Risk tolerance, creativity, visionary thinking, passion, and their own use of their innate strengths is well documented as traits of what has made many ADHD entrepreneurs successful, entrepreneurs and creative geniuses like Richard Branson (Virgin), David Neeleman (Jet Blue Air), Paul Orfalea (Kinkos), Danny Deutch (Big Ideas), and the list goes on.

Thanks for your comments, they confirm what I see with my clients.

To your Success!

Linda

If you choose to be insulted when someone attributes a positive trait you exibit to ADD/ADHD, that’s your perogative. My brain works differently from others’ because I have ADHD; science agrees with me on that. What I do with my differences are what I’m personally proud of.

P.S. My ADHD is not a mental illness.

I completely empathize with you. You’ve obviously suffered and continue to suffer a lot from ADHD. And I understand your views on ADHD being a mental illness.

The jury is out on whether there are any positive traits to ADHD. Having worked with hundreds of ADHDers I know that some groups with learning disabilities and the inattentive type of ADHD tend to suffer more than Hyperactive and Impulsive types. What is clear is that the baggage they carry from having ADHD is heavier. As a result they take much longer to get out of the muck.

I am not saying that ADHD does not present major challenges in people’s lives and if you ever had an opportunity to hear me speak on the subject, you’d know that my husband and I have lived some very difficult situations together because of his ADHD.

Having been involved with ADHDers in my family and many clients, what I notice is that those who embrace their differences and work with and focus on their real strengths (strengths like everyone has, with or without ADHD), instead of their weaknesses, their ability to hyperfocus (and there is real evidence that ADHDers hyperfocus much more than most) tends to improve their acquisition of knowledge much more quickly than non-ADHDers, provided there are no learning disabilities.

Seeing ADHD as a difference rather than a disorder, is simply to shift in thinking from victimhood to someone who can control his or her destiny. Calling yourself a victim will never allow you to have the energy required to take hold of your positive traits and thrive. You’ve heard the old adage, ‘whether you think you can or you think you can’t, you’re right’. Thinking you can requires a shift in thinking away from victimhood or ill person.

The problem lies in the fact that we are a society that notices mistakes more than we do strengths. ADHDers who’ve struggled more because they also have learning disabilities or who came from a dysfunctional family or who didn’t have the support they needed, tend to spend a lot of time on their weaknesses, trying to correct them and to make up for their shortfall; as a result, they never have time or energy to discover and develop their strengths.

I’ve had the opportunity of seeing how hyperfocus can really help an ADHDer hone in on what needs to be done while the rest of us non-ADHDers are flailing away trying to figure out how to deal with people. I was at one of my client’s businesses for a coaching session when disaster striked and everyone in the office was panicking. My client became extremely calm and was able to diffuse the situation in less than a minute.

In a serious car accident, my then, very disorganize and out of control husband with ADHD, became extremely calm and took immediate action to reduce the impact of the situation, while bystanders were still in a panic.

What you focus on grows… if you created more opportunities for discovering and working with your strengths (and you definitely have them), you’d find that, while ADHD will continue to be an obstacle at times, you can leverage some of the traits (such as hyperfocus) to work more on your strengths.

I encourage you to begin spending more time discovering and developing your strengths, choose a career that allows you to leverage them more, surround yourself with people who cherish you and encourage you.

I wish you much success in your life.

Best regards,

Linda

I do take issue with your statement that big picture out of the box thinking, creativity, high energy, ability to think on feet and make quick decisions are traits of ADHD. As far as I am concerned ADHD has no positive benefits. The science agrees with me. There is NO evidence that ADHD gives people who have it any positive benefits. It is an urban myth, completely unbacked by legitimate research.

ADHD is a mental illness. It has the potential to seriously impact the lives of those who suffer from it. Everyone has positive traits. There is nothing to support the statement that the traits you describe occur at any higher rate in people with ADHD than those with out it. I find it somewhat insulting that people attribute my positive traits to my illness instead of to me. If these traits were truly part of the illness why do they not disappear with treatment like the actual symptoms do?

Additionaly the ability to make quick decisions is not impulsivity. Impulsivity is the making of decisions with out thought to the consequences. Good business people always weigh out the consequences of their decisions. Some can do it quickly but that does not make them impulsive in any way shape or form.

Best regards