Have you ever walked a labyrinth? It’s an interesting experience. It’s an activity that I think imitates life. My business development seems to have been like walking a labyrinth, a circular path that gets ever tighter and closer as I progress. I’m inviting you to join me on this evolutionary journey and see how it mirrors your life.
ADD-ADHD
The Music of Life
If you know my story at all, you know that my ADD was managed until about 20 years ago by living a structured life. In blending my life with my husband’s, I shifted to an unstructured life — though that’s not what I saw it as at the time. Slowly my life started crumbling and I found myself thinking that I needed to incorporate structure back into my life. I sensed my life was better when it was structured.
Focus On Your Weaknesses? Forget It!
Let’s jump into the strengths vs weaknesses debate I hear “the gurus” discuss. The opinions range among: focus on your weaknesses to make them strong; ignore your strengths; ignore your weaknesses; focus on your strengths. Eegads! Which way do you turn with that kind of discussion going on around you?
Are You Tied To Your ADD Traits?
Unnecessarily identifying with your ADD traits can create issues making it harder to heal them out move past them. That’s probably true for non-ADDers, too. Here’s story from today. You can be sure I’ll explore other beliefs to see how I’m holding myself back!
Take Pride In Your Differences
There seems to be a wide array of different abilities that are seen as disabilities by able-bodied — or “normal” people — like being 
blind, deaf,wheelchair bound, missing a limb or part of a limb, and a wide spectrum of mental “conditions” like bipolar, schizophrenia, autism, Aspergers, depression, dyslexia — and ADD. A “disorder” (the last D in ADD or ADHD) is seen as something that is broken in someone, rather than it being seen as an indication of different, sometimes even superior, abilities.
The Shame Of It All
Discovering my ADD was liberating for me! Once I had a name for the monster that had been wreaking havoc in my life I realized I could tackle it, tame it, train it, and in general, fix it. ADD explained why with even all the high performance tools I have, I struggled with staying focused, balanced, and on track with my goals. That’s when it occurred to me that if I struggle with it, other ADDers would too. So, after 29 years of consulting and coaching with business owners, I had a new focus: helping other entrepreneurs with ADD.
Structure’s Value
The value of structure is something I now understand from both sides of the discussion. I didn’t understand what it did for me until I’d removed it from, or at least greatly reduced its importance in, my life. Structure supported my success as an entrepreneur and it gave me the backbone I needed to manage my life. The lack of structure allowed me to drop my guard, effectively killing my first business, and to be less powerful in managing my life.
E²
E². “E squared” or Eating and Exercise. That’s the secret formula to high performance. That’s the secret formula for the foundation of transformation. That’s the secret to better ADD/ADHD management, too. I’ve said it before and will continue to say it: healthy eating and frequent exercise are good for everyone. It takes a healthy body to be a high performer.
Time Perception
Time warps for many ADDers. Our perception of time is different than others — and often not accurate. Whether your warp is a space-time continuum or a reality distortion field, it’s not what others live by. That can cause problems for you if you don’t learn to manage it.