Unleashing Your ADHD Superpower
The Hyperfocused Entrepreneur
October 1, 2023
Read time: 7 minutes
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I’ve noticed something peculiar recently:
A staggering number of entrepreneurs have ADHD.
This struck me as odd at first given the difficulties I’ve personally experienced over the years trying to manage my ADHD.
But the more I’ve thought about it, the more I’ve come to realize it actually makes a ton of sense that people with ADHD would make incredible entrepreneurs.
Sure, on the one hand we’re terrible at managing our times, impulsive as hell, and easily distracted…
Then again, when we’re passionate about something, we go into hyperfocus mode (which is sort of like living in a 24/7 flow state), we’re incredibly creative, and thrive in a state of perpetual chaos.
All told, if we can harness our ADHD and focus it towards productive ends, the sky is the limit for us as entrepreneurs.
Which is way easier said than done, to be honest.
Because people with ADHD really only have two modes:
First, we never want to start… Then, we never want to stop.
Inertia is a helluva thing.
It’s great when focused in a productive direction, but hell on Earth when focused…elsewhere.
And for most of us, the time we spend focused in unproductive directions is generally more than we’d care to admit.
Well, let’s see what we can do about that.
Here are 5 strategies for harnessing the power of your ADHD-mind to unlock your full potential as an entrepreneur.
**Note: these strategies work regardless of whether or not you have ADHD. They just happen to be WAY more necessary if you’re a neurodegenerate like me.**
1. Nutrition
I am a human garbage disposal.
I never thought this was a problem because I consistently float between 6-10% body fat.
But the most profound effects of nutrition (especially for the ADHD-mind) are invisible.
This was proven to me a couple years ago when my personal trainer had me cut three things out of my diet:
1. Gluten
2. Sugar
3. Alcohol
Within two weeks, I shit you not, I felt like Bradley Cooper in Limitless.
I could see music and taste ultraviolet rays.
My mind was clear, focused, and razor sharp for the first time in…
Ever.
It was like stepping out of a perpetual Brain Fog.
Turns out gluten, in particular, amplifies many of the symptoms of ADHD.
Ugh… it kills me to admit it, but I’ve become that guy who complains about being gluten intolerant…
Saying this outloud causes part of me to die a little, but it’s true.
Here’s a study breaking down the association between gluten and ADHD-like symptoms.
2. State Management
In a past life I coached National Champions and Olympians in Rock Climbing.
From this vantage point I got to observe what separates the absolute best-of-the-best from the rest…
And what I noticed was surprising.
It wasn’t fitness, strength, or technique…
It wasn’t even mindset…
It was something almost intangible…
It was POISE.
In the midst of chaos, in the heat of battle, the ones who ultimately rose to the top were the ones who were most in control of what I call their STATE.
Think of Michael Jordan before hitting the game winner…
Or Tiger Woods before sinking the putt…
Or Brady in the final two minutes of the game…
They are stone cold calm and focused.
AKA:
They are POISED.
I think about this a lot because when my ADHD really flares up, I start moving through the world with a spastic sort of energy.
Taming this is no easy feat…
But something I’ve found helpful over the years is to approach POISE as something that can be intentionally developed…
Like a muscle.
The way to do this is through consistently stressing our poise-muscle.
I do this by routinely exposing myself to stressful situations and then forcing myself to remain calm and in control.
Here’s 3 activities I find particularly powerful:
1. Cold Shower/Plunge
2. Breath Holding (until absolute failure)
3. Wall Sits (until absolute failure)
Honing this poise-muscle has helped me tremendously in combating my biologies natural desire towards chaos.
Which leads me to the third strategy for focusing the ADHD-mind:
3. Biological Priming
Your mind and body are linked.
The quickest way I’ve found to change your mental state is by changing your physical state.
Here are 3 powerful ways to manipulate your physical state to get your mind in-line:
1. Olfactory Manipulation
If you’ve ever gotten a deep whiff of cinnamon or applie pie and been instantly transported back in time to Thanksgiving with the family…
Then you know how powerful our sense of smell can be for eliciting memories and certain emotions (both good and bad).
You can easily use this to your advantage with things like candles or scent sticks (Boom-Boom).
I pretty much always have two sticks of Boom-Boom on me at all times.
Cinnamon for when I need to calm myself down.
Peppermint for when I need to hype myself up.
2. Breathing
If you’re not doing regular breathwork, then you are neglecting THE most powerful tool for manipulating your physiology and psychology.
And I ain’t just talking about how to take deep breaths to calm yourself down.
That’s Breathing 101.
It’s basic (and important), but there are levels to this game.
If you really want to unlock the power of your ADHD-mind then start by MASTERING YOUR BREATHING.
3. Auditory Dampening
I’m wearing noise canceling headphones right now.
There is no music playing.
Just silence.
I am in a cocoon of quiet.
I can hear my breathing and feel my heart.
And as a result, my mind is calm and focused.
Now, this is actually quite rare…
People with ADHD generally struggle to feel the internal sensations of their body.
We’re simply too revved up.
Too stimulated.
One of my favorite ways to turn down the noise of life (and my mind) is to simply throw on the headphones…
Fun side note: I wear these headphones so much that I actually have a groove in my head from where they sit.
4. Sleep
Most entrepreneurs are chronically sleep deprived.
I blame this on the hustle porn culture of rise and grind which convinces people to believe they are wasting their lives if they aren’t working around the clock.
Interestingly, people with ADHD are also chronically sleep deprived, but for entirely different reasons.
See, people with ADHD typically struggle to fall (and stay) asleep for a combination of biological reasons stemming from racing thoughts, inability for body to regulate its internal clock, and restless leg syndrome (which occurs in around 50% of people with ADHD (myself included)).
Regardless of the cause, the effect is the same.
When you’re sleep deprived you’re likely to experience heightened fatigue, overwhelm, distractibility, and stress.
Obviously, it’s hard to operate at your peak when feeling this way. Which is why it’s critical we get our sleep dialed in.
Last year, Jamie and I invested a ton of time and money into experimenting with our sleep.
Here are 3 things that really helped us unlock an awesome night’s sleep:
1. Total Dark
It seems painfully obvious to point out we sleep better in the dark than in the light, but I never realized how much light pollution was infecting our sleep area until we started paying attention to this.
Seriously, it’s everywhere. Ya probably have light coming off your phone on the charger, the alarm clock, and the smoke detector on the ceiling, not to mention light sneaking in from outside through the blinds.
Black out curtains are a simple solution, but I discovered something I like even more:
A Sleeping Mask.
This thing is AWESOME. It’s like a dark private sanctuary.
It’s a cheap solution that delivers exceptional results AND you can travel with it.
2. Chilly Room
Snuggling up into a warm bed is awesome… but it’s not great for staying asleep.
See, an interesting thing happens to us when we’re sleeping:
Our body temperature drops.
In fact, it continues dropping from the moment you fall asleep until around 4 or 5 in the morning when your body starts warming up again in preparation of dawn.
Sleeping in a hot room (or bed) disrupts this rhythm and makes it so you’re likely to wake more frequently in the night and struggle to stay in Deep Sleep cycles.
The easy solution is to just make sure you’re sleeping in a crispy room.
But an even better solution (though admittedly way more expensive) is a cooling mattress that regulates your body temperature throughout the night.
We got an 8 Sleep Mattress Topper last year and it’s seriously one of my best things I’ve ever purchased.
3. Binaural Beats
Humans have evolved to wake up at anything that goes bump in the night.
Which makes sense, because that thing going bump could be a predator.
But, in the modern era, it’s unlikely the thing creaking in the other room is a tiger coming to eat you… better to just stay asleep.
Which is why we sleep with a white noise machine.
Okay, that’s overselling it…
What I mean to say is we play binaural beats on our phone at night.
My favorite app for this is Brain.FM (which I also while meditating and doing deep work (in fact I’m listening to it right now!)).
5. Environment Design
I define focus as:
The ability to resist distractions.
Now, one way to develop laser-like focus is through sheer force of will.
If you do a lot of mental weightlifting, then you can absolutely increase your ability to resist distractions.
But this is hard (not to mention it requires a lot of effort).
A quicker and far easier way to boost the quality of your focus is by simply eliminating distractions before they even appear.
To do this we just need to design our work environment with intention.
Now, unfortunately, there’s no one-size-fits-all solution.
Some people work best in a busy coffee shop…
Others need to be in a closet.
You’re gonna need to experiment with what works (and what doesn’t) for yourself…
But if you want to dive deeper, you should check out the Hyperfocus Masterclass which has 4 modules that’ll help you design your phone, desk, computer, and office for optimum productivity.
Speaking of the Hyperfocus Masterclass…
Everything we’ve unpacked in this week’s article is just the tip of the iceberg.
I’ve been on a personal journey over the past decade to master my biology, unlock my chaotic mind, and tap into the potential I feel inside…
And to be honest, it’s been a hard journey.
I mean, there’s a LOT of information out there about how to become a peak performer.
Some of it is great…
A lot of it, though… not so much.
My journey involved a lot of trial and error… lots of ups-and-downs and countless false starts…
But with time, I gradually zeroed in on the systems, frameworks, and routines that reliably worked to help me overcome procrastination, cut through distractions, and get shit done.
And I’ve put it all into 40 simple videos that’ll help you unleash supercharged focus on-command.
Over 1,800 students have gone through the Hyperfocus Masterclass and the feedback has been incredible.
If you struggle with ADHD like me…
Or just really suck at resisting distractions (also like me)…
Then you should definitely check this out.
Learn more about the Hyperfocus Masterclass here.
If that’s not for you, no worries.
Stick around, ’cause we’ve got tons of awesome free content coming your way.
Until next week,
Stay Hyperfocused,
AV
From YouTube This Week:
Unlocking Your ADHD Entrepreneur Full Potential
Want to go even deeper?
1.The Hyperfocused Masterclass: the system I used to turn ADHD into a superpower. It’s worked for me (and 1,800+ other students). Join today.
2. If you’re in relentless pursuit of doing less, but better, than check out my podcast, Amplified Impact, for a quick-hitting daily dose of motivation and inspiration.
