I was talkative, creative and full of energy.  I was labeled disruptive and talktative, but they didn’t understand me.

The school didn’t ‘label’ me as ADHD because the people where I lived didn’t know what that was.  I remember distinctly that in third grade, my adhd was at its peak.

I wasn’t labeld ADHD because my teachers didn’t know what that was!

I was wiggly and talked all the time.  It was hard for me to stay still and my teaching, Mrs Cananster, was tough as nails and by the book.

When other kids got to go out and play or watch cartoons for an afternoon break, I was frequently…all the time…writing on the board things I wouldn’t do. Yes, it looked like something out of a Simpsons cartoon.

I didn’t feel any different than anyone else, I was just left out, or should I say forced out, of the fun I wanted to have.  I would rush through to try to catch the end of the time, but she would always ‘check my work’ and have me correct my penmanship. It was brutal to say the least.

I think my Dad figured it out.  He saw that I was bored in class.  He was in the Marines before I was born, in Vietnam War, and he didn’t take any back talk.  He was hard on me, but I always rose to the challenge.

Each year after 3rd grade, the only year I had a failed grade, he would enroll me for school and tell the enroller that he wanted the hardest teacher for me.  He said I would get bored if I wasn’t challenged.

We didn’t call it ADHD, we just knew that I wanted a challenge and I wasn’t afraid of work.  I learned to internalize my energy and let it out in bursts outside running, play and making things.

See, I wasn’t LABELED.  I felt understood and because of that, I was able to thrive even in the midst of a broke education system.

As an entrepreneur now, I can see where that label had reared its head in good and bad ways, but through it all, I accepted ADHD as my superpower, not as my crutch.  I think that is what makes something like ADHD work.

ADHD brains work differently.  God created us that way and God does not make mistakes.

Once we become self-aware and align with the tools needed to compensate, we can fully function in a world that is not quite ready for all the energy and creativity we have to offer.

If you are an entrepreneur with ADHD and are willing to accept the challenge of growing and gaining clarity, I’d love to talk to you.  Just reach out and schedule some time with me.