I was extremely excited to read Buzz to say the least. I had heard of the book and had considered ordering it several times, but as you may know I have ADHD. Sometimes I forget to order stuff that I want, no matter how much I want it! Well, a short while back I met Katherine Ellison and before I knew it we were emailing each other back and forth discussing ADHD and our memoirs. I asked Katherine if she would like to give a signed copy of her book away on ADDer World, the ADHD Social Network. She replied that she would love to and sent me a copy right away. Uhm, again remember that I have ADHD, because I gave Katherine a goofed up address the book went back to her and she nicely, and ever so gently, let me know. I admitted my goof and corrected it (I wonder if I reminded her of her son, Buzz, in that instance?). She sent Buzz once again and I finally received it and have read the spellbinding, delightful book. However, it took me a while to actually start reading it. The book’s design is so captivating that it took me a while to stop admiring it. Yes, I know, distracted much? ADHD!

Buzz is a wonderful, fascinating book. Reading it was an incredible experience, as Katherine spares no details. I could literally feel her emotions through each written word. What was so fascinating to me was to read the details and experiences from a parent’s perspective. It revealed all the frustrations, the love and the concern that a mother has for her child, no matter how perplexing that child’s behavior may be. At the heart of this book is one mother’s advocacy for her child, trying everything she can in order to get a grip of her own ADHD, while also doing her best to find ways to help her child’s circumstances affected by not only his ADHD, but hers too.

Buzz is a very important book and as I’ve said so many times, the most helpful books I have read concerning ADHD have been from people sharing their real life experiences. We can all learn from each other and Buzz is one of those books that when you stop reading it, you keep thinking about it. I can’t recommend this book enough, especially for any parent or teacher of a child with ADHD. We can read every self-help book ever written about ADHD, but to really gain an intimate understanding and find ways that work in real-life scenarios, in my opinion, there is no other type of book that compares to the literal, unvarnished truth of someone’s experience.

If you have not read Buzz yet, do yourself a favor and pick up a copy soon. However, be warned that it is absolutely engrossing all the way through, from the front cover to the back cover! Next month this signed copy will be given away on ADDer World, the ADHD social network, so you might get lucky and win it. Still, don’t wait, go get yourself a copy of this fabulous book today!

Bryan

   Send article as PDF   

My publishing company’s monthly newsletter came out yesterday revealing the top 3 selling authors for June (pictured above) overall, not just by categories. Suddenly it hit home for me when I saw the newsletter. This isn’t just about my books, or becoming a bestselling author, this is about ADHD books making it out of category, rising above stigma and ultimately, a triumph for people with ADHD everywhere and those who are close to us! I posted about the achievement of my books a little while back when I first received notice, but the full significance had not hit home yet, not entirely, not until now.  

When an ADHD book series became bestsellers of a publishing company this last June it was not only a moment to celebrate, but also time to truly think about what this means for us as a community. Consider that we are talking about an ADHD book series!  There are significant implications here, let’s consider a few things:

•  Many people still consider ADHD to be a myth! Ridiculously, there is still an ongoing debate whether or not ADHD even exists!
• The stigma! In a recent article on the Washington Post website, a young lady expressed disappointment and sadness that her name will forever be connected to ADHD because of the permanency of the internet. I understand her and sympathize, but it is sad.
• Well known celebrities have turned down reviewing ADHD books openly because they do not want their name attached to ADHD, even those who have it! I’ve been told this and although I completely understand, it is sad and demonstrates how far we still have to go. Too many of us live in the shadows and it is not easy to tell others we have ADHD.  It can sometimes be damaging, to stand in the light and say “I have ADHD!” But, some do and they are making a difference! Howie Mandel and Adam Levine are two of the most recent to come forward: Bless them!
• Some people are afraid to simply be caught reading books about ADHD because others will judge them negatively.

I am sure you know well why it is significant that an ADHD book series has done so well; there’s been enough going against us that no single blog post could ever expose all of it.

Writing my books and publishing them openly has been one of the steps I have taken to reduce the stigma of having ADHD. I have lived through punishment, guilt, ridicule and utter shame, and I was warned by some close to me not to publish One Boy’s Struggle: A Memoir because of potential backlash. Did I do the right thing?

I published my books and backlash did come, and it continues to come, but through it all I continue to write. Let me tell you though, that backlash does not always come from expected places and maybe, just maybe, it is because of my ADHD mind that any negativity that comes my way only compels me to step out further, to write more and to continue to ask each of us to look for the gifts within ourselves! We are so much better than we sometimes give ourselves credit for!

My publisher, Infinity Publishing is a major self-publishing company that has published over 6000 titles with authors to their credit such as Emmy award-winning Lisa Mason and C.D. Payne who authored Youth In Revolt, which became a movie and debuted at #9 at the box-office! Shandi Finnessey and many other bestselling authors have also used Infinity, I am deeply honored to be in their company and to have written a series of books that so many people have related to. If readers cannot relate to a book, or the message does not resonate with them, they will not recommend it or pass it on, and that is what drives any book to the top of any chart.

Thank you so much to my readers and all of my supporters! Thanks, especially to my wife, Joan! She’s awesome and she has my deepest respect, my overwhelming gratitude and my unyielding love. I also want to thank the wonderful co-workers I’ve had over the years where I have had the honor to work for an amazing non-profit global company, the best of its kind! Last, but not least, thanks to my family, who admittedly I have confused and utterly dazed beyond measure.

Pass the word: ADHD is making it out into the open, and one day, if we keep at it, we will be free of the stigma, shame, guilt and false perceptions. ADHD is real, and together, you and me, we are making a difference.

Thank you!

Bryan

   Send article as PDF   

To be beat down, criticized, punished and live with regret and guilt all of our days?

 No.   There is another way – a positive, self fulfilling way.  I am going to share that way with you.

Life is more than we give it credit to be and yet too many of us live within a shell of fear and anxiety. We walk the halls of our life flinching from the slightest sound which echoes within our minds, on and on, and on. We fight against it, we try to be strong and we try to walk tall. We try to show confidence and strength. We go day to day wearing the mask of life as strong courageous human beings. But why does it have to be a mask, why does it have to hurt so much, why can’t we just be understood and accepted for who we are? Why do others try to hurt us and tear us down? Why do we want to give up and yet still continue?

And so begins my book, The Brilliant Reality of ADHD. It has been chosen as the editor’s pick in the latest issue of ADDitude Magazine. I was taken by surprise when I was told that my book was the editor’s pick! ADDitude Magazine is the premier magazine for people with ADD or ADHD. Joan and I often search the book review database of ADDitude Magazine’s online version for ADHD book reviews when we are looking for a new interesting, informative book to read! There are many excellent books recommended; therefore, knowing the quality books ADDitude reviews is actually quite humbling for The Brilliant Reality of ADHD to receive such an honor! And you would think that would be enough, think again…

I wrote an email to thank the editor of ADDitude for choosing my book and he wrote me back to discuss using excerpts of my writing about ADHD for a special piece in an upcoming issue! How exciting is that? Of course, I wrote back asking if he would be so kind to give ADDer World a mention on the cover! So, dear readers and members, let’s look forward to picking up the next issue of ADDitude! If you haven’t read the latest issue of ADDitude Magazine it is in book stores now. I know because my sister discovered it, and the review of my book inside, when she was shopping in a book store recently!

It’s nice to be surprised every now and then… isn’t it?

~Bryan

   Send article as PDF   

A few weeks ago I came upon a very interesting book called Wishcraft. I didn’t have a clue what it was about; I was simply caught by the title itself. I had never heard of it before, but it had a sticker on it saying it had sold more than 650,000 copies! (Hey, I am an ADDer – ohhhh Shiny!) Must be good then… right? I had no idea just how good it would be. When a book sells 650,000 copies it’s not a fluke. So I picked up the book and started reading through it. It not only caught my attention, but it held it tightly and led me along as if by an invisible string. This book caused me to hyper focus on it for hours.

Wishcraft is a book about you and about me. It is a book that explicitly suggests, no, (suggests is to light of a word for this), that you become you! From beginning to end Barbara insists that we find out who we are. She helps us to remember our earliest childhood pre – 5 yrs, in order to recapture what our dreams were and to find out what we truly wanted to be – to rediscover who we are. Much like what I have written over and over again on my blog, she explains how the modern world has made too many of us abandon our natural talents and dreams. All well and good, but there was something about this book that was more than what was written, there seemed to be an undercurrent far more profound than the title suggested. I felt like Barbara was writing about me. It was inspiring, motivating and somewhat disconcerting (in a good, but odd way) and I couldn’t figure out why. Therefore, I decided to check out when this book was first published and found out it was 1979. Click! (I will explain in a moment)

Wishcraft is a book of two distinct parts. The first part helps us reconnect with who we are, that person inside each of us who somehow, for whatever reason, has become submerged and neglected for the needs of society and the needs of others etc. The first part of Wishcraft does its job amazingly well. Following Barbara’s advice helped me remember something I have always wanted to do, but had lost in my memories somewhere along the way (that’s for another future post).

The second part of Wishcraft explains how to develop a plan to achieve our dreams. Now this is the part where most reading this review may think ‘oh no, not another plan’. Hold on; let me let you in on another secret. If you have ADD / ADHD this book is not like any other book you have read. First, it was written in the 70’s by a dynamic woman when women were just starting to pave a new path for themselves in the business world. This is not to say that this book is only for women – I am not a woman, obviously. However, it is to point out that the challenges Barbara had in the dynamics of getting things done, even getting a book published, were quite overwhelming from that standpoint. Secondly, the guide presented in the second part of this book is not what you have read before, perhaps copied, but not as well and there is a good reason for that.

When I wrote Barbara a few weeks ago, I discovered the secret sauce of her book that makes it work beyond what I have read in other books: She has ADD! And it seems to me she was writing about our challenges long before many had ever heard of the term. She calls herself a Scanner. I like the term and her description of what a Scanner is. That’s what made things ultimately go Click! for me, because there was something profound about this book that was captivating, inspiring and rationally workable. I have read far too many self-help books that have left me wanting. Barbara’s book not only gets you going, but can get you where you want to go, even if you have forgotten where that is! Check it out for yourself.

There’s a benefit of Barbara writing this book before all the ADD / ADHD books started to hit the market, she had few points of reference. She wrote from her gut, her instincts and from doing things in her own way that she developed, ways that worked! She may have not yet been diagnosed with ADD when she first wrote this book; however, her struggles to get her through the years before coming in to her own will be very familiar to many of us with ADD or ADHD, they are the tell – tell signs we are so familiar with today.

Check out Wishcraft and be sure to share your thoughts about it with me. If you have already read it, did you have an incredible feeling of familiarity? Like the writer had walked in your very footsteps?

Barbara has a new book out called “Refuse to CHOOSE!” and has sent me a signed copy which will be given away on our ADDer World Social Network in the near future!

Are you a Scanner? If you have ADHD, the description of a Scanner will be very familiar to you. You can check out what a Scanner is here.

Barbara Sher’s Official Website

I hope you enjoy Wishcraft and get out of it as much as I have!

~Bryan

   Send article as PDF   

Don’t wait until you aren’t scared. You’ll be dead. Most of us are scared all the time! Change does not require fearlessness, but it does require courage. Courage is not being fearless – it’s doing what is right in the face of fear. Without fear, there’d be no courage.

Dr. Nancy Irwin from her book, You Turn

Dr. Irwin doesn’t waste any time in her book You Turn to let you know getting to where you want to go is already within you. The problem is that most of us are too darn scared to move, change and take advantage of opportunities that come our way. The thing is, as she explains in the quote above, many of us are fighting our fears and hoping, praying that a day will come when we are not so darned scared anymore. That day may never come, because, fear is what it is and is a part of human nature.

The problem comes when fear takes control and turns into panic and builds into more robust terror. The only way to fight this fear often seems that we need to stay right where we are, in the known and not dare step forward into anything which may be unknown.

I very much enjoyed You Turn which has a hearty, inspiring forward by Dr. Nancy Irwin, who has been there and done that – changing her life in mid stream, overcoming inner fears and the fear of the unknown, what ifs, maybe’s and possible colossal failure, embarrassment, you name it. She was a stage comedian then decided to go to school again and pursue a doctorate in psychology. Comedian to doctorate in psychology, yes, you read that right!

You Turn is a collection of over 40 stories from people over 40 years of age who changed direction in mid-life. It’s the perfect book for anyone contemplating change or unhappy with their current place. However, I strongly urge anyone above the age of 16 to read this book at least once. It’s never too early and it is never too late to become not only inspired but, trustful, for what we really want, change directions and make a You Turn! You may even realize that where you currently are is the right place and you can change your direction where you are, in what you are currently doing, if you are stuck or, in a valley.

Just a little tidbit of information to add: Napoleon Hill noted in his book Think and Grow Rich that it is usually in a person’s 40’s that many hit their stride and come into their own, which stands to reason that Dr. Nancy Irwin is spot on that mid-life isn’t the time to slow down and get comfortable, it’s time to turn it on, turn it up, make a You Turn and blaze your path to your success and what success means to you!

~Bryan

   Send article as PDF   

Paulo Coelho's Brida

Do you believe? Do you believe in the one, the only, that special someone? Is there such a thing as a soulmate for each of us? If so, is it possible to go a life time without ever finding your soulmate? Or, is it possible to meet your soulmate and not realize it, passing by as two ships in the dark night?

In Paulo Coelho’s Brida, an exceptional novel about finding one’s soulmate, Coelho describes finding one’s soulmate by taking risks, by making mistakes and by being with the wrong people until you find your soulmate. The other way he describes of finding one’s soulmate is by entering a state of trance in which one can see a bright spot of light over the shoulder of one’s soulmate.

Paulo Coelho is known for taking complex ideas and putting his insightfully thoughtful twists on them. He wrote The Alchemist after all. (Spoiler) And if you have read The Alchemist, you know where the riches were all along – right where the story began. Life is like that, if we slow down and listen to our inner desires closely enough, we can find our answers. The problem comes with the calming down and removing our personal inner critical rational analyzer (whew!).

Brida was an intense read for me because the real twist, at least for me, was that Brida had the desire to become a witch and find her soulmate through spirituality. As with any Paulo Coelho book, you may be contemplating a long time after you are finished reading. I love books that do that, which has made me a huge Coelho fan!

In life we make a lot of mistakes through trial and error, we bang our heads against the proverbial wall time and time again, repeating our mistakes as if our inner record is broken. And we continuously ask the same questions over and over again. Why did I do that? Why me? Why can’t I get it right?

Nobody likes me! I am not worth loving! These statements come afterwards, because, what other answer could there possibly be?

Desperation leads to friction, friction leads to confusion, confusion leads to further desperation and this leads to feelings of hopelessness and worthlessness.

It’s the tricks of the mind we create and put ourselves through, never realizing that we are doing this by allowing too many outside influences to have control of what we think we are looking for – i.e. possessions, style, looks, education, job, etc… none of which, in the grand scheme of things, has anything to do with finding one’s soulmate.

On Paulo Coelho’s personal blog he asks a very good question: Would you try to find your soulmate through magic or by taking risks, making mistakes?

Some may jump to the conclusion, due to the way society hits you with hard knocks and you must claw your way back up again and again, that taking risks and making mistakes is the obvious answer.

Finding one’s soulmate, to me, is about finding our self - understanding our self to the point that we are comfortable with who we are and love our self from within without the need for external assurance. How can one truly be loved by someone else, or give the same love in return, if we are not comfortable with and love our self first?

~Bryan

   Send article as PDF   

ADHD are symptoms of a magnitude and force which no one, and I mean, no one, who does not have ADHD can truly empathize with, because, no matter how well they understand our symptoms and can explain them with detailed clarity, they do not live with them as part of their self-internal life force. And, as much as each of us relates so well with each other that have ADHD, there are even differences between us that elude our recognition – no matter how familiar we are with each other, and, we are, remarkably, naturally familiar with each other. This is the reason that our personal stories and our personal insights help each other so much.

Try as we might, with the seemingly futile efforts of separating ourselves from ADHD, when it is a part of everything we do and everything we think. Others would have us view and define ADHD as a label, as somehow separate from who we are, in the hope that we can rise above ADHD and with that, leave it behind. This is the issue for which ADHD causes so much misery for so many – to somehow think and believe that ADHD is separate from who we are and therefore we can leave it behind and overcome it in a way that it no longer exists within us. And then, perchance we believe that we have done exactly this, left it behind, and then, out of seemingly nowhere, the symptoms arise again – oh the failure, the defeat, the thoughts of how inferior we must indeed be – pathetic beings that we are.

From our failures we look for fault and blame – while we do this we gain a curved perception of others, who have been blessed with what we see as normalcy. Ah, the envy to be normal – the jealousy to be complete and the wanting to be whole. The holy grail of the ADHD mind is to ‘recover’, sometimes the exact thing which defies our ‘recovery’ is this holy grail of being ‘like others’ who are ‘normal’. Recovery indicates that ADHD is separate from who we are and that at some time in our past it did not exist within us – having been purged of it, we can then ‘recover’.

There is no recovery process for overcoming ADHD, because, ADHD never leaves us – ever. The recovery, which doctors and psychotherapists speak of, I believe is a different kind of recovery and it is that which the focus of resolving ADHD should be on. Let’s replace the word recovery with another word, one that is far more accurate and tangible than many realize at first glance: Acceptance.

When we look upon others who have ADHD and are achieving great things, the first instinct is to look away, to not dream of ‘more’. And that, in my view, is wrong. No, it is more suitable, in my opinion, to not look at those who have achieved great success as better or as something we must attain in as far as their material gains. But look at them we should, to study them and ask ourselves the ultimate questions:

Why?

There is always that question, and the answer to that question holds the key to something far more important than any one person’s achievements or successes.

How?

We should not be afraid to ask these questions and to seek the answers. It is only in seeking these answers that we can find them. The knowledge that others seem to have found answers helps us push on.

Nothing has ever been accomplished by human beings without those two questions: Why? And, How?

You do not have to win a gold medal and you do not have to invent the next form of artificial light, or, draw the next painting which will become the hallmark of an era. No, these are not the reasons to ask the questions. There’s something else. To achieve any great success one must have something. Is it grit? Is it tenacity? Is it hope? Is it motivation? Is it inspiration? – Yes, it is all of these things, but, these things come from something else:

Acceptance.

Acceptance liberated me from seeing ADHD as a label or, the symptoms of ADHD as something separate from me. It was through psychotherapy that I found an understanding for what awareness truly is and how certain aspects of ourselves try to protect us, but, at the same time, through that protection, also circumvent us from achieving or finding any kind of success, or, happiness.

If you find yourself intrigued by this blog post, let me lead you to a book which could change your perceptions of how ADHD is affecting you. Now, the trick is, I am not simply talking about the ‘symptoms’ per se, but, rather the consequences of those symptoms over time and how we have judged and characterized them over the span of our lives. Our characterizations and judgments may be giving far more power to the term ADHD than most of us realize. The book is called “The Art of Confident Living” by Bryan (great name!) Robinson Ph.D. Bryan Robinson’s book is not about ADHD; it is about how certain aspects of who we are, which have developed from our experiences, judgments and characterizations, try to take over in order to protect ourselves.

The more people I meet and talk to, with concern to Adult ADHD, is convincing me that treating the symptoms without treating the psychological aspects of the mind, as a whole, is like fishing in a lake without any fish in it. There are reasons habitual thoughts are hard to break, there are reasons why we repeat certain things over and over again and sometimes, it’s not the symptoms of ADHD alone always doing that – rather it’s sometimes the result of past experiences connected to how ADHD has affected us and the external consequences of given past situations. Have you ever believed that something is the way it is and it just is and nothing you can do will change it? I have. That’s just the way it is – - or, is it?

~Bryan

   Send article as PDF   

Understanding My Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

By Kara T. Tamanini

As most of my readers already know, I don’t believe in keeping ADHD a secret from children that have it. I think it’s actually quite important for their growth and mental health to understand what makes them different and why they behave the way they do. It was frustrating for me as a child to feel and act different and yet, think I should be the same as everyone else.

Kara Tamanini has put together a very good poignant, encouraging story, with pleasing visual illustrations, about a young boy down on himself and confused as to why he acts differently. This story will be familiar to most of us with basic knowledge of ADHD, and will perhaps draw up childhood memories; however, this is for the younger children, still in the dark, and not yet capable of understanding clinical explanations. For the intended awareness of children with ADHD, this book is remarkable story telling, allowing parents an easy, unintimidating method of explaining ADHD to their child, or, children. For those of us sensitive to touching paper and viewing images, this book is extremely well done.

The exception: As someone who feels the hyperactive ADDers garner the most attention and the innattentives are usually left to suffer till later, sometimes too late, it is my hope Kara will put together a similar, well thought-out book for innattentive children as well.

~

What are your thoughts on teaching young children about their condition with regard to ADHD, or, perhaps even educating their friends and neighbors? Do you think it is best to explain as soon as the child can understand there are differences in their behavior, or, is it your opinion to wait until it is absolutely necessary? Any other thoughts about teaching the young?

Understanding My Attention-Deficit/Hyperactivity Disorder

By Kara T. Tamanini

Highly Recommended!

~Bryan

   Send article as PDF   

I was listening to an audio book recently: Challenge to Succeed by Jim Rohn. I recommend it to anyone interested in self improvement. In the audio Jim makes many good points about wealth, health and state of being. The most important point he makes is this: “What you don’t know will hurt you.”

Any late diagnosed ADDer will tell you that this is too true. What if we had known 10 years, or, 20 years earlier? What if our parents had known and we were diagnosed as children? What a difference would that have made? We can deal with ‘what if’s’ all day long, but, what about today? Today there is a wealth of information available in books and on the internet. There is no reason we cannot self-educate ourselves about our condition, not in an information packed world such as ours.

As anyone knows that reads my blog posts and books, I am for positive thinking, affirmations, medication and having heroes to look up to. And yet, above all of everything else, education about ADHD is the absolute most important method to improve one’s quality of life and situation with concern to ADHD. When I talk to people who are thriving and have overcome tremendous difficulties there are always two things which they identify as their keys to success: Self-education and a PMA Positive Mental Attitude. For those who have success with medication, that becomes 3 keys; however, self-education is always first. Medication can’t teach or instill new coping skills. PMA – a positive mental attitude is developed by the more you know and understand, the more personal stories about ADHD you read, the more you learn about current research and the latest strategies and by helping others! There are books, audio books, Teleseminars, podcasts, blogs and so much more available to you, at your fingertips!

“If I had known…” Don’t let that be your statement, put it in the past. Start now, if you haven’t already, and if you are reading this I am assuming you have already started. I am telling you, the more you understand, the more you know… it will make a world of difference.

“Schooling will get you a job; Self-education will get you a life. – Formal education will make you a living; self-education will make you a fortune.” Jim Rohn

For the person who refuses to self-educate with or without medication, nothing else will help them! Some have told me that they can’t read just one book at a time and that frustrates them. Why? Who made the rule you must read only one book at a time? When we went to school and had 6 classes in a day, how many books were we required to read at any given time? It’s okay to read more than one book at a time, its okay to listen to yet another book, or podcast, or teleseminar on the way to work. It’s not okay to do none of those things! I am telling you, we can’t rely on medication alone, or, PMA alone! It is being proven day in and day out that awareness of and self-education of ADHD is improving lives! Yes, some are pretty ticked off about having it and yes, some people hate and loathe ADHD, but, even so, to deny the existence of and not learn as much as one can about ADHD will just make things more difficult, not only for yourself, but, also for those around you.

“What you don’t know will hurt you.” Jim Rohn

~Bryan

PS: I do support medication and try to avoid writing about my personal experience with medication, because, I do not want to deter anyone from seeking proper treatment which could include medication. With that said, I had a very bad experience with medication and after nearly 3 years I am still recovering. If I had self-educated myself about medication for ADHD and self-educated myself about side effects and withdrawal syndrome I would have known that I was taking medication NOT designed for ADHD and I would have known that going cold-turkey off of it could lead to my current situation with discontinuation syndrome. Now, answer me this (I know I can’t change the past), – would that information have been valuable to me before taking the medication? Yes, I can blame others, doctors or an industry, or, I can try to make others believe medication is destructive. Well, since I don’t agree with those things, let’s move on. Truth be told, I have another personal experience with medication which has also been detrimental and which, for my own reasons, I will not share. However, I have since discovered I could have learned all I had wanted or needed to know about the medication if I had chosen to self-educate myself. Every bit of information that could have given me an informed personal choice was already available on the internet. That’s all I am saying – self-educate. “But, Bryan, it’s not your fault… you didn’t know…” That’s the point exactly. Uninformed decisions with consequences can be pretty unforgiving and lasting. Thankfully, Dr. Charles Parker is writing a book about ADHD medication which will help explain the factors we need to know. How did I make it without medication? That’s already been written.

   Send article as PDF   

The answer

The Answer by John Assaraf & Murray Smith should be required reading for anyone with ADHD. It’s rare that I come across such a book which is not specifically written for ADDers. However, reading through it, I sure get the sense it was written for the ADHD community! I will go so far as to say, folks with ADHD will probably ‘get’ this book while reading it far sooner than those without ADHD.

A friend of mine sent me The Answer a few weeks back and asked me to read it and let her know if I felt the same way about it and if I did, to please write about it. I do, and more! Holy Smoke Stacks do I ever!

Top achievers in any field have followed their innate talents, or what they consider their gifts. They do not pay any attention to their weaknesses, except for identifying what they are (ultra important) and making sure they do not work in the direction of their weaknesses. If you’re one who believes that strengthening your weakness is the key to success, well, that’s more likely a key to mediocrity rather than success. You will never find top performers who are working in the field of their greatest weaknesses. The exception to this rule is if what was thought of as a weakness due to fear or anxiety turns out to be a strength, a hidden talent or ‘gift’.

The Answer has been written to be a companion to The Secret by Rhonda Byrne, or, more directly The Answer to The Secret. And that’s exactly what it is; however, now that I have read it, it sure explains why so many people have read The Secret and have not been able to model their behaviors after The Secret’s philosophy.  Too many have read The Secret and then believe that whatever they are imagining will just come to them. That works and it doesn’t work. The Answer clearly explains that one must get off his or her butt and get to it (their words) and how to get to it. For example, if you’re visualizing becoming a writer, it won’t help if you don’t start writing. However, maybe the hold back is what you’re writing about and not the writing itself. You can be the greatest writer in the world, but, if you don’t want to write about a certain subject, it’s still going to be difficult. Does this sound a little familiar to you?

People with ADHD are always being put in situations, ever since grade school, to do things in ways their mind simply isn’t wired to do and they fail. Maybe the child with ADHD has a great talent for drawing, or, hey, how about swimming, but, before that child can ever get to an art class or swimming elective which will explore such a talent, he or she must go through years of learning things which his or her mind has great difficulty in learning. By the time the child gets the opportunity to explore their innate talent, it’s often way too late, negative thinking and failure from doing what their mind isn’t wired to do has created what was a promising talent into something totally the opposite. Negativity and belief in failure has set in already and all too often therapy becomes required. Great way to start off… right? I personally believe this is what Dr. Hallowell and others like Dr. Lara Honos-Webb are attempting to help parents and adult ADDers with, when they talk and write about the gifts of ADHD, by finding those talents and traits which have become dormant due to neglect for various reasons. Get your head out of the clouds! The Answer maintains we should get our heads BACK into the clouds! Haven’t I been saying that already??? lol

Think about it – what if Michael Phelps had not been allowed to take advantage of his talent for swimming early? What if he was not surrounded by great coaches and mentors ever since he was a small child with ADHD? What if he had been forced to wait… would he have become the Olympic Swimmer we know of today? I would hazard to guess that it would have been far more difficult to start ten years later. Sure, he could have dreamed about and visualized himself swimming while he waited, but, without physical application to go along with those visualized efforts… and we wonder… (just a side note, I am also sure his mother didn’t raise him to believe his ADHD was a curse… just saying)

Okay, I got a little off target here, The Answer’s is a clear, step by step explanation with plenty of examples of how The Secret works and why it works. John Assaraf, is a key member behind The Secret, therefore, for The Secret followers, he’s an original team member who helped bring out The Secret! What would it take to make all your dreams come true? That’s the question. And most people don’t want to ask that question of themselves, with good reason! You will be asking yourself this question after reading The Answer! You will be asking that question after the first chapter!

Goals! I have always had trouble with goals. Write them, be clear about them, we need them, goals take you to the next level etc etc etc… so much has been written about goals, you would think there is nothing more to write. Remember, I have an ADHD mind and goals are the bane of an ADDer’s existence! Not for me, not anymore!!! The Answer has provided me perfect examples, which my ADHD mind readily adapted! For the first time I clearly wrote out my personal specific goals! It feels really good to read them over and know that I can achieve each and every one of them and not just half hazardly dream about them!

I highly recommend The Answer to the ADHD community!  

~Bryan

   Send article as PDF