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Do All Entrepreneurs Have ADHD?

Discover the innate traits that define an entrepreneur.
Dr. Ned Hallowell

Some of the most successful entrepreneurs credit their Attention Deficit Hyperactivity Disorder for their accomplishments.
Virgin Airlines founder Richard Branson and JetBlue Airways founder David Neeleman both speak openly about their ADHD
and how they wouldnt be anywhere without the creativity, vision and ability to take risks that seem to stem from it.
Working with entrepreneurs for more than 30 years, both as a consultant and as a psychiatrist, Ive found that people with
ADHD are natural entrepreneurs. Conversely though, do all entrepreneurs have ADHD?
In my opinion, ADHD is a terrible term. As I see it, ADHD is neither a disorder, nor is there a deficit of attention. I see ADHD as
a trait, not a disability. Ive realized that a high number of entrepreneurs share many of the same traits as the ADHD patients
Ive treated, including a lust for stimulation and a willingness to take risks.
If there is one psychological characteristic above all others that defines entrepreneurs, it is what I call pop: grit combined with
imagination and optimism. Entrepreneurs have pop. They never give up, they have an edge, and they believe in the pot of gold.
People with ADHD also display similar positive aspects as those of successful entrepreneurs:
-High energy
-Tenacity
-Creativity
-Originality
-Focus
-Insight
-Ability to get along with others
The most important skill successful entrepreneurs learnby instinct, consultation, education, experience or practiceis the
skill of maximizing the benefits of their assets while minimizing the internal damage. Ive learned that what separates successful
from frustrated entrepreneurs is their abilityor inabilityto capitalize on this. The great entrepreneur learns how to harness
and direct mental power, while the frustrated entrepreneur spends life trying to learn how. Entrepreneurs and those with ADHD

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who find the pot of gold are the ones who learn how to master their minds, rather than letting their minds misdirect.
You are very lucky, I tell entrepreneurs. You are blessed with an extraordinarily powerful mind. You have the equivalent of a
Ferrari engine for a brain. Thats why you are a major winner in the making, a potential champion. But you must address one
major problem. You have the brakes of a bicycle; you have difficulty controlling the power of your brain. Sometimes it runs
away with you, so you may crash into walls or fail to slow down or stop when you should. This can cost you the race.
The key is to slow down.
When entrepreneurs learn how to slow down, they can better control the power of their brains. To slow down, ask for help, take
that advice, get organized and make a plan.
When they slow down to think the project through, then their creativity, intuition, enthusiasm and turbocharged brain will
generate victory upon victory.
I have worked with many entrepreneurs and helped them develop the skills that saved them from their race car brain with
bicycle brakes. Structure, coupled with the entrepreneurs innate drive, leads to focus and eventually the magic wand of peak
performance.
Do you have what it takes to be an entrepreneur? Find out what three things you should try to find out.
Post date: Jul 18, 2014
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Threeboy
7 days
ago
TL;DR

Reply
Shawn Spencer
2 days
ago Threeboy
Congrats - you potentially have ADHD! :D

1
Reply
Threeboy
2 days
ago Shawn Spencer
That's teh joke!

Reply
Jon Davachi
7 days
ago
Slow down is the worst advice I've ever heard

1
Reply
Rodrigo Cid Campeador
7 days
ago Jon Davachi
Do you have ADHD? I do, and trust me slowing down means the difference between success and failure to me.

16
Reply
Ron Weinstein
7 days
ago
As a 66 year old adult who was diagnosed with ADHD when I was 40 AND having working for most of my professional life (having the
appropriate qualifications) with individuals with ADHD, I agree somewhat. To clarify, for a diagnosis to be made, there needs to be some
impairment in some aspects of functioning. I never considered myself disordered but my impulsivity had negatively impacted various aspects
of my life. Yes, I was always entrepreneurial and continue to be running my own business in 17 countries, but it did impact certain aspects of
my life. I often made poor choices, struggled with the structure in school, etc. I've worked very hard "to put the brakes on" and this has
enabled me to mover forward in a successful way. Unfortunately, the vast majority of professionals have no idea what ADHD really is!

6
Reply
Ruta Victoria Jodis
7 days
ago
AGREE - ADHD is NOT a disorder, but a special trait... If we moved as slowly as others there would be no winners in the race for ingenuity :)

5
Reply
Brandon Pickett
7 days
ago Ruta Victoria Jodis
Excellent article. I was headed in the opposite of my true genius which is self destruction. Once I slowed down my creativity took hold
I was able to bring a lot of the vision I had in my head to reality. It can be truly frustrating in world driven by norms and boring
procedure for people with ADHD. There is great book out there called The Davinci Method that really help me understand a lot about
myself.

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