How I Used ADD to Build Great Businesses

I was diagnosed with ADHD as a kid. I received many different types of drugs and treatments that, IMO, didn't work. I barely passed the 3rd grade, failed the 6th grade and dropped out of school when I was a junior.

I was also a gifted artist, like my father, I could draw anything. I wasn't fantastic but it came easily to me. At 16 I picked up the guitar and quickly learned how to play and was proficient after a month.

These experiences made me question why I was good in some areas but failed in others. By the time I was 19 I gave up ALL drugs I was taking for ADHD and started my own treatment of "taking responsibility for my life."

This was the hardest thing I ever had done. At that time I was reading at a 6th grade level and has no prospects for jobs. I went to live with my grandparents and received the best education of my life. Discipline. They were farmers.

After 2 months I knew I had to leave and make a life for myself. I was scared and afraid but I had started reading self-help books and when tested again at the department of vocational rehabilitation I was reading 4-5 years ahead of my current age. My spatial skills were off the charts (their words).

I knew I had something special about myself that I could work with. I knew that if I worked hard I could do anything even if it took me longer to accomplish it I could do it.

I started by working my way up a janitorial company. I learned spanish in 6 months using Neuro Linguistic Programming techniques. I met my future wife and got married. I started putting computers together for the purpose of playing video games. I loved it. I was good at it. I eventually worked as a tech for a big box store and then worked in IT at a large insurance company when I found out I was going to be a father.

I learned everything I could about Active Directory. I then learned Perl as my first programming language and automated most of my job. I then started making games at home and learning as many languages as possible. I felt unstoppable.

Then my wife and I were having problems. Not huge problems but enough to get help. We sought counseling and happened to meet with a woman who studied ADHD as a specialty during her phD. Within 1 hour she said to me, "You know you have ADHD right?"

My heart sank. All those years of failure came rushing back to me. I thought it was crap. A ruse. A mis-diagnosis. How could I have accomplished so much. How could I have gone back to college and graduated with a 4.0 for my associates in comp sci and 3.8 for my bachelors. How could I learn all those languages and read over 500 books.

I had to come to grips with the fact that I still had it. But I made it work for me and it was unfortunately affecting my relationship with my wife. We were able to come to an understanding about who I am and accepting the way I think.

Now, I make games for iOS fulltime. From home. ADHD isn't a death sentence. It's only a disorder if it's making your life harder.

ADHD comes in 3 subtypes, Hyperactive-Impulsive, Predominantly Inattentive, and Combined (which is what I am diagnosed with). There is also a disorder called Slow Cognitive Tempo that is similar to ADHD, but still a different classification of disorder.

The truth is, ADHD is way more complex than what most people believe ADHD is. Many people think they have it that do not. Many psychiatrists misdiagnose patients with ADHD, when the actual problem is a different disorder. And many people are struggling in life because they have not been diagnosed with ADHD yet.

ADHD has only ever been a huge burden on my education, relationships, and quality of life. It does not give people with ADHD any sort of "super powers" or "exceptional intelligence and creativity". It doesnt have any beneficial traits whatsoever.

Hyperfocus is a form of self medicating. It is the only time when the chaotic hurricane in our mind is calmed. We can focus on certain activities that stimulate us because its the only time were not extremely uncomfortable.

The problem is that we cant control what we hyper focus on. Many of us can not self motivate ourselves to not procrastinate. Many of us can not remember what we just read or where we put our keys 5 seconds ago no matter what. Many of us can not stop ourselves from saying absolutely offensive and cruel things without provocation. Many of us hardly have any real friends, and the friends we do have are just like us. Many of us can barely speak a full sentence clearly without stumbling over our words because our minds float away on a tangent.

ADHD is a horrible disorder to suffer with. Just as bad as schizophrenia, bulimia, bipolar disorder, depression, anxiety, and autism. Anybody who is trying to live with ADHD untreated should seriously reconsider and seek professional psychiatric help. Research ADHD and all other closely related disorders, and figure out how you can help your psychiatrist better help you.

Its the single best decision I've ever made.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Attention_deficit_disorder