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Today, we are exploring the topic of embracing ADHD as a unique strength and how it shapes success. 

I’m joined by André Brisson, also known as The Impulsive Thinker™. Diagnosed with severe ADHD and autism spectrum disorder later in life, André has turned his challenges into powerful tools for growth. As a professional engineer and entrepreneur, he’s built three successful companies, and now, through his ADHD Transformation Journey™ program, he helps others leverage their ADHD traits for personal and professional success.

In this conversation, André shares how to break free from societal conditioning, recognize ADHD as a brain difference, and use its strengths to fuel creativity and achievement. Whether you’re navigating ADHD yourself or seeking to understand it better, André’s insights will inspire you to see challenges as opportunities for transformation and to embrace your uniqueness with courage and clarity.

Topics We Explore:

• Breaking free from societal and self-imposed expectations
• Growing understanding of ADHD in adults and the importance of accurate diagnosis
• How the ADHD brain thrives on interest, not routine
• Turning ADHD traits into strengths with simple tools and strategies
• Embracing ADHD as part of your unique purpose and celebrating your individuality

Connect with André Brisson: https://www.theimpulsivethinker.com/

Learn More about The Viking Academy: https://www.vikingacademy.com/scouting-party

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Episode Transcript:

 Hi everyone welcome back to the Viking Academy podcast this week we have my good friend Andre Bron now Andre is an engineer but he's a recovered engineer just like I'm a recovered accountant he has started up what's known as the impulsive thinker now this is a program for ADHD entrepreneurs he's got a.

Podcast he's got a program but here's the thing that I wanted to explore with him is how he found ADHD in his adult life and what are the signs that you may have ADHD number two how can you find.

Out if you do have it and get diagnosed properly and number three and this is the most important one is how he has used all of the exploration that he's done on this subject and implementation of it to work with his ADHD not against it so that he can actually be more of.

Himself and he brings his passion and his purpose to this podcast he's a great guy we get along great um there's a few F bombs so for those with your delicate ears don't listen to this episode because you're going to hear a little.

Bit of um shall we call it racy conversation but there you go so without further Ado let's go explore welcome welcome to the podcast Andre great to be here dude for for anyone who's not watching the video we.

Were just basically giving each other the number one sign with the middle finger just before we started the podcast so that's where we're kind of in chuckle mode as we're starting just read between the lines brother read between the lines I've been really looking forward to having you on the podcast Andre.

Because I wanted to uh expose the listeners to your journey and what you found for yourself we're going to talk about the passions we're going to talk about finding what what drives you.

Internally but all it kind of wrapped around in the blanket of figuring out the fact that you had ADHD which you never realized you know and you've actually now created a whole new business out of that and yeah um I'm.

Really excited about that and I 100% think that's what you should focus your attention on completely because it's it's your it's your jam man yeah you've been telling me for a couple years now I'm not listening yeah I know I keep.

Just again well it's kind of like with me in the Viking Academy I started the viting Viking Academy up and this is something that I should have done a long time ago uh but now it's here and we're doing it and you're doing the ADHD too.

So get give the listeners a little background on on uh who you are and what we're talking about here in terms of the ADHD so my name is Andre bro I'm the impulsive thinker um I'm using the term that you use I'm a recovering on.

Professional engineer so recovering engineer yeah yeah um I'm a a non-traditionalist engineer in the traditional world have an engineering company um yeah and that 44 was diagnosed with severe ADHD and U mild autism and just a lot of clarity came.

Around that and I researched the hell out of it like I normally do simplified it down and now I'm helping other ADHD entrepreneurs just understand it's a brain thing and we're not wired for today's world so how do we navigate that and I provide them a vocabulary to.

Explain how they work normal they're normal and it's acceptable and that's the best way to work and get your your ADHD strengths all packaged up with your non ADHD strengths understand your value and then take over the world your.

Way you know there's a couple things couple tracks I want to go down with you um first one I just want to highlight again I've been having more and more of these conversations with business owners in the OR and people in the traditional professions the heavy yeah professions.

That are starting to break away from them and go into these transformational spaces like so Wald Hampton was a criminal lawyer now turned Interfaith Minister um Tammy Grantham she was a nurse and then she became she's like does my soul sessions like she's my angel sessions with me um there's um I.

Had Michelle Madrid on the podcast she was a TV show host a TV show um reporter and now she's helping um women adoptees find their voice again and and.

So and yourself so that and myself from the accounting world to the Viking Academy there's this there's this trend that's happening here have you seen that as well not until you mentioned but yeah all the examples are coming up in my head um yeah and I'm I'm All About.

Understanding the uniqueness of the person or the situation and that's my talent but I think yeah it is definitely no you really caught me aside there because that's I never saw that pattern till now and you're right and it and and it's more transformational these people you.

Refering to they're looking for transformational work and working with transformational people not just transactional I think that that's the biggest difference I think is um I know for you and me we've been talking about this for a while we only work with.

Specific people who are ready to do something and want to put in the work and we're not well I won't speak for you but I'm not for everyone well I'm definitely not for everyone you already know that you're yeah and most times you're not for me either but that that's another.

Episode but yeah it's transformational is the right people who want want to get a better understanding of themselves is on the rise not necessarily On The Rise I'm trying to put this into proper words so.

My my brain's going all over the place on that so what was your point on that observation then well that what I'm seeing is there's more and more people moving from what they traditionally trained for harder kind of solid call it.

Heavy three-dimensional spaces call an accounting lawyer accountant lawyer engineer like we nailed off those and now we have those three have moved are moving away from that into more transformational spaces but very very Niche spaces like I'm in the Viking mindset Explorer mindset and then.

Michelle Madrid was doing dealing with female adoptees and and you deal with the ADHD entrepreneur like it's they're very Niche but it's almost like you're we're finding the the gold inside ourselves to actually deliver to the world yeah I think the these traditional.

Professions like don't forget the medical profession as well they got the same thing too I think there's that profession is a concrete Vault with 20 foot wide thick walls and it's only so big I think that those Industries only makes it so big for growth and.

Opportunity most hit the walls in the ceiling and they're good and they they can stay in that Vault but I thought that was repressing to the point where that concrete box was closing in on me that's how it felt and that had to break.

Free and I think for that you have to be transformational to get out of that traditional like it's everything was structure there's only so much you can do that you could have to do it this way to get here with with uh being you know.

For you to be recognized as expert you have to have all these letters you have to do all this stuff and if you do it differently therefore you're not good you're a renegade you're a cowboy you're dangerous oh you were a problem in the engineering space just as much as I was.

A pain in the ass to accountants like my still yeah we still are in our own respective ways the the thing that I wanted to go down into with you on this podcast is for the listeners is going through this transformation of working in in an area.

That we thought was our job and our career and that's what was going to happen and now all of a sudden it's broken through into this this new area transformation so first of all I kind of.

Wanted to highlight that point for you that I I see it happening everywhere so I think there's a bigger picture and there's a bigger topic we could talk about on there but I specifically wanted to get down into your brain believe it.

Or not I actually want to get inside your head there um which is a dangerous place which you've said multiple times that what got you curious to go into these areas because you're like the ultimate Explorer dude dude like when it came to the ADHD and you've gone so deep into.

This area and understand it so well and I've talked to multiple people who've gone through your ADHD program and they've like been completely transformed like oh my gosh there's nothing wrong with me I just need to know how to work.

With the way my brain works right and here in the Viking Academy I that's what I'm trying to get people to do is explore their mind their body and their spirit and when we're talking about exploring the mind you've done that in an incred way what spurred you to do that well you.

Mentioned was like you had a when you're an engineer in accountant it was a job I forget the next word um but I think long term it became our identity you're an accountant I'm an engineer and I think just by I'm G to speak from my experiences my battle was I knew I.

Wasn't a typical engineer that was problematic you know am I bad am I am I not good and then when I got the diagnosis it just opened up a whole different realm of now understanding why I was different and the challenge to go from the engineer to this new Direction which.

I've always known as the right way to go it was the where I'm going to be be the happiest to help people because of my training as an engineer I was able to analyze and analy analytically look at everything so I got that training but it's separating myself from the identity of an.

Engineer to becoming this new person that's going to help ADHD entrepreneurs understand themselves and is there some embarrassment tied to that or some shame because I didn't live up to expectations but to whose expectations that was that's my my transitional Challenge and.

Then only to be for this to work you need to have a transformation goal and uh you know the past is hard to shake it seems you've brought up a point there that is starting to connect the dots for me on multiple podcasts now is.

This conditioned response like that we've conditioned ourselves to be a certain way and the freedom comes in Breaking Free from those conditionings but you first have to see that you are conditioned and like the fact that you're s to go hey I feel shame for for.

This that the other thing it's a conditioning that has just been placed upon me and you carry it but soon as you start breaking through it you start feeling the freedom of being yourself.

But you can only do that if you actually start exploring it and look going deeper like like face the dragon right go and face the dragon Your Dragon yeah or my case was little Andre because there's a lot of trauma or past trauma or addiction that.

Get gets brought in the past trauma and the conditioning that we've all had conditioning and you know there's the interesting thing when comes to trauma like I I gotta tell you the truth here normally when I hear people I like oh I.

Have trauma I have trauma I have trauma like oh my God this I've had enough of this like and then all of a sudden I looked and I went oh I have a bunch of that too like it's it's ironic that the.

Person that goes a all everybody's whining about trauma actually we all have trauma at different levels like there's different levels of trauma like we're talking a kid that's grown up in a a very abusive home or and beaten or.

They're living in a war torn area I mean that's serious trauma but we all have traumas in different levels and they all condition our our personalities which we start to realize.

As we get older that actually I'm just working out a pattern that's a condition based on this trauma that I had in my past and it sounds like you've unlocked that in your Dre yeah and that's what your brain does is creates patterns of.

Behavior to protect yourself from those times back back when and that becomes ingrain that's your that's your programming right your operating system and then you just got to say hey I'm not there anymore I'm safe that's the big one but now remember what I was going to say when you're talking about the.

Conformity part okay just even even if you don't have ADHD or neurod Divergent just being in a a traditional world of professionals and you're the Oddball profession you have to fit in right so if you want to follow the crowd and not.

Stick out you kind of fit in and with my ADHD and autism I realized I changed the way I behaved and who I was so I can fit in then after 40 Years of basically I'm playing a character and after 40 years I became really damn good at playing this.

Character that I didn't realize it was a character until I got the diagnosis started to see ADC was a brain thing it's not a moral failure and then the next part of the transition is all right is this goal or this opinion the old.

Character or the true Andre and that's confusing as hell man so a lot of us get caught in becoming a character and then we lose ourself in it that is a really massive point when it comes to my life and I look back on it and think.

How much of this is really me how much is the real Eric and how much of it is just trying to fit in you know when you look at the brain and we've had lots of conversations about this is we're working on an old operating system like.

Our all our Reptilian Brain is still in charge and the the need to fit in socially with people and changing the way you behave because that's what herd animals do in the serengetti right like a herd animal they're they if you Stray From The Herd the cheat is going to get.

You it's going to come and JP on you right so that's why we have this natural tendency to and to be social creatures and conform but I see it more and more happening that people are starting to break free even especially the kids.

These days like my daughter and their friends they don't want to conform at all like they're they're they're waking up earlier and earlier that conforming is conditioning who they actually are and they're getting away from it before we do and and look at it.

And I'll go my daughter's way more self-aware than I ever was at 40 like and she's 12 but that has a lot to do with you you're a self-aware gentleman and you live it right um and I think that that bleeds out into our kids because my my.

Kids are the same way they're not self-aware and there's anti-c Conformity um as long as you're not extremely rude you have the right to challenge or question authority or someone who's trying to push you around.

But I think has a lot to do with you and your your wife too that's making her that as well yeah I'm not saying there's no Instinct in her but yeah you know I I they and it's not.

Anti-conformation it's like no realizing and that's coming back to your point when is when am I stopping to conform because it's who I am versus conforming because it is I who I am like so being part of maybe is you because that's what you.

Want to be but then there's another time when it's not and you don't realize subconsciously and this is the thing is this conditioning you're like I'm just behaving like this but am I doing that out of past conditioning and is it.

Really the expression I want to have or am I just doing it out of fear because my lizard brain's trying to keep me in the herd and not get eaten by a [ __ ] cheetah right and the thing the the whole purpose of the brain is to protect.

You that's it doesn't know what the negative positive outcomes on whatever system it creates to protect you that's why you'll react to different people you got threatened your brain's going to say we had something similar in the past so.

Therefore you need to do this or run away right the brain doesn't know it doesn't do the cognitive thinking of it so it reacts it's sole purpose is to keep you in the comfort zone that you're comfortable with now and then if you stray too far it'll create self-talk or.

Reactions so you to be safe that's the only purpose and when that saw that when I learned that that made so much Clarity on like a lot of your triggers look at it it's there to protect you that reaction is a protection mechanism.

But not today from today something from the past so how does that safety mechanism work inside the ADHD brain like how ADHD is obviously is that also a a protection mechanism no adhs are just a different wiring of the brain like the prefrontal cortex that's the filter you got an.

Impulsive thought you got an impulsive reaction the the prefrontal corch kind of says hey let's think about this should you do ab C and D no a is your best rad go for it so when people say Andre you don't have a filter it's actually neurologically true my filter.

Is not really there so it just comes out then my brain catches up going oh that maybe we should not have right so that's what I think so the brain inhibits differently than everyone else the other thing 2 ADHD has is a time frame difference so it's either now or not now.

If it's not now I really don't care I don't see it important and our time Horizon is very very short so time Horizon is how far in the future can you see and keep yourself organized and plan I'm a week maybe two that's why I realize I always like small quick.

Projects because any long-term construction projects are months months up to a year and I lose track of that and I just subconsciously knew that this other stuff was funner in and out done um so it's now or not now that was a big eye eye opener for me and then the other.

The third thing is and it's an executive functioning difference so how you plan organize prioritize yourself and organize yourself that's all executive functions and then one thing that's really effective with the HD brain is our working memory so how many things can you hold in your head without.

Forgetting most people it's s to 10 that's why your phone numbers are seven to 10 digits I think I figured I'm about three so if you put marbles on a shelf you know if you put four marbles on the Shelf then you put a fifth one.

One falls off the shelf well that one's gone forever now I will not remember it's not I don't care to remember I'm stupid it's just my brain can't hold that much in the short term that's why I was always writing stuff down I was.

Always having journals log books I didn't realize that so I wouldn't forget so they're working it's just how their brain works differently so here's a question that I want to dive into with you um just.

Recently um Aaron my wife she went in and did the assessment okay so she because she was having some problems and she was really quite curious and so the assessment came out and she obviously gave me permission to share this with.

Everybody on the podcast you and it came out that she has mild ADHD and she's like when she read the report she was like oh my gosh this makes so much sense now like as the report was explaining.

The all these different facets of and she was like oh my gosh this makes so much sense now what I'm finding though and what I'm hearing is that there's so many people with ADHD that are.

Undiagnosed or they're becoming diagnosed but it seems to be way more prevalent today than it ever was back when I was growing up in the 70s like it's what's your what's been your research on the stigma is changing.

That's not as bad as it was like when I first got that diagnosis I thought it was like a like a death sentence I got a problem but that was our training so it's getting more accepted of a difference it's being more know let's.

Say it's being noticed more I wouldn't say accepted it's noticed more and with covid everyone started having the ADHD trait like symptoms because we're all locked in our house we're all doing stuff and we're not supposed to anxiety uh depression everything went on the rise and therefore everyone just start.

Getting diagnosis of ADHD so because of the awareness and the stigma change we're getting more well actually has a lot to do with the fact that adult ADHD is more accepted as a challenge in the.

Medical world as before it was just kids only you grew out of it as an adult so that's about 10 years that adult ADHD is a thing in the medical world so there's not a lot of people that know it in the field but now it's actually I think it's.

Overdiagnosed right now actually I just finished having a chat with a doctor neuros psychologist who specializing ahd and she her she had it on her podcast and I invited her on mind to talk more about this this was about how people are.

Misunderstanding because they the symptoms are overlapping and you might be going down the wrong tra the trail the wrong trail of treatment and to stop using social media as your diagnosis tool yeah that's a dangerous one yeah I.

Think I have this go check it out on social media well then I actually have every disease known to known to human kind yeah every every letters what her point was the whole point with the social media is you feel like a part of a community right so that's the other.

Enticing part of it as well but you're you the the the thing you just read was she has mild ADHD right yes ADHD is a is a spectrum there is a spectrum so either.

You have it mild or severe because it really depends on how much it affects your day-to-day life daily so like for me it's constant it's 100% constant and I don't like using the term symptom it's just I'm trying to work in the world.

That's not wired for me that's where the symptoms come out right and while some if they're on the milder side then they're you know it's not as prevalent but it's there if it starts to bank up or doing certain things like because like remember ADHD is an interest based nervous system the.

Rest of the world is importantance based so if it's important to you or your spouse you will have the motivation to do something even if you hate it because it's important to them my brain doesn't see it that way I understand it's.

Important for you Eric that I'm on this podcast but that's I'm here to be nice okay I'll just I'll probably like it be a rigid board but actually I'm really interested I know this is going to go in different Mo novel ways now that's how.

My brain is now fired up I can be focused so I need it to be novel interesting challenging um and passion driven and Urgent that's why sometimes we leave everything we don't want to do at the last minute because our brain fires up and we can get through through.

Shitty hell and just get the crap stuff done a couple things I want to ask you on this is first of all where would someone where should someone go if they think they have ADHD actually I'm GNA do the question before that one was what are some of the telltale signs that.

Someone that you might have noticed now looking back going hey I noticed this this and this if you notice this this and this you may want to consider it and then step two is where should they go to get assessed and then number three is.

What do you do once you get the assessment because I think that's the thing that I'm really interested in sharing with the listeners is what you've done with the third part okay you need to remember those questions because I won't okay first one is first one is.

What yeah right I hey that was only three dude I was listening I was listening okay I didn't give you four already gone three of them all right so first first one is what were the signs.

That you had ADHD if you look back on it what would someone see as signs um the one was always forgetting things that people told me um and starting to have to write everything down uh that was one of my big ones um I a long time ago I created these little.

Routines so I wouldn't forget stuff because I was tired of forgetting um like in high school like my my pencil case or this book because it's everything's all over the place when I'm done I stop I move over so I start.

Organizing things in a certain way that I can reduce my my mental energy load in the morning so always keeping you know as silly as it is my my clothes are all picked up the next morning why so I just get up on I don't have to make any.

Decisions um the constant thing is if you're achieving the results that are asked but then you're still getting [ __ ] because how you did it was wrong but you still got the right answer.

That's a good sign if it's a constant thing because I always got in trouble for how I did it I got it right I got the project done we saved the money you want but I'm going to [ __ ] on you because you just did everything wrong.

Nonlinearly you didn't follow the book you didn't blah blah blah blah blah blah that sounds like the accounting profession man you would always get in trouble for doing the file the wrong way but you'd get to the right answer and I.

Yeah you and I talked about this before because I wasn't sure if I had ADHD and we've worked out that I I'm I don't but it's yeah just SC quick start yeah I would come at it from a different angle so there's for number one is if you're.

Forgetting things number two is if you're getting [ __ ] for doing things differently but still having the proper result it's different if you just did things differently and it screwed it up and you didn't get the right result but if you're getting the right result but.

You're still getting trouble for doing it differently okay got that yeah and um coming up with unique solutions that no one understands and they give you a hard time is another one I got like this is all not just in the engineering world.

This I can all come back with relations to as a child um you know when you're bored you're really not paying attention to stuff or focusing to focus that's another one right I'm working hard to focus and that burns a.

Lot of mental energy and if you're not interested it's very hard to do anything um getting hurt a lot doesn't mean you have to visit the hospital all the time I discover with time because.

One of the thing is are you prone to getting to hurting yourself and do hospital visits and I'm like oh no no no no I've only been in the hospital twice.

In my life when I start looking at this but if I look at it the amount of injuries on my left side of the body on every ligament on every knuckle like uh of every joint yeah I was getting um.

Hurt a lot now why are you getting hurt you're pushing too hard pushing too hard or all a sudden you're in law law land thinking of something else and all a sudden that like the walls and doors always jump in front of me every.

Time right but that just means my my attention is somewhere else and you know another big one I got was scanning are you accused of always catching stuff that's not relevant to a conversation or in a room you go in the room this this you see everything and that's because.

You're constantly scanning because the other analogy I like is you're a hunter in a farmer's world so in the old days you were protecting and feeding the TRU the farmers were there taking care of everything to day the ADHD brain was out hunting crawling hyperfocus drown out the world a grass T.

Twitches you look you have to instinctively in impulsively react Let It Go or jump so now in today's world that grass still Twitches I look you're not paying attention social media must be a complete nightmare for you then like yeah that's why I don't look at.

Everything everything twitches and mov and bumps and jump do you think and again we're not medical professionals people I want you to all understand this um but do you think that that social media is increasing the distractability yeah is it is it increasing.

ADHD by the fact that it actually makes it so much worse or do you think it's actually causing ADHD that's like a bigger question no it's not causing ADHD that's it's a brain thing that you're born with or you got some big traumatic event or some early uh lead poisoning or heavy metals.

Poisoning um again but that because it changes the the Dynamics of the brain structure social media is actually uh it it makes it doesn't make it worse or cause it is it's just another Rabbit Hole to fall down so.

Gaming gaming is a bad one because it's all about the quick dopamine hit so the NHD brain has a challenge using dopamine properly or creating enough that's why it's hard to focus and get the dopamine and scrolling social media playing games that's just a constant dopamine hit that we don't th that we.

Need we don't have enough and we want more like for me I was fat as a kid because I ate two or three loaves of white bread a day I love the bread but that was actually a dopamine hit for my brain with the simple carbs it gave me a.

Jol right so I got addicted to bread because it was feeding my dopamine lack of dopamine so the social media is one of those traits going down I remember in University we had that's when Doom first came out so a guy on the floor had doom.

And bl and I'm like playing then I realized I did bad on a couple exams then one night I realized the guy who own who whose dorm room we were in playing the game wasn't my room it was his he's passed out with his roommate it.

Was accept for anyone to fla to play whenever we want and I was playing for eight hours straight I said oh my God games are addictive I don't want to go that so I cut games out 100% so when World of.

Warcraft came online because I got hooked on that too I'm like I can't I made a conscious decision to never do any online games because I knew I get sucked in because of that dopamine hit so you get into those traps like in it.

Would have been something in the old days racing race cars or your bikes down a Ste Steep Hill right um but no to answer your question social media it aggravates it because it's easy to get to and the thing is the problem is with.

Social media they're targeting you to get that quick dopamine fix which longterm is not healthy anyways no matter what kind of brain structure you are true that we and you and I talked about that on your podcast when I was on about the dopamine hit that the alcoholic gets by chasing chasing the.

High and all the rest of that I don't want to go down that road right now but it it's it's the dopamine well let's talk about Dan Sullivan Dan Sullivan are our coach from strategic coach um he has.

ADHD but he's found a way to use a tool instead of using medication using his impact quick filter to actually give him that little dopamine hit to help him focus and I think we're kind of jumping.

To the third part of the question I just want to go to the second one so let let's carve this off one is here's kind of some of the things that you notice now looking back that was signs of ADHD number two before we go number two the.

Other thing is when you hear people talking about their ADHD or you read something by HD and you go holy [ __ ] most likely if you go well depends on the situation not too sure most.

Likely not so by listening to people's actual stories or especially if you're reading a a good book and you're like holy crap this is me that's a good sign as well okay cool so then number two is.

Like if and I think this is a bit of a trap if you do have these signs or symptoms what would your recommendation be should they go and get tested to see if they do have it and.

Where would you go to get tested like I know Aaron went to this we went through mind key health and she got tested by a proper professional yeah so the best wrote is psychologist um they have a one they can.

Prescribe medication which is helpful but you got to make sure that they have experience with adult ADHD you can get some therapists and all that they can put you in the right direction but ultimately the best road is a medical.

Professional giving you the diagnosis like you got different places I'm not familiar what you're referring to there um like there's even some medical doctors they they're actually diagnosing HD because they actually when that they.

Extra work and there's a couple places that it's it's supervised by a medical doctor but he's got special or she's got special a specialty in adult ADHD um but that's the key um because.

The one thing actually talking with Dr Judy ho today was try not to go to the doctor saying I want a diagnosis of ADHD or Autism just go and say I think I'm having challenges here are my list of.

Symptoms then follow the process because they're so overlapping a lot of the symptoms are overlapping with others that they're going to start trying to figure out and take things off the table and that's the proper route so if it's.

Depression you're going to be treated for ahd you're still going to have a problem or if it's anxiety if it's Bor line personality bipolar so you want to chase the right diagnosis because the other diagnosis if you remove that like that condition then.

You won't have the symptoms again or you won't have them at the time so that's not HD if you treat cuz coexisting anxiety and depression bipolars common with ADHD I think that has to more to do with.

Society than an actual condition of it so they coexist and you treat the depression anxiety and the symptoms are still there now you got a little more proof that it's it's an ADHD brain right and so that's good because I think that's where my thinking was going on that when.

I was setting up question two is like where should you go to get diagnosed for ad didn't want to set the stage for someone to go because it's like your mind will make it up that says I have ADHD I should go check on that so that.

Was a fantastic point just if you're having troubles take your D your list of symptoms give it to a professional and have them yeah with it so here let's go to the third part um which is I want you.

To share a little bit around this is that and and I'm I don't want to go down any kind of controversy or anything like that but I see more and more little kids and people getting medic at all the time tons of pharmaceuticals just boom boom.

Boom boom boom but you have created a program for the ADHD entrepreneur which obviously has nothing no no drugs in it you're not a you're not a pharmacist you're not a psychiatrist you don't do any of that but you have found some incredible.

Coaching and Thinking Tools to help people deal with and integrate their ADHD into who they are I want you to share some of that I want you to share a little bit of that because that I think is really important that I want people to understand is that I think we have a.

Pro I know we have a [ __ ] problem just taking a pill we have a problem we pop a pill we have this we take a pill.

We want an instant it's a crutch and don't want to do the I don't want to do the work to do it yeah yeah yeah now that's not saying that some people need some people it's extreme cases yes you do need that but I W I want to I don't.

Want to necessarily bash that people that have to really take I want I want to highlight the fact that there's Behavior modifications Thinking Tools stuff like Dan Sullivan has come up with his his quick filter he.

Says he reads his quick filter and boom he gets his hit and now I can go and do what he needs to do right well yeah it's actually it gets what he's thinking out of his head that's so ADHD brain has a.

Hard time processing information until it comes out to come back in so that's a part of that is he gets it out on paper so he sees it differently and if he buys into it now he's got a reminder of what to do and doesn't have to try to.

Remember oh I didn't realize that and then with that part he takes five of those success criteres that matches one of each of his Clifton strengths so he's always interested so he did a little cheat there a little trick so he takes the idea out of his head because it's.

Spitting around with so many ideas he puts it on paper so then he can actually see the idea clearly then when he looks at a success criteria he goes okay which one of those things that need to happen.

Fits my unique ability and is have so I will constantly be fascinated and motivated so I will actually get those things done here's a couple other things that need to get done for this task to happen I'm not doing those because if I.

Don't I gotta give them to somebody else to do because I will never get through it yeah so he kind of found a shortcut to trick his brain to be motiv but it's a lot but it's done he in unintentionally intentionally created something for his brain to activate so it's all it's it's.

Interesting it's novel to him all the time but it's a a tool that he makes sure it suits his unique ability and that interest based nervous system wow so just to go about that the only thing.

I want to talk about meds is I'm not a medication I tried my kids are on them I think for the here's the other unfortunate thing ADHD is diagnosed usually because it's a problem for someone else not necessarily the person or how it affects other people so with.

That the medication is also used to normalize and the coaching methods for AG is how to normalize yourself to fit in with society and that's always been a bird a problem for me okay so that's why.

I started the program because I was really pissed off that no no you're just putting lipstick on a pig here you're still trying to normalize him but on a happy gory woohoooo time superpowers let's go girls let's go boys like and.

That just drove me nuts because we're not doing the real work so the medication when I got diagnosed it was a [ __ ] storm I call it my life Tempest losing my company uh I think a lot of the past traum would I've been working.

On the last couple years that all came to a head I was ultimately triggered by the world it was a [ __ ] show so at that time I needed medication to just to slow slow the world down so I can process stuff right and sometimes people need.

That right now if the kid has ADHD and is struggling to keep up in that systematic [ __ ] school system like my oldest it brings her gets her to focus more and kind of normalize she she.

Can get through school easier but she's not using it every day when she's on holidays so at times you need It ultimately my personal feeling is it's a crutch if you needed to you know I need to have a pill so I can do work well I.

Don't like that I was never one for you know hacks because you got to do real work especially in this mental health stuff if you're working on your mental health it takes hard work like.

Like you told me drinking is not a drinking problem it's a thinking problem but to think it out you got to go somewhere your body was using alcohol to stay away from it's not easy right or.

Pop an anxiety pill and life will be better but we're not going to deal with the actual issue that's anxiety that's the only problem I have so it's useful at times I don't think it's necessary so with the program what I have is the coaching out there is how you can fit in.

More and my program is all about how I understand you the unique Eric your unique ADHD and how you can Encompass and understand that the Brin is wir differently I remember one episode oh I've been told this sucks I shouldn't do this I have to do it that way I'm like.

Why this is how you work well is this way it just no one seems to get it so instead of saying and I don't like like I like labels for you to get an understanding so you can work on.

Something so ADHD label I have ADHD that was me understanding and and it was my explanation of the challenges I had so I actually give people vocabulary to explain what their needs are and how they work without using the labels because if I.

Come to you because of my ADC I can't do [ __ ] what's your automatic response lazy stupid really what the hell dude like now you're using that so it be like well okay since I can't.

Remember too many things at once do you mind emailing me what you just requested me because I know I'm going to forget when I go right right so you're working I really like that so you're working with the condition that you have but saying I understand it you're it's.

Self-awareness really is what we're talking about is a complete self-awareness of going I can't remember more than four things I like the the marble analogy like on the Shelf I really like that so it's like you've got.

Three marbles up there if you put another one it's going to drop off so I need to can you help and work with me so that we can work with my three marble system so that I can still get the job.

Done because I want to get the job done it's just I can't remember more than three marbles at a time yeah but without having to say I'm not remembering two things right it that's the kind of vocabulary right hey can we meet in a.

Month I'm gonna say yes because my time Horizon's that's that's like a 100 years from now we'll make it work now I gotta say well you know what you should talk to Sarah because she can fit in my system because by the time I get there.

Be we're supposed to meet and my calendar's full sure sure sure sure so if you so to make sure I got the time for you you need to talk to Sarah so that we can have the appropriate time that's the kind of stuff I think is more important and it's just a brain.

Wiring difference right and the thing is too is you just you know the impulsivity part it comes out the ADHD brain feels emotions a thousand times more than anyone else right it's intense it's Raw it's immediate and then since you have no.

Prefrontal cortex filter it comes out immediately but when it gets to that stage I started observing myself for a while when I started my first company I said there's a bunch of behaviors that happened I didn't realize there were.

Trigger triggers I just call them triggers at the time I didn't want to repeat those behaviors so what happened I look back but I started going okay that triggered it but like yeah but I don't think him just saying that if I if.

It was a nice day that would have bother me so what the hell happened so I kept tracing back the trigger that triggered the trigger kept going back and back and back and back to an event or something.

That just started to spiral and I started seeing a pattern so to control my emotional regulation and my impulsive out burst I start looking for these early warning signs some I'm in the middle of focus.

Time or you know I woke up on this morning is a good one I woke up now I I had to bring the kids to to uh to the doctor's appointment because my wife's got too many orders in the bakery not a big deal but that derailed my day I'm G.

To be late I can't get everything I done now that's an early warning I might explode on my team or on someone that comes in that interrupts me unannounced so since I know that this is the start of a potential path what can I.

Do to change that or just be aware that it could be and then now you can start catching yourself a little bit before you train your body you actually can train your brain to know that these are early warning systems.

And it's in a way you're managing the impulsivity that is so cool because you're you're unwinding you're stopping the conditioned being like when you do things that are just conditioned and but it's always over a Time Horizon you're getting at the front end of the time.

Horizon and going oh here's this first thing that happens and I know that when that thing happens and it ties into the next the next and next then when I blow up in the future it's a result of my condition my past conditioning so you're.

You're ever you have to be completely present you have to be very present to be going oh this is happening now recognizing in the present moment and going having the ability to go I recognize that thing can compound itself.

To cause a problem in the future yeah so it's interesting you're it's either now or not now focused the time frame the time frame time frame not now but what you're doing is you're staying in the.

Now and you're going it's a now thing but that now thing is going to impact me later so it is a not a now thing it's a now thing and not a now thing but you're recognizing it and that's a growth mindset because if I had the victim.

Mindset like I was raised to be and like I had for a while that slight I be the victim therefore it they deserve it and.

I'm not going to try to bypass it because I just got slided I'm going to take it to the end [ __ ] the man [ __ ] the system right but now it's just like once I got the Shi from victim to growth is just like whoa you.

Know let's think about this I got two paths here hell or to the left of hell you know the um the conditioning that you pick up and you know that's going to happen in the future that's there's a saying in the recovery movement called halt hungry angry lonely tired if you're.

Hungry angry lonely tired halt that's going to watch out for that because that's the beginning of that that train of conditioning that you're talking right it's it you can't you know don't don't go there right just don't go there and then with my therapist last.

Night she's actually going it's kind of cool because you're actually catching these little reactions and then you're curious on why it was triggered and that's the Explorer right that's being and.

Exploring and looking at the dark areas which is why I was so which is why I love what you're doing with the ADHD entrepreneur there's multiple levels to it one is that you've been an avid.

Explorer of yourself and you've gone and looked at the shadow side and you've gone into the dark areas you've grabbed your sword right you're GNA I'm G to go to battle with myself for myself right I'm going to go and find out what those.

Things are so you've done that you've also realized that Who You Are who a lot of us are is a result of all this combined conditioning responses and you're starting to cut them away and see them in real time and going Ah that's going to cause a problem in the future.

So that self-awareness is there and the third thing that is just really beautiful is that you are showing people that to completely accept who they are but work with it don't try and stuff it or conform yourself to the crowd it's.

Like no this is the way you work this is the way you operate and from my perspective I think the universe doesn't never makes a mistake ever I don't think the creator has ever made a mistake you are the way you are because that's who you were supposed to be because that's.

Who you are and so once you start accepting that and then working with that that's when the excitement and the expansion and the passion starts kicking in because you're not beating yourself up for who you are you're working with.

What you've been given and life becomes joyful so you're I love love what you're doing man thank you yeah and then right now I'm starting to toy with a couple podcast discussions and clients and the personal rules that you have I must if if every time I.

Commit if I say I'm G to do it I got to go do it no matter what I can't delegate it these types of personal rules or values even even if you know you're it's a stupid idea or you're going to you know halfway through it's a waste of.

Time and you must finish why so I'm starting to question people why is that a rule it's a great trait but why is it a rule because I made it for me I don't think you made it for yourself something happened to do something so in my case was I had to do.

It if not I got ridiculed horribly as a kid publicly or you're trying to impress someone and who is that someone so that's I'm starting to look at these personal rules is if they're not helping you there's another subconscious thing requiring it because of something that happened in the past even though you've.

Convinced yourself it's for the betterment of you or I made the rule but it wasn't your brain created the system to protect you at the time or to get recognition and then just became.

Innate right I see where you're going with this and I can I can pick up the the ethos of it and you just haven't been able to quite formulate the yeah the point I I hear what you're saying so it's I'm I'm going to be very interested.

In seeing where you go on that one because that is still tying into questioning the conditioning that you are acting out today some of these things that we're acting out today and that were were our behaviors that we're acting out today you're saying hey you.

May think that's a really good Noble trait or a virtue but if you really look at it a little closer is it really helping you or is it hurting you or is it helping others or is it harming others right and then once you say is it.

If it's not helping you or if it's not helping others go back in your past and keep digging and explore and figure out what caused you to believe that in the first place what did your brain do to create the structure the mental structure to say this was a must.

Do yeah and it's not like we say we get rid of the rule it's just I think now you can assess your life better yes I can committed to it but it's a waste of time I therefore I can stop now because you're aware of that.

Versus that ultimate black and white rule like for me this is one of the big ones I got like success I need to feel pain it has to be hard to be successful I cannot just you know everything's going well and accept it why kept going back well I.

Always hurt myself when I'm doing physical labor or if I work I go on until I physically can't do it anymore that's just the way I've been rolling for 40 years and why is that because that was the only way I can get out of working from my dad is if I was.

Hurt I could not stop the job until it was completely done or I actually got hurt so the way I to see and that's how it transformed into success has to be painful success was acknowledgement that's an interesting.

Interesting Insight because I've always we've talked about this quite a bit in terms of why does it have to hurt why does it why do you have to why does it have to work hard that even that phrase work hard I'm like I'm gonna work it.

Doesn't have to work hard but I'm gonna work intensely I'm gonna be I'm going to put a lot of intensity into it or I'm going to put a lot of focus in on it or I'm going to do you know I'm going to to.

Strengthen and and test my muscles out mental and physical but why does it have to be hard that is that is really interesting that you've that all the way back to actually a way for you to get out of.

Working with your dad yeah like and the elephant's your body right the monkey elephant scenario like the elephants your body and that reacts instinctively so it doesn't think so whatever you're hard wiring is you act you react instinctively to protect yourself and.

That's what I do with my program is I'm trying to train that elephant to start seeing things differently and not to be a threat all the time because I think a lot of the ADHD challenges we have is.

Not how we do things in the way our brains wired it's how Society has been telling us you suck all this time and you're not doing it well the only way to succeed is by memorizing that's why I.

Stayed away from biology I had to memorize everything I just knew instinctively that I was going to fail but if I can write out formulas in physics and chemistry I understood how the theories work and I can write it out.

And make it practical that was fine for me but Society is saying you must know to memorize right test in school is your test your ability to memorize not actually understand the [ __ ] look at all the engineers I'm running to every day.

They high marks in school they got their PHD but they still can't design a goddamn beam to save their life or the lives of the other people that they're designing the beam to save but I I got I got high marks therefore I must.

Be great well you don't understand what you're doing you just do what you memorized where can people find you and your podcast and your course if they are.

Interested in exploring this more uh simply the impulsive thinker. comom you can find the podcast there podcast is called the impulsive thinker it's on all platforms but it's also on the website and on my YouTube channel um at the.

Impulsive thinker uh in the website there's information on the program but I like talking to the people to see what pain points they have and see if the program's good for them or not but all the information's there in my email as I.

Said brother I really love what you're doing and I'm going to say it again like I've said it for the last few years this is what you need to be doing all the time thank you sir I appreciate it and.

For you too this is I like I like your new medium here the Viking Academy you're glowing my friend it's so much fun it's so much fun yeah okay brother thanks for being on the podcast yeah.

Thanks again for listening to me.

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