How ADHD can Hinder and Help Entrepreneurs with Dave Delaney

0:01Boom! Shake the room, Fire Nation. JLD here and welcome to Entrepreneurs on Fire. brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals with great shows like Hustle and Flowchart. Today, we'll be breaking down how ADHD can hinder and help entrepreneurs. To drop these value bombs, I brought Dave Delaney into EO Fire Studios. Future fourth founder, Dave is a former Google speaker, communication strategist, published author, leadership keynote speaker, business coach, podcasting veteran, and the host of the ADHD Why Squirrels podcast. And today, we'll talk about ADHD, the symptoms.

0:38What do we do if we have ADHD, undiagnosed and untreated ADHD, and oh, so much more. And a big thank you for sponsoring today's episode goes to Dave and our sponsors. The Next Wave, your chief AI officer, hosted by Matt Wolf and Nathan Lanz, is brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals. Matt and Nathan are leading AI creators in your guiding light in the AI and technology frontier. AI technology is transforming the way we do business and the media landscape is fragmented. The Next Wave strives to be the leading podcast on AI technology and how you can apply it to growing your business.

1:15Listen to The Next Wave wherever you get your podcasts. Many EO Fire listeners have launched non-food franchises and Franbridge Consulting has guided them. Franbridge's founder and frequent EO Fire guest, John Ostenson, has done more placements than any other in the country and his service is free. Sign up for a consultation with John or get a free copy of his book, Non-Food Franchising at FranBridgeConsulting.com. Dave, say what's up to Fire Nation and share something that you believe about becoming successful that most people disagree with. Well, hello. It is awesome to be back on the show. The thing that comes to my mind right away is that success is measured by money.

2:00And I would say that success is not, in fact, measured by money, but instead measured by the relationships that you have in your life. Fire Nation, this is a great start to what's going to be a fantastic episode all around how ADHD can hinder and help entrepreneurs with Mr. Dave Delaney himself. And this really is a scary statistic, Dave. I mean, undiagnosed and untreated ADHD can actually reduce life expectancy by up to 13 years. Can you tell us more about this? Yes. So that statistic I have on my website at ysquirrels.com, and that is from Dr. Russell Barkley, who's an authority in this space around ADHD.

2:47And what it comes from and what it means is that with undiagnosed and untreated ADHD, you are not fully aware. Sometimes you're more risk or you can be at least more risk averse. You can be more prone to addiction. Things also including obesity, being excessive and consumption, just overdoing it can often be the thing. Also, what's called comorbidities, things that can be caused by ADHD, like anxiety and depression, can also lead to things like suicide. So it can be crushing. I just learned that I have ADHD last year at 50, or just before my 51st birthday, technically at 50. Um, and yeah, when I discovered this, uh, fact, it really changed my passion for sharing my journey and helping inspire others to more of a mission because now I know that, you know, the more people that go and get diagnosed and treated, if they do in fact have ADHD, uh, the better it's going to be for the world.

3:56Let's talk Ikea. Let's talk JetBlue. Let's talk Virgin. You believe that entrepreneurship and ADHD go hand in hand. So tell us more in regards to these companies and others. Yeah, I mean, each of those companies you mentioned all have founders who had or have ADHD. And so with ADHD, it's especially rampant in entrepreneurship. With ADHD, you're 60 % to 80 % more likely to have entrepreneurial intentions and nearly about 100 % more likely to start a business. So it's not unusual for ADHDers to start businesses. And that's because they are, you know, a little less risk averse. So they're not as, as they're, they're often highly intelligent, highly creative people too.

4:49So they, you know, have ideas and, you know, they, they just jump at the idea. So a good example of this is, is why squirrels? So when I was diagnosed right away, being an early adopter in social and content and all that good stuff and web two O world, uh, you know, right away when I was diagnosed, I'm like, I need to share my journey and share the story and hope to inspire others to do the same. And so I started wise squirrels.com. And that also led to the podcast because actually, believe it or not, John, next year will be my 20th year podcasting. Wow. And so once a podcaster is always a podcaster.

5:28And so, of course, I had to start a podcast all about it, too. So that's just an example. You know, this is after being diagnosed, but before, you know, really getting my handle on things. But I knew that I had to jump right at it. And so many entrepreneurs are highly creative, as I said. And so they get an idea and they're like, they're working on it right away. So this is just an assumption of mine with really no basis. and I would love for you to prove or disprove this theory that I have about why it does seem like people with ADHD have a higher propensity to launch a business, to become an entrepreneur.

6:05It's always to me seem like it's because they seem to have more energy and they seem to have more energy with what they don't know what to do with per se. So they're just like, hey, I want to be busy. I want to be doing something where frankly, a lot of people in this world, they're just lazy. They'd love to sit around, to lay around, watch a show, do nothing. They're fine doing nothing. It just doesn't appear to me that people with ADHD have that desire as much, which again, can lead to them saying, well, man, I need to stay active. I need to stay busy. What's something I can do this with? Does this have any basis in reality?

6:39Yeah, absolutely. I think it's not so much that you're looking for something to do, rather it's finding something that gets you excited and gets you really into the zone. You know, we so often creatives, you know, we talk about flow and everybody's trying to get flow. Well, that's not a problem for ADHD years when you find something creative, something that you're excited to work on. And that can be different things for different people, of course, because ADHD isn't one in the same for people. So, but, you know, getting like, for example, with the podcast, like my podcast, I still edit my own show, I do everything on it because I get in the zone and I lose track of time.

7:20And while that can be good and bad, of course, um, you, you do fall into the zone of creating something. So you might be writing, like I'm writing my next book right now. And when I start writing and I get going, hours fly by and I know I forgot to eat and things like that. And so that's very common with ADHD or so that the difference though, is that when there are things that we don't want to do, it becomes very difficult to get those things done. So I think you're right about that. There's the other focus or the other component of this where ADHD is often thought of as like this naughty boy syndrome, right?

7:58The boy that can't sit down in class and who's disrupting things and the class clown. You can tick all those boxes about my childhood. But of course, it is just as common with women as it is with men. And as you get older, you learn to, regardless of whether you know you have ADHD or not, you find what's called coping mechanisms to channel those energies into more productive ways, hopefully. And so to your point, yes, I think we become often hyper-focused with this extra energy working on the things that we're most passionate for. Now, one thing that I do want to shift the conversation to is actually our listeners, Fire Nation.

8:42Like if they're listening, they're saying, okay, I feel like I'm starting to kind of understand a few things about this and maybe the fringes. How can we actually know if we may have ADHD? Like what are some things that we can do? Is there a process? Is there a test? How does that look like? Yeah, very important and great question. So thank you. Um, you can take, so at wise girls.com, I have like a free assessment that you can take. I should point out though, that online assessments can, can get the ball rolling and give you some ideas of whether you, you could or could not have ADHD. But the most important thing to do is to talk to your doctor.

9:21So the most important thing to do is talk to your, you know, your family doctor and let them know, hey, I think, you know, I did this assessment and it looks like maybe I have ADHD, but I wanted to find out, you know, more. You're not going to get a diagnosis from just an online assessment, although that's a good starting point. But instead, your doctor will put you through some different tests or may send you to a specialist, a psychologist, psychiatrist to run you through a few different tests. Nothing's hard. It's not overwhelming or difficult. And as you stated, that statistic at the very beginning of our conversation here.

9:57That's why it's so important, I believe, to know if you do have ADHD or not. And so the first point is, yeah, just you can do an online assessment for free, or you can just go to your doctor and ask your doctor. Now, I should point out that there are still quacks, if you will, out there who may not believe in ADHD or something to that effect. There are always crackpots in every industry. And so for that point, it's good to actually ask your doctor what their thoughts are about ADHD. I should also add to that, that before you start getting tested, I expect your doctor is probably awesome and you don't have anything to worry about, but it is important to get a feel for that, I think.

10:48The other thing too is these terms change over time, right? So ADD has become ADHD. So they added the H, but it is in fact the same thing. So if your doctor is talking about ADD, they're just referencing the same thing. It used to be called ADD and now it's called ADHD. And unfortunately that causes confusion as well. So just want to point that out. Fire Nation, we have a lot to talk about around this topic because it is an important one for the reasons that both Dave and I have already talked about. I mean, man, reduction of life expectancy back to 13 years. So we're going to talk about symptoms, what to do if we have it, and specifically how Dave learned that he had it when we get back from thanking our sponsors.

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13:38That's FranBridgeConsulting.com. Dave, we're back. And as I mentioned before the break, I want to talk specifically about the symptoms of adult ADHD. What does that look like? Well, there's three different types of ADHD. And by the way, I should also preface, I should have said it right at the top, but I am not a doctor, nor do I play one on the internet. So I just wanted to be very clear about that. So this is from, you know, what I've learned in my own journey here. But the different types of ADHD. So there's really three different types. There's inattention, which is, you know, as it sounds, where you're sort of inattentive.

14:24You have difficulty focusing on the tasks that you're supposed to be doing, maybe paying attention to details. Um, working memory can be challenged sometimes remembering, you know, details, names and things like that. Um, and then there's, there's, so that's inattentive. Then there's impulsive, right. Where you, uh, interrupt a lot of the time I do this, uh, a fair amount, um, waiting your turn, that kind of thing. Um, even sometimes being more risk averse to like considering consequences of things. And then there's like a combined mix of the two primary different types of ADHD. Now, again, what every expert about ADHD will say is that no two people with ADHD are the same.

15:08So there are different symptoms, different things. But for me personally, it is a combination of anxiety. It's a combination of focusing for me on what I'm supposed to be doing in any given moment when sometimes I'm distracted. Uh, I, I fall down rabbit holes, as I mentioned with creativity and I start, you know, I end up spending a lot of time working on things. Um, like here's an, a good example. I actually built a whole website from scratch and, and started creating content for that website for a business idea and then realized the idea was stupid. And I'd spent all this time writing these blog posts and, and all this stuff.

15:52And I realized like, what am I doing with this? Um, so those are some examples for me personally. Um, but you know, it, it, it shows differently in different people. And, and as you get older, it also shows differently, which is why, like why squirrels, you know, why is because of wisdom that we've learned throughout our lives and then squirrels because squirrel. So that's kind of the gist of that and why my focus is helping late diagnosed adults with ADHD rather than, you know, others who, you know, who were born or not born, but who have had ADHD since, or excuse me, have been diagnosed with ADHD much younger.

16:34So that's kind of my focus on it. Okay. So people are listening right now and they're kind of nodding their heads like, Like, wow, I actually feel like some of that sounds like me or a lot of that sounds like me, or that sounds like somebody I know that's really close to me, maybe a family friend or a loved one or whatever that might be. What should we do if we have ADHD or if we know somebody that we think has it? It depends, right? So one thing I've struggled with is the term having ADHD as well. because, and I've talked to ADHD doctors and experts on my podcast about it, and I haven't really landed on, you know, do I have ADHD or am I ADHD?

17:18You know what I mean? Because it's a weird thing because it's not, even though that word disorder is right there in the acronym, it's not really a disorder necessarily. It's more of a struggle with attention, struggle with focus on things, but it's, I don't know. I struggle with that terminology a little bit. But getting back to your question here. So like, if you think like, let's say your child has ADHD, obviously you're going to talk to your doctor, your pediatrician. I should point out here too, that it is highly hereditary. One guest told me it's about as hereditary as height. So having said that, It means that, you know, if your child has ADHD, there's like around 75, 80 percent likeliness that you or your partner has ADHD.

18:12Like it's quite likely. And so if you're seeing symptoms in your child, obviously, you're going to you're going to want to talk to your doctor or the child's pediatrician about that. That said, like, I don't know. I mean, if you like it's interesting now knowing what I know about it. that I'll see people like at the grocery store and I'm like, oh man, yeah, I bet this person has ADHD, right? Of course, it's none of my business and it's not for me to run around, you know, diagnosing people. But nor could I. But I think when you do, like if you see it in yourself, I think that's the first point.

18:51And sometimes a lot of people have been diagnosed in the most recent years because they see the symptoms in themselves after they get their child treated. They're like, oh, wait a second. So I don't know if that fully answered the question, but I think that's some good points to share there. That does really answer the question because I think it can at least get people moving in the right direction. What could actually really help even more is talking about your story in a little more depth. So you said it was just last year, I think. And what was the actual process of you learning that you had ADHD?

19:30Yeah, it's a great, great question. So I was in a mastermind with a couple of friends for our businesses. And one of the guys I knew very well, thus I was in the mastermind with him. But the other guy I didn't know very well, he's a closer friend of the other. And as we got to know each other over several months working together, he texts me out of the blue one day and says, Dave, do you have ADHD? And I'm like, no. And he's like, I think you do. And he said this because he had ADHD and has ADHD. So he, and he explained that he saw a lot of the symptoms or struggles or things in himself he sees in me.

20:11And he's like, you should really go talk to your doctor. And so I did. And my doctor, you know, the longer, there's a longer version of the story, but the shorter version, I can go longer if you want. The shorter version is that he did in fact, diagnosed me with ADHD then. And I learned this and I'm like, oh, and my wife, who's a school teacher, by the way, I always say like the number one rule of all of my, my story here, the biggest takeaway is always listen to your spouse because she's a school teacher. And so she deals with kids of all different types and has said it for years that, Dave, you probably have ADHD.

20:48But it took a visit with my doctor to finally get the diagnosis and then start getting treatment. Is this something that you could develop? Say you're in your 30s or your 40s and you're pretty confident you don't have ADHD for various reasons. But is this something that in your 50s, 60s and beyond, it could develop over time? It's highly not likely. My understanding, again is that if you've suffered some sort of head trauma, um, there's possibility of that. Um, this is my understanding or, or experience something like, you know, lead, lead poisoning or, or something like that. But the chances of, of suddenly developing ADHD in adulthood is, you know, my, my, I don't know the statistics, but my guess from what my experience is and what I've researched, it's quite, quite low.

21:39So it's more likely that you've had ADHD your entire life, sort of like being born left-handed or right-handed, right? Like it's just – it's who you are. It's just that to receive a diagnosis and treatment for ADHD, you have to tick enough boxes. So there's something called the DSM-5, which is what psychologists, psychiatrists use as sort of the Bible of neurodevelopmental diagnosis and things. The kicker is that even diagnosis is often, you know, open to interpretation from the doctors. So, but there are assessments like the one at Wise Girls and the doctors will give you, you know, give you enough questions to go through to then determine.

22:33One thing in adulthood is being diagnosed. Usually, you can be diagnosed if it is disrupting your life in enough ways. For me, my business was struggling and I was feeling a lot of stress and things like that. And so that was part of that. Um, the, the other thing is with, uh, with adult diagnosis, um, what was my other point to that? I think that, well, that's the gist really is, is that's, that's the main thing is that if it's disrupting your life. Oh, the other thing was if there are, there was usually, there has to be signs that you did have, uh, ADHD as a child. So, and my wife and I actually found my old report cards from school that my mom kept in a box.

23:19And it is quite hilarious and completely makes sense given my fun time at school. Fire Nation, a lot of interesting things we can learn about ourselves when we go through our elementary school report cards for sure. And Dave, if Fire Nation wants to connect with you, wants to learn more from you with what you have going on, website, podcast, etc. What is your call to action for our listeners today? You can just look up ADHD Wise Squirrels, the podcast, go to wisequirrels.com. My business is at futureforth.com. But you can find me at Wise Squirrels, email me, reach out anytime. I would absolutely love to chat with you.

24:02And yeah, I mean, you know, some of the cool things about having ADHD is ADHDers are super warm and fuzzy. They're loving people. They're really super nice. And I'm not just saying that like that is every person I've met with with ADHD. They're all like that. They're very they're just super giving, super good people. And I try to I try to meet those standards as much as I can in my life. So, yeah, do check out the podcast and reach out anytime. Fire Nation, you're the average of the five people you spend the most time with. And you've been hanging out with DD and JLD today. So keep up the heat.

24:42And for links to everything we talked about, visit eofire.com. Type Dave in the search bar. The show notes page will pop right up. And Dave, thank you for sharing your truth, your knowledge, your value with Fire Nation. For that, we salute you and we'll catch you on the flip side. Thanks, man. Hey, Fire Nation, a huge thank you to our sponsors and Dave for sponsoring today's episode. and Fire Nation. Successful entrepreneurs are great at three things, productivity, discipline, and focus. And I'm going to help you get there in 100 days with The Mastery Journal. So you can master productivity, you can master discipline, you can master focus in 100 days.

25:19We're talking step-by-step. Visit themasteryjournal.com and I will catch you there or on the flippity-flip side. The Next Wave, your chief AI officer, hosted by Matt Wolfe and Nathan Lands, is brought to you by the HubSpot Podcast Network, the audio destination for business professionals. Matt and Nathan are leading AI creators in your guiding light in the AI and technology frontier. AI technology is transforming the way we do business and the media landscape is fragmented. The Next Wave strives to be the leading podcast on AI technology and how you can apply it to growing your business. Listen to The Next Wave wherever you get your podcasts.

25:56Many EO Fire listeners have launched non-food franchises and Frambridge Consulting has guided them. Frambridge's founder and frequent EO Fire guest, John Ostenson has done more placements than any other in the country and his service is free. Sign up for a consultation with John or get a free copy of his book, Non-Food Franchising at FranBridgeConsulting.com.