ”Faster Than Normal” just about every week!! We appreciate you and your words and work so much! Onwards! Please join us again very soon!

OH! And… If you haven't picked up The Boy with the Faster Brain yet, it is on Amazon and it is a number #1 One bestseller in all categories. Click HERE or via https://amzn.to/3FcAKkI My link tree is here if you’re looking for something specific. https://linktr.ee/petershankman

You may find Laura’s new book anywhere, or specifically, here below:

Germany: https://buff.ly/44msxnw ( best option to order with shipment to Ireland)

UK: https://buff.ly/3YG9ovN (due to Amazon settings, some may not be able to order from the UK site - Laura has explored many options to have this issue resolved, however sometimes you can't jump over the fence with the technology)

USA: https://buff.ly/3spxU88

 

TRANSCRIPT via Castmagic.io and then corrected.. pretty-much.  

You're listening to the Faster Than Normal podcast, where we know that having ADD or ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Each week we interview people from all around the globe, from every walk of life in every profession. From rock stars to CEOs, from teachers to politicians who have learned how to unlock the gifts of their add and ADHD diagnosis and used it to their personal and professional advance edge to build businesses, to become millionaires, or to simply better their lives. And now, here's the host of the Faster Than Normal podcast

If you haven't picked up The Boy with the Faster Brain yet, it is on Amazon and it is a number #1 One bestseller in all categories. Click HERE or via https://amzn.to/3FcAKkI My link tree is here if you’re looking for something specific. https://linktr.ee/petershankman

Laura Adams, a neurodiverse author, researcher, and advocate, shares her experience of receiving a formal ADHD diagnosis at the age of 33. She discusses the growing awareness and diagnosis of ADHD in Ireland, particularly among women. Laura talks about how her diagnosis brought a sense of acceptance and empowerment, and how it prompted her to embrace her neurodiversity. She explains how her symptoms were often misunderstood or dismissed, and how discovering the different presentation of ADHD in women opened her eyes to her own experiences. Getting diagnosed was a life-changing moment for Laura, giving her the confidence to speak out, write a book, and share her story.

Hey, everyone. Peter Shankman, and welcome to another episode of Faster than Normal. I want to give a shout out over the past several weeks, as I've been doing to a wonderful, wonderful Advertiser Skylight Calendar. I know I talk about them every week, but obviously what I'm saying is resonating because they're telling me that people are purchasing through Faster Than Normal, which I think is awesome. Skylight calendar is a little little thing that hangs on my wall in my kitchen. And every morning before breakfast, my daughter and I look at the calendar and we see what chores she has. She sees what meetings I have. We see who's picking her up from school. We see if she has anything after school. Every time she completes a chore, she clicks on a little dot on the screen and it disappears. And it makes her really happy and it makes me really happy. And today, being her first day of school, we are back to using it every single day. And she absolutely loves it. She gets to put her homework in it. We get to upload photos to it. It is just a phenomenal device. Skylight Calendar. Use the code Peter at Skylight Calendar. Skylightcal.com. Use the code Peter and you'll get a really nice discount. It has saved us. We don't argue anymore about who has to do what, and that is pretty awesome. So I am very grateful to Skylight Calendar. They also make an awesome frame as well for just pictures. nCheck that out too.

Welcome to Faster than Normal. We've been off for a couple of weeks, so it is awesome to be back. I want to introduce Laura Adams. We're going all the way to Ireland today, and that's about the extent of my Irish accent, but we're going to Ireland. We're talking to Laura Adams, who is a neurodiverse, author, researcher, and advocate. She got diagnosed at the age of 33 after, mind you, she managed to work full time, do a full time PhD, plan a wedding, organize a mortgage, not counting everyday tours and exercising. Oh, and she also got pregnant. But in March of this year, at the age of 33, living with a brain that found it impossible to concentrate with constant migraines, anxiety, and fatigue, she received a formal ADHD diagnosis and informal autism. So we're starting to see a connection there as well. Light bulb turned on in her head. She felt a new sense of acceptance and empowerment. And she's starting to embrace her neurodiversity. She read fast, add normal. She has listened to the podcast and she's like, I got to be on. She's published two children's books on Amazon, which is better than I've done. I've only published one. She's written a book you call part memoir, part encyclopedia, and part research called AuDHD and Me: Growing Up Distracted. So let us talk to Laura. Welcome to Faster than Normal.

Laura  [00:03:08]: Hi. Hello. So cool! Going to go full nerd now.

Peter Shankman [00:03:14]: It's great to have you here. I love that you're on the podcast. I love that you listen to the podcast. So Ireland has Ireland not embraced or is not talking about ADHD or neurodiversity? Is it not a big thing there yet? What's the story?

Laura  [00:03:28]: Well, the last few years, probably just last two years in particular, it's shot up. Like, there's actually so many diagnosis coming in to Ireland, mostly from women, and I didn't have no idea of this until I got diagnosed myself, but there's so many women getting diagnosed in Ireland now. But we're kind of in the government will put legislations out and they're like, good job. We put legislation out, patting the back. And then they don't enforce it because there's no funding or there's not enough training. And it's just great. We did something and then nothing's done about it. So I'm kind of wanting to drive home, especially in education, it's like, kids do need help and if you're just kind of going, we did a great job, and then they're just leaving it, nothing's going to go well. Nothing's going of course, that's where I'm at.

Peter Shankman [00:04:17]: So when you got diagnosed, talk for a second about what that was like. Talk for a second about how you felt before what happened when you got diagnosed and how you felt immediately after.

Laura  [00:04:33]: I think this dream was gone a year, really, before I just was sitting down doing my PhD thesis and I just couldn't read. It was like all the I was agreed in a sentence, but I just couldn't connect the sentence together. I felt like I was just scrolling. Everything was a blur and I just couldn't concentrate on all I thought, that's it, I can't live like this anymore. It's been going on for too long. So I just went, right, I need answers. So I started with autism diagnosis because all my life had been told I was a little bit autistic. So I was like, OK, I'll start there. That's a good place. I contacted adult autism Ireland. The website and the sent me a whole load of questionnaires and there's so much of it. But one of the in particular was called the as or S, I think five ADHD characteristics. They know themselves that autism and ADHD kind of go a lot of the time, hand in hand. Like there are a lot more people who have ADHD with autism, with ADHD, or vice versa. I can't remember the actual statistics, but I scored incredibly high, like, way high than I would have thought on ADHD characteristics, especially in a sensory type. And I went down this rabbit hole of Ted Talks, and mostly women, and they used for so long. I've looked up some of the symptoms I had, and I couldn't find anything. But these women were saying exactly it had the words for it.

Peter Shankman [00:06:00]: Yeah, because for the first time in your life, for the first time in your life, you were looking at ADHD from a different perspective. The concept of ADHD in boys and in men presents entirely differently than ADHD in girls and in women.

Laura  [00:06:11]: Yeah, because I've heard about it twice. Maybe in my life, ADHD would be mentioned twice. And usually people are going, oh, it's not real. And I kind of going, of course. I went okay. I don't know. I have to look into something before I make a judgment. But it went right over my head. I was like, oh, another thing I won't be interested in. So I didn't even think about it until it actually was right in my face. But it's funny how that is the mindset of so many people, they're just not paying attention, or they're not trying hard enough, or they're just daydreamers. You've probably heard them, all the excuses people tend to make for people who are like, we are trying really hard. Thank you very much. There's a reason why I have this migraine bu that's the mindset that it was kind of what I was told about ADHD was brought up.

Peter Shankman [00:06:57]: Getting diagnosed and getting a name towards what you've been feeling is an amazing it's an amazing relief. And it's funny because and I think you tell me your feelings on this. You break your leg, right? You see a bone sticking out of the middle of your leg. You're like, well, shit, I broke my leg. You don't need to get diagnosed when you see a bone sticking out of the middle of your leg, right? But you have these internal problems. It's the premise of, oh, you don't look sick. Nothing must be wrong with you, right? And when you finally are able to put those two and two together, it's life changing, actually.

Laura  [00:07:30]: Complete. And I say the switch was almost because I'm very low confidence. This would be something I'd never do. Talking to someone on a podcast, it's just an impossibility. I thought, no way I'd write a book. No way I'd put up an Instagram page. No way I'd do any of that. And then as soon as I got the diagnosis, these little gears were starting to turn my head, and I was like, removing what I thought I could do to, oh, I can do this. This is very possible. And next thing, I'm just I wrote a book in a few months is the editing that was the longest. And I had, like, greeted children's books and I was in contact with people and I was like, what is this? Is a completely different person. I thought I never was, but it's just the fact I took away the oh, I must clearly be stupid or I must clearly be incapable of doing this because I was told I was incapable or if I can't do this, I'm being told I just have to work harder. Clearly something I'm not just not able to do it. That's the kind of labels I created for myself. This label of ADHD is so much better than this label of you're stupid, you're slow. You have so much potential if you just worked harder.

 

Peter Shankman [00:08:44]: No, it's true. It's definitely a wake up call. A lot of people listening as well as myself grew up with the you just need to apply yourself. And looking back on it, we were trained to not I never talked back to my teachers. I always, yes, ma'am, no, ma'am, and not I look back to bitch. I was applying myself. That's the problem. It's this sort of massive wake up call than if I could go back and tell my 6th grade teacher, mr. Hecker, hey, dude. I was applying my ass off and it wasn't sinking in. And that was the most I think it's one thing when you fail or when you don't do well and you know it's because you weren't trying. It's another thing when you try your butt off and it still doesn't click. Go ahead.

 

Laura  [00:09:26]: Because I would do really well in certain subjects. Like I had have a publication with pain in crustaceans, but then I was like, I can't do this. Other things like, how did I manage that? Bu can't manage this. So clearly I'm just lucky or I fooled people. And that's the thing. You just can't go, maybe I lied to them and that's how or maybe it was luck.

Peter Shankman [00:09:48]: And then you just comes from you don't believe anything you've done. Everything you've done is luck. Everything I've done is luck. And you're sure you wake up every day with the fear that stays the day. You're going to get found out.

Laura  [00:09:57]: Yeah, that's exactly it. Really fast.

Peter Shankman [00:10:00]: I was going to ask this. What the hell is the behavioral response of crustaceans to anthropologenic noise? Which was who does a PhD in that? What is that?!

Laura  [00:10:07]:  When I was younger, like three or four, I wanted to be a marine biologist. And I was like I couldn't spell the word, but I knew I wanted to be it. And I was like, I want to play. Like, I want to work with dolphins and seals. But when I went into my Masters, I like, OOH, crustaceans and crabs are interesting. I never would have thought of that in my life. It was like, there's something they're so they don't have any facial expressions. You have no idea what these things are thinking or can they think? Or are they actually do anything other than move side to side and eat stuff? So noticing that changes in their behaviors or their physiology is actually their signs of stress. So my initial publication was looking at the pain response. Is it just the fact that they're moving around more when you electrocute them? It's like the electrical electric shock or is it the stress? And my research shows that there is definitely more of a stress response in their I was looking at hemolyphistic their blood, so I was looking at lactate level in their blood. And it was much higher in individuals who are shocked than individuals who are not shocked, even if they were both moving around. So I was like, oh, there's something going on there. But I don't like shocking animals. Like, I felt guilty every single time I did it. And I turned to alcohol nearly every experimental days. I went, I can't do this, that's not healthy. So I turned to noise stress instead. And I just looked at how anthropogenic noise with human boat noise really is irritating or can cause an anxiety like response to in these shore crabs, which you see around the beaches everywhere and how they respond to it. I just wanted to see how long term noise affects their anxiety like response or their aggression levels. And if it is, aggression in crabs is incredibly important. I was like, oh, I feel like they stop me at any time. I'll keep going. It'll be like a firearm not.

 

Peter Shankman [00:12:03]: I loved it. That makes a lot of sense, though, because I know there were studies in the US. About how military boats affect was like

 

Laura  [00:12:14]: That was a big especially sonar causing a lot of strandings. I would like to make sure that I actually remember the easiest words like strandings and I can remember anthropogenic. How can I forget the easiest words sometimes? But it's amazing how these especially in shy and rare whales would you like to be somewhere? I think there's only like 50 something left of these whales in New Zealand. And if they're scared by noise, they'll move away from the area they're safe and right into the path of predators. And there's like there's only 50 something of these whales left and it could be eaten because I guess ship scared them. And it's just like a lot of this is but then we never think about the shorecrafts as well. Who pretty much are the food for everything else, or the paws, not even irrigation. Cold be the word. They kind of churn pretty much the soil and provide food for a not of other food items for animals. So I was like, I like to look at the base not just like whales, but not so much anymore messes.

Peter Shankman [00:13:16]: With the entire ecosystem. No, I get that.

Laura  [00:13:18]: Yeah. Like a wonderful thing.

Peter Shankman [00:13:21]: So what is the biggest difference now that you've been diagnosed. And now that you're working under the auspices of what I have as a gift as opposed to what you have.

Laura  [00:13:31]: My thesis writing is so much easier than I was before. And also I'm less hard on myself. And these are just I have these little tweaks. Not really tweaks, but I'll go to the gym more. I did take the lowest dose of medication you can get kind of just to turn me into concentration mode every now and again. Because with it, it's just a little bit better than coffee. But I don't use it that much. I use it when I'm working, but not as much. But without knowing this, I would literally type out a sentence, get distracted, talk about a completely different topic entirely in my thesis, without putting any full stop or finishing the sentence before I'd have information that should be at the end of the thesis, at the beginning of the thesis. And everything would be all over the place, but nothing will be in a linear story. Everything would just be all over the place and that would be like, I can't believe the difference. I can actually notice these things now. I go, oh, that's not supposed to be there. I'm going to move that. This actually reads like a proper story. The characters are actually there. There's some type of linear storytelling going on rather than whatever I did before. Bu. It's just confusing for everyone.

 

Peter Shankman [00:14:52]: Last question only because we're running short of time and I want to have you back. Yes, of course. What would you tell someone who was in your place five years ago?

 

Laura  [00:15:01]: It's really don't be so hard on yourself. I think that is actually the thing than was crippling me because even the smallest thing that I did wrong, I would beat myself up for years. I would say I was the worst person in the world. I'd have to work harder to try to prove it when really what I was doing was perfectly fine. It's just I can't get over how hard on yourself that you can be. Even my doctor started crying was pretty much interior saying, you're being so hard on yourself, that would be the biggest thing because if I didn't have that, the weight off your shoulders is incomparable. I'm like, I'm not as tired of myself. I'm actually stepping away when I need to rather than pushing forward when it's impossible. And the migraines have reduced. I used to have them every single week and they'd last for three days weekly. So that is the biggest change. I probably had, like one little mild headache today because I was nervous about talking to people like I was on this, but then I was like, that disappeared very fast. I was probably more excited than but it's amazing, that difference.

Peter Shankman [00:16:06]: I love that.

Laura  [00:16:06]: And the meltdowns. Very cool.

Peter Shankman [00:16:12]: Laura, thank you so much for taking the time all the way from Ireland to talk to us today on Fast Than Normal. Love to have you back. Love the work you're doing out there to make a difference. We'll definitely bring you back on. Thank you so much.

Laura  [00:16:23]: Thank you so much. I'll be probably the only episode I won't listen to because of my voice, but other than than sounds great.

Peter Shankman [00:16:29]: Get the imposter syndrome out of your head listening to Faster Than Normal. We love having you. Let us know who you want to hear on the podcast. We will get them on. Thank you so much for listening. We will see you next week. Again, thanks to Skylight Calendar for sponsoring and we'll talk to you guys soon. Be well. 

Credits: You've been listening to the Faster Than Normal podcast. We're available on iTunes, Stitcher and Google play and of course at www.FasterThanNormal.com I'm your host, Peter Shankman and you can find me at shankman.com and @petershankman on all of the socials. All now on https://www.threads.net/@petershankman  If you like what you've heard, why not head over to your favorite podcast platform of choice and leave us a review, come more people who leave positive reviews, the more the podcast has shown, and the more people we can help understand that ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Opening and closing themes were composed and produced by Steven Byrom who also produces this podcast, and the opening introduction was recorded by Bernie Wagenblast. Thank you so much for listening. We'll see you next week! 

Hello everybody and thank you for listening!  This week Neil Peterson made some time to sit down with us for a little while. He gives us some insight into how he keeps it all running. 

As the chairman, founder and CEO of Edge Foundation, Neil Peterson has dedicated his life to helping students with executive functioning challenges realize their potential. A highly successful entrepreneur, he founded 3 companies including the groundbreaking carsharing service Flexcar, now known as Zipcar. Neil also led the transportation agencies in Los Angeles, Oakland, and Seattle with award-winning results and dramatic shifts toward modernization. During the past 10 years, he has fostered the same kind of innovation in school systems, mentoring programs, foster care and juvenile justiceprograms around the country through the Edge Training and Coaching program. He is the author of Embracing the Edge and is a frequent speaker. His entrepreneurial endeavors have been featured in Time Magazine, Fortune Small Business, USA Today, the Wall Street Journal, Washington Post, New York Times and on NPR, ABC World NewsTonight, Good Morning America, among others.

In this episode, Peter and Neil talk about:

00:47- Intro and welcome to Neil

1:58- So, when were you diagnosed?  Do you think genetics has anything to do with being ADHD? 

3:30- How were you affected professionally and how was it growing up undiagnosed with ADHD?

5:48- Finding brilliance in any kid.

6:40- What are some of the tools you have used? How do you keep your workload flowing smoothly?

8:00- Do you employ any help?

9:05- Where & when do you get most of your work accomplished?

9:43- What do you need to do in order to avoid distraction?

10:18- What happens when you lose the inspiration to remain hyper-focused?

11:08- Do you find exercise helpful?

11:53- A quick story related to exercise

13:07- protein, medication, exercise and recess

14:10- Tell us about the Edge Foundation www.EdgeFoundation.org

16:17- How do we get in touch with you?  NPeterson@EdgeFoundation.org  Latest blog posts here: http://www.neilpeterson.com

17:13- Thank you Neil!

17:29- Faster Than Normal Podcast contact info and credits

As you may know, I worked at AOL for a few years and then for a company called Jumbo- my last ever full-time job. I lasted for about 7 months before I realized I just did not work well with people; my friend Paul couldn’t either! We kinda bonded over that and we’re still friends to this day! Paul is currently the Director of Sales-Technical Sales North America for Varian Medical Systems.  He has been with them for 17 years w/ extensive experience in physical & virtual Oncology IT architecture.  He is helping hospitals all over the world design the best possible network to help treat cancer patients from India, Europe and North America. Today we reminisce about what it was like to have ADHD 20 years ago, and we talk about the tools & systems we have in place to help us run things ’on our own’ these days. Enjoy!

In this episode Peter and Paul discuss:

:46-  Intro and welcome Paul Berkson

1:23-  You and I are very similar in some ways; it always felt good to have sort of an ally in the ADHD world, back in the day when we ‘too talkative’ and were first climbing!

2:00-  How was it growing up for you?

2:38-  How did you get through school and stuff?

3:18-  You pretty much work on your own now. Explain to us a little bit about your job & your dynamic there?

4:10-  You are happy in your job. What is it about the job that keeps you happy & thriving?

5:00-  Being on your own is great! How do you keep yourself on-track & on top of things like schedules, deadlines, etc?

5:56-  On daily routines

6:28-  How do you chill out, relax and stay sane?

7:18-  Are you able to come directly out of ‘work mode’ and straight into ‘family mode’? 

8:09-  Tell me about how you get past your demons; how do you deal with the negative stuff?

9:19-  What tools do you use to keep organized?  ref: Microsoft OneNote, Microsoft Teams, Outlook AutoTools, Skype Business, and Google Drive

10:40-  Do you keep a duplicate suitcase when traveling/working?

12:22-  Do you ever screw-up ‘en route’ and have to restart?

12:45- On ‘Proper Planning & Practice make for a Perfect Performance” *aka Michael P’s 5P’s  ref: The SCOTTeVEST, Peloton Bike

15:20 How can people find you on the socials? Facebook email: BerksonP@optonline.net  I couldn't seem to locate @BerkyBerk on INSTA 

15:47-  Thank you Paul and Thank YOU for subscribing, reviewing and listening.  PLEASE.. stop right now and write us a review so that we will all be able help more people!  You can always reach me at peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. Also at @FasterThanNormal on all of the socials. 

16:10-  Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits

As always, leave us a comment below and PLEASE drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! The more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! Know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note, we’d love to hear!

I am talking to someone on today’s show that has shouted the 2nd-best four words that I HAVE EVER HEARD IN MY LIFE!! The Man you’re about to meet is named Mike Reilly. He is probably best known as the "Voice of IRONMAN," (not the movie, the sport). If you are one of the 350k+ finishers of an Ironman challenge, chances are he has shouted your name also! In his great career, Mike also done on-site announcing and television coverage for over a thousand other triathlon & running events spanning ten countries. He is the only person inducted into all three endurance sports Halls of Fame: IRONMAN (2011), Running USA (2017), and USA Triathlon (2018).  Mike and his wife of 43 years, Rose, live in San Diego. They have two children, Erin Paulson, (a Boston Marathon finisher), and Andy Reilly, (an IRONMAN & Boston Marathon finisher), and two grandsons. A bit more about Mike here. It is an total honor to welcome him today. Enjoy!

 

In this episode Peter and Mike discuss:

:46-  Intro and welcome Mike Reilly!!

1:58-  You have been doing this for roughly 30 years? For those of us who don’t know, could you describe a little about Ironman?

3:19-  About Mike’s new book:  Finding My Voice

3:42-  Peter’s experience in doing his first Triathlon

4:20-  Mike, would you agree with the statement: “Once a triathlete, always a triathlete”?

5:50-  On how training can affect relationships ref:  I’m Training For An Ironman Video

6:32-  On finding something great in your life

7:12-  On addiction & Imposter syndrome, versus the Triathlete 

8:30-  “We are the cause of our own experiences”

9:37-  On crossing the Finish line  and my blog post about my first Ironman in Cozumel 

10:36-  I’ve read that the Triathlon is the sport with the largest amount of recovering addicts. Why do you think this may be true? 

12:48-  On setting dizzyingly difficult goals

14:20-  Tell us a story about someone who credits finishing an Ironman with saving their life.

18:58-  Wow.. if exercise could do something like that, for someone like him, imagine what it could do for school kids!!

19:40-  About Eric Byrnes Triathlon & his physical education outreach. Let Them Play Foundation 

20:14-  Riding For Focus Specialized Foundation Podcast interview w/ Ted Theocheung, the CEO of the Specialized Foundation, and Kimberly Price, Ph.D., Director of Research & School Programs for the Specialized Foundation

20:57-  Peter on “Must be present to win”

23:19-  On Ironman has no shape or size. Working from the inside out.

24:10-  What do you tell someone who says “Oh I could never, ever do a triathlon”?

25:37-  When is your book “Finding My Voice” available for purchase? You can find it everywhere! 

26:10-  Thank you Mike Reilly!! And thank YOU for subscribing, reviewing and listening.  PLEASE.. stop right now and write us a review so that we will all be able help more people!  You can always reach me at peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. Also at @FasterThanNormal on all of the socials. 

26:21:  THE 2nd-best FOUR WORDS EVER!!!!!

26:58  Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits

Mr. Mike Reilly on socials: MikeReilly.net  Facebook  Twitter & INSTA@IronManVoice  LinkedIn

As always, leave us a comment below and PLEASE drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! The more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! Know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note, we’d love to hear!

Having #ADD or #ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Hear from people all around the globe, from every walk of life, in every profession, from Rock Stars to CEOs, from Teachers to Politicians, who have learned how to unlock the gifts of their #ADD and #ADHD diagnosis, and use it to their personal and professional advantage, to build businesses, become millionaires, or simply better their lives. 

Our Guest today is Deborah Gilboa, M.D. Deborah, or “Dr. G”, is a board certified attending family physician and is fluent in American Sign Language. She lives in Pittsburgh with her four boys and works with families, educators, executives, and businesses to identify the mindset and strategies to turn #stress to an advantage. She is the leading media personality seen regularly on TODAY, Good Morning America and is the Resilience Expert for The Doctors. She is also featured frequently in the Washington Post, The New York Times, Huffington Post, and countless other digital and print outlets. 

Enjoy! 

[You are now safely here]

00:40 - Thank you again so much for listening and for subscribing!!

01:12: - Introducing and welcome Deborah Gilboa.

02:30 - Deborah in her own words. 

02:58 - A lesson in #resilience from medicine. 

04:19 - How do you help other people navigate #change and become more resilient? 

05:36 - Strategies for navigating change. 

06:01 - Strategy #1

07:30 - Reflexes and homeostasis. 

11:50 - Strategy #2

12:51 - Strategy #3

12:55 - Strategy #4

14:14 - Strategy #5

15:41 - Thanks so much for enjoying "Faster Than Normal”! We appreciate you and your hard work so much! Onwards! We’ll see you next week right back here!

Connect with Deborah on-

Website: askdoctorg.com

If you haven't picked up a copy of my book The Boy with the Faster Brain yet, it is on Amazon and it is a number #1 One Bestseller in all categories! Click HERE or buy your copy at https://amzn.to/3FcAKkI. My link tree is here if you’re looking for something specific: https://linktr.ee/petershankman.

Thank you to RxGo for sponsoring this episode! RxGo is a free prescription discount card that can save you between 10 to 84percent of your out of pocket expenses. We all have to deal with medications, especially when you are neurodiverse like we are. With RxGo, not only can you search for your exact medication’s pricing at your local pharmacy, but if your insurance doesn’t cover it, and if you have to pay out of pocket, you can save between 10 and 84percent off of your medication costs by using this card! There is no application, no health restrictions, no fees and the card never expires! So, it you have any medication needs and want to save, please check out www.RxGo.com/faster  Thank you again to RxGo for sponsoring today’s podcast!

—

Rachel Trobman is the CEO and Co-Founder of Upside Health, which is dedicated to reducing the economic and social impact of chronic pain for patients and providers, primarily through its technology product, Ouchie. Prior to her foray into healthcare, Rachel was a digital content producer, working for a wide range of news outlets including NY1, the New York Times and the TODAY Show. When she’s not wrangling health systems, Rachel is wrangling her two young daughters, Maisie and June, and is exploring the best ice cream spots in NJ with her husband, Jason. Enjoy!

 

In this episode Peter & Rachel discuss:

2:03-  Intro & welcome Rachel!  Ref: Upside Health, Ouchie App

3:28-  Are you ADHD? People with ADHD share many similarities to those living with chronic pain; sometimes they are one-in-the-same. The similarities exist in sensitization issues and treatment methods.

4:30-  What made you come up with this company?

6:30-  Much self-reporting of pain is tainted due to the ‘shake it off’ attitude surrounding hurt & pain. i.e. An “invisible illness”. 

7:42-  On the concept of “well, you don’t look sick”, and what being sick really means.

8:26- Penicillin won’t fix everything. It’s just not that easy, or simple, or mono.

9:04-  Tell us about some of the wins you’ve seen with the platform and what you are building!

10:12-  Talk about the benefit of finding support & solutions together, as a tribe.

11:56-  On talking to people who understand

13:30-  On acknowledgement of being in pain, by others in pain and dealing with it all

14:40-  Who is the perfect candidate for the Ouchie App?

15:48-  Awesome! Rachel, how can people find you on the socials? @RachieDT on Twitter, LinkedIn and the Ouchie App is out now and available on Apple & Android!

16:70-  Thank you Rachel! And thank YOU for subscribing, reviewing and listening. Your reviews have been working! Even if you’ve reviewed us before, would you please continue to do so. Each review you post helps to ensure that word will continue to spread, and that we will all be able to reach & help even more people! You can always reach me via peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. You can also find us at @FasterThanNormal on all of the socials.

17:04-  Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits

As always, leave us a comment below and please drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! The more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! Know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note, we’d love to hear!

Chris Doelle is a Marketer, Author, Public Speaker, Broadcaster, Game Designer, and Texas High School Football Historian. Chris was not diagnosed with ADHD until age 45. He simply thought he was just more intelligent and motivated than his cohorts. His doctor sent Chris for evaluation and the results showed the highest reading he had ever seen. When asked how Chris dealt with his ADHD, his lifelong need to make lists seemed to be the glue that has held it all together. He never goes anywhere without a half dozen notepads. Recently, Chris has created two tabletop board games that were both fully funded via Kickstarter. www.FridayNightLegends.com and www.SaturdayLegends.com When he is not working on one of his business ventures, Chris can be found on his property in South Texas clearing land, burning out stumps or working with the builder as they will break ground soon on the house he and his wife are having built. Today we’re talking about how he keeps it all together… Enjoy!

 

A little more about our guest today:

Chris was a class clown growing up and was always being creative. From writing action-themed short stories involving all his classmates and reading them to ever-growing crowds of interested students to singing contemporary pop songs to the pretty girls several years his senior, he was always up to something unique. He started his first company in junior high school - he built and repaired bicycles. This was quickly followed by a stint selling sports cards and comics. As the computer revolution began, Chris was instantly interested. He was writing code on notebook paper for a year before the first personal computers came out. At the same time, Chris began selling computer software to his high school and training the teachers how to use the machines as a Senior in their class. Chris was neither the most popular nor the loner. He flowed into and out of every clique of students easily. He played football but didn't get involved in any other extracurricular activities other than student government. He is notorious for being the only student to ever resign as Parliamentarian - stating his reason as, "It's a stupid position." His grades were straight C's because he would ace the tests with no studying but never turn in any homework. That balance left report cards showing him to be completely average. Just after high school Chris was ranked #13 in the world in Hacky Sack. He then put himself through college working four jobs at the same time. Before his schooling ended, he has found two people to do two of his jobs as less than he was being paid and became an employer - albeit unofficial. He studied Exercise Physiology and Psychology. In college he began racing bicycles - a love that has continued for decades amassing over 35,000 miles on the bike. Most nights during his 7 years of college however were spent playing Dungeons & Dragons where he was the Dungeonmaster because "his adventures were the most interesting" of their gaming group. Again, Chris did little school work while scoring 100% or better on most exams. If he did study, it was after D&D ended around 2am the night before a test. After college, he had a short stint in "corporate America" building the computer systems for the Greater Houston Area YMCA Association. This position allowed him to regularly support 35 different branch locations training staff, while installing and troubleshooting anything related to technology. The position was at the perfect time for Chris as the entire association, with his lobbying and encouragement, was transforming from just two PCs across the entire organization, to a computer on every desk all connected together by the high speed internet of the time - ISDN. This constantly-changing position was the only reason he lasted so long in a mainstream job. As boredom set in, Chris went back to his first love - self-employment. Chris continued to start, grow and run a wide range of businesses - a tech support company, a video production company, a cabling company, a photography company, a web design company. Most were either sold, closed or rolled into his current company Fresh Media Works - a full service marketing company he has run since 1996. With the exception of the 6 years at the YMCA, Chris has been "gainfully unemployed" for the better part of nearly 40 years. When podcasting came around Chris was already doing live internet radio and became officially the 5th person to publish a podcast. Since that time he has done tens of thousands episodes and hundreds of shows - spoken to business groups and universities about podcasting and it remains one of his great passions. Through his ventures in podcasting, Chris became a major player in the world of Texas high school football. His site Lone Star Gridiron has become the statewide leader in news and information on high school football in Texas. Happily (albeit bumpily at times) Chris married his high school sweetheart after being apart for years. They have four kids and recently become empty-nesters. 

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***CORONA VIRUS EDITION***

 

In this episode Peter & Chris Doelle discuss:

:40  -  Intro and welcome Chris Doelle! 

3:05  -  When you were diagnosed? Tell us your backstory and how what made you different growing up?

5:04  -  On trying a lot of different things, what worked and what didn’t

6:25  -  On lists, deadlines and their importance in his life

7:35  -  On situations where failure to organize w/ lists, etc came back to bite you in the butt. 

7:55  -  On what tech tools to keeping things organized i.e. followupthen.com

9:00  -  On the difficulty of staying busy/finding balance with work and personal life

10:21  -  On being an extrovert with ADHD combined with physical introspective tendencies

11:15-  What drew you to games, and board games?  Ref: https://lonestargridiron.com www.FridayNightLegends.com and www.SaturdayLegends.com 

13:16  -  Tips on working partnerships with someone with ADHD

14:14  -  On finding and maintaining balanced partnerships

15:02  -  On functioning successfully around neurotypicals/what kinds of things changed w/ marriage

16:36  -  Tell people how they can find you and get more info on you? @chrisdoelle on Twitter  LinkedIN  his books on Amazon and at https://boardgamegeek.com/ 

17:06  -  Describe yourself in 15 seconds? 

18:04  -  Chris Doelle, thanks so much for taking the time being on Faster Than Normal, I appreciate it.  Guys, as always, Faster Than Normal, if you liked what you heard drop us a review.  We appreciate you guys being on the podcast , we appreciate people listening. We are, as far as I can tell, one of the top, if not the top ADHD podcasts out there, so I love that, and that was all because of you guys, and I am eternally grateful. If you have a guest that you think might work, or maybe it's you, someone you know, You can always reach me via peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. You can also find us at @FasterThanNormal on all of the socials. We would love to hear from you guys, uh, it thrills us to no end when we get notes. Also, one final thing, if you have the book, if you've read Faster Than Normal the book, go on to wherever you bought it https://www.amazon.com/ or https://www.audible.com - whatever, drop us a review, you'd be amazed at how those reviews really, really help. As always, thank you for listening. ADHD is a gift, not a curse. We are looking forward to seeing you next week, you guys take care.

18:49  -  Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits!

 

TRANSCRIPT: 

Hey guys, Peter Shankman. Welcome to another episode of Faster Than Normal, happy day, hope you're having a great day and hope your world is spinning the right direction. Hope things are chill. Hope you're enjoying life. By the time this airs, it should be,  I don't know, mid-February or so, and I'm hoping that everything by then has calmed down and we're all doing well.  It's the third week of January here, I guess, and we're moving forward here in New York, so I hope you guys are as well, love that you're here. Always very grateful that you've tuned in. I have another great guest, every week we have great guests, this, this week is no different. Chris Doelle is our guest today, and I will tell you all about him.  And if I seem pretty calm, and much more calm than I usually am. in these episodes, I had a ridiculously hard workout today and I'm not sure, but I think half my brain fell out, uh, I was on the Peloton and I had the best output I've had in about 16 months, so I'm frighteningly calm today to the point where I'm like, not really sure if it's, if this is the, I don't know what's going to happen.  Hopefully this returns, I return to normal, cause this is a little weird, but anyway… OK. Chris Doelle!  So Chris is a marketing expert. He makes marketing fun, he gets you more customers, but he's also an author, a board game developer, a podcast consultant, a producer.  Sounds like someone with ADHD who does a lot.  He was a class clown growing up. He was always being creative, he wrote action theme short stories involving all of his classmates and read them to ever-growing crowds of interesting students. He sang contemporary pop songs to the pretty girls, several years, several years, his senior. I'm dying to know how that worked out for you.  He was always up to something unique. He started his first company in junior high school. He got into selling sports cards and comics, and then he immediately hit onto the computer revolution. so I'm guessing he's about my age. He was writing code on notebook paper before the first personal computer came out at the same time, began selling computer software to his high school and then training the teachers, how to use the machines, which I love.  He was not the most popular nor the loner, he flowed in and out of every click of students easily, which is interesting…. children with ADHD, sometimes can't do that. One more fun fact about him, he was once ranked 13th in the world in hacky sack. Chris, great to have you on the show, man. 

Peter, thank you so much for having me, and I have to tell you that I hope you return to normal too.   

A little, little calm, little calm for too many people. So tell me about, tell me about your brain. When were you, were you diagnosed? How did this, how, what, what, what made you different growing up? Tell us, tell us your backstory. 

Sure. Yeah, actually I wasn't diagnosed til almost 50 years old.

Awesome. 

And I just always thought this is how the world works in, in, uh, you know, everything's going all the time with my head, uh, and getting bored and running off and doing something else.  I love that I came across your book and your show to realize that now is the first time in my life, I'm realizing, wow, I'm not all that different, there are people like me out there. So, so yeah, um, I guess, yeah… at a, at a young age, um, I was always writing.  Writing was always my release. I would write, um, and, and you talk about imposter syndrome. I, I would write in elementary school, I'd write my name a hundred times on a piece of paper and come home and hand it to my Mom, and she'd go, what's that for? And I'm like, so you don't forget who I am. Oh, which was insane. But you know, it worked. And, uh, I think, I think the, the big benefit that I had, you said that, um, it doesn't always work well to flow in and out of those groups. I think it worked well because of my Mother. Early on, she was such a supporter, always telling me you can do whatever you want, you're amazing, you're wonderful. So I believed it. I didn't have those doubts that a lot of people with ADHD have. Um, so,, between her and my father who was extremely ADHD, but again, not to diagnose, um, I learned there's nothing you can't do if you try, so I tried everything. 

Tell me what worked and what didn’t, because one of the things about trying everything is that you have some great successes, but you have a lot of failures.

Oh, yeah. Yeah. I think what worked there was literally realizing that it's only a failure if you don't learn something. So I... I reframed everything and my wife now will tell me I have rose colored glasses. I always try to find the good in everything, the positive outcome, and it's annoying as heck to her.  But, um, but that, that, that's it, yeah. I would fail at things, but, at the end of the day, I would go, okay, is there something to learn from this? Is this something I need to work harder at and go back to, or is it something okay, I've done that move on?  Um, and I became a huge fan of lists. I have sitting next to me, as we talk, a stack of legal pads, uh, there must be 20 of them here each with a different subject, and so every time I think of something, I grab the right list and add to it. Um, without those lists, I'd be lost. 

And you discovered that when??? 

I discovered that probably junior high school, because I realized I can't keep all this stuff together, you know, it, it came and went in, and popped in and out, and I'd remember,  great memory, but there's too many, too much stuff there going on, as you know, to try to remember all of it. 

So lists are, I mean lists are just super important and just as much, they fall into the  same category…. as like having  a calendar, right, and making sure everything you do at any given point, is in the calendar, um, is that sort of, you know, you’re, uh, so if your default is lists, you also have like, does everything have to be written down and everything you have to do has to be like put together and all that?

Well, yes and no. I mean, if, if I want it, if it's something that, um, I absolutely have to do, it goes down the list and it goes on a calendar and gives me a deadline, because as many of your guests have mentioned, and I, I, um, I went through and listened to all the shows, you know, just burned through them, just trying to get it all in, uh, and, you know, the recurring theme I saw was yeah, if there's a deadline, it would happen. So, so that's what I always do. I write it down if you know, I didn't need it, if it was just something like, yeah, sometime I want to do this, then I wouldn't worry about writing it down... I'd do it spur of the moment, but again, if it's important, if it's for business, if it's for a client, if it's for family, it’s got to get written down. 

Right. Have you... had a situation,, tell us about a situation where you, you forgot to write it down or you didn't, or you look at it and, and it came back to bite you in the butt. 

Gosh, that's probably on a weekly basis and it usually involves my wife, sometimes she said just in a passing comment, that I would categorize  in my brain as, “Oh, that'd be cool to do” 

Do you have any (indistinguishable) tools  that you use. Like I said, I swear by https://www.followupthen.com/  Do you have specific  tools that you…. tech tools that you use to keep the stuff flowing? 

Well, I use Google for most everything. So I use Google calendar and I have multiple calendars. I have one for each of my businesses, one for, uh, my wife, one for, um, things...I just, you know, that I have to go to cause I cover Texas high school football. So I have my schedule of places I travel, so that's a separate calendar. I also use the Google to-do lists. Tasks List and it's got multiple lists. So yeah, I do a lot of tech now, but I still rely on these pads 

And you’re doing this all by yourself, no assistant, nothing??

Not yet, although I called Megan and I said, Hey, can you help me? I need, I need what Peter has, wasn’t trying to steal her… although I would in a heartbeat if I could.  

Alot of people have tried, she's very loyal, I’m very fortunate… very loyal, I should probably give another raise. Um, so tell me about, you know, one of the things I read about with you, is you are, you are  constantly on the move, constantly busy. How are you, and I'm sure... I'm sure that the busyness helps you and keeps your, you know, ADHD in check, like, like it does for me. How do you, um, find the balance between staying busy with all of the things you're doing, um, and making sure you have a personal life, I.e. with your wife and, and I mean, you, you, you recently became empty nesters.  You had four kids, you know, how did you find that balance? And, and, and what tips can you tell the audience for finding that balance? Cause that's not always easy. 

And I don't know if this is the right answer for everybody, but the answer for me is, if it involves my wife, It takes priority over everything, so, but she gets it, she understands where I'm at and that I am constantly bouncing here, there and everywhere and crazy ideas and I'm going to run off and do it. Um, and, and she... she's a nurse, so she deals with people all day. I work from home, so I do my marketing. I don't see people, so she knows I need to go out and see people.  She, on the other end, doesn't want to go out and see people, so she's like “go, go, go.” And I think, I think travel helps us. 

Would you say that you are… so you're an, you're an extrovert 100% ??

Yeah. In the Myers-Briggs I'm an ENT J yeah, very much an extrovert. 

Interesting. 

But, but again, I do get, I do get introspective when I'm physical, like, uh, we're working on building a house out in the country. I'm clearing land, burning brush, and I do that by myself and it is like a Zen thing. So yeah, I get very, this is my time.

Understandable. I mean, I think that we all have those moments where we have to do our own thing and only our own thing, you know? Um, I've had to explain that to people in my life in the past, like, Hey, you know, I'd love to see you this weekend, but I've been on for 14 straight days. I need a day.  I need to sit on my couch, for 24 hours, watch King of the Hill and just do nothing. You know, it definitely, it definitely gets to that. Um, tell me about, tell me about….um so we talked about the lists, um, you created board games, right? 

Yeah. 

Is that something that you, you found, you found? what drew you to that? And did you find yourself doing that in part because of ADHD? 

I'm sure I did because growing up when I was in grade school, I used to make up sports related games that I would do with dice and I would play entire seasons of these things. I would go to my Mom and show her the results, and I know it was boring to her, but again, she was so supportive, she'd sit there and listen, yes dear, that's so amazing, that's very cool. And so I've always liked games. Growing up... or not growing up, over the last 17 years, I've run a website called Lonestar Gridiron, which covers Texas high school football, and, uh, in that time have become one of the, one of the big players in Texas high school football media, uh, and so my partner who I've known since junior high school in that, uh, I've been trying to sell him on, let's do a game, let's do a game, you know, because let's take advantage of this high school football stuff.  And he was against it... against it. ‘cause we both have computer backgrounds, it's a lot of work.  And then I said, hey, what about a board game? Would you be up for that? And he said, sure. And it was on. And so our first game was Friday Night Legends, which is, it's a football board game that allows you to play the greatest high school football teams of all time against each other, based on their real stats, so it let's you coach them? Uh, and we sent ..since had….that was the Kickstarter, we, um, then came out with another two years later called Saturday Legends, which does the exact same things for college football. 

I love it, that's brilliant. Tell me how… so you said your partner, when you work with, how do you, what tips would you give someone for working with someone with ADHD?  What have you learned about yourself that you tell people you tell your partner or whatever.

Know your strengths and be clear about your strengths with each other.  Uh, Mike, the, the partner, he is a, he's a numbers guy. He can sit at a desk and crunch numbers all day long and he loves doing it, that would drive me batty.  So, you know, we, we, on our site, we have the most comprehensive list of statistics over a hundred years of Texas high school football. We have all their records, all their coaching records, all the team records, everything you can think of. I couldn't put that together, but I'm the guy that gets out there and goes, hey, this is amazing, come check it out. Yeah. I'm the Steve Jobs, he’s the Wozniak. 

Love it, love it, having met Wozniak I totally, I totally get that, we all need a Wozniak. I think it's fascinating because I think that a lot of people who are listening to podcasts have these great ideas and they do get stuck on that side of things where they're like, I don't know what, I don't have the ability to do the math.I don't have the ability to do the scheduling, whatever. And so yeah, you finding someone is, is probably the best thing you could possibly do. 

Yeah, and that's why I need the Woz for my regular business still. I have it for the high school football,  that's it. 

No question about it. Um, how long have you been married?

Uh, been married, interestingly enough, we've been married for 12 years, but we were high school sweethearts too, so we all, we each went off, had our own little lives, you know, I was the bachelor traveling all over the place and she was the steady one building her nursing career and we got back together.

How, before you were diagnosed, what was it like, you know, did you understand why you were the way you were when it came to, you know, your wife and how did you, how did you function? Uh, when, when we, when we're ADHD, we don't necessarily function the best possible way when we're with other people.  Um, what did you have to learn and how did you have to change? 

Well, yeah, I didn't realize anything was wrong, you know, and I say wrong, it's not wrong because I've always viewed it, thanks again to my Mom's influence… as a superpower. 

You didn’t realize anything was different? 

Different, correct.  Thank you, Yeah, and so I just thought this is the way I'm wired.  I thought maybe I'm smarter than most of the people I meet, but I didn't think anything was all that different, so I thought this is how I deal with things. And again, I created compensations.   My, uh, my office prior to getting married, three walls, were floor to ceiling dry erase board so I would just throw things up, being very visual.  When I’d think of something, I’d jot it down, it was, it looked like mad scientist scrawlings. Um, after getting married, realized I can't have that.  The wife wants the house to look nice, so I have a much smaller, dry erase board and it's more organized. 

It's about the little compromises, right? 

Yeah exactly, and it was worth it. It was tough at first because I'm used to being able to just reach to a wall and start jotting, but of course I can walk over there and jot. 

Tell me how, tell people how they can find you, uh, how they can reach out and get more info on you. 

Well, again, my name since it's spelled uniquely it's Chris, last name Doelle.  You search for that, you can find me anywhere. I'm... I'm on all the socials I'm on LinkedIn. I'm, you know, you name it, uh, really easy to find. You can find me on Amazon because I've got, you know, five books out. You can find me on Board Game Geeks because of the games, anywhere, you just search for me. 

One final question, um,  the Jack-of-all-trades thing, cause I get that right? I do this, I'm marketing ability, you know, how do you describe yourself to other people, right? If you, if you, if you, if your entire life is cats, for instance, and you have a cat blog and you do stuff with cats, I’m a cat person, I write about cats, you know, you do so many things that are not related.  How do you describe yourself in 15 seconds in the elevator? 

I literally just say I'm a marketer because everything I do involves marketing, uh, you know, because none of them would succeed without it. And, uh, other than that, I silo, I talk to people and say, if you know me as a board game guy, we talk about board games and we don't go off on Texas high school football.  We can go off on books. We don't, you know, I silo 

Very smart!  Chris Doelle, thanks so much for taking the time being on Faster Than Normal, I appreciate it. 

Oh you bet, cool. 

Guys, as always, Faster Than Normal, if you liked what you heard drop us a review.  We appreciate you guys being on the podcast , we appreciate people listening. We are, as far as I can tell, one of the top, if not the top ADHD podcasts out there, so I love that, and that was all because of you guys, and I am eternally grateful. If you have a guest that you think might work, or maybe it's you, someone you know, shoot me a note @Petershankman.com.  Follow us on Twitter at Faster Than Normal, @Petershankman, uh, or on Instagram. We're pretty much everywhere. We would love to hear from you guys, uh, it thrills us to no end when we get notes. Also, one final thing, if you have the book, if you've read Faster Than Normal the book, go on to wherever you bought it https://www.amazon.com/ - 

https://www.audible.com - whatever, drop us a review, you'd be amazed at how those reviews really, really help. As always, thank you for listening. ADHD is a gift, not a curse. We are looking forward to seeing you next week, you guys take care.

Credits: You've been listening to the Faster Than Normal podcast. We're available on iTunes, Stitcher and Google play and of course at www.FasterThanNormal.com I'm your host, Peter Shankman and you can find me at petershankman.com and @petershankman on all of the socials. If you like what you've heard, why not head over to your favorite podcast platform of choice and leave us a review, come more people who leave positive reviews, the more the podcast has shown, and the more people we can help understand that ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Opening and closing themes were performed by Steven Byrom and the opening introduction was recorded by Bernie Wagenblast. Thank you so much for listening. We'll see you next week. 

Today we visit with Marvin Russell, the founder of two startups in the digital marketing world. that were both successfully acquired for millions. He is now working on Checkli, a passion project born out of necessity that has become startup number three, visited by 60,000 people every month to make, share and publish their most valuable checklists. We talk about his hyperactivity as a kid, his drive, how he stays on track and is always on the move. Enjoy!

In this episode Peter and Marvin discuss:

1:32-  Intro and welcome Marvin

2:30-  What was growing up like; what’s your background?

2:54-  On childhood and hyperactivity

4:46-  When teachers would give you laps to run, did it help you?

5:40-  On the pressures of making great grades

6:40-  On not being able to stand still. How movement is beneficial

8:43-  On practical uses of movement in daily life

9:20-  So what prompted the entrepreneurship?

10:55-  How did you put systems in place to keep you on track in your new business?

12:47-  Dow long did that initial drive/energy last in your business?

13:38-  On the value of a personal assistant

15:28-  How did you decide that is was time to sell your company?

17:28-  Tell us about your third & current company?  ref:  www.Checkli.com

19:50-  Will you sell this company and quickly move on to the next?

21:20-  How can people find you? Twitter: @MarvinRussell or at www.MarvinRussell.com

21:50-  Thanks Marvin, and thank YOU for subscribing, reviewing and listening! You can always reach me at peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. Also at @FasterThanNormal on all of the socials. 

21:11-  Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits

Check out my new ADHD Coaching at www.shankminds.com/ADHDCoaching

As always, leave us a comment below and PLEASE drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! The more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! Know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note, we’d love to hear!

Dave Fox has been all around the globe. Tunisia, Northern Africa, Norway, the UK you name it! He was born in the states, but at age eight he moved to England with his family. That move at such a young age triggered something that permanently changed his life. From that age forward he’s been obsessed with learning about foreign cultures. He spent two years of high school in Oslo, taught English in Turkey, traveled independently, then worked, edited and wrote for renowned travel guru Rick Steves for sixteen years, (which is no small feat if you’re familiar with Rick’s work)! For many years, Dave’s career focus was on Europe, but things took a dramatic turn in 2008 when he went on what was supposed to be a one-time, one-week vacation in Vietnam. He felt so mesmerized by the frenetic pulse of Ho Chi Minh City – or Saigon as it’s still casually called – that he moved there. It turns out that Saigon works out well for the ADHD brain because he & his wife still live there! We talk about it all here today. Enjoy!

 

In this episode Peter & Dave discuss:

0:58-  Intro & welcome Dave!

1:50-  When travel became an addiction for you- did you embrace it, or try to ignore it?

3:00-  What took you to England for the first time?  ref:  Rick Steves

6:10-  Amidst the constant craziness, stimulation and beauty of daily life in Saigon, how do you focus down and get work done.. especially when it’s all around you like that?

12:32-  Do you travel outside of Vietnam very often? Tell us about your weekends.

14:00-  What other destinations have you fallen in love with?

15:08-  How can people find out more about you and your Writing, Life Coaching, Classes, Books, etc?  www.GlobeJotting.com Twitter: @GlobeJotter FB: @GlobeJotting INSTA: @GlobeJotting YouTube: GlobeJotting 

15:35-  Thank you Dave- I am so envious!  And thank YOU for subscribing, reviewing and listening.  Please.. stop right now and write us a review, EVEN IF you’ve reviewed us before, so that we will all be able to help & reach even more people!  You can always reach me at peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. Also at @FasterThanNormal on all of the socials. 

16:00-  Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits

As always, leave us a comment below and PLEASE drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! The more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! Know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note, we’d love to hear!

Every once in a long while, you get an amazing interview with someone you've been trying to nail down for years. Someone you think of as a hero, and someone who has been so bold about how they live their life, all you can do is listen and try and hold on.

That's today, as I had the distinct pleasure of interviewing David Neeleman, probably best known for founding JetBlue Airlines.

He’s classic ADHD, (enjoy his story of the tree in his yard) but more importantly, he believes, possibly more than any guest we’ve had yet, that ADHD is truly a gift, not a curse.

He took the time to do this interview as he was driving from one meeting to the next, so while the audio quality is a bit less that we’re used to here, it’s still perfectly listenable.

Do enjoy!

David Neeleman is that rarest of entrepreneurs, a man who has created and launched four successful, independent airlines, including the USA’s JetBlue and Morris Air, Canada’s WestJet and Brazil’s Azul. And yes, he's done it all with (not in spite of) his ADHD.

This week on Faster Than Normal, we speak with Elaine Taylor-Klaus, who runs the website Impact ADHD. Elaine is a coach, working specifically with parents and kids with ADHD. She's got some wonderful advice for the parents in the audience, and as a bonus, it works for all of us! Enjoy this episode!

In this episode, Peter and Elaine discuss:

• How Elaine discovered that she has ADHD (01:20)
• The Impact ADHD website (03:58)
• Five tips for parents who have a child who has been gifted with ADHD (05:42)
• Naughty versus neurological (07:21)
• What to tell a kid who feels different because of their gift (08:41)
• How to stop kids from rebelling as teenagers (09:10)
• Is there a difference between boys and girls with ADHD (10:06)
• Tips for dealing with compulsive behavior (12:19)

Links/Mentions

• Impact ADHD (Website / Community)

As always, leave us a comment below, drop us a review on iTunes (PLEASE!) and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven't already! Know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note - We'd love to hear!

Say hey to DJ John Michael! He's the official DJ in Residence at Peloton Cycle (now known as OnePeloton,) he's trained under Junior Vasquez, and knows more 80s trivia than you do. This isn't assumption, this is fact.

DJ John Michael gives us 30+ minutes of over the top interview, on topics as wide-ranging as music as a calming influence, "taking back your brain" from the background processes, and somehow, we wound up also touching on the 80s TV Show "The Facts of Life," as well as Game of Thrones, the best dance mixes, and of course, Broadway.

There's never been a more ADHD-centric interview in the history of the FTN Podcast!

You're going to love this one. I've listened to it three times already, and I was there when we recorded it!

Enjoy!

Today we talk with James Oliver, Jr.  He’s the Founder of WeMontage, the world’s only websites that turns your permanent photo memories into removable wallpaper, and author of the book, “The More You Hustle, The Luckier You Get: You Can Be a Successful Parentpreneur.” James has an MBA from UNC-Chapel Hill, an accounting degree from Morehouse College and is known throughout the universe as Co-Founder of the world’s cutest twins, Thaddeus & Zoe.  We talk some about his proud parenting, about being entrepreneurs and about James’ unique journey thus far. Enjoy!

 

In this episode Peter and James discuss:

1:20-  Intro and Welcome James! refs: WeMontage, The More You Hustle The Luckier You Get

2:08-  How did you wind up an entrepreneur; tell us about your background?

4:25-  How & when did the Parentpreneur thing begin?

7:47-  Talk to us about your day-to-day struggle, balancing being an entrepreneur & a parent.

9:32-  How did you develop a good/working rule-set for yourself, with regard to balancing work versus Daddy/family time?

10:20-  How do you limit your daily distractions?

11:52-  How can people find you James? INSTA: @TrepDad Twitter: @JamesOliverJr TheMoreYouHustle.com

12:40-  Thank you James and thank YOU for listening! You can always reach me at peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. Also at @FasterThanNormal on all of the socials.

13:04-  Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits

As always, leave us a comment below, PLEASE drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! The more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! Know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note, we’d love to hear!

Lissy Abrahams is passionate about helping people create healthier lives for themselves, as well strengthening the connection for partners in couple relationships. She is a leading psychotherapist who has dedicated her career to helping her clients navigate life’s obstacles and challenges. When our lives or our couple relationship goes off the rails, for whatever reason, we can all feel distressed and anxious. Lissy helps her individual and couple clients not just get back on track but also to thrive again. Lissy believes we all have the capacity to improve our lives and couple relationships with the right knowledge and skills. Her mission is to help as many people as possible transform their lives by creating happier and more connected relationships. Lissy completed her Masters at the internationally renowned Tavistock Relationships, a unit of the Tavistock Institute of Medical Psychology in London. She has held positions on the British Society of Couple Psychotherapists and Counsellors (BSCPC) and was Vice President of the Couple, Child, and Family Psychotherapy Association of Australasia (CCAFPAA). Lissy is available for speaking opportunities on podcasts, radio, television, expert panels, webinars, and corporate wellness programs. Lissy runs a Sydney-based therapy clinic, Heath Group Practice, and works therapeutically with clients here and around the world via online sessions. She has recently launched an online course, ‘Learn to skillfully communicate with your partner and decrease conflict’. The course explores the real reasons why couples fight, provides guided activities for participants to identify why they are having difficulty communicating, and teaches the vital skills needed to break repeated cycles of conflict. Today we're going to talk a little bit about balance and a little bit about strengthening the connection for couples who are trying to find that balance, as well as a few tips on more effective verbal communication in general. Enjoy!

In this episode Peter and Lissy discuss:  

1:25 - Intro and welcome Lissy Abrahams!

2:55 - As ADHDer’s, we’re a bit trigger happy in our communication(s). What advice do you have to manage that fire? Ref: Rejection Sensitivity

3:15 - Sometimes when we don’t feel we’re being heard, we raise the volume.

5:12 - Sometimes we’re present but not really ‘there’ with our partners. How do we stay present and how can our partners help? 

7:00 - We can be a little like the Road Runner to be around from time to time.

8:10 - What would your advice be on verbal communication & amount of content therein in our relationships?

10:50 - Is the basis of your relationship good verbal communication?

11:50 - A basic tip for better communication

12:10 - Our ADHD brains are usually going super fast; what is your advice on how to calm down for better communications?

13:39 - How can people find more about you and what you’re doing? www.lissyabrahams.com and on the Socials: @AbrahamsLissy on Twitter,  @ lissy-abrahams on LinkedIN and @LissyAbrahamsCourses on Facebook and get her FREE E-book here! 

14:04 - Thank you Lissy! Guys, as always, we are here for you and we love the responses and the notes that we get from you; so please continue to do that! Tell us who you want to hear on the podcast, anything at all; we’d love to know.  Leave us a review on any of the places you get your podcasts, and if you ever need our help I'm www.petershankman.com and you can reach out anytime via peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. You can also find us at @FasterNormal on all of the socials. It really helps when you drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! As you know, the more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! 

14:29 - Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits

—

TRANSCRIPT: 

Welcome to another episode of Faster Than Normal! My name is Peter Shankman.  Happy Monday, wherever you might be. It’s probably a Wednesday when you're reading, when you're listening to this, but it's a Monday here. It is a gorgeous day in NYC. A little cold, but finally starting to warm up into what we hope will be two days of spring before we get into 90 degrees and humid for the rest of the summer. Anyway, we are going to talk today about healthier lives. Now I say that as someone who has two speeds, as most of us with ADHD do, which is either eating tremendously healthy or eating six pizzas and a box of wine. So knowing that we're going to talk a little bit about balance and a little bit about strengthening the connection for couples who are trying to find that balance as well. We're talking to Lissy Abrahams. She believes that all people have capacity to improve our lives and relationships with the right knowledge and skills. She completed her masters at the internationally renowned Tavistock relationships, even of Tavistock Institute of medical psychology in London, she's held positions on the British society of couples, psycho psychotherapists, and counselors, and was the vice president of the couple child and family psychotherapy association of Australia, Asia CCA, F P AA That must be a lot of fun to say. Lissie runs a Sydney-based therapy clinic, a therapy clinic called health group practice and works therapeutically with clients there and around the world by online sessions; she's launched an online course called learn to skillfully, communicate with your partner and decrease conflict. Welcome to the podcast. 

Hi, thanks for having me. 

Great to have you. So one of the key things about add and ADHD is sort of that we because we only have two speeds. We, I think one of the things we need the most work. Okay. Sort of decreasing turning down the volume. When we get into an argument, get into a conversation, it's hard for us to just listen. It's hard for us to just, you know, we hear something we immediately want to respond and if we respond and it's not the response that someone expansion that there's not someone wants and may con they come back with it, we feel like we weren't heard. And that's what causes massive fights for us. So I think the first question, you know, in terms of creating a healthier life and sort of allowing our brains to chill and to calm down so we can actually hear the other person.. when you're ADHD and you're up against that times 10. What are your thoughts there? Right? From the beginning? 

I think the biggest gift we can give ourselves is a pause. If we could just take a moment to, even if it's just two seconds to pause before we react, because we're so trigger happy as ADHDer’s, we are so quick to just become little firecrackers. So one of the things I tell all of my clients with ADHD is that just taking a breath and pausing is our best friend. If we don't, we're just going to get ourselves in so much trouble. We we're quite a sensitive group as well. Um, a lot of us have rejection sensitivity as well, so we can very easily feel slighted. So. If we can just slow things down. So in fact, as speeds, slow and fast, we could do really well with that. But I think just slowing it down and breathing; because so often we'll jump in before someone's even finished a sentence and we're not even necessarily grabbing the full context and content of what they're saying, that being a firecracker, we can get ourselves into quite a bit of trouble with that. 

Um, most definitely. I think one of the things also is that, you know, when we, when we're trying to talk and we're consistently, we need to feel heard. Um, and so we're not feeling heard. We raised the volume, which doesn't help. 

It doesn't help at all and one of the things that happens there is that our partner can be quite confused and they often don't know what to do with that volume. Whereas someone with ADHD they're quite, they can be quite used to it. It's not as startling for non ADHDer’s who don't have that register necessarily. It can be quite a shock to their system and they, that cause a lot of defensiveness on their side and they'll come in and be quite triggered in return. So I think that level of that volume that we can, we can project can be quite frightening at times. 

Definitely. Definitely. What do you, um, so how do you work with people when, you know, a lot of times I remember when I was married, um, and I'm still, you know, very close friends with my ex, but when we were together, one of the things that she, she, she comments on a lot was that I was, I was there, but I wasn't really there. I never had any, you know, if the house was burning down, you wanted me there. I would, I would take control of the situation and fix everything, but the day-to-day stuff. You know, I had more of a problem dealing with the, the, for lack of a better word, the boring stuff. 

That's a really common one that day, but not there. And the way I see that is that we can become the person with ADHD becomes quite a tantalizing figure when someone's physically present, it's an invitation to connect with them. But if they're not really there in their minds and somewhere else, it's a, they become tantalizing and quite elusive at the same time. So it's a confusing proposal for a partner to, to know whether to do with that because they are wanting the connection. But then the message that's often given off is I'm in my own world and I can actually stay here quite happily thanks. 

I think that, that one of the things that you learn, um, as you're going through that. And it goes back to what you said about a pause, is that anything can really be sort of fixed if you're just able to give it time and stop and listen and think. 

Yeah, absolutely. I mean, I don't know. Did you get, you get the cartoon Roadrunner? 

Of course! 

Yeah. Yeah. That's the way I, I, I think of ADHD, I think a Roadrunner who buzzes around and beep-beeps and there's all that dust. And I think that if if ADHD is and I'm one, so I totally relate to road runner. If we can remember that we are causing a lot of dust at times as well. So we might be really confusing in the sense that we run and scurry around and beep-beep over the place. But then there is that other part that you're talking about, but we can leave our partner out and get so much into our own zone. And when we've got our hyper-focus on, that's incredibly compelling for us to stay there. So w we can be a bit of a confusing partner at times. And, uh, and really quite rattling. I mean, I know in one of my, with one of my couples that I see when Trump came in, there were four years of that there but not there experience because this person was so obsessed with Trump and what was going on, watching every video that came up and every news article was read and attended to, it caused so many problems in the relationship, but that is the power of the hyper-focus. So it, it, it is a confusing picture because that there but not there is really not there at times. And this went on for four years. 

Yeah, definitely. Very good point. Um, talk about communication. So a lot of times I think that the, you know, the best relationships are the ones that have free communication and yet, no matter how much you love a person or how much you're, you're, you're involved with the person you're close to the person. Sometimes talking to them, especially when you're ADHD becomes difficult, right? Whether it's that you can't get the words out or what you're trying to say, or in the case of study, what can you tell people who might be going through communications issues? You know, I know that that, um, There's sometimes there's so much stress in a daily relationship, right? Just this day in-day-out that the concept of talking and really just having a conversation that doesn't revolve around: Oh, did you make the kids' lunches or, oh, you know what time is the play date?” You know, it sort of goes out the window.

It's a really good question about that one! The difficulty in communication, it can, it can be that they either don't know what to say or how to, how to speak to their partner or what to communicate that difficulty in it. But it could also be that there's an excessive amount of content. You know, if you're, if you're in your hyper-focus, I don't know about you, I can, I can go on for quite a while when my ?height and stuff that I'm really, really interested in. And sometimes I actually need to just check in with my partner to see if I'm just bombarding him with information. I mean, he also has ADHD, so he can come along for the ride to a certain extent, but sometimes I can say, you know, the eyes are going darting around because it's too much information and my intensity and excitement might not be matching where he is at times. So that's another form of it. Um, but I think.. if looking at the other side of what I often say in couples and communication is, you know, what you were saying about the kids and you know, that the logistics and there's also a very critical component that happens in couple relationships and I think that's what really gets into part of the problem communicating; because the person with ADHD has often really annoyed their partner, especially if it's been undiagnosed. And there's a lot of.. the partner can be quite, uh, um, they can complain a lot, they can be critical, they can nag and nitpick because they feel that their partner with ADHD isn't pulling their weight. I mean, they often don't know how hard they're really trying. Um, but the, the communication is really tainted I think if the ADHD isn't well-managed between the two of them. 

Most definitely. I think that it's a lot of, you know, it's not something that you go e., you know, you don't think about going into a relationship knowing that you have to talk. 

A-hah!

I think that's been a problem. You know, everyone's had that at some point, they go into these relationships and they don't, you know, you think, okay. Yeah, I'll be a good guy, I’ll bring flowers. You don't realize that that, that the entire basis, most of the time is based on communication!

Yeah. And I guess the thing is when we first meet somebody it's less on, it's not always necessarily around the talking because we can always take off another tangent into the sexual arena whenever and it's all so compelling in that area too. So yeah, I guess there, there. I haven't come across as many people who struggle with the talking part so it's interesting hearing you say that 

I think it’s combined with the listening. 

Okay. Yeah, definitely the listening part. And of course, it's very hard to get somebody's attention all the time. And that's where it's important for communication to show; I’ve got a rule that you've got eye contact telephones down, I make a rule that I don't talk to someone who's staring at their screen because I know they're not listening properly. So. Try not to do that as well. Um, cause we've yeah, we can't, if we're not attending, we're not going to hear anything so it doesn't matter what’s actually said. 

One final question. Um, give us, you know, our ADHD brains are usually going 500 miles a minute. Give us two or three really quick strategies to help us calm down. 

So the first one is to pause. That one is the most important one because our brain really won't deal with anything if it loses the capacity to think so, once we're triggered we're in trouble. So that's the first one. The second one is really about breathing. I think if we just do 5, 5, 5 breathing that's five seconds in- and you can either hold it for five seconds or not hold it for five seconds and then just breathe it out for five seconds, just very slowly. And repeat it five times. F or me, that is the absolute game changer or ADHD is. And I would say that's one of my top tips actually, um, for calming down. And then the other one is to just be able to go into a place that's just your own. And to really go inside your own mind, join up, what's upset me, what is it about this that's triggered me and to be able to do the work because it's so easy just to blame our partner for what they've done to us or in that moment. But actually so much of what we get upset about is actually our own stuff. So it could have been childhood stuff that we could have been told that we were lazy or selfish as a kid or misunderstood, whatever that was but it doesn't mean that our partner is necessarily saying it in the present, but it often has more impact because of what we've gone through as kids undiagnosed or diagnosed. Yeah. 

Very cool. This has been great. I really appreciate you taking the time Lissy, and, and, and more importantly, giving us your advice and valuable advice on this. Um, how can people find you?

[[13:39 - How can people find more about you and what you’re doing? www.lissyabrahams.com and on the Socials: @AbrahamsLissy on Twitter,  @ lissy-abrahams on LinkedIN and @LissyAbrahamsCourses on Facebook]]

Uh, people can find me at my website. It's you see Abraham's dot com and I've got some blogs on there and I've got my course on there as well. And I've got a book coming out in August, so feel free to contact me!

Awesome. Very cool. Lissy Abrahams, thank you so much for taking the time! Guys, as always, we want to hear what you think. If you like what you heard, leave us a review. If you have anyone you think would be a great guest, shoot me an email. Peter@shankman.com We would love to hear who that might be and get them on the podcast. We are Faster Than Normal. We believe that ADHD and all neuro-diversity is a gift rather than a curse. And we will see you next week with a brand new episode. Thank you so much for listening and have a great day!

—

Credits: You've been listening to the Faster Than Normal podcast. We're available on iTunes, Stitcher and Google play and of course at www.FasterThanNormal.com I'm your host, Peter Shankman and you can find me at petershankman.com and @petershankman on all of the socials. If you like what you've heard, why not head over to your favorite podcast platform of choice and leave us a review, come more people who leave positive reviews, the more the podcast has shown, and the more people we can help understand that ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Opening and closing themes were composed and produced by Steven Byrom who also produces this podcast, and the opening introduction was recorded by Bernie Wagenblast. Thank you so much for listening. We'll see you next week!

Rett Harmon wasn’t diagnosed with ADHD until he was in college, where he studied Real Estate. Now co-owner of Century 21 Novus, he actively sells real estate and leads his Team- Rettro Group. His previous team closed 226 transactions in 2017 so the man stays super busy! He likes video marketing, blogging for publications, and speaking at industry events, but additionally he’s an Amazon Best Selling Author, Eagle Scout, (my personal favorite), has ownership in 9 companies, and loves raising money via Reels for Easter Seals. So we talk today about how he balances it all, and his story of success. Enjoy!

 

 

In this episode Peter and Rett discuss:

1:32-  Intro and welcome Rett!

2:00-  You didn’t get diagnosed until you were in college- what was it like for you growing up?

2:42-  What did your college professor notice about you, exactly?

3:29-  What’s an average day like for you?

4:47-  What do you do to keep yourself centered?

5:32-  How does ADHD affect you positively? Negatively?

6:25-  How do you switch your brain from “Work Mode” to Family Mode” -especially with a hectic, never-stop career in Real Estate?

7:29-  Talk to me about your personal self care, and how you get your dopamine fix.

8:19-  Do you see any signs of ADD/ADHD in your kids?

10:30-  What would you tell a parent who’s kid was just diagnosed with ADHD?

13:50-  Do you have any funny stories about how ADHD has affected your life?

14:55-  How can people find you Rett? Facebook, INSTA, RettHarmon@gmail.com

15:46-  Thank you Rett and Thank YOU for subscribing, reviewing and listening! You can always reach me at peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. Also at @FasterThanNormal on all of the socials. 

16:18-  Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits

Please check out my new ADHD Coaching! www.shankminds.com/ADHDCoaching

As always, leave us a comment below and PLEASE drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! The more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! Know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note, we’d love to hear!

This episode is brought to you by ShankMinds: NYC, a day-long business mastermind conference designed for entrepreneurs with an ADHD slant. Built around the premise that the goal of any event should be to improve your business, you'll hear from world class speakers, and spend hours figuring out what's preventing your business from blowing up the way you want it. 44 spots left - It'll sell out fast! Join us: www.shankminds.com/nyc

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One of the most "mind-blowing" moments of ADHD is when we realize that it's a gift, not a curse. That's what happened to this week's guest, Jack Kosakowski, when he realized that, in his words, "ADHD is essentially how i went from entry-level sales rep to executive/partner in a multi-million dollar agency within 3 years."

This interview covers a lot - from addiction, to impulsive behavior, from using your ADHD to get promoted, loving what you do, and yes, even the negatives of having ADHD. Tune in - It's a good one. Thanks to Jack for taking the time!

In this episode, Peter and Jack discuss:

• Jack's story (01:58)
• Medication (03:34)
• Addictions & impulsive behavior (04:25)
• Using ADHD to get promoted (07:57)
• Loving what you do (11:13)
• Dealing with stupid rules (13:35)
• Negatives of having ADHD (15:24)
• Marriage (16:16)

Links/Mentions

• Jack Kosakowski (Website | Business)
• Concerta (ADHD Medication)
• Scott Jordan (FTN Episode)

As always, leave us a comment below, drop us a review on iTunes (PLEASE!) and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven't already! Know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note - We'd love to hear!

Not often we get a TV star on Faster Than Normal! Meet Ryan Zamo, star of Amazon's "Backstabber." One of the hardest things anyone has to deal with in life is rejection - Now imagine having ADHD, and having to deal with rejection in a million different ways. "Was it because of this? Or this? Or maybe this?"

Ryan has amazing stories about how he handles rejection, and as importantly, how he stays focused, stays in the zone, and of course, his amazing ability to "reset" on a moment's notice. Don't miss this one!

In this episode, Peter and Ryan discuss:

• Ryan's story (01:21)
• Dealing with rejection (05:32)
• Ability to reset (07:01)
• Staying focused (08:37)
• Creativity on medication (09:37)
• Natural ways to get in the zone (11:44)
• Ryan's show (13:13)

Links/Mentions

• Ryan Zamo (Twitter | Instagram)
• Backstabber (TV show)

As always, leave us a comment below, drop us a review on iTunes (PLEASE!) and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven't already! Know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note - We'd love to hear!

In 2010 Shane started what has now become one of the industry leading college recruiting education and exposure services that educates young athletes around the globe on how to achieve their dream of playing collegiate athletics in the United States. He didn’t even own a computer when he invested in penny stocks and got lucky. He then bought a Macbook and incorporated. Now 7 years later he’s working with athletes in 40 countries. Shane has made and learned from many mistakes and shares his story with us here. Enjoy! 

In this episode, Peter and Shane discuss:

1:04- Intro & welcome Shane Howard CEO of Custom College Recruiting, LLC

3:08- So what’s your story & when were you diagnosed?

6:37- What prompted you to go into business for yourself?

12:47- When you decided to go out on your own, did you tell anybody were were ADHD?

14:50- What do you tell people who are just starting out in business?

16:58- Talk about how it feels to fail & what you would advise to combat those feelings?

21:28- What would you say is the number one thing you’ve learned from your mistakes?

23:40- Thank you Shane. How can people find you? 

www.theshanehoward.com  TWITTER: @TheShaneHoward.

INSTA: TheShaneHoward

25:45-  Faster Than Normal Podcast info and credits

As always, leave us a comment below, PLEASE drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! The more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! Know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note – We’d love to hear!

Our guest today is an old friend. I am happy to welcome Actor, (theatrical, television, silver screen), Songwriter, Musician (vocalist, pianist, guitarist), national Voiceover artist, Writer and fellow New York City kid, Chris Orbach to the podcast! In Chris’s travels, he’s cracked jokes with Jennifer Aniston, become drunk with Peter Dinklage, made Al Pacino laugh, beaten James Caan at a game of 8-ball, talked w/ John McEnroe about guitars, ate Chinese food with Tim Curry, watched Sir Robert Stephens do speeches from “The Scottish Play” in a restaurant in London, and listened -hunched and spellbound- in a corner of a recording studio while the great Sonny Rollins recorded. He has been a poet, a photographer, a swing dancer, and has finished multiple marathons- all in his 40’s and while staying true to his vegan diet. Of all the many things he’s done and the hats he’s worn, husband & father remain the two that make Chris most proud. He and designer/event planner Nicole Vallance married in 2011. He now splits his time between New York City and the Western Catskills where Nicole tends a bountiful garden, while Chris beats up an uncooperative lawnmower. No matter how long he lives in the country, he retains the inner tempo and sensibilities of a guy who grew up in New York City.. at a time when this city was still gritty. We talk about some of that jazz and his childhood experiences with ADHD here today. Enjoy!

 

In this episode Peter & Chris discuss:

0:45-  Intro & welcome Chris Orbach!

1:45-  Ref: Specialized High School For Performing Arts that inspired the TV series FAME

2:22-  Ref: On Law & Order SVU

2:40-  Wondering what was it like for you, working with your father?

4:06-  We talked earlier about your childhood and how you thought you probably had ADHD. Would you share some of those stories/experiences with us?

7:48-  On school years and testing

8:38-  Embedded in your career/job, there seems to be a level of creativity along with certain personality quirks, habits, decision making tendencies- all traits that are in common with folks diagnosed with ADHD, unfortunately including addiction. Talk about some of the in-common positives and negatives you’ve learned about?

15:45-  On: as you understand that you are the one who must put guardrails in place, the better & better you become at staying at your best.

17:20-  On sobriety

18:12-  On ADHD & decision making

19:30-  What was it like for you growing up in New York City, in Chelsea, circa 1976?

25:30-  What are you most excited about in your life right now?

26:00-  On the current state of voiceover work in the entertainment/media business

29:44-  What is the best piece of advice you’ve ever received, and who gave it to you?

31:05-  How can people find you Chris? www.ChrisOrbach.com  IMDB  @chrisorbach on: Twitter  FB  INSTA

32:00-  Thank you Chris, see you in 2021! And thank YOU for subscribing, reviewing and listening. Your reviews are working! Even if you’ve reviewed us before, would you please write even a short one for this episode? Each review that you post helps to ensure that word will continue to spread, and that we will all be able to reach & help more people! You can always reach me via peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. You can also find us at @FasterThanNormal on all of the socials.

33:01-  Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits

As always, leave us a comment below and please drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! As you know, the more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! Do you know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note, we’d love to hear!

Investigative journalist and anthropologist Scott Carney has worked in some of the most dangerous and unlikely corners of the world. His work blends narrative non-fiction with ethnography. What Doesn’t Kill Us was a New York Times bestseller; other works include The Red Market and The Enlightenment Trap. Carney was a contributing editor at Wired for five years and his writing also appears in Mother Jones, Men’s Journal, Playboy, Foreign Policy, Discover, Outside and Fast Company. His work has been the subject of a variety of radio and television programs, including on NPR and National Geographic TV. In 2010, he won the Payne Award for Ethics in Journalism for his story “Meet the Parents,” which tracked an international kidnapping-to-adoption ring. Carney has spent extensive time in South Asia and speaks Hindi. He attended Kenyon College and has a masters degree in anthropology from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He currently lives in Denver, CO.  Today we welcome him back on FTN to talk about his new book, the concept of “control”, ask what to do about our reserves of energy from frustrating circumstances, and how to get stronger and stay resilient. Enjoy!

 

***CORONA VIRUS EDITION***

 

In this episode Peter & Scott discuss:

:57-  Intro & welcome back Scott Carney!  Ref:  “What Doesn’t Kill Us”  &  “The Wedge”

2:36-  So what’s the premise of your new book? “The Wedge”  Ref:  “the iceman” Wim Hof

4:20-  On the concept of “control”

5:53-  What to do with adrenaline and other chemicals we make when there is no physical output happening.

6:50-  On trying to use out body’s natural resources to fight unnecessary battles

7:00-  On acting/reacting in the moment

8:45-  On how ADHD gives us the general willingness to try new things, and to ask a lot of questions along the way.

9:46-  On saying “I wonder If I could…”

11:52-  On doing things that are uncomfortable  Ref: picture of escalator to gym

12:41-  Why should we challenge ourselves even if we don’t really have to?

15:53-  On kettle bells and challenges

20:32-  Where can we find you and your new book “The Wedge”? 

20:32-  Social Scott:  @SGCarney on Instagram  Twitter  scottcarneyauthor on Facebook. At scottcarney.com and via  foxtopus.ink

20:57-  Thank you Scott for joining us again! And thank YOU for subscribing, reviewing and listening. Your reviews are working! Even if you’ve reviewed us before, would you please write even a short one for this episode? Each review that you post helps to ensure that word will continue to spread, and that we will all be able to reach & help more people! You can always reach me via peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. You can also find us at @FasterThanNormal on all of the socials.

STAY HEALTHY - STAY SAFE - STAY HOME.. until next time!

21:21-  Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits

As always, leave us a comment below and please drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! As you know, the more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! Do you know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note, we’d love to hear!

Sally Willbanks, Founder of ND Renegade, a contemporary apparel brand that shines a light on neurodiversity. She is an award-winning Australian artist who made a career change when she decided to start this clothing brand, with the intention of instilling pride in the neurodivergent population, including her two children.  Sally is the creator of all of ND Renegade's designs. Sally is also a neurodiversity advocate and speaker, presenting at schools in NSW with to educate faculty in ways to help neurodivergent students. Today we learn her story. This is awesome- enjoy!

In this episode Peter and Sally Willbanks discuss:  

 

1:47 - Intro and welcome Sally!  

2:42 - So what prompted the start of your fashion brand ND Renegade?

3:42 - The concept of starting a company is not foreign to those of us with ADHD. Did this seem natural and usual to you and your children?

5:08 - These are so smart and AWESOME!!! Ref:  Designs at https://www.ndrenegade.com

5:37 - What have your reactions been to the messaging? 

7:26 - When and with what were your children diagnosed?

8:00 - What are the conversations you are having with your young children about it all?

8:56 - How are you children involved in the business?

9:92 - What makes an item “sensory friendly” -what goes into making those?

10:15 - Pardon my American-ness, what is “Takiwatanga” and what does it mean?

11:28 - How old is the company now?

11:45 - What do you want people to know about the reasons you’ve done this and what are your goals?

12:56 - How can people find you? https://www.ndrenegade.com and @ndrenegade on INSTA and @ @NDRneurotribe on Facebook

13:25 - Thank you Sally Willbanks! Guys, as always, we are here for you and we love the responses and the notes that we get from you; so please continue to do that! Tell us who you want to hear on the podcast, anything at all; we’d love to know.  Leave us a review on any of the places you get your podcasts, and if you ever need our help I'm www.petershankman.com and you can reach out anytime via peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. You can also find us at @FasterNormal on all of the socials. It really helps when you drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! As you know, the more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! 

14:00 - Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits

TRANSCRIPT: 

—

I want to thank you for listening and for subscribing to Faster Than Normal! I also want to tell you that if you’re listening to this one, you probably listened to other episodes as well. Because of you all, we are the number one ADHD podcast on the internet!! And if you like us, you can sponsor an episode! Head over to https://rally.io/creator/SHANK/ It is a lot cheaper than you think. You'll reach... about 25k to 30,000 people in an episode and get your name out there, get your brand out there, your company out there, or just say thanks for all the interviews! We’ve brought you over 230 interviews of CEOs, celebrities, musicians, all kinds of rock stars all around the world from Tony Robbins, Seth Godin, Keith Krach from DocuSign, Danny Meyer, we've had Rachel Cotton, we've had  the band Shinedown, right? Tons and tons of interviews, and we keep bringing in new ones every week so head over to https://rally.io/creator/SHANK/ make it yours, we'd love to have you, thanks so much for listening!  Now to this week's episode, we hope you enjoy it!

—

What's up guys, Peter Shankman at Faster Than Normal. We’ve got an extra special 10 minute episode this morning with Sally Willbanks. So most people, when they have ADHD this, you know, at ADHD and. Maybe I'll I'll I'll get some help, but I'll figure out what I'm doing. I'll I'll adjust some things. No. Sally decides to start a renegade contemporary apparel company called ND Renegade because that's what people with ADHD do. So we write books, we start clothing companies, we started other companies it's just who we are. So she's the founder. She's an award winning Australian artist who made a career change, which she decided to start this clothing brand with the intention of instilling pride into the neurodivergent population, including her two children. So there's the creator of all of the ND renegades designs. She's a neurodiversity new university advocate and speaker. She presents at schools in New South Wales with the ability and the desire to educate faculty in ways to help neuro diversion students. I love everything about that. Sally, welcome to Faster Than Normal.

Thank you very much. Thank you for having me. 

So you decided out of the blue, I mean, it wasn't as much out of the blue, but what made you make that change? You said, okay. I have two children who are neurodivergent; I'm just going to start a fashion. 

Yeah. Um, well, I'm a, I'm an artist, I'm a painter and that requires long, long hours in the studio And, uh, I was just not spending too much time with my family and we homeschool and I wanted to show the kids how to run a business, but I needed them to be more involved. So. Um, I put down my brushes cause that's, it's really solitary. It didn't involve them very much. Um, I had the thought of doing a clothing brand that just for neurodivergent people, just to bring pride to themselves And once I had the idea, I couldn't let it go. So I literally wrapped up my show, uh, within a couple of weeks and designed a website, uh, designed the logo, got the name and, uh, we'd sold a first item within a month of me having the idea. 

I love it. And, you know, the concept of, um, uh, sort of starting a company, or doing something like that it's not that foreign to people with ADHD because that's what sort of we do. We sit there and we say, okay, I have this idea. And 30 minutes later, you know, we've sketched it out and we have a website up. All right. We don't, we don't do focus groups. We don't do a panel testing. We just sort of go for it. So did you find that it was sort of the same thing? Like, okay, we're just going to go for this and, and, you know, you're teaching your kids sort of, sort of, this is how we do things and it's a faster sort of lifestyle as it were.

Yeah. You know, basically if I, if I'd known how big it was going to get. And I, I, I wouldn't have done it like a, like if I'd seen the big picture, I don't know how I would've gotten there, but just taking one step at a time is what made it work. So I just thought, okay, I've got to get a logo, got to get a name, got to get a website, got to start designing. And it just kind of grew. So if I had, if I had seen what it was going to be and all the steps that took, I D I think I would have backed out to be honest. Um, so it was really about. Not thinking too far in advance and breaking it down into small doable steps. And, um, yeah, it just, it just clicked. It just worked. There was nothing else out there with this idea. There's other, there are other clothing lines out there that do, neurodiversity stuff, but it's more like to let people know that there, their kids are autistic but it's nothing about pride. So I wanted to change that. 

I love what I'm seeing here on the spectrum and off the hook. Um, these are, these are, these are amazing. I love it. The nerd, my favorite is a neurodiversity, uh, shirt with like 15 different, uh, different types of, um, uh, chords, accessory chords, the Aux cord, the USB cord, the,\, this is so smart. I mean, this stuff is, I think that what I, what I like about this is the premise that, that.  You know, we're in a time right now where, you know, 50 years ago, obviously no one talked to well forger about neurodivergency, we didn’t talk about anything having to do with mental health. Mental health was a secret. We didn't share it. We didn't talk about it. If you remember, I'm always affected that, that scene in madman where, um, where Don sends Betty to a psychiatrist and, you know, she. The psychiatrist sends him the bills and the updates and the status reports. And doesn't share it with her know, even though she's the one in treatment. It doesn't share it with her. And that's changed the point where today we actually, you know, we, we represent this as pride. I mean, I have my t-shirts, I have countless ADHD t-shirts and, and, and I wear a wristband that says faster than normal and, and all of these things. And, you know, so you're in a, sort of a good place at the right time. Right. Um, we're trying to change that conversation from one of shame to one of pride. And what has been sort of the reaction that, that you've received have, have you had, I'm assuming it's mostly positive. Have there been any negative reactions? Have people told you this is something we shouldn't talk about or how, how, what what's talk about that? 

Um, it's actually been really positive reaction. There were a few designs that I had, I've had a few issues with, um, as far as like, like an asby design, um, we've been asked to take that down, but then I got. So many people are asking me to keep it up. So I've got a disclaimer on the website and, um, you know, an educate yourself page as to why some people don't like the term Asperger's. Um, but other than that, it has been overwhelmingly fantastic. I get emails from people thanking me. I get emails from people telling me that they're using their clothing to come out to their family as neurodivergent. Um, it's just been, it's been overwhelmingly positive and it keeps me going. So, I mean, pretty much every other day I'd have something in my inbox. Saying, you know, thank you so much for doing what you're doing. Which is great. 

This really is good stuff. And, and I think that, that, so, so when your children were diagnosed with, it goes to the ADHD or?

Ok, so my son was diagnosed first as autistic, and then my daughter was diagnosed as ADHD, and then she was diagnosed as autistic and my son has since been diagnosed with ADHD. Um, so it's just that. Yeah, yeah, yeah. I mean, there’s,??you know what I mean? 

How are old are they?

My son is eight and my daughter is 10. Tell us about what you tell them. Tell us about how, I mean, obviously they, they, they understand that there are benefits to this as well. Um, what are the conversations you're having with them? Are they having, you know, do they, they, they ever look at it as, as a, as a, as a curse, as opposed to a gift or how. 

Right. Um, my son does, sometimes, he is a tough cookie. He's got anxiety disorder as well. So he gets quite angry a lot and he feels shame, uh, with his anger, but he still tells me he loves his brain because he wouldn't get to do the things that he can do. Like he can spell any word, he's been reading fluently since he was three, he can type like you would not believe on a computer. Um, and my daughter is nothing but positive. She is so stoked to be neurodivergent. She loves being Autistic. She loves being ADHD, and I just hope it stays that way. You know, she seems invincible at the moment and I know she'll have some setbacks, but I just, I love that she's so positive and she's becoming a great role model for other kids in the community as well.

Um, How are your children involved in the business?

Sure. They both have a couple of designs, believe it or not, on the store. Yeah, it is. I'm really thrilled with it actually. Uh, so I just took the drawings and turned them into t-shirts and they sell really well, which is great. And they actually partake in the giveaway videos that we do. And my son doesn't love being interviewed, so he hasn't yet, but my daughter and I do interviews with her about the different diagnoses and we do Instagram Live’s and things like that. So she's really quite involved in the advocating side of things on Instagram. 

Um, I'm looking on the website. I see sensory friendly hoodies. Talk about what makes an item sensory friendly?

Uh, basically the tag fray and as soft as we could find. So, um, the tag is the big issue. You know, people, people with ADHD and autism have sensory issues and particularly that scratch irritating tag. And even if you cut the tag off, you still have that little nub of, you know, the seem where the tag is. So we've made sure that our clothes, um, uh, tag fray and a soft and comfortable as we could find. So we just did a lot of testing on products and found the best one. So I have a whole slew of my own clothes because they're the most comfortable ones that I own. So I'm always walking around with brand and branded clothing on. 

I can tell there's definitely the artist's flare in here because the website is just stunningly beautiful. It's just so, so simple. And so, so clearly designed, um, tell me, uh, you know, this is, I think the American in me, what is “Takiwatanga” and what does it mean?

Uh, that is one that we've actually come under a bit of fire with lately. That is, um, it's the Maori word for Autism and it means “in his home, my own space and time”, and it was coined by a man called a PI who basically wrote the, the mental health, like medical dictionary for the Maori language. And, um, I'm actually, I've got Maori ancestry, so my great-grandparents were Maori. Um, And I just think it's a really, really beautiful word. And I, I think that it is a way of looking at Autism that needs to be shared. So I've got that on a t-shirt so that people ask, what does it mean? Um, because the definition is just amazing. I mean, how, how, um, perfect. As it, in, in his, her my own space and time, it kind of encapsulates everything may, that autism is. 

Oh, it really does. I love that. Oh, it obviously works. Cause I asked, you know, these are, these are really, really beautiful there. The website is ND renegade.com.  [[https://www.ndrenegade.com ]]And how old is the company now? 

It is, it started in January of last year. So what's that about? 20 18, 20 months old, something like that. 

Phenomenal. It's great to see. It's great to see that that taking sort of your, your talent and your putting it to such a use like this. Um, what do you want people to know about the reasons you've done this and what do you want people to know about, you know, what you're goals are? 

Yeah, well, our goals are to spread neurodiversity pride into every part of the world. So we want people who have these differences to stand tall and know that that people are proud of them and that they don't need to hide because the more these people kind of hide and feel shame and mask their differences, they're going to, they're going to just disappear. Their lives are going to be, you know, spend at home, not, not being in society, not making the changes that they can make because they've got amazing brains. They have fantastic ideas that neurotypical people don't have. Um, the innovation that they can, that they can create in the workspace is incredible. And we need these brains. And if we don't show them that they, that they should feel pride and that they are loved and respected, they won’t be using those incredible brains to help our planet. So we just want them to, we want me to know that they should stand tall. Differences are awesome. 

I love it. Talking to [Sally] Willbanks NDRenegade is the website.[https://www.ndrenegade.com] I love it. I just signed up for your Instagram. I'm on the whole thing. Um, yes, we'll definitely have you back. Definitely keep in touch. And when you do new, new, um, items, you have dropped your drop notifications and you let people know and everything?

Yup. Yup. I do. I usually, uh, run a few test, uh, stories on Instagram first and, you know, make sure people like what I'm doing and give them a couple of options and, uh, yeah, drop em on Instagram. 

Very cool. Well, we'll definitely have you back. 

Thank you so much for taking the time you thank you for having me. 

Of course, you're listening to Faster Than Normal. If you're wondering why my voice is a little lower today. It's cause it's just about four in the morning here. And her being in a, uh, on the other hemisphere, I decided to get up even earlier than normal to get my workout in before or right after we interviewed. So this is me before my workout. If I'm a little calmer now, you know why guys as always you’ve been listening to Faster Than Normal. We love you for being here and we will see you next week. ADHD is a gift, not a curse. As is all neurodiversity. Stay tuned. See you again soon.

—

Credits: You've been listening to the Faster Than Normal podcast. We're available on iTunes, Stitcher and Google play and of course at www.FasterThanNormal.com I'm your host, Peter Shankman and you can find me at petershankman.com and @petershankman on all of the socials. If you like what you've heard, why not head over to your favorite podcast platform of choice and leave us a review, come more people who leave positive reviews, the more the podcast has shown, and the more people we can help understand that ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Opening and closing themes were composed and produced by Steven Byrom who also produces this podcast, and the opening introduction was recorded by Bernie Wagenblast. Thank you so much for listening. We'll see you next week. 

Hey guys! Peter Shankman the host of Faster Than Normal here. I wanna invite you to something! I am hosting a Mastermind with 12 amazing speakers who are gonna be talking about everything from ADHD to mental health, from entrepreneurship, to just living your life better. It's gonna be on November 10th, It's gonna be virtual from anywhere in the world. Incredible, incredible speakers. The leading fitness trainer in Canada for all things. Me! A whole bunch of speakers- Scott Carney, who wrote the book which is to all about how he goes and takes ice showers every day. It's gonna be 12 amazing speakers, the CBS Early Shows’ Jennifer Hartstein, really, really great people. And I'd like you to join us. Check out the link below in the show notes at ShankMinds 2022 and we will see you there. And a matter of fact, look for the discount code in the show notes as well, that'll take a hundred bucks off the cost. We'll see you soon! https://shankman.lpages.co/shankminds-virtual-2022/ DISCOUNT CODE: SMFriends22

Currently pursuing a Doctor of Pharmacy degree at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond, Camille completed dual Bachelor of Science degrees in Biochemistry and Systems Biology with honors at Virginia Tech in 2018. Breaking from tradition, Camille blew up the onstage talent competition with a highly engaging and entertaining version of the “catalytic decomposition of hydrogen peroxide,” winning Miss Virginia in June of 2019 and then Miss America in December 2019 live on NBC. While competing for the job, Camille Schrier wanted it known that “Miss America can be a scientist and a scientist can be Miss America.” Through her time as Miss America and beyond, Camille has focused on advocating for her social initiative “Mind Your Meds: Drug Safety and Abuse Prevention from Pediatrics to Geriatrics” with a major focus on the opioid epidemic, as well as for exciting youth in the areas of STEM. In 2021 Camille launched her own science educational brand, “Her Royal Scientist,” which furthers her goal to inspire and educate youth and normalize females in science roles. She also works to raise awareness around Ehlers Danlos Syndrome, a genetic condition that impacts her life each day. Today’s episode is important to literally anyone who has ever been given a prescription. Enjoy!

In this episode Peter and Camille discuss:  

01:26 - Thank you so much for listening and for subscribing!

02:14 - Intro and welcome Camille Schrier!

03:30 - Ref: Margaret Hamilton’s Apollo code

03:54 - Women in STEM [Science Technology Engineering Math/Medicine]

04:56 - On Imposter Syndrome and growing up in public education without many neurodiverse role models

05:47 - On a non “A+B+C= ‘this or that’” approach to goal-setting and systemic education

06:40 - There is no one ‘right way’ for everyone to do something. We are unique.

07:00 - How did you wind-up winning Miss America, was it a goal? A note on risk taking

09:17 - How did your initiative “Mind Your Meds” come about and get started?

11:00 - Eyes open about medication use in the collegiate community Ref:  Safe-RX

13:53 - So much about prescription drugs has become perception, not actual awareness of what they may, and may not do! 

15:40 - Adderall and co-morbidities

16:00 - Talk to your peers and kids, not everyone reacts the same!

18:00 - In the neurodiverse community we are even more at risk of addiction, if not misuse.

19:04 - How can people find more about you? Web: www.CamilleSchrier.com

Socials:  @CamilleSchrier everywhere.  Twitter  INSTA  FB  YouTube  LinkedIN

19:20 - Guys, as always thanks so much for subscribing! Do you have a cool friend with a great story? We’d love to hear. I'm www.petershankman.com and you can reach out anytime via email at peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. You can also find us at @FasterNormal on all of the socials. It really helps when you drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! As you know, the more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! 

19:40 - Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits

—

TRANSCRIPT via Descript and then corrected.. somewhat: 

Hey guys. Peter Shankman the host of Faster Than Normal here. I wanna invite you to something! I am hosting a Mastermind with 12 amazing speakers who are gonna be talking about everything from ADHD to mental health, from entrepreneurship, to just living your life better. It's gonna be on November 10th, It's gonna be virtual from anywhere in the world. Incredible, incredible speakers. The leading fitness trainer in Canada for all things. Me! A whole bunch of speakers- Scott Carney, who wrote the book which is to all about how he goes and takes ice showers every day. It's gonna be 12 amazing speakers, the CBS Early Shows’ Jennifer Hartstein, really, really great people. And I'd like you to join us. Check out the link below in the show notes at ShankMinds 2022 and we will see you there. And a matter of fact, look for the discount code in the show notes as well, that'll take a hundred bucks off the cost. We'll see you soon! https://shankman.lpages.co/shankminds-virtual-2022/

—

[00:01:26] Peter: Hey guys. Peter Shankman here. Welcome to another episode of Faster Than Normal, it is a thrill to have you as always. It is another Monday when I do all my FTN interviews for the month. We are talking to Camille Schrier today, and I will tell you a little bit about her in a second. Uh, as you heard from the ad, there is a conference coming up on November 11th. I would love to see you there. Um, there should be a discount code in the uh, show notes, use it. You'll get a hundred bucks off and hear from 12 amazing speakers and me, so if you haven't had enough, there's even me. So that'll be fun. November 11th, virtually wherever you are in the world. All right, cool.  It is Monday. It is gray and yucky outside, but that's cool cause we're talking to a ray of, of sunshine and light today. Camille Schrier is currently pursuing a doctor of pharmacy degree at Virginia Commonwealth University in Richmond. She completed a dual Bachelor of Science degrees in Biochemistry and Systems biology with Honors of Virginia Tech in 2018. Oh, and she was Miss America in December, 2019. Uh, so yeah, there's that. She won Miss Virginia and June, 2019. Miss America, in December of 2019. You've probably seen her on YouTube where her, on stage talent competition was an entertaining version of the catalytic decomposition of hydrogen peroxide. Very, very cool stuff. I actually had seen that on YouTube before she came to my attention. Uh, it is wonderful to have you here, Camille. Thanks for so much for taking the time today. 

[00:02:52] Camille: Oh my gosh. Thank you so much for having me and making me sound way cooler than I really am in real life. 

[00:02:58] Peter: So, you know, you sort of broke the mold in that regard. You, you, you came up and, and you said, Okay, I'm gonna show the world that girls can be scientists, right? That, that women can do these things and it doesn't, You can mix and match. It doesn't have to be one or the other. I always look back at. Amazing photo from NASA where I was, when I was serving on the NASA Civilian Advisory Council. They sent me this, they showed me this photo. They have framed, it's the woman who wrote the majority of the code for, uh, the Apollo 11 landing. And, um, she's standing on a, uh, next to a stack of code that's literally like taller than her, right? And, and it was just, You know, you never Yeah. A woman did that. And, and I love as a, as a father of a nine year old daughter, I love that, you know, I'm talking to you and I'm gonna have my daughter, Jessa listen to this podcast because you're showing girls, um, my daughter's age and beyond that there is so much they can do. There's nothing they can't do, and, and you're doing it a lot better than me, as her dad ever could. . 

[00:03:54] Camille: Well, thank you. And I think even more than that, I mean, we know that women can be scientists. There's probably more women than ever Yeah. In STEM careers. But I think one of the things that I have realized as I've progressed through my own career is that it's not always normal to see a very feminine woman, exactly. In the sciences, and maybe women feel like they have to conform to kind of be like their male counterparts or maybe are afraid to express their femininity in a lot of those fields. And so bringing the science into something that is traditionally a feminine role like Miss America was a really interesting way to break that mold open even more, and show people that you can do whatever you want. And I think that's something that even defies gender is just embracing who you are and doing it on purpose and being fearless in every single thing that you do. And so hopefully it inspired, um, young girls, young men and beyond. 

[00:04:54] Peter: Well, it's interesting you bring that up because one of the things about ADHD is imposter syndrome and, and this concept that, You know, you are consistently broken and no matter what you've done, it's all been luck and you don't really have the skill to do anything. And I grew up with that, um, uh, through no fault of anyone but my own. I mean, you know, my parents were, were constantly supportive. But, you know, I grew up in an environment, in a school system, uh, public school system, which was, you know, you're different. And so you're being, you're being, uh, uh, uh, you're disobeying and, and you're, you're breaking the rules and you gotta be like everyone else. And it took me probably till. You know, late thirties, uh, to, to sort of get over that. And I think that, that, um, the more role models we have who can show that there is no one way to do anything right, I think is, is better for the world as a whole. And I see that, I see that, uh, you know, with, with what you've done. I see that more and more today, which gives me a little bit of hope. 

[00:05:47] Camille: I think we do need that because we're, we're taught to follow directions. Yeah. Right. And that's what we're seeing at, That's how we are shown success is, is you do these certain things and you get success. If you go through a certain amount of education, if you do these leadership activities and get extracurriculars and get a certain gpa, then you get X, Y, or z. And I think that often as young people working on this formula, that's not necessarily allowing us to embrace what makes us unique. Sometimes we can do that in that situation, but it's often really hard. And I've struggled because I want to do things the right way, but there is no right way to do things. I've always been really focused on doing things, um, at the most, at the highest level of achievement and success and getting to a certain level. Um, but I've forgotten a lot about what I want in that, and I think imposter syndrome is so real in what I have experienced. My becoming Miss America wasn't a longtime goal. I literally signed up for a competition that was two weeks away that went to Miss Virginia. And I was like, This will be fun. Let's do it. . And I won. And then eight weeks later I won Miss Virginia and six months later I won Miss America. And I was like, how did I end up here? Right? And did I deserve this? How? How did I. How did I successfully make my way through this in doing something that was totally different than anyone else had done before, but actually winning Miss America by doing something vastly different than anyone else had done was the best reward in taking a risk and doing something different than I had ever had in my life. Yeah, because I was always afraid to take a risk because what if it goes wrong? Right. But ultimately, if it went wrong, I would just come home as not Miss America. Exactly. So, The odds were pretty good to have a good experience, and it rewarded my creativity and my ability to try something new that then set me on a path to wanna do that more in my professional life.

[00:07:48] Peter: Well, that's one of the things that I try to explain to, uh, people, you know, especially the kids. And, and you know, when they, when they read my book and then, and they, they reach out is, you know, the concept that, that, that being the, the, the worst, the biggest risk it said is not taking one. Right. And, and the concept. you can do something and fail or you cannot do it, and you'll be in the same place if you failed. Yeah. So the only option you have that breaks you out of that is to try it, you know? And I, I love, I love that. Cause I think that that, you know, again, I didn't have that mentality. It was funny. I didn't have the mentality as a kid yet. I was always different. So it was like I was, I was fighting, I was swimming upstream, I was fighting against that. And once I embraced it, You know, the whole world opened up and so I sort of think you're doing that as well.

Um, so Miss America can be a scientist and a scientist can be Miss America. I love that. Tell me about, um, mind your meds. So, you know, when I was growing up and we talked about the offline, when I was growing up, the, uh, the concept of medication for ADHD or anything like that, really. Kids didn't really take meds. Um, they took medication if they were sick, I get, get penicillin, right? Whatever, you know, or Sudafed and I, but it wasn't, I, I grew up, I guess in an earlier time in the eighties we didn't have that. We had cigarettes and um, you know, I once I, and they were healthy back then, so it's fine. But, um, you know, I look at, I look at. Today I have, I have, I have friends who have kids in college and, and they're like, Yeah, the, the kids, the kids pass around, uh, Adderall, like it's candy. And, you know, that's not necessarily a good thing. Um, so talk about Mind Your Meds. Where did it come from, the concept? Uh, how, how'd you get to where it is? 

[00:09:16] Camille: Sure there's such a huge problem related to pharmaceuticals and medications in the country. And as a doctor of pharmacy student, I wanted to choose a cause that I would represent as Miss Virginia and Miss America that was something I was passionate about, but also something that I felt like would affect every person that I came across, that would be relevant to every individual in some way. And I feel. All of us have either taken a medication or have known someone who's taken a medication in their lives. We all have kind of lived that or taken even just a over the counter medication at some point. And when I went through my pharmacy education, I started to realize how easy it is to make mistakes, to take things improperly, the dangers of medications that are even over the counter. Let alone things that are prescription or controlled substances, the risks that can come along with those things, and how we can really do things that are very easy to prevent, um, harm and misuse and things that damage our communities essentially. So I wanted to focus on medication safety as one big piece of what I do. But then on the other side, there's also an issue with substance use disorders in this country. With stimulants, with opioids and many other substances, um, both prescription and illicit. And I saw more and more of that as time went on. Now I spend a lot of time talking about the opioid epidemic, which is one that has just drastically increased over the past 20 years for a lot of different reasons, but is really running rampant, uh, in our communities and is, is killing people at a level that I've, I never would've anticipated, but is really sad. So, Looking back at kind of all of the things that I have gotten to do. You mentioned stimulants and when I was growing up, I can't really even remember a lot of my peers taking stimulants for, for diagnoses like adhd. Now I went to school, like elementary school, middle school, in the early two thousands. So a little bit after, but still not that long ago I do feel like as time has gone on, it's become more popular. Right? Um, and. I will say when I got into college was the first time where I really saw medications being misused in my, with my own eyes. And it was always stimulant medications. And I think as someone who's looking at ways, uh, That people can be proactive with medication safety. I feel like if you have a prescription medication, especially controlled substance like a stimulant, you have to be a responsible steward of that sub of that substance. It is your responsibility to take control of that and prevent others from potentially being harmed by that. And so I've actually teamed up with a company called Safe- RX who produces locking pill viles. Mm. And that's just like an easy tool that I can recommend to families to kind of secure these medications, either at home or or students taking them to college. I talk a lot about children accidentally taking medications because they don't know what they are. They think that they're candy, making sure that you are locking up medications, keeping them up and away from children, being a safe steward of medications. These are all things that can not only keep people safe, but prevent misuse, prevent substance use disorders from coming up in our communities. It's all a cycle, and I think that it needs to be talked about more. It's not really an educational topic that I heard a lot about when I was in school and that I still don't really hear a lot about. And so I think, you know, as a pharmacy student, pharmacists have such a unique perspective and role in being a medication safety expert, and that's why I'm excited to be a pharmacist as well.

[00:13:06] Peter: That's a wonderful answer. I remember in the eighties, uh, you'd come home from school at like 3:00 PM and you'd watch like cartoons or whatever, and there was always a really, really bad. Like cringy commercial called pills aren't candy. And I don't know if you, I don't know if you had that in the 2000's by the way. I, I, I died a little bit when you said, you know, I, Yeah, I went to school in the two early two thousands. I just, I'm sorry. Died a little bit . Um, I had, I had someone I was watching, uh, TikTocs with my daughter and, uh, There was one where a woman goes, uh, you know, the, the older generation on TikTok, you know, the ones like born in the late nineties. I'm like, You, we, you're, 

[00:13:39] Camille: I've seen that it even made me cringe 

[00:13:41] Peter: everyone's app, right? Yeah. I'm deleting off everyone's phone right now, . But um, but yeah, no, I remember the we are not candy thing and, and it's, and it's true. I mean, as a, you know, I had the conversation with my daughter years ago, you know, this is anything in a bottle that looks like this or whatever. You don't, you don't take anything you don't know. You don't take anything. I haven't. Yeah. And, and, um, the interesting, interesting thing about the lock. You know, I wonder if it's, if it's also a peer pressure thing in the respect that, oh, you know, dude, can I, can I score that off you, can I tell, you know, score real, And it's a, kids that I've talked to don't necessarily look at it as medication. They look at it as a, as finals help. You know, there's a difference in, in, in how you look at it. 

[00:14:20] Camille: I think that you're absolutely right and that's how I saw it used in students that were trying to stay up all night Yes. And study, and that it was really a commodity instead of a prescription medication that genuinely helps people Yeah. That have disorders like ADHD and is extremely effective in that. Um, I do feel like what you're saying is very true and, and potentially even putting something in a container like a locking pill vile could mentally even make that seem like less of a commodity and something that should be protected. Um, and obviously I don't think there's studies along what that impact might be for students, but I think just looking anecdotally, that would be something that I'm sure that my peers probably would think differently about when I was in college. Uh, instead of just this, Oh, can I get one of these off of you? Which really surprised me, even though I'm a little bit straight edge to begin with. But seeing students talking about in group messages of like, Oh, does anyone have an Adderall? I have an exam tomorrow. Um, Really bothered me to my core because I just felt like it was so wrong. Um, and so risky from a medical perspective as well, because patients and students that have comorbidities who maybe they don't even know that they have yeah, an issue, maybe they have an undiagnosed cardiovascular problem that they don't know about, and taking a medication could, could really be detrimental for them. There's so many things that go into making sure that a medication is right for a patient. But if that, that's why these medications are prescription, because there's a prescriber that's evaluating all these different things. And I really wanna stress if there's parents listening, to have those candid conversations with your students about what the, what the ultimate risks of this medication could be for them and for other people around them and the importance of keeping that to yourself. And the also the importance of not taking anyone else's medications. Especially I have to, to emphasize in the time of fentanyl. Yeah. When we are not sure what is in any pill that we take, we aren't sure that a pill that someone gives us is actually from whatever they say that it's from. It could be a pill that was produced, uh, not in a pharmaceutical manufacturing facility that could be cut with fentanyl and could lead to an overdose. There are so many risks taking any type of medication or any substance from anyone I believe. Playing Russian roulette right now. And so that's a continued conversation outside of just protecting your own prescription, but emphasizing to everyone, students, children, adults, and beyond that we have a huge problem in this country with opioids and with fentanyl that is now coming into other pieces of, of the, um, kind of drug scene maybe in the stimulant sector with, um, methamphetamines and beyond, which is a deadly, a deadly consequence that could happen. And I, I hate to be dramatic and I know that sometimes I sound like a broken record in that, but it's a one decision that you could potentially make that you cannot correct. Right. And that is something that I really emphasize to everyone that I meet because it's, it really. It goes beyond just, Oh, I made a mistake and I'm gonna apologize. And it's unfortunate. So, uh, I do think that it's so important for us to not only be safe stewards, but have those conversations, have candid conversations with people, um, because these medications are also really difficult to get, specifically when we're talking about stimulants, right? And part of those reasons that they're difficult to get is because people misuse them. And so, uh, not contributing to that and making it more difficult for people that need those medications to access them, um, that's not gonna help us. 

[00:18:05] Peter: Well, what's interesting about that is, you know, especially, um, when you are neurodiverse, when you're a d d, when you're adhd, studies have shown you have much higher, uh, addiction prevalence, right? And, and so putting yourself deliberately, putting yourself into harm's way in that regard is something kids don't think about in their, you know, late teens, early twenties, and, You know, look down the road 10, 20, 30 years, where do you wanna be? So, there's no question about it. It's really, really cool. Camille, I, I gotta, we gotta cut it off for time, but I would love to have you back at some point. This is wonderful. 

[00:18:36] Camille: Oh my gosh. I would love to come back and talk about this. Thank you so much for having, uh, a great conversation about, uh, these issues. And they're so, they're so prevalent and I, it really upsets me that we, we see this growing rather than getting better. But I think having conversations like these are the way that we end.

[00:18:52] Peter: How can we, uh, how can people find you? 

[00:18:54] Camille: So you can find me on any social media platform at Camille Schrier my first and last name. Uh, you can also find mr at www.camilleschrier.com.  [ www.CamilleSchrier.com @CamilleSchrier everywhere: Twitter  INSTA  FB  YouTube  LinkedIN]

[00:19:04] Peter: Awesome. Camille Schrier, thank you so very much for taking the time.

[00:19:07] Camille: Thank you!

[00:19:08] Peter: Guys as always. We'll back next week with another amazing interview. Our thanks to our guest, Camille Schrier our thanks to Steven Byrom who produces this end every episode, and is just an awesome all around human being and I hope you have a wonderful week. We will see you guys soon. Take care.

Credits: You've been listening to the Faster Than Normal podcast. We're available on iTunes, Stitcher and Google play and of course at www.FasterThanNormal.com I'm your host, Peter Shankman and you can find me at shankman.com and @petershankman on all of the socials. If you like what you've heard, why not head over to your favorite podcast platform of choice and leave us a review, come more people who leave positive reviews, the more the podcast has shown, and the more people we can help understand that ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Opening and closing themes were composed and produced by Steven Byrom who also produces this podcast, and the opening introduction was recorded by Bernie Wagenblast. Thank you so much for listening. We'll see you next week!

Meet Dr. Jim Poole. He's this week's guest, and he runs a wonderful company called FastBraiin, which has centers around the country that focus on helping children, students, and parents understand that ADHD is a gift, not a curse. (Sort of like a walk-in version of this podcast!)

The best part about FastBraiin? It's deliberately misspelled, because Jim has ADHD and mistyped the domain when he bought it. I love that. Enjoy!

In this episode, Peter and Jim discuss:

• Jim's story (01:16)
• Different types of patients (04:13)
• The McDonald's syndrome (05:47)
• Protein for breakfast (07:28)
• Meditation and kids (09:56)
• Tips for parents (11:30)
• Watching TV (13:38)

Links/Mentions

• Fast Braiin
• John Ratey - Spark (book)

As always, leave us a comment below, drop us a review on iTunes (PLEASE!) and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven't already! Know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note - We'd love to hear!

Sometimes with ADHD, we can’t figure out why things just aren’t working out right. So when we finally get diagnosed, there can be a sense of relief- because we finally have a name for what’s wrong.  This guy knows all about that! After struggling through all of his high school & part of his college years, JO was diagnosed with Dyslexia and later with ADHD.  He was struggling into his 30’s. He has written a book about it, (in addition to a couple of others), that I started recently and am just loving. Now a husband and father, JO’s mission is to help parents and families- particularly stay at home dads- redefine life & family according to what works best for them. We talk about how excruciatingly painful having undiagnosed ADHD & Dyslexia can be, (especially in classroom settings), about self-love, about what finding a true mentor can mean, and about his new book, which is J.O.’s love letter to his younger self, here today. Enjoy!

 

In this episode Peter and Jonathan discuss:

1:14-  Intro and welcome J.O.!

1:45-  You had a really tough time in school; tell us about it?

2:20-  On reading aloud in the classroom

4:40-  On his second time taking a collegiate Genetics exam, and finally getting tested for a learning disability.

5:50-  Upon Jonathan’s Dyslexia diagnosis and getting some new resources!

7:00-  On turning 30, beginning a book, then being diagnosed with ADHD

7:53-  On using his superpower

8:52-  J.O.’s next challenge was learning how to ‘miss correctly’ and to love his younger self.

10:28-  What do you do to get yourself out of the times when you find yourself in an Imposter syndrome?

11:57-  J.O. & Peter agree that therapy should be mandatory.

12:38-  On not fighting yourself

14:28-  Tell us about your new book!  “To The Little Boy In Me Learning With Dyslexia and ADHD”

17:13-  Was writing this book maybe part of a catharsis for you? 

19:37-  How can people find you?  www.JonathanOliverOnline.com  Twitter: @JOStayAtHomeDad  INSTA: jonathan_jo_oliver  Facebook  LinkedIN  YouTube  Books 

20:00-  Thank you Jonathan and Thank YOU for subscribing, reviewing and listening.  PLEASE.. stop right now and write us a review so that we will all be able help more people!  You can always reach me at peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. Also at @FasterThanNormal on all of the socials. 

20:36-  Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits

As always, leave us a comment below and PLEASE drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! The more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! Know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note, we’d love to hear!

Aaron Perlut is a cool ass dude. He is the founding partner of St. Louis-based integrated communications firm Elasticity, with some 25 years of diverse experience in journalism, public relations, digital marketing, yet perhaps is best known as the world's foremost freedom fighter for people of Mustached American descent. A modest pants enthusiast and former senior counselor for FleishmanHillard, as well as a communications executive for two of the nation's largest energy companies, he has helped a range of organizations – Fortune 500s, state governments, professional sports franchises, economic development authorities, well-funded startups and large non-profits – manage their reputation and market brands across diverse channels in an evolving media environment. Today we talk about his experiences growing up with ADHD, academics, medication, getting through college, fighting stereotypes, and how he feeds his non-stop hunger & curiosity. Enjoy!

 

 

In this episode Peter & Aaron discuss:

1:09-  Intro & welcome back Aaron!  Check out his agency:  www.GoElastic.com

2:06-  So when were you diagnosed?

3:04-  What was growing up like for you, pre and post meds?

4:45-  What are some of the toughest things you had to deal with, that the medicine didn’t necessarily cure or “fix”?

5:58-  About “normal” behaviors and social acceptance  ref: definition of “cancel culture”

9:05-  On the challenges of helping neurotypicals to understand important stuff about ADHD

11:20-  Tell us about the agency that you run

13:30-  On how being neurodiverse can be liberating!

14:42-  Please tell us about your upcoming book

17:11-  How can people find you Aaron?  @AaronPerlut on Twitter  INSTA  FB  LinkedIN  www.GoElastic.com

17:50-  Real quick- what’s it like to own a bar and not drink?  His bar in St. Louis is: Tiny Bar

18:50-  Thank you Aaron for joining us! And thank YOU for subscribing, reviewing and listening. Your reviews are working! Even if you’ve reviewed us before, would you please write even a short one for this episode? Each review that you post helps to ensure that word will continue to spread, and that we will all be able to reach & help more people! You can always reach me via peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. You can also find us at @FasterThanNormal on all of the socials.

19:11-  Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits

As always, leave us a comment below and please drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! As you know, the more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! Do you know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note, we’d love to hear!

Having ADD or ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Hear from people all around the globe, from every walk of life, in every profession, from Rock Stars to CEOs, from Teachers to Politicians, who have learned how to unlock the gifts of their ADD and ADHD diagnosis, and use it to their personal and professional advantage, to build businesses, become millionaires, or simply better their lives.  

Our Guest today:  Morgan Hancock is a commercial Real Estate Agent, Entrepreneur, US Army Veteran, Mother-of-two, “Bourbonista” , and passionate advocate of the Arts. She is a charismatic force who can completely capture a room, radiating positivity with a disarming demeanor and sharp sense of humor. Growing up as an only child in a small town, Morgan spent much of her time alone reading, writing, and creating. With an overactive imagination and natural talent, art became an early passion. Taking an atypical path to her current success, Morgan has never let her context stand in the way of her ambition. She believes that art, like life, is only limited by your imagination, and it's up to you to create your own world. Morgan created Bourbon with Heart as a way to leverage the influence and popularity of Bourbon, in order to raise funds, bring awareness, educate, provide better access and deliver a first-class Arts experience to every person in Kentucky! Regardless of age, race, class, gender, or ability. 

About the company: Bourbon with Heart is Kentucky's first & only arts-focused bourbon charity. Bourbon with Heart's (501c3) mission is to leverage the influence and popularity of Bourbon to raise funds, bring awareness, educate, provide better access and deliver a first-class arts experience to every person in Kentucky regardless of age, race, class, gender, or ability. This interview was a blast! [Ed: and made my Producer/Editor a little emotional]. Enjoy and thanks so much for subscribing to Faster Than Normal!  [you are now here ] 

00:40 - Thank you again so much for listening and for subscribing!

02:00 - Introducing and welcome Morgan Hancock, Founder & Director

Bourbon with Heart, Inc. 

02:33 - Thank you for your Service! [And to all of you who served- your family too if applicable!]

03:25 - On service and Peter’s training. “My ADHD probably would have been I would have served me well to have been in some branch of the military, just for the discipline” -ps

04:17 - What’s it like to be ADHD and in place w/ such discipline, such rigid controls; like the Army?

04:24 - And... we’re now flying over Giza!  Ref:  https://www.instagram.com/p/B34UmeQlZE_/

05:09 - When were you diagnosed?

06:04 - A little of Morgan’s backstory

07:09 - On The Military 

08:02 - On becoming a very young mother 

09:03 - On parenting, and a couple of exciting childhoods

11:12 - Ok, I wanna know about Bourbon with Heart?!

12:53 - How’s your company doing?

14:17 - Peter’s toughest day in Louisville… almost a decade ago

15:05 - What if any advice would you have for your younger self?

16:27 - This was fantastic.. thank you Morgan. Please stay in touch!

17:01 -  How do our spectacular subscribers find out more about you? 

Web:   https://bourbonwithheart.org  Email: BourbonWithHeart@gmail.com

Socials:  @bourbonwithheart on INSTA  YouTube and Facebook

17:11 - Thank you so much for making time for all of us today Morgan!!

17:18 - Hey, you there! Yes YOU! We are thrilled that you are here & listening! 

ADHD and all forms of Neurodiversity are gifts, not curses. And by the way, if you haven't picked up The Boy with the Faster Brain yet, it is on Amazon and it is a number one bestseller in all categories. Click HERE or via https://amzn.to/3FcAKkI My link tree is here if you’re looking for something specific. https://linktr.ee/petershankman

17:24 - Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits. Guys, as always thanks so much for subscribing! Faster Than Normal is for YOU! We want to know what you’d like to hear! Do you have a cool friend with a great story? We’d love to learn about, and from them. I'm www.petershankman.com and you can reach out anytime via email at peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. You can also find us at @FasterNormal on all of the socials. It really helps when you drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! As you know, the more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! 

[ Ed: This is a relatively brand new experiment in editing show notes, transcriptions sort of; so if you notice any important, or significant goofs we’ve missed here or along, please do let us know @FasterNormal  Thanks! -sb] 

—

TRANSCRIPT via Castmagic.io and then corrected.. somewhat, (Ooh-ooh! Third and likely final trial run is today May 30, 2023. #gen_AI_for_whut??

Peter Shankman [00:00:40]: Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to their episode of faster than normal. How about we raise a glass of bourbon today? I don't actually well, that's not true. I've had bourbon. I like bourbon, but like most things, I rarely drink anymore, because, as we know, I don't just have one drink.

Peter Shankman [00:00:58]:  We are talking today on this gorgeous day I'm recording on a Thursday. I'm doing all my recordings on a Thursday this week, and it's it's beautiful out. It's it's about 68 degrees in New York. It's sunny and a cloud in the sky. It's a gorgeous day, and I'm inside recording all day. And this Saturday, it's going to be raining into the 40s. It's like god's personal gag reel. I just don't I don't understand the universe sometimes. Anyway, we have a fun guest on faster than normal day.

We are talking to Morgan Hancock. Morgan Hancock is a plethora of things. I believe that everyone should make it an effort to use the word plethora at least once a day. Morgan includes you. I want you to start using the word plethora.

Morgan [00:01:39]: At least I use it five times a day.

Peter Shankman [00:01:40]: There you go. I like her!

Morgan is a commercial real estate agent. She's an entrepreneur. She's an Army veteran. She's a mother of two. She's a get this “Bourbonista”, okay, which has to be my new favorite word. And she's a passionate advocate of the arts. She launched something called bourbon with heart. It's Kentucky's first and only arts focused bourbon charity. Bourbon with heart's mission is to leverage the influence and popularity of bourbon to raise funds, bring awareness, educate, provide better access, and deliver a first class arts experience to every person in Kentucky, regardless of age, race, class, gender, or ability. I absolutely love that. As a public school kid who grew up in the performing arts, I think that is hands down, one of the coolest things I've ever heard. Oh and by the way, Morgan also has massive ADHD. Welcome to the show. We're thrilled to have you.

Morgan [00:02:33]: Thank you. And let me we started by saying we are Kentucky's first and only arts focused bourbon charity. But pretty sure we could just claim the world because I'm almost 100% certain nobody in the world has an Arts focused Bourbon charity.

Peter Shankman [00:02:52]: I'm pretty sure I've never heard of one. I haven't been looking, but I'd be willing to bet that you're probably right on that. I'm talking to Morgan today and she's has her camera on. I'm looking in the background. She has this gorgeous her desk is full of stuff and she has this gorgeous collection of color swatches adorning her wall where normal in any other room it would be at a place. For some reason, it just seems to fit her style. She looks awesome as she's talking to us and it just seems to work. So, welcome to the podcast. We're thrilled to have you here. First question I got to ask you. So you're an army vet? Thank you for your service.

Number one.But more importantly, let's talk about I've Often said that looking back on it.

My ADHD probably would have been I would have served me well to have been in some branch of the military. Just for the discipline. Because when I was in my late.Twenty s, I met a former Navy.Seal who was teaching a boot camp class in New York City. Come to New York, he lived in Houston, came New York four times a year for two weeks at a time, and taught a boot camp class.And it was basically like being in the field for two straight weeks every Morning for two weeks. And I remember, granted, it was only 2 hours a day as opposed to in your aspect, 24/7, but the discipline that he required from us has stuck with me to this day. He's the reason I'm early. Everywhere I go, he's the reason that I'm not on time, I'm early and things like that So I don't know if you were Diagnosed by the time you entered the army, but let's first and foremost talk About what it's like to be in A place with such discipline and such rigid controls. Like the army, like the military, with ADHD.

Morgan [00:04:24]:  Okay, well, first, it's a little awkward to people that can't see. So I'm just talking to you while you're jumping out of a plane in.

Peter Shankman [00:04:33]: Egypt over the pyramids of Giza.Yes.

Morgan [00:04:35]:

So I've never interviewed with someone who's actually in the air over Giza. This is school for the people listening. His camera is not live right now, so he has the placeholder photo, which is him, skydiving or parasailing, I can't tell in Egypt. So I feel like that's I'm interviewing with him while he's doing that. I feel like really boring over here right now.

Peter Shankman [00:05:07]:  Not at all!

Morgan [00:05:09]: So, to answer your question, I wasn't diagnosed by that time. I wasn't diagnosed until I was 31. And I'm 37 almost, will be in a couple of months. My personality, if that's what you call it, did not do well in the military. I was constantly in trouble. I got transferred. I'll just say I got kicked out of a platoon, put in a different platoon. I was always on the verge of being written up for different issues. Bu. I made it. I served my time. I got honorable discharge. I made it. But I don't suggest it. The military as a place for people.

Peter Shankman [00:05:56]: With ADHD, why were you constantly getting written up? Was it lack of attention? Was it lack of focus? What was causing it?

Morgan [00:06:04]: Yeah, all the above and just kind of my whole life struggling with authority or any type of rigid systems and structured and just always kind of bouncing all over the place and kind of always being the class clown type, which really doesn't go over in the military. They just don't have a good sense of humor, I'll say that.

Peter Shankman [00:06:36]: So basically your time in the military was like my time in school.

Morgan [00:06:39]: Yeah, if you were a class clown, then yeah, I just tried to be a class clown in the military, and drill sergeants don't appreciate that. There's not like a superlative or you can win class clown. There's awards, honors and medals, but not for class clown and not for the funniest.

Peter Shankman [00:07:00]: You got through it, though, right? Was there a point where you realized, gee, maybe I should shut up. Maybe I should stop making jokes?

Morgan [00:07:09]: Yeah, because my arts and legs would hurt because of the punishments. And then because they do mass punishment.

Peter Shankman [00:07:22]: Everyone had to do it.

Morgan [00:07:23]: And you were getting trouble. Yeah, I thought, maybe I shouldn't do this, but then it's like I just couldn't resist either, so I just stayed in trouble and just don't recommend that's really my review of being in the military.

Peter Shankman [00:07:44]: But you did it. You got through it. You got through it. Congratulations. 

   Morgan [00:07:47]: I did it, yeah. By the skin of my teeth, I got out of there.

Peter Shankman [00:07:52]:

So talk about; your an Army veteran, and prior to that you had a kid.

Morgan [00:08:02]: Yeah, so I was 15 with my first son. I have two. One is 20 years old now. So it's crazy because we grew up together, and then I have a 13 year old, so I got pregnant with my second son also while I was in the military. I had one before I joined and than the second one during.

Peter Shankman [00:08:30]: Are you married? Are you single?

Morgan [00:08:32]: I'm not married, but not single. What do you call that?

Peter Shankman [00:08:37]: Cohabitation? Doesn't matter. I guess the question I was going to ask is, what is it like raising a kid, a, when you're young. And by that, I mean, I've raised my Daughter when I've had ADHD, but I also had her at almost 40 years old.

Right.

So I had a little more life experience under my belt. What was that like for you? What were some of the, I guess, difficulties that you had to go through?

I can't imagine anyone having a kid at 15, bet it wasn’t easy, but what was it like for you?

Morgan [00:09:03]: Right. I know it couldn't have been easy. If you just look at the facts of it, there's no way it could have been easy, but it's weird because honestly, sometimes it's just hard to remember. I think also when you're young, you just don't think about things being hard, you just do them and you just don't think, oh, this is now. If I had to do it now, I'd be like moaning and groaning, complaining about every step of the way. But I think when you're young, you're different. Maybe you're just a little more adaptable. But he had to go on some wild rides with me. I was always kind of rebelling or doing things against the norm and having a new phase or interest every other month or couple of months. So he definitely did not have a traditional upbringing. I pulled him out of school for many years to do homeschooling, if that's what you call it. I don't know how you exactly define homeschooling. We weren't in school. We'll say that.

Peter Shankman [00:10:16]: It sounds like it was interesting, though, for him. It sounds like it was never boring.

Morgan [00:10:19]:  Oh, no, definitely not. I think it was called ‘unschooling’ at that time, and it was just the reason I did that is because school just wasn't beneficial to me. If anything, it felt a lot like wasted time. And he was also just a very passionate person like me. And so I just knew that school in a lot of ways was going to hold him back the way I felt it did for me. So he really didn't go to school most of his life, and I don't have any regrets of that decision. I think he's one of the most mature, just turned 20 year olds than I know. He pays all his own bills. He has a fantastic job making more than most 40 year olds I know.

Peter Shankman [00:11:12]: Yeah, I want to talk about Bourbon with heart. So a nonprofit to help the arts is always an amazing thing!! I mean, I'm on the board of a couple of them here in New York, but why bourbon? What's your connection to bourbon other than Kentucky?

Morgan [00:11:31]: Well, if you live in Kentucky, as you said, you can't help but be impacted by bourbon. It's a huge part of our culture, of our economy. I love bourbon. I've been a fan of bourbon since well, I can't say how long, because we'll just say since I legally could be. And bourbon in Kentucky has this kind of incredible power to people really unite around it, because, as I said, it is a culture and it brings people together. And there's this bond than bourbon forms, and art does the same thing. Art unites people and brings people together. And one thing that people, everyone in the world knows Kentucky is the leader of the bourbon industry, but people don't realize we have a really rich and thriving arts culture in Kentucky and a ton of talent. So we took bourbon with heart, got them as a way to leverage that existing popularity and influence of bourbon to then bring the awareness and educate people and raise funds for the local art scene. And it's working.

Peter Shankman [00:12:53]: How is it working?

Morgan [00:12:54]: It's working because it has been met with so much support and enthusiasm. I mean, people just naturally when we launched this, I did not expect the rapid success and for everyone to just be so to just embrace it with open arms. I mean, corporations, our local businesses, the distilleries, the media, the artists in our community, and everyone just has embraced us with open arms and everyone's all of a sudden, wow, art and bourbon was such a natural marriage. And so many things are just growing from this initial concept. We're on our fourth exhibit this year. We're already over $100,000 that we've raised this year. And we have some really huge partnerships coming with big community players coming up in the coming years or next year. It's bringing people together that you would not typically see in the same room. And that's a beautiful thing. And let me also I don't know if you mentioned this, but yes, we raise funds and we raise awareness for the local arts community, but we raise funds for other local nonprofits. So we've given away almost $45,000 to other nonprofits that aren't arts related.

Peter Shankman [00:14:12]: Very cool. That's a phenomenal what a cool concept. Marrying the two. You wouldn't really think it's funny but, I want to say I have a love hate relationship with Kentucky, but primarily just a hate relationship. In 2014, I ran the Louisville Ironman and it was the last year they ever did it in the summer because the starting temperature was 104 degrees and it was hands down the most painful and difficult Iron Man Triathlon I've ever done in my life. And I remember being back at the airport after it was over and saying, I am never I don't even want to fly over Louisville. It was so hot and so miserable. But I got through it. And the people there were wonderful as they rescued my dehydrated ass from nearly dying. So great people, but your weather sucks ass.

Morgan [00:15:03]: That being said, I agree.

Peter Shankman [00:15:05]: What a cool concept and I'm so glad we took the time. Let me ask you one final question, Morgan. Let's say you're walking down the street and you come across a 15 year old who is much like you were at 15, undiagnosed ADHD, school, bores her. Things really, aren't you're not really seeing what's out there and you want more. You just don't know how to get it. What do you tell her?

Morgan [00:15:27]:  You're not going to find it in that boy. Start with that. That's probably what she's needing to hear at than point that's honestly one of the main things. And then just chase your passions because basically what I've had to do. All the energy that fuels and drives me now to make me successful in these endeavors. Bourbon with heart. It's really kind of the same energy that got me in trouble in the past. I just learned how to harness it for more positive, socially acceptable, not self damaging things. I would tell them to take that energy and harness it. They can still let it all out, but harness it for something that's not going to get you in trouble.

Peter Shankman [00:16:25]:  I love that. Morgan Hancock, this was an honest pleasure. Thank you so much. I'd love to have you back at some point.

Morgan [00:16:31]: Thank you. Thank you.

Peter Shankman [00:16:32]: Awesome guys. As always.

Faster Than Normal is for you. We want to know who you want to hear other really cool people like Morgan. Send us a note. I am Peter@shankman.com. I am at Peter Shankman on all the Socials except Twitter. I don't use it anymore because it's evil. At FasterNormal everywhere as well, including instagram. Everywhere. Everywhere in the world that social media exists except Twitter. We will be back next week with another awesome episode and another awesome guest just like Morgan. Oh, Morgan! How can people find you?!

Morgan [00:17:01]: 17:01 -  How do our spectacular subscribers find out more about you? Web:   https://bourbonwithheart.org  Email: BourbonWithHeart@gmail.com

Socials:  @bourbonwithheart on INSTA  YouTube and Facebook

Peter Shankman [00:17:11]: Very cool guys. We will see you next week. As always, thanks for listening. ADHD is a gift, not a curse. All neurodiversity is amazing. You're not broken, you're brilliant. See you next week.

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Credits: You've been listening to the Faster Than Normal podcast. We're available on iTunes, Stitcher and Google play and of course at www.FasterThanNormal.com I'm your host, Peter Shankman and you can find me at shankman.com and @petershankman on all of the socials. If you like what you've heard, why not head over to your favorite podcast platform of choice and leave us a review, come more people who leave positive reviews, the more the podcast has shown, and the more people we can help understand that ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Opening and closing themes were composed and produced by Steven Byrom who also produces this podcast, and the opening introduction was recorded by Bernie Wagenblast. Thank you so much for listening. We'll see you next week! 

Ashley Brown teaches Coastal Kayaking, Stand Up Paddleboarding, and Instructor Development at the College of Charleston. She has developed these paddlesports courses over the past decade to include Sustainability Literacy and a First Year Experience course with a Biology class. Learning about sustainability and sharing it with the students led Ashley to start a Masters of Art at Prescott College in Outdoor Education Leadership. She only has a few more classes before she finishes her degree. Ashley shares her passion for teaching kayaking at all levels and challenging people to test their limits while learning and having a ton of fun. She has been developing a curriculum in Kayaking, SUP, and Instructor Development at the College of Charleston, where Ashley serves as an Adjunct Professor.  Ashley is the recipient of the American Canoe Association 2019 Excellence in Instruction Award.  This award is presented annually to an ACA member for outstanding contributions to paddlesports education and instruction. She earned the prestigious Level 5 American Canoe Association Advanced Open Water Coastal Kayaking Instructor Certification and is also an ACA Level 4 Kayak Instructor Trainer, Canoe Instructor, and L2 Standup Paddleboard Instructor. Ashley serves as a member of the executive committee of the Safety, Education, and Instruction Committee for the American Canoe Association. She loves to travel and has gone from Canada to Mexico and beyond, sharing her talent and knowledge with clubs, groups, schools, outfitters, events, and symposiums. Residing in Charleston, SC, she enjoys welcoming guests from all over the world to paddle in Charleston’s beautiful waterways.  One of her favorite venues is the “Edge of America”, the Atlantic Ocean off Folly Beach.  She provides paddlers an opportunity to have an exciting experience and widen their perspectives. Today we’re talking about how and why she got diagnosed, how an ADHD/ADD brain can often serve as a prerequisite, and what being buoyant may do for the ADHD in you! Enjoy!

—— 

In this episode Peter and Ashley discuss:  

00:45 - Thank you so much for listening and for subscribing!

00:50 - Apologies for the near horrid audio- Peter is in a tourist-filled lobby today.

01:05 - Intro and welcome Ashley Brown!

01:53 - When were you first diagnosed and how did it happen?

03:00 - What was the first big change you felt after your diagnosis?

03:56 - What inspired you to seek out aquatic sports & activities; and to teach them?

05:33 - Do you experience sort of a rebirth every time you go kayaking; like I do when skydiving or running?

06:00 - On the good kind of exhaustion and a completely focused flow. 

07:18 - How does scanning a wave, being outdoors and on the water help your ADHD?

08:56 - I had never thought of ADHD/ADD as a requirement for something! For what else could ADHD possibly be a prerequisite?

09:40 - On the importance of physical movement!

11:30 - How can people find more about you? [Ashley isn’t a public figure but you can check into her courses via Web: www.wavepaddler.com and on their Facebook page here]

12:34 - Guys, as always thanks so much for subscribing! Do you have a cool friend with a great story? We’d love to hear. I'm www.petershankman.com and you can reach out anytime via email at peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. You can also find us at @FasterNormal on all of the socials. It really helps when you drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! As you know, the more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! 

19:08 - Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits 

—

TRANSCRIPT via Descript and then corrected.. somewhat:

[00:00:38] Peter Shankman good morning. I am coming to you today from the lounge at a Hilton in Midtown Manhattan because, uh, my apartment was supposed to be finished two weeks ago for all my renovations and it's not, and I am living the Dylan McKay life here in New York Hilton in Midtown. For those not old enough to understand what the Dylan McKee lifestyle is? Well, look it up. Your parents knew. Anyway, welcome to another episode Faster Than Normal. Uh, I apologize in advance for all the background noise. Ashley Brown is joining us today. Ashley, get this we're going outdoors today, even though I'm sitting in a lounge in mid Manhattan, we're going outdoors. The great big ocean. to the coast. We're gonna talk to Ashley Brown who teaches coastal kayaking standup paddle boarding and instructed development of the college of Charleston. She's ADHD. She's developed these paddle sports courses over the past decade to include sustainability literacy and her first year experience course to the biology class. This is a very, very cool stuff. She got diagnosed when her kid did, as we hear so much about .Ashley, welcome to Faster Than Normal. Let's talk about some outdoors and how it relates to ADHD. 

[00:01:39] Ashley: Hi! Hi, thank you so much for having me. And, um, I am really excited to talk to you. I've enjoyed listening to your podcast and I have to admit I'm a bit nervous. I hope that I hope this goes well. 

[00:01:51] Peter: . You're gonna be, you're gonna be fine. Don't worry about it. So tell me when you tell me when you first got diagnosed and how did it happen? 

[00:01:56] Ashley: Um, my daughter was in around third grade and, um, she had hit like unbelievable benchmarks in, in, in intelligence as a, as a little kid, you know, when they do those, pull you out, testing things to put 'em in gifted and talented and stuff. And then suddenly she couldn't read, you know, she wasn't reading, uh, at her, at her pace had had had just stopped. So we discovered that she had dyslexia and, uh, ADHD, and, uh, as we are moving through all those, those categories, I'm going, yep. That's me. That's me. That's me. And of course, this is something that, um, I, I understand a lot of adults have had that experience. So, so I got diagnosed when she got diagnosed and, uh, same thing, dyslexia, ADHD, and, uh, it's, it's interesting to hit it at, you know, 40 versus eight, you know, so 

[00:02:55] Peter: I was gonna say, so you lived your life, not knowing anything about it, sort of similar to the way I did. I didn't get diagnosed in my late thirties and, um, what was the, what was sort of the first cha big changes that you saw in yourself once you, once you got that diagnosis? 

[00:03:06] Ashley: Um, changes in myself, I guess, I guess maybe just like forgiving myself for being me, I don't know. Um, like suddenly.

[00:03:20] Peter: That's actually a, that's a pretty huge answer. A pretty huge answer. Cause a lot of people don't realize that I, I went through the same thing.

[00:03:25] Ashley: Yeah, no, I, uh, I always just, you know, why can't you do your taxes on time? Why can't, why do you have to work at a de at a critical deadline? Like, why can't you do this ahead of time? Like, um, so many of. So many other things that ADHD, people struggle with. Like, um, and I, I guess I cut myself a little more slack, not enough, not, not enough, but a lot more slack than I used to. Like now I have a reason, you know?

[00:03:53] Peter: Well, we'll never cut ourselves enough slack that's for darn sure. But, okay. So tell me about how outdoors, how did you, first of all, how'd you get started in, in the classes of paddle boarding and kayak and all that, all that stuff outdoors. And what prompted you to say, Hey, there should be, there should be a school or classes.

[00:04:07] Ashley: Well, um, so it, the, all the school and the classes are there it's, um, I didn't create that, but I just brought it in a different venue. So, um, I, um, I was, I, my first career was an artist and an art teacher and I was, uh, teaching. and it, it just, it just, you know, it, it's a pretty punishing, um, field. Uh, and I, I, I never was super successful with it. And then teaching children and then having children, it was just so many children and so much mess in my life that I, uh, I had a neighbor who said, Hey, you should come kayaking. And I went kayaking with a bunch of adults who I didn't have to clean up after. And I was like, ah, I can do this. And I, um, I just made some, made some major changes and I really went. Uh, full force into kayaking and stand and, uh, and then loved it. And I live in a place I live in Charleston, South Carolina, and, um, there is nothing but water around here. So there's so many places to explore and so many, uh, dynamic environments to, uh, get to know. So, um, I shifted from teaching, uh, children to taking people on kayak tours and all this stuff. And then, um, I met an instructor with the College of Charleston and, and. Uh, opened up some doors to me and I, I ended up with a full-time job teaching, uh, paddle sports at, uh, college level. 

[00:05:31] Peter: I'm gonna go into a limb and say that paddle boarding or paddle sports or anything like that is similar for the brain as skydiving or running is for me. Would that be correct? Are you, is it a rebirth for you every time you do. 

[00:05:42] Ashley: Rebirth. Hmm. I don't know. I don't know, rebirth and it, and it, and it is exciting and fun. And particularly when you do surf, so I'm guessing that skydiving and, and actually hearing that crashing wave behind you kind of stuff is this is similar.

[00:05:57] Peter: Tell me how you feel when you're done. You come back to land. 

[00:05:59] Ashley: The good exhaustion. Just space, that's it? Yeah. That's yeah. Um, so, and, and when I, when I bring people into it, I love their, uh, reaction to it. And I love the layering cuz. And I think that this is one of the things that I was that I wrote to you and the reason I wanted to, to talk to you, and I think that the layering of, of understanding the environment and watching the student and understanding where the student is is, has it. It it's that flow, right? Where you, where your brain is working on all the levels in the environment you're in. This is, this is probably the only thing I've ever done, where I wasn't also having a conversation with, you know, somebody from a year ago and writing a grocery list, you know, at all three going on at the same time. So, so it is the only place where my entire, where all of my attention is, is layered into there. So, so I love that. And then that puts me in that good exhaustion.

[00:06:56] Peter: Well, there's a level of focus there, right? I mean, you absolutely, you have no choice. You have to look at what you're doing. You have to focus on what you're doing. You have to pay attention to what you're doing. You can't do a hundred of those things. It's the same thing with skydiving and, and for people with ADHD, we don't often realize that we realize that is the, the level at which we thrive! 

[00:07:11] Ashley: Right. Exactly. Exactly. It's um, it is definitely the level where you thrive.

[00:07:18] Peter: Tell me about, um, how it helps, how doing that helps your ADHD. Tell me about, uh, sort of how your brain reacts to that kinda stuff to, to being outdoors, to being on the water, to, to scanning the wave. 

[00:07:29] Ashley: Okay. Um, so, so I came in to ADHD later, I did not understand the dopamine thing. Um, Prior to it, but now I understand and I, and I seek the, and I identify the things that give me that pleasure, that dopamine rush. So sometimes you're bored out of your mind of course, but then when you, when you can find the things that are giving you pleasure, like the, like moving very quickly through the water or looking at a reflection of a surface and, and, um, and so seeking those things has, or, or, you know, seeking that experience through somebody else's experience. So I'm watching, I'm watching 20 year olds figure out how to make their body work in a new way and how to make a boat, move, move through waves and stuff in a, in a, um, in a, something that they're not familiar with. It is, it is exciting in, and then that really does feed the, um, that dopamine receptor, I suppose. And, um, gives me a pleasure that, that, uh, I don't know that I, that I, I guess I had is with an art with art, but I had gotten so done with it with art. But anyway, um.

[00:08:40] Peter: That's a good answer. I wanna read something that you wrote in, in your email to me, you said, I think that or ADHD is practically a requirement for outdoor educators. They problem solve on the go keep people safe while putting them in intentionally risky situations and manage their expectations to keep it engaging, but not scary. You know, I've never thought of it that way. ADHD is a requirement for something, right. We always look at it as a gift and, and, and something beneficial. I've never thought it as a requirement. I wonder what other things a ADD could be a requirement for? What do you think? 

[00:09:08] Ashley: Um, gosh, I don't know. Um, the, the it's back to that multi layering thing, it's, it's, it's seeing some body and their process and a situation that needs your undivided attention as well. So probably teaching someone to skydive or teaching someone to do other things that are risky. Um, Ropes courses. Those are, yeah, those, 

[00:09:32] Peter: I mean, I think, I think along the lines that, that, you know, one of the things about ADD & ADHD is we have that incredible power to hyper focus. Right. Right. When we want to focus on something, we are there 100%. And I don't think that a lot of, a lot of people, without ADHD, really understand how that works. And so I think in that regard, it's probably very beneficial for us. Um, 

[00:09:50] Ashley: you know, and also the busy bodiness like the, the physical, um, Busyness is, is, uh, is key. So I think a lot of people that, that engage in that, like that come to an outdoor education experience and enjoy it, but don't want to be in it constantly. They need to think while sitting still or being still. And I, and I, I don't know how you are, but I never stop moving so it's a, it's a perfect thing for me to, to keep moving, to keep thinking. I, 

[00:10:22] Peter: I think it's the same it's same reason. Yeah. It makes perfect sense. It's the same reason that, you know, my, my parents always told me as a kid, no listening to music while you're studying, but it turns out that listening to music is actually the best possible thing. Someone like us could do. No question about.

[00:10:33] Ashley: Absolutely. And like, um, um, teaching kids. Well, my own children. Teaching kids like the multiplication tables or reading stories out loud or whatever, when they were tiny. If they, it, my, my little one was jumping around the whole time and, and I, and I would go, you know, what did I just say? And she could repeat it, back like just like word for word. But if I, you know, she just couldn't sit still to do that. So. No question. And, and I related to that, so I didn't try to get her to sit still. I went to Catholic school and I was required to sit still. So , 

[00:11:09] Peter: I went to school in the seventies and I was, yeah, in the seventies, it was sort of the same way. And lemme tell you something that didn't work really well for me either. No. And that was a public school too. 

[00:11:17] Ashley: Not a big fan of the sitting still 

[00:11:20] Peter: Ashley, how could people find out more? How can they find you? Do you have an Instagram, you have things where people could find your great, you sent me some great photos of paddle boarding and all that stuff. The places people could find this stuff?

[00:11:28] Ashley: Um, so I have a website wave paddler.com and, um, I am, I, I actually am not I'm, I'm not a public personality in the, in this, in the way that you are. I don't have something that I'm trying to convey to people. [Ashley isn’t a public figure but you can check into her courses via Web: www.wavepaddler.com and on their Facebook page here] Um, I just loved your show and I wanted to talk with you. And, uh, and, um, I don't know. I really do appreciate my ADHD!

[00:11:51] Peter: Good enough. Yeah. As you should, we're trying to change the world. Not everyone has to be a celebrity and everyone has to be, uh, famous. We could be like, you know, regular normal people, just, just doing the best they can with the tools that they've been given. Ashley Brown. Thank you so much for sticking around and coming on the show and, uh, stay on the water and keep having fun!

[00:12:07] Ashley: Thank you. You too! Come and paddle with me sometime. 

[00:12:09] Peter: Most certainly will. Guys, as always, we've been listening the fast than normal. Sorry again about the background. Apparently every loud person, who's a tourist in New York happens to be in this lounge right at this very moment. But I'm hoping that the next time we talk, I'll be back in my apartment where it's much quieter. We will see you next week. If you like what you heard, leave us a review in any of the stations, any of the places you download your podcasts. My name is Peter Shankman  @PeterShankman all the socials. And thank you for listening. We'll see you next week. ADHD is a gift not a curse.

Credits: You've been listening to the Faster Than Normal podcast. We're available on iTunes, Stitcher and Google play and of course at www.FasterThanNormal.com I'm your host, Peter Shankman and you can find me at shankman.com and @petershankman on all of the socials. If you like what you've heard, why not head over to your favorite podcast platform of choice and leave us a review, come more people who leave positive reviews, the more the podcast has shown, and the more people we can help understand that ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Opening and closing themes were composed and produced by Steven Byrom who also produces this podcast, and the opening introduction was recorded by Bernie Wagenblast. Thank you so much for listening. We'll see you next week!

Thanks to this week's Faster Than Normal sponsor, Bouncy Bands! Bouncy Bands attach to chairs and desks so you can bounce your feet and stretch your legs while you work. Kids usually have to sit still at their desk for 5-6 hours every day in school. Bouncy Bands let kids release their extra energy, anxiety, frustration, and boredom in an appropriate way without distracting others. When students use Bouncy Bands, teachers are surprised how students can stay on task longer and they aren't as anxious when taking tests.They are available on Amazon, tons of colors in stock!  Use code PETERSHANKMAN for a discount. Thousands of teachers have been able to get free Bouncy Bands by getting funded through Donors Choose. Here's a link with tips on getting funded, along with a sample 1-page application to copy and paste: http://BouncyBands.com/DC

 

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Get married, have children, start a company, sink every last dollar you have into it, spend six years on a roller coaster of "will it work, will I lose everything, will it work, will I lose everything," and, oh, do this all with massive ADHD? Why not? Meet this week's guest is Amanda Steinberg!

Amanda is the founder of Daily Worth, now WorthFM. She's managed to turn her ADHD into her superpower, no doubt, by following one basic rule: Surround yourself with good people who are smart and can do things when you get pulled in another direction. In this week's Faster Than Normal podcast, she explains how you can do the same, and a whole bunch more.

Amanda is essentially the female me. I love this episode. She's so much fun, and understands so well how to use her ADHD to her advantage. Listen to her tips here. They're gold. Truly.

Happy listening! :)

In this episode, Peter and Amanda discuss:

• Amanda's backstory (01:49)
• Daily Worth (02:45)
• Massive markets (03:50)
• Idea execution (04:40)
• Why most ideas die (06:23)
• Making a big deal out of failing (07:51)
• ADHD and finances (09:21)
• More on Daily Worth (10:40)
• Tips and tricks for daily life (13:02)
• Delegation (13:24)
• App recommendations (14:03)
• Yoga (15:14)
• Growing up with ADHD (15:27)
• Kids (17:41)

Links/Mentions

• Amanda Steinberg (Website | Twitter)
• Daily Worth (Amanda's company)
• Worth it (Amanda's book)
• Montezuma's revenge (game)
• Slack
• Asana
• Riverdale (TV show)
• Cruel Intentions (Movie)

As always, leave us a comment below, drop us a review on iTunes (PLEASE!) and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven't already! Know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note - We'd love to hear!

PS: Don't forget - We have the #1 online video course for turning your ADHD into a superpower - The FTN Course is 38 three minute videos, watchable at your own pace, covering everything from work, to home life, to exercise and health. Check it out!

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Raven Baxter, also known as Raven the Science Maven, is an award-winning and internationally acclaimed science communicator and molecular biologist who works to progress the state of science education and culture by creating spaces that are inclusive, educational, and real.

Raven is an entertainer and content creator known for her unique style of combining science and music that teaches and empowers those in STEM and beyond. Raven speaks about innovation in science education and social change in STEM.

Raven is the founder of Science Haven, a non-profit organization that operates at the intersections of science, education, and the public. Science Haven houses STEMbassy, a live web series that connects the public with science and technology professionals, and Black In Science Communication, a group that works to build relationships in the science community, equipping others with the knowledge and resources necessary to share science with the world in their own flavor. Raven has quickly developed a reputation as a strong voice in science education and has been recognized as a global influencer in several publications, including Fortune Magazine’s 40 Under 40 list for 2020.  Enjoy!

***CORONA VIRUS EDITION***

 

In this episode Peter & Raven discuss:

:41-  Intro and welcome Dr. Raven Baxter 

2:47-  So tell us about your background?

4:45-  Where did you go to college?

5:17-  So tell me a bit about when you first got diagnosed with ADHD?  

8:45-  So when you decided to pursue your career, how did that counter with your ADD/ADHD in the premise that it requires so much focus? You can’t sort of round-up in science, so how do you make that work and keep that focus and immediacy that’s needed?   

11:05-  Tell us about what you do, specifically? For kids listening that might want to go into Science, and have that fear they might not have the capacity to focus. 

12:40-  Tell us about what you’d say to kids who may have been told by teachers that science isn’t for them?  

13:54-  So, what would you say to kids about where to go next?  You know, you might get a seventh grader that says, “Hey, I want to do more of this!”  

15:10-  Tell us what you're doing now?

16:20-  How can people find you?  Website: www.scimaven.com and @RavenTheScienceMaven on INSTA  Twitter & Facebook YouTube and @Sciencemaven on TikTok

16:32-  Thank you Raven! And thank YOU for subscribing, reviewing and listening. Your reviews are working! Even if you’ve reviewed us before, would you please write even a short one for this episode? Each review that you post helps to ensure that word will continue to spread, and that we will all be able to reach & help more people! You can always reach me via peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. You can also find us at @FasterThanNormal on all of the socials.

17:26-  Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits

STAY HEALTHY - STAY SAFE - PLEASE WEAR YOUR MASK.. until next time!

As always, leave us a comment below and please drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! As you know, the more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! Do you know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note, we’d love to hear!

 

TRANSCRIPT: 

Hey guys, welcome to Faster Than Normal. My name is Peter. I am your host today and I'm thrilled that you're here. It's a gorgeous day here as we get close to the end of 2020, everyone's assuming that 2021 is just going to be that much. Like we're going to flip a switch and all of a sudden everything's gonna be better.  And, uh, you know what, I'm too tired. I'm too tired to argue with that. So I'm going to say, yeah, sure. That sounds great. We are talking to someone who will tell us all about how crazy that idea is because this woman is involved with science. Her name is Raven Baxter, Dr. Raven Baxter, otherwise known as Raven, the science Maven. which I love.  Okay. She's an award-winning and internationally acclaimed science communicator and molecular biologist. All right. So right here, I can tell you this woman's four times as smart as me, which is great. She works to progress the state of Science, Education and Culture by creating spaces that are inclusive, educational and real.  I love that so much, I'm sitting here staring at my seven year old daughter, and I'm thankful that people like Raven exist.  Raven is an entertainer, she's a content creator, she's known for her unique style of combining science and music, that teaches and empowers those in STEM... and beyond. Raven speaks to that innovation in science education and social change in STEM, she founded Science Haven. Science Haven has this STEMbassy, I love that name, which is a live web series that connects to the public within science and technology and the connection with science, technology professionals, and Black In Science Communication, a group that works to build relationships in the Science community, equipping others with the knowledge and resources necessary to share science with the world in their own flavor. She was one of Fortune Magazine's “40 under 40”, this year. She has a job,  she has a project in progress called Nerdy Jobs with Raven the Science Maven, which I think is awesome. She's had a TEDx talk,  she's on the STEMbassy season finale, she’s all over the internet…. welcome Dr. - welcome Raven. It is great to have you. 

Hi, thank you so much for having me. I'm so excited to be here. I hope you're doing well. 

I always know that my introductions have gone too long when the person like falls asleep and has to come back and say, Oh yeah, Hey, but no, it was a great into,  wonderful to have you. I'm thrilled that you're, that you're a part of this.  (2:47) Um, you're doing some amazing, amazing things first and foremost. Tell us about your background. Tell us about how, how, how Science sort of picked you, as it were. 

Yeah, I mean, I think, you know, a lot of people listening to this podcast can relate. But potentially to having ADHD and like being, perhaps being a child and being into everything and wanting to explore everything.  And, um, I feel like with ADHD that was amplified in that, you know, I really felt like I was unstoppable. If I wanted to learn about the clouds I was in the library, like trying to get my hands on every single cloud book and. You know, when I got to the point where I felt like I knew everything about that, then I wanted to learn about space and I went to space camp, and I found that I was afraid of heights..  Yeah, I did it. Have you ever been??

Hey you know what's funny. I never went as a kid. As an adult. I got invited to Media Space Camp, and so I spent three days doing the same thing that they did in space camp and it was incredible. 

That's awesome. So you know how cool it is? 

Oh yeah

Just imagine being a little kid. 

Oh, I can't even imagine, plus I went . I saw the movie, like the second it came out. Right. I was all about Jinx the robot. I wanted that robot, jinx. I was like Jinx and Max friends forever. I totally wanted that robot. 

Yeah, and I also, well, I guess not to be a downer, but I found out I was afraid of heights at space camp. So, you know, my dream of being an astronaut totally wiped down the dream, but I luckily had already been exposed to in part due to space camp, all of the different types of science careers you can have.  So, you know, I just dove into everything and eventually ended up into molecular biology. And that's where I’m focusing now,  and, um, kind of parlayed into science education after having a career as a corporate scientist. 

Amazing amazing. Where'd you go to college? 

I went to SUNY, well, I went to a couple, a couple different colleges actually.Um, I started at SUNY college of environmental science and forestry also known as SUNY ESF. Um, and then I went to community college for a little while, and then I transferred to, um, Buffalo State College where I graduated with my bachelor's and eventually my master's. And now, um, I'll be finishing my doctorate in May at a university at Buffalo. 

Very cool. (5:17)  So tell me a bit, so, you know, science, when you were, when you got ADHD, what was that? When did that? Okay, well, first of all, when did you get diagnosed?

I was diagnosed when I was about six or seven. 

Oh wow really?  OK, and did, get that at that age… it  probably, it probably didn't really change much for you. You just knew, you know, here's, what's up, like it wasn't like you're diagnosed in your thirties or anything like that. 

Right? No. Well,  so when I was diagnosed, um, ADHD medications were very new on the market, right?  And so it was really up to my Mother to say, “OK, she has this okay, she has this diagnosis, what do we do now? Um, being that the medications were so new, she really didn't feel comfortable putting me on anything, so, um, I essentially just… freestyled it, sorry, my dog is sneezing in the background. are you okay?  Um, yeah, so she just kind of freestyled it with me and just, let me, let me be me.

That's awesome. You know, it's interesting. Um, when I was, when I was growing up, it didn't exist. Right? It was the sit down and interrupt the class disease and, um, you know. 

Oh yeah, that was me. 

So here’s the interesting thing,,,,the, the, the, the stuff that you liked, right? The, the, you know, like science, whatever kind of subjects you liked, I'm sure you were great at. 

Oh yeah. I was, I was naturally gifted at pretty much everything that I did, and I think that's. That's probably what frustrated my teachers the most is that I couldn't sit down and do my work. I'd get up. I'd be spinning around during class while the teacher's teaching. And while literally everyone else is seated, I just be up like twirling, twirling around like a tornado.Um, but my work would be done, right? Like acing  everything. So. I mean, I was, I was also bored, but I also was hyperactive, but it was also very smart and getting my work done. So teachers really didn't know what to do cause they couldn't really justify putting me in time out because I wasn't white, like misbehaving, you know?

Yeah. So, but they were putting me in time out. Um, that's the, my mom stepped in after that. 

It's good to have parents that’ll have your back. That must've been tough. You know, here you are getting all this stuff done and it's just that you were too fast for them. 

Yeah. Yeah, I didn't, um, I remember them putting me in, um, a gifted and talented program, uh, at the same time that they put me in a special education program, which is a little confusing for me.Um, because I was going to like three different classrooms where most of my friends weren't moving around. Like they just stayed in the same classroom. And, um, the, in the gifted and talented program, I, I was smart enough to do the work, but those kids were really self-disciplined. Um, they could sit down and do the work, and I felt very out of place because I couldn't, you know, it was a smaller group of kids and I realized I was the only one, like, couldn't stop moving around. Um, but I, I felt home in the special ed classroom. I really did. 

Yep. I believe it. And you know, what's interesting is that, is that you go, you know, I remember, I never, my grades were… in  New York City, there was something called a resource room where you could get extra time and to do all these things, but my grades were too good. I, you know, I had great English skills and my math wasn't great, but my English and science, all that was enough that you're like, oh, he doesn't need that, but he won't shut up. 

Right. 

So you couldn't, you couldn't really win when you, (8:45) so when you decided to pursue science as a, as a career, you know, how was that, how did that sort of line u…. uh, how did that counter with your ADD/ADHD with the premise that, you know, you have to focus, right? You're looking at things that, you know, I say, what is that great, uh, that great quote, when, uh, when, uh, you know, when, when a nuclear physicist screws up the world explodes, one of geologists goes up, rock breaks and that's about it, you know, but you, you're, you're sitting there with like, you know, you're doing stuff that matters and you're doing stuff where you have to be completely on point, right?  You can't just sort of round up. In science. Exactly. What, tell us, tell us how you are… um, how do you make that work? How do you, how do you keep that focus? How do you get that sort of, uh, immediacy that's needed? 

That's a very good question, and that's something that I honestly struggled to answer myself.  Um, because as a student, um, being a scientist as a student, and when you're learning the science, there's really not a lot of pressure. Like you're, like what you were saying, you know, you’re just enjoying the subject, you're mastering the subject. But when you're working as a corporate scientist, the script is completely flipped.  You know, when you're working in drug discovery, where I was working, um, it was very difficult, to work in that high pressure situation, um, where you know that every number matters, right?  There's barely any room for error because you're working on a million dollar project and every test tube that you waste is $10,000 down the drain, literally.  And you're also making things that will potentially go into somebody's body down the line. And so you really want to make sure your work is the best it can be, which is possible with ADHD. But, um, I personally don't feel like professional environments, such as like, a corporate scientific environment... I don't think that they've quite come up with the resources needed to make that a comfortable working environment for somebody like you or me.  Um, I do think that like there needs to be special accommodations just like there isn't school for people with, um, you know, learning disabilities and attention disorders. I think I would have had a much more comfortable working experience had that been in place. 

(11:05) Tell us about what you do, specifically…. right?  So give us like your top three. So you have a lot of kids who listen to this podcast and they're, you know, if any of them wanna go into science and they're afraid, well, I don't have the, the capacity to focus. Tell us what you do. Cause it's, it's obviously you've proved that it's possible. 

 

Yeah. Um, I think that for me, having ADHD is definitely about recognizing where your superpowers work the best, right?  Um, and asking for help when you need it. So, for me personally, I feel like, um, my excitement and my love for science really is best used when I’m teaching about science and sharing that with other people. Um, and so I'm able to take everything that I learned about as a student and share it with people that want to learn about science who are around me.  Um, and that's what I do now. As a science communicator, I use music, I use videos, I use music videos and, uh, I communicate science through all of those things to help people learn about science and teach people about new things. 

I've never heard that  term science communicator, I love that. And what I'm going to love, is that you've managed to take what you love, combine it with what you do, and here we are.  

Right? Yeah. I love it too. Um, there, I'm sure you've heard of Bill Nye, The Science Guy, Neil Tyson… those are all science communicators. I just don't think people know what to call them. 

Yeah. I'd never heard the term. That's so cool. (12:40) Tell us about, um, so. What do you say to kids who don't believe that, you know, oh, they've been told by the teachers and you know, mistakenly that yeah, you're ADHD. You're not gonna, you know, science isn't for you. I mean, I, I, I, had a teacher that actually said I should pursue accounting, right? 

Oh my gosh. I think that science is perfect for people with ADHD. And the reason is because there's so many questions to answer. And if you're anything like me, you want to bounce from question to question to question.I mean, one day I'm thinking about. Oh my gosh, how did the universe start? Whoa. Now I'm looking into quantum physics and yeah, quantum physics...documentaries, and trying to learn about the big bang theory and different, different theories that exist that, um, that are talking about where the universe came from or where did life come from on planet earth, right?  All of those different theories. And it's really exciting. There's, there's really no one way to love and enjoy science. And there's so many different questions to answer, that it's perfect for somebody with ADHD, because there's something new all the time to focus on and learn about.

I love that. I love that. So the premise that you'll never get bored?

You'll never get bored. I can almost promise you that. 

(13:54) So, what do you say to, uh, where, where should the kid go next? You know, you're going to get a seventh grader or something that says, Hey, I want to do more of this. 

Ah, gosh, that's a really good question.I think that what's worked for me when I was a young kid is just not getting too worked up about following a particular path. Like really just follow your natural instincts and pay attention to what's interesting to you and just get lost in it. Right? Like I, some of the, I would've never become, I would have never become a molecular biologist if I didn' decide that I could learn anything I wanted to learn and do whatever I wanted to do to learn that. So like going on Wikipedia, and clicking on Wikipedia to different articles and just getting lost in the articles, because everything's linked to each other on the website, um, that's one way to do it or watching documentaries. Um, going on, you know, asking your parents to go on to Netflix and picking up documentaries,  that’s appropriate for you to watch, to learn more, asking your teachers interesting questions, because they might be able to teach you something new. Um, those are different ways to get into it. 

Yup. I love that. Very, very cool. (15:10) Tell us what you're doing now...

So now I am working full time as a science communicator while finishing my doctoral research.  Um, and I'm hoping to start a couple of new series with a major network next year. Um, all of this is pretty much under wraps, which is why I'm being a little vague, but, um, it's a network that everybody loves and enjoys. That, um, we're working on two shows together and both of those shows are science shows.  One of those shows is focused on biology and learning everything there is to know about biology. And, um, the other show is me exploring different jobs in science, technology engineering, and that the medics. 

All right. Very cool. So stay in. So it's good that you're not busy or anything like that. 

Yeah. Yeah.

Right. Well, this has been very, very cool. (16:09) Tell, tell people how that they can find you, cause I have a feeling that you get a ton of followers and a ton of questions off this interview. How can people find you? 

You can find me um anywhere on the internet, if you Google  “Raven, the Science Maven.” I'm on Twitter @Ravenscimaven, and everywhere else at “Raven the Science Maven,” except for TikTok, where I am @Science Maven. 

I love it. I love it. Raven Baxter, Raven the Science Maven, thank you so much for taking the time to come on the podcast. This was a lot of fun and I think you're going to give a lot of kids a lot of hope because let me tell you someone who has a seven year old daughter, who is currently playing with her brand new rescue puppy that we got. Um, it's pretty awesome to watch her get excited about things. We've been doing science experiments, we've grown a crystal. Um, what else have we done? Done lot of fun stuff and, and it's, it's fun to watch her eyes light up when we do it. So, you know, go--- go science!  I'm always, it's funny. I haven't, I haven't said this yet, but I always want to quote the line every time she does something gets excited about, I want to teach her to say the line from um, um, from Breaking Bad where they cook their first batch of meth and is “science bitch,” but don’t wanna do it.  Raven, thank you so much for taking the time, we will definitely have you back at some point in 2021, stay safe, stay healthy, and we'll talk with you soon. Guys, you've been listening to Faster than Normal. We love it when you're here, we love it that you're here. We love it that our numbers keep going up and the more people are learning that  ADHD is a gift, not a curse.  Please stay in touch with us, shoot us an email, let us know who you want to hear. Raven came to us… uh, from a user, from a listener who said, “Hey, you should have this person on your podcast.”  And we did. That's how it works. It's really simple, so if you want more, give us some names, we will make more easily.  Otherwise leave us a review, stay safe, stay healthy, wear a mask, we will see you guys next week. Thanks so much for listening, my name is Peter Shankman.

Credits: You've been listening to the Faster Than Normal podcast. We're available on iTunes, Stitcher and Google play and of course at www.FasterThanNormal.com I'm your host, Peter Shankman and you can find me at petershankman.com and @petershankman on all of the socials. If you like what you've heard, why not head over to your favorite podcast platform of choice and leave us a review, come more people who leave positive reviews, the more the podcast has shown, and the more people we can help understand that ADHD is a gift, not a curse. Opening and closing themes were performed by Steven Byrom and the opening introduction was recorded by Bernie Wagenblast. Thank you so much for listening. We'll see you next week. 

Due to unresolved personal life traumas he failed to appropriately address at a younger age – life experiences he was unaware were affecting his mental health – Eric developed a severe bout of PTSD, along with symptoms of anxiety and depression. This fall came essentially “out of nowhere” and left him almost permanently in bed, and with severe cognitive impairment, for just over two and a half years. Once he found a way to climb out of his abyss, he vowed to spend the rest of his life focused on changing the global conversation through mental health advocacy. We talk about his journey and the organization he founded, WeAreAllALittleCrazy.org, here today. Thanks to my friend Dr. Jennifer Hartstein for introducing us!  Enjoy!

 

In this episode Peter and Eric discuss:

1:28-  Intro and welcome Eric

2:32-  Give us a little more detail on your background and how you got here.

3:47-  What were you doing instead of ‘having a life’?

5:14-  Where was your breaking point?

5:50-  So what did you do to get better?  ref:  TMS Therapy  ECT Therapy

7:08-  On “Pills don’t teach skills”

9:20-  So how did the turn-around ultimately happen for you?  ref:  integrative psychology 

12:54-  Tell us how this turned out to be the best thing ever  ref: WereAllALittleCrazy.org

15:48-  Everyone has a story!  ref:  Mike Mauti

17:25-  Finding your people and Eric’s launch event  ref:  Anita Nall 

18:48-  On the nondiscriminatory nature of ADHD

19:40-  Are intelligent people perhaps more disposed to having more mental health issues?

20:05-  How can people get involved with the non-profit? WereAllALittleCrazy.org Twitter/INSTA/Facebook

21:14-  Thank you Eric! How can people find you? Twitter: @AllALittleCrazy or on LinkedIn

22:10-  Thank YOU for subscribing, reviewing and listening! You can always reach me at peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. Also at @FasterThanNormal on all of the socials. 

22:23-  Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits

Check out my new ADHD Coaching at www.shankminds.com/ADHDCoaching

As always, leave us a comment below and PLEASE drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! The more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! Know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note, we’d love to hear!

When you are any type of neuroatypical, whether that’s ADD, Autism, Asperger’s, Executive Function, ADHD, or anything that just makes you different; there-in lies your many gifts, but that can also mean a LOT of turmoil and strife as well. We talk about the positives & negatives of living in an online world, parenting nowadays, dealing with the constant messaging of social media, school shootings and other important but difficult topics with Dr. Reidenberg today. We hope this helps!  A little more about out guest today:

 

Dr. Dan Reidenberg PSYD, FAPA, DAPA, FACFEI, CRS, BCPC, CMT, CPAI. He is the Executive Director of Suicide Awareness Voices of Education (SAVE), Managing Director of the National Council for Suicide Prevention and is on the Executive Board of the International Association for Suicide Prevention.  He is Co-Chair of the International Media and Suicide Task Force.  He is a Certified Psychological Autopsy Interviewer and expert in forensic cases.  He serves on the numerous national and international editorial advisory boards and is a proposal reviewer for SAMHSA and the Royal Society of New Zealand.

 

Dr. Reidenberg speaks internationally and has over 50 published articles and 3 book chapters on mental health and suicide prevention.  He developed one of only 3 evidence-based programs for schools listed on the National Registry of Evidence-Based Programs; several Best Practice materials; and he helps develop the next generation of mental health and suicide prevention technology with Facebook and the other leading technology companies for the online industry.  He specializes in training media on the best practices for reporting on suicide in the USA and around the world.  He led the development of and wrote the US Recommendations for Media Reporting on Suicide; the Recommendations for Reporting on Mass Shootings; the Recommendations for Blogging on Suicide; and helped develop the Media Recommendations on Bullying, and was co-lead for the World Health Organization’s Media Guide for Reporting on Suicide.  

 

Dr. Reidenberg has been interviewed by major media sources from around the world including CNN, Larry King, Good Morning America, the New York Times, Washington Post, Huffington Post, Time, Newsweek and radio in Australia, Russia, Canada and the UK.  He also led the workgroup on Warning Signs for Suicide and helped develop the US National Strategy for Suicide Prevention and the National Research Agenda (US) and is assisting India in the development of their Best Practices.  

 

He has received numerous awards for his work including the Service to Humanity Award, Service to Suicidology Award, as a Champion of Change by The Obama Administration and he is recognized in Who’s Who in America and Who’s Who in the World.

 

In this episode Peter & Dan discuss:

1:00-  Intro & welcome Dr. Dan Reidenberg!  Ref: Executive Director of Suicidal Awareness- Voices of Educatio (SAVE)  Managing Director of National Council for Suicide Prevention Board member of International Association for Suicide Prevention 

2:22-  What do you see when you look at the Neurodiverse landscape in today’s world?

3:37-  On how social media has changed and magnified interpersonal dynamics

4:56-  What are some of the positives and solutions of an online world?

6:17-  What can parents do to keep involved in their kids online life?

7:32-  We live in a dangerous world nowadays. Some kids have a pretty bleak outlook. What do you see in your research about what’s really going on inside of kids?

10:15-  What can we do to work better with kids during the aftermath of trauma(s)?

11:05-  About hope

11:56-  If you could take every parent and put them in a room together, what would be the number one thing you’d impart to them about how to help their kids today?

13:21-  Many parents feel like they can’t compete with the influx of messaging that kids are receiving through all of the screens these days. What would you say to parents who feel like they just aren’t getting through?

15:40-  Where can people find you?  www.SAVE.org

15:54-  Thank you Dr. Reidenberg!! And thank YOU for subscribing, reviewing and listening. Your reviews have been working! Even if you’ve reviewed us before, would you please continue to do so. Each review you post helps to ensure that word will continue to spread, and that we will all be able to reach & help even more people! You can always reach me via peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. You can also find us at @FasterThanNormal on all of the socials.

17:20-  Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits

As always, leave us a comment below and please drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! The more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! Know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note, we’d love to hear!

My friend Ari is a very successful Private Investigator, and a Forensic Genealogist. About a year ago though he had finally had enough! Enough of the teasing, enough of the big-pants shopping, enough of the failed attempts to lose weight & diet gimmicks, but perhaps most importantly his little girl couldn’t get her arms around him to give him a hug. Ari once served as an EMT and knew a likely future he would be facing unless he really made a commitment. So- he began taking some important steps. Literally. We talk about those steps today, one year later. Enjoy!

In this episode Peter and Ari discuss:

1:18-  Intro and Welcome Ari!

1:55-  So tell us some about your background & how you got to the “Enough is Enough Place”

3:05-  On his experience with a meal delivery product

3:58-  On his first experience working with a personal trainer, twice a week

5:13-  Most of our listeners are ‘all-or-nothing’ like you. How did you begin & not give up; on day one, day two, day three, etc?

7:15-  What gave you that hit, or encouragement to keep going?

8:20-  On NOT being tied to a goal-weight

9:07-  Talk about the days you messed it up, overslept, etc.

11:28-  What have you learned about yourself?

12:50-  What has been the reaction from your family?

13:30-  What do you tell people who ask you or say: “I’ve tried everything to lose weight & nothing works!!”

15:08-  So what’s your next challenge?

15:30-  ref:  Peter’s trainer David:  The podcast episode.  on Twitter

15:50-  How can people find you for inspiration? @IFindHeirs on Twitter&INSTAFacebook, or email:  Ari@BestPI.com

16:15-  Thank you Ari and thank YOU for listening! You can always reach me at peter@shankman.com or @petershankmanon all of the socials. Also at @FasterThanNormalon all of the socials.

16:49-  Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits

As always, leave us a comment below, PLEASE drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! The more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! Know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note, we’d love to hear!