425 | The Neurodiverse Safe Work Initiative with Catherine Lee

In this episode, Eric is joined by Lorri Hollingsworth who was officially diagnosed with combined-type ADHD about two-and-a-half years ago at the age of 64, having reached retirement without suspecting any neurodivergencies.  Yet, she always felt herself to be the “misfit” given the expectations set by friends, family, coworkers, and society at large, and forever assumed the role of “Inadvertent Perpetrator” with all the guilt inherent therein.  Lorri will share her journey shaped by the absence of an ADHD diagnosis in early childhood, which inevitably led to numerous comorbidities over the decades, as well as the never-expected hope that she now experiences for her future.  You’ll hear about the different comorbidities that were discovered before Lorri’s ADHD diagnosis, how her husband of over 35 years aided in Lorri getting diagnosed, her journey of the ways her diagnosis changed the way she viewed her past, and the dynamics of her environment growing up undiagnosed.  You’ll also hear about Lorri’s thrill of a challenge, and her journey through unhealthy eating behaviors, OCD, depression, anxiety, and more.  Lastly, you’ll hear about the importance of learning, self-awareness, and forgiveness to move forward. Questions Answered & Memorable Moments in this Episode: Lorri goes in depth about how important it is to get more stories of seniors getting diagnosed.  What was it that led Lorri to get the diagnosis? “I think the persistent leaving of cabinets and drawers open should be part of the diagnostic criteria!” – Eric “…unless somebody does something drastic to get your attention, they don’t have your attention.” – Lorri Mentioned here: How we show up in relationships:  Is that a product of our environment, or does ADHD sometimes get in the way? “I, .as far back as I can remember, have been a ‘loner’.” – Lorri At 64, you’ve been through a lot of stuff, so why does it matter now (to get diagnosed)? “If you love your life, it’s worth the work.” – Lorri “You have to forgive yourself, and you have to forgive the people that might have contributed inadvertently to you being in that place. Forgiveness is so important.” – Lorri Check out the Other Podcasts on the ADHD reWired Podcast Network:  with Brendan Mahan  with Will Curb  with MJ Siemens  with Moira Maybin Don’t Forget These, Too:  — Support the show by becoming a Patron! — Get your name on the waitlist to join the sping season of ADHD reWired’s Coaching and Accountability Groups!  — Join your ADHD-friendly co-working space!  — Join Eric, Brendan, Will, MJ, Moira, Kat, and Lisa for an hour of Live Q&A on Zoom, every 2nd Tuesday of the month at 12:30pm Central (10:30am Pacific / 1:30pm Eastern)

Today, Eric is joined by Morgan Hancock who was diagnosed with ADHD at 31.  She is a commercial real-estate agent, entrepreneur, U.S. Army veteran, mother of 2, a passionate advocate of the arts, and the founder of Bourbon With Heart Inc., the world’s first and only arts-focused bourbon charity! In this episode, you’ll hear about the different paths Morgan took – including becoming a young mother, joining the army, law school, making insect repellent, and continuing to act on her big ambitions.  You’ll also hear about her life as a self-professed trouble-maker, hyperfocus and risk-taking, all-or-nothing thinking, what led up to her ADHD diagnosis, and how her fearlessness and resilience led to founding her bourbon-based non-profit organization. Learn More about Bourbon With Heart: Website: bourbonwithheart.org   Instagram: @bourbonwithheart   Facebook: BourbonWithHeart   Get in Touch with Morgan:  Instagram: @americasbestie   Other Questions/Topics Answered in this Episode: [00:01:13] Introducing Morgan [00:02:16] Life in school and the challenges Morgan faced [00:05:36] Morgan shares her optimism and desire to do big things “…even though my surroundings did not reflect that as a probability.”  [00:07:54] Joining the army at 18, how did Morgan navigate as a mother of a then 2-year-old son?  [00:09:00] What was life like for Morgan in her early 20s?  [00:11:16] What drove Morgan to go to law school?  [00:19:56] Eric asks Morgan about the catalyst that led up to her ADHD diagnosis [00:22:31] Morgan shares the positive effects that ADHD medication had on her life [00:23:56] Morgan tells us about Bourbon With Heart and Kentucky’s rich and vibrant arts culture [00:25:14] What’s the big “why” behind starting Bourbon With Heart?  [00:33:56] Eric asks Morgan about what happened during the break with an event she planned that sold out in a day.  [00:35:28] How did Morgan communicate her idea to others to get them on board, believe in her mission, and raise money to kick off Bourbon With Heart?  [00:44:10] How listeners can get in touch with Morgan, learn more about Bourbon with Heart, and closing words…  Check out the Other Podcasts on the ADHD reWired Podcast Network: with Brendan Mahan with Will Curb with MJ Siemens Registration for the Spring Season of ADHD reWired’s Coaching & Accountability Groups is happening now!  Learn more about our award-winning intensive online coaching and accountability groups at coachingrewired.com!  If you’re ready to get your ADHD reWired, that’s coachingrewired.com to start your pre-registration process so you can join us for our next spring 2023 registration event on Thursday, March 2nd at 5pm Pacific / 8pm Eastern! 

Today, Eric is joined by Nate!  Nate is a program manager for the Department of Defense and a graduate student at Columbia University.  He received an ADHD diagnosis in 2016 at age 24 and a bi-polar diagnosis in 2022.  After better understanding his mental abilities and inabilities, he realized how incompatible he was with the person the world expected him to be.  This experience has led Nate down a path to highlight the tremendous potential and value that neurodivergent individuals can bring to an organization despite the story someone’s resume may or may not tell.   You’ll hear about how Nate found success despite being ‘punted’ from 5 schools, how education and opportunities are geared towards the ‘majority’, having a responsibility to our community to enable the changes we’d like to see, and how Nate received his ADHD diagnosis during active duty.  Then, you’ll also hear how being neurodivergent can bring different perspectives to the table, why age or rank doesn’t increase or decrease the worth of someone’s perspective, being curious and resilient, and that you don’t have to have a degree to offer a valuable insight.  Get in touch with Nate at nsr2143@columbia.edu  Other Questions/Topics Answered in this Episode: [00:02:16] How did Nate, a late-diagnosed ADHDer, become a program manager for the Department of Defense?  [00:03:09]  “Quantification does not equal the qualification”  [00:5:55] Why was Leadership as Nate’s undergrad important? What about college?  [00:18:34] What does it take for someone who’s been fired multiple times, tried higher-education multiple times, to have that resilient spirit to keep on going? [00:26:52] “I never looked at your rank or your position and thought that made you smarter or have a better opinion than me.”  [00:27:12] Speaking up and presenting a different view of the world in a diplomatic way [00:29:14] Experiencing pushback, managing those encounters, and reflecting on those who are pushing back [00:31:09] How does one navigate a scenario where they’ve pushed too hard or misread a situation? [00:35:53] Nate shares his experiences with bi-polar and how it shows up for him  [00:42:28] How does Nate manage the cyclical nature of bi-polar?  [00:48:14] Closing thoughts, the importance of curiosity and resilience, and how you can reach Nate  Resources & Honorable Mentions: “Your Potential can only rise to the occasions its presented” – Nate “Sometimes it is the people no one can imagine anything of who do the things no one can imagine.” – Alan Turing  Book – – An Unquiet Mind: A Memoir of Moods and Madness by Kay Redfield Jamison () Check out the Other Podcasts on the ADHD reWired Podcast Network:  ADHD Essentials with Brendan Mahan  Hacking Your ADHD with Will Curb  ADHD Diversified with MJ Siemens Have you heard about our Adult Study Hall Community? Go to adultstudyhall.com to join our ADHD-friendly body-doubling community! Interested in group coaching? Go to coachingrewired.com to get all the up-to-date information on the upcoming season of ADHD reWired’s award-winning Coaching & Accountability groups!  

In this episode, I speak with Executive Coach, and Faculty member of ADD Coach Acadamy, Sherri Cannon. 
She shares how she moved from up the corporate ladder from sales to becoming a leadership development Coach/Facilitator in Silicon Valley. Like my previous guests, Sherri was also diagnosed with Adult ADHD late in life.
During this episode we talk about:

how ADHD can hold you back from reaching your ultimate potential and impact your work/business
Understanding what your style of learning is and how you can tap into your strengths so you can succeed at work
the importance of actively understanding your brain so that you make it work for you instead of you being reactive to it, especially in times of stress, change and transition
How to address the imposter syndrome when it comes to ADHD and how working with the right coach you can remove limiting thoughts that have held you back

About Sherri Cannon
This is how I became an ADHD coach.
In career #1, I was a consumer products sales rep/manager (that’s a classy way of saying I sold soap and fabric softener to grocery stores and loved it). In the second, I traveled the public seminar circuit leading communication and leadership skills workshops around North America.
When I developed a love for change management work with business teams, it took me to Silicon Valley, home of fast companies, geeks and a higher than average percentage of neuro-diverse folks. As an Executive Coach and Group Facilitator, I found my people and my calling. About that time, I also got my own ADHD diagnosis.
In 2015, I added ADHD coaching to my practice. I’ve found my happy place here — coaching leaders, individual contributors, entrepreneurs, retirees, and career seekers to live more fulfilling lives by understanding and partnering effectively with their unique brain wiring.
As you can see from my own path, going toward what calls and interests me has opened new cool doors.
As I went through my own ADDCA training, I hoped I’d one day teach others and help them experience the richness and reassurance of this ADHD community.  When ADDCA invited me to join the faculty in 2018, it was the perfect intersection of my love of teaching with my desire to share this wealth with other learners.
In 2019, I proudly joined the PAAC Board of Directors as Volunteer Chair and I look forward to starting my PAAC accreditation process in 2020.

You can connect with Sherri Cannon  https://www.beyondthebellcurve.life
Resources that we talked about:

Additude Magazine – inside the ADHD mind https://www.additudemag.com/
Adult ADHD Self-Report Scales (ASRS) – https://www.hcp.med.harvard.edu/ncs/asrs.php
[Self-Test] Do I Have ADHD? Symptom Test for Adults https://www.additudemag.com/adhd-symptoms-test-adults/

Follow Coach Cathy on Instagram at ProudlyADHD_coachcathy
or connect with me on Linkedin at Cathy Rashidian

In this episode, I cover the 6th discipline of Self-Mastery, Fearlessness. This topic is a mixed bag for me as there are times where my impulsivity became my best asset and pushed the fear down in order for me to do some big things. But other times fear did get in the way. In this episode, I share some of the ways we can move past fear and step into possibilities as I firmly believe we are wired to do hard things. 

Join the ADHD reWired Team every second Tuesday of the month for the monthly Live Q&A, and be sure to listen all the way through to hear a very special guest join us on this episode!  Questions & Topics in this Episode: How do I keep my time-blindness from derailing my teaching of a 90-minute class that has a very tightly-structured curriculum?  What are some of the signs that a job is not the right fit and that it might be time to move on? Do you have any input or tips on how to make strategies that are not working anymore – because of the pandemic – work again?  What are some strategies or tools I can use for accountability?  How can I keep doing the routines that keep my ADHD under control when I am traveling or in a different environment?  My kids want me to play Roblox with them. Do you have a favorite game we can play together? If you’re a kid with ADHD, what if the parent also has ADHD? Any advice for a kid living with an ADHD parent?  I am 41 and recently diagnosed and my spouse is neurotypical. What are some ways we can work on communication so that we don’t end up in unnecessary conflict?  Any tips for improving memory, particularly recall, when being put on the spot?  Resources & Honorable Mentions: App:    Book:   Book:   Book:   Tool: (the rolling alarm clock!) Tool:   Tool:   Article:   Article: (on written by !) Episode: with Check out the Other Podcasts on the ADHD reWired Podcast Network: with Brendan Mahan with Will Curb with MJ Siemens Don’t Forget These, Too: — Support the show by becoming a Patron! — Get your name on the waitlist to join the fall season of ADHD reWired’s Coaching and Accountability Groups — Join your ADHD-friendly co-working space! — Join ADHD reWired’s Live Q&A with the reWired team every 2nd Tuesday of the month at 12:30pm Central (10:30am Pacific / 1:30pm Eastern)