#55: Work with your strengths and hire your weaknesses | Guest Dr. Greg Reid

In this episode, I wanted to introduce you to Brian Fanzo, who shares his journey of a late in life diagnosis.

I was so inspired by his passion for life, family, and most importantly self-compassion as he moves through ADHD in adulthood.

Key points:

• Journey of ADHD diagnosis as an adult and his perspective and later how he is supporting his child’s diagnosis of ADHD.
• Brian shares how he sees his ADHD as a superpower and feels loud and proud of his brain wiring.
• Reflection on how he managed his corporate days while not realizing he had ADHD
• He leaned into his strengths and successfully transitioned into Entrepreneurship
• He explains why his zen place is playing Poker
• Brian’s share his unique way of how he approaches productivity while managing multiple business initiatives
• and so much more, be sure to listen to the entire episode.

About Brian:

Brian Fanzo is a digital futurist keynote speaker who translates the trends of tomorrow to inspire change today. His customized and personalized programs showcase real-world stories and examples of forward-thinking people and businesses. He teaches companies of all sizes how to leverage technology in real time in order to engage their customers at the right time. Brian has a gift for bringing people together online and offline. He has worked in 76 countries, highlighting his passion for change, collaboration, and technology. At age 14, Brian won a speed typing contest and his love for computers and technology was born. After years of playing The Oregon Trail, creating in Adobe Pagemaker, and using Napster, Brian earned a Computer Science degree. Prior to speaking, he worked for nine years at the Department of Defense where he managed a global team who deployed collaboration and cybersecurity solutions across all branches of the military – which required him to maintain the highest civilian security clearance. He then pursued his dream job as a technology evangelist for a booming cloud-computing startup, helping companies embrace the rate of change and new ways to innovate. Brian is currently the Founder of iSocialFanz, which has helped launch digital and influencer strategies with the world’s most iconic brands like Dell, EMC, Adobe, IBM, UFC, Applebee’s, and SAP.

Brian has been recognized as a Top 20 Digital Transformation Influencer; a Top 50 Most-Mentioned User by CMOs on Twitter, and a Top 25 Social Business Leader of the Future by The Economist. His followers on social media and podcast downloads rank in the hundreds of thousands, resulting in Brian being an influencer for 19 of the Fortune 100 companies.

More about Brian at https://www.isocialfanz.com/adhd-superpowered

https://brianfanzo.com/forced-to-work-from-home-with-adhd-now-what/

https://www.isocialfanz.com/post/what-adhd-can-teach-you-about-entrepreneur-productivity

In this episode, the owner of Organize365 – Lisa Woodruff –  joins Eric on the podcast!  Organize365 has conducted academic research, establishing the definitions of house work, home organization, and the weight of paper in the American home.  This ongoing research is making the invisible work at home visible to all, so we can eliminate it, free people from the monotonous tasks of daily living, and unlock our time for what we are uniquely created to do!  Lisa is also a natural tinkerer and a lover of puzzles, a kindergarten teacher, used to organize people’s homes when she used to babysit, and even used to organize teachers’ classrooms.   If you’re wondering how you can get your home organized, then this is the episode to listen to, because today, Eric and Lisa will discuss the idea that organization is a learnable skill!  You’ll hear some of Lisa’s rules for taking on new projects and her 24-hour rule, visual clutter, what to do with incomplete projects, where piles come from, and breaking down the Sunday Basket.   Find Lisa’s book, her research and her podcast at organize365.com! Find Organize365 on YouTube @organize365 Questions/Topics:  [00:01:51] Introducing Lisa  [00:03:11] What was the “why” for Lisa to get into becoming organized?  [00:07:11] What are the helpful questions that Lisa asks her clients?  [00:10:09] A brief discussion on (perceptions of) minimalism   [00:10:38] How do we live more through having less? (And is “less” the “right” answer?)  [00:12:26] “So what?” and a discussion about visual clutter and accumulating projects and hobbies  [00:16:20] Clutter, piles, and what to do with purchases and returns  [00:19:43] ADHD and home ownership  [00:23:27] What is the Sunday Basket? And Lisa’s thoughts about “being behind” when organizing  [00:27:03] What are the Four Binders? [00:31:51] Questions to ask yourself when utilizing your calendar and staying organized  [00:34:53] Taking care of financial documents  [00:41:57] Lisa shares her ADHD story and a discussion on executive function and working memory  [00:47:22] Diving into Lisa’s academic studies about organization as a skill  [00:51:18] How many people care about being organized?   [00:55:12] Lisa on investing in our household and what’s in our control  [00:56:58] Closing thoughts  Resources & Honorable Mentions: “If you have something that’s working for YOU, absolutely do not change it!” – Lisa  “Stop trying to get an “A” in your housework.” – Lisa  🌟 Have you heard about our Adult Study Hall Community and want some real-time accountability? Go to adultstudyhall.com to join our ADHD-friendly body-doubling community! 🌟 Interested in group coaching and want to take your ADHD management to the next level? 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!

Join the ADHD reWired Team every second Tuesday of the month for our monthly Live Q&A! Go to adhdrewired.com/events to register so you can join the ADHD reWired Team live on Zoom and ask your ADHD-related questions! In this episode, you’ll get answers to questions about entrepreneurship, getting unstuck, learning from failures, setting boundaries, how coaching can help, systems as an artistic process, and more!   You can even get an uninterrupted listening experience of this episode and all ADHD reWired episodes when you become a Patron at $5.00 a month or more by going to adhdrewired.com/Patreon! You might even catch some extra questions when you become a Patron and tune into the Patreon-only private podcast feed!  Questions/Topics: [00:01:10] Introducing today’s panelists! [00:02:45] A listener, who was diagnosed in February 2023 and works in education, asks the panelists about using their skills to help others – specifically those with ADHD.  What advice does the panel have to get unstuck and get started?   [00:05:46] Eric asks what the listener would do if they were asked the same question. [00:12:08] Brian chimes in about struggling to find time to launch a business outside of work. [00:16:01] “How can I find more clarity and do something that’s going to be really powerful so I can follow that instead of doing way-too-many-things?”  [00:18:19] Faisal talks about values and short-term goals.  [00:21:35] Laura discusses the differences between excitement, overwhelm, getting overwhelmed from being excited, and feelings of boredom.  [00:26:25] A listener, who is also a mom of two young children, is having difficulty “getting back into the groove” of their freelance work.  What strategies do the panelists have to bounce back, and could the listener have time for group coaching?  [00:28:51] Eric asks about self-care strategies.  [00:30:56] Kristin talks about the impact on parents who have kids with special needs and medical needs.  [00:34:13] Laura addresses how the coaching groups can help.  [00:35:59] Eric asks about having boundaries around work-blocks and self-care.  [00:39:09] A discussion about our inner critics and gardening!  [00:44:02] “Can [ADHD reWired’s coaching groups] help people uncover what their goals/wants are? I think not knowing what I want and indecision are my biggest issues.”   [00:45:37] Laura talks about people-pleasing, going with the flow, finding out who we are, and uncovering what’s truly important to us.  [00:47:01] “Group is an experiential learning experience… Our biases [don’t] allow us to see how we’re doing these things that [aren’t] making it easier for us to move towards success.” – Faisal  [00:48:58] Kristin addresses bringing life to group-coaching to integrate tools and strategies.  [00:50:22] Brian talks about the differences between individual coaching and group coaching.  [00:53:01] Kristin asks about creating systems. [00:55:40] Systems as an artistic process. [00:58:07] Closing thoughts. Resources & Honorable Mentions: ADHD reWired Episode 309 with Russell Ramsay: Rethinking Adult ADHD 🌟 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 and want to take your ADHD management to the next level? 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, Eric is joined by New York’s Alex Gilbert who is a Mets fan, yogi, and brunch enthusiast. Alex also has dyslexia and ADHD, being diagnosed at 8 years old.. After spending a career working in leadership development, she decided to start a consulting and coaching business that helps adults with learning disabilities and ADHD (just like her!) who have been struggling in their careers. Her business is called “Cape-Able Consulting”, creating it to help people navigate their day-to-day workloads so they feel supported so they can reach their highest potential!  You’ll hear how Alex’s experiences in school led to her diagnoses, how she began advocating for herself and finding accommodations that worked for her, and the importance of knowing yourself and what you need before beginning to self-advocate.  Then, you’ll hear differences between best practices and best principles, ways to ask for what you need, and why knowing about her ADHD at a young age wasn’t necessarily an advantage. You’ll even hear Eric use one of his own accommodations in real time!  Connect with Alex:  Website:   Facebook: TikTok:   Instagram:   Other Topics & Questions in this Episode: How did Alex create a program for students to advocate for themselves? How did the self-advocacy skills from school transfer to the workplace?  Why is it important to know yourself and your needs before disclosing ADHD?  Without disclosing their ADHD, are there any suggestions for an employee to test the water before fully disclosing?  How can employers support their employees who are neurodivergent? How can employers draw out their strengths? What does the boss do when they are the ones with ADHD? What was the most valuable accommodation Eric utilized in college? If Alex had a magic wand to turn all workplaces into ADHD-friendly workplaces, what would change? Resources & Honorable Mentions:   Hear Alex as a guest on with Brendan Mahan:   Discover the ADHD reWired Podcast Family: with Brendan Mahan with Will Curb with MJ Siemens with Moira Maybin

In today’s show, Eric is joined by Dana Crews!  Dana has been a coach, educator, facilitator, and trainer in the behavioral health and mental health field for over 15 years.  She is currently combining her own personal practice, unique life experience, and education in the ancient wisdom traditions together with modern psychology and behavioral and neuroscience research in her newly-created mindfulness ADHD life-coaching business: Second Arrow Life Coaching!  Dana is an advocate for invisible disabilities and neurodivergence.  She believes that knowing and connecting to your core values and practicing basic mindfulness and yogic techniques allows us to transform self-judgment and fear into constructive reflection, insight, compassion, health, and creative solutions. Find Dana on LinkedIn Learn more about Dana at her website secondarrowlifecoaching.com Find Dana on Instagram @secondarrowlifecoaching Questions/Topics:  [00:01:11] Introducing Dana  [00:03:08] What is the difference between satisfaction and contentment?  [00:05:03] Exploring contentedness and its different avenues  [00:06:32] Where is the overlap and what is separate between contentment and gratitude?  [00:11:51] A discussion about the discomfort in familiarity  [00:14:24] Is the struggle of holding onto contentment an issue of emotional self-regulation?   [00:20:00] How much of the struggle around contentment comes from societal ideas of feeling content and ADHD brains needing novelty?  [00:21:40] A discussion on Buddhist psychology and philosophy  [00:23:52] How does one strive through the lens of Buddhist philosophy?  [00:27:27] Not thinking about the future vs. over-planning for the future  [00:29:40] Overidentification, rumination, and separation of self  [00:31:32] How much of being able to experience being content has to do with resilience?   [00:39:40] Dana shares more about growing up, undiagnosed ADHD, travel, and meeting the Dalai Lama  [00:41:58] What is Ayurveda  [00:44:33] How can self-awareness inform our understanding of our experiences?  [00:46:30] A moment of an idea of contentment  [00:48:26] Closing thoughts  🌟 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 and want to take your ADHD management to the next level? 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!

Those with ADHD brain wiring feel emotions intensely, it actually may feel like we are constantly living in a state of emotional flood. In this state, all we can do is be on guard, be defensive and look for ways to survive and push through. No wonder we are not able to get shi%t done! 

In this episode, I am delighted to have Tamara Rosier Ph.D., back with us where she shares an effective tool for managing our big emotions so that we can go from fight or flight to present and calm! 

The Emotional Health Ladder created by Tamara Rosier and Cameron Gott, can be used as a daily checkpoint for quick check-in before you start a task, navigate a difficult conversation and so much more.  I consider this tool foundational to managing ADHD. 

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About Tamara Rosier, Ph.D – is founder of the ADHD Center of West Michigan, where she and her staff work with individuals with ADHD (and their families) to learn strategies and develop new skills to live effectively with ADHD. Dr. Rosier is also the president of the ADHD Coaches Organization. She is a popular conference and keynote speaker a frequent guest on podcasts and has published numerous articles about living with ADHD. She lives in West Michigan. https://www.tamararosier.com

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Check out my previous episode with Dr. Rosier, where we go in-depth on the Solve It Grid and her book, Your Brain’s not Broken. 

To see visuals of the Emotional Health Ladder visit her Instagram account @dr.tamararosier

Visual of Level 3 on the Emotional health Ladder 

Visual of Level 4 on the Emotional Health Ladder