Dave! This is so excellent and almost obvious - but I never noticed it before. I wonder if it's applicable to designers/artists as well. Recently I was evangelizing about blogs (on non-free blog platforms) being essential for artists and someone said she'd hate to be around me if I got religion. Apparently I'm like a dog with a bone about blogs, artistamps and flat-Stanleyesque art dolls. Thanks to you I now see all this as one constellation of "symptoms/attributes." Thanks - I think.

Dave,
Great info. I have ADHD and am a business owner. In fact I left a 28 yr carrer with a large corporation (with structure) and bought a business in a field that had nothing to do with waht I did for the last 28 yrs. I have owned that business for 6 yrs now and going strong. I did not learn I had ADHD until I owned the business. I believe a lot of entrepreneurs are ADD or ADHD. I am currently working on getting an organiztion going to get entrepreneurs together to learn about this and how to help others (possibly employess) become successfull.

Fascinating. I feel deja vu all over again when I read this. I am in the beginning stages of understanding much of these relationships. I left a "secure" corporate job (climbed to VP, never got the free parking space though, was always the different one, a necessary but awkward foil to the stiffs, rarely fully engaged, mostly acting like a player in a play, waiting for life to start) after 18 years; people thought, still think, I am nuts; which I am fairly sure I am. A really long story and 18 months later I started my own photography business, shooting action and life. I had always been a picture taker just bought nicer stuff and paid the dues, after a year I am doing wonderfully, except for the money part.... Like we used to teach in those nachocheezy training and development classes, "you can't win the game by watching the scoreboard!" Critical mass is being achieved, the learning curve is being ascended, lessons like wounds are being sustained, endured, internalized, rationalized, hyperattendedto and burned forever in the part of the mind that hates not being right, the money will come. That is, if, if, if I have the right plan, strategy, luck, clients, vendors, weather, attitude, equipment, accountant, attorney, timing, balls, eye and maybe a little business acumen. So the money will come, or it won't. It won't feel like it is my fault though if the money doesn't come and take and put me in Maui with my Lear, because I feel in tune with whatever, the big whatever, whatever it is, when I am capturing or sharing frozen moments of our "world." I will still live a while then die. Let's not get into how long a while is or what is is or what happens to my flesh much less my non-flesh, if there is such a thing and it's not just chemicals and elemental chemical reactions, after I am "dead" by the webster definition. So while I'd appreciate wads of cash flowing toward me in the moments not yet here now, mostly as a sense of being surely able to provide for my more immediate circles of friends, enemies and family "down the road" as they say because I have a fairly low need for material items and prefer cheap clothes, it is far from my focus. I do struggle daily with low self esteem, putoffedness, a fear of either succeeding or failing, a lack of a reliable roundtuit - you know, when I get around to it..., sorry. My processes are loose, my systems and measurements are questionable, my wife is ready to throw me out and my DSL drops every 18-27 minutes!! But many people seem to be lifted if even just momentarily when being shot or looking at images with which they have a connection that I participated in creating. That, will keep me at it. My ADD has mostly emerged, displayed, manifested, freaked out lots of folks, as inattentive/impulsive/impatient/impredictable but not really hyper. Most of what I've seen published about "us" is negative. I am happy to have found your site and Pete's stuff, a small convergence of coincidence for me, not much of a surfer. The weird thing Dave, for me anyway, is my photography business is called intuition; it's hard to put into words why.

I think this is another key insight. In Halowells work on ADD he referenced the rabbit hunters and the farmers as having two very different sets of wiring. The hunters are the entrepreneurs who often... hey, look up in the sky - what a cool plane!

Very interesting topic. I'll have to show the guys at work tomorrow. I like to think of myself as an entrepreneur, and I was diagnosed with ADHD when I was a youngster... Great topic of discussion with the guys tomorrow on our daily run to Caribou.

Dave, many times ADHD is presented as a negative, however as you point out, it can have distinct advantages in many different environments. I have seen this in my own life on multiple occasions. The ability to tap into that energy and broad array of interests has been instrumental to my limited success. I'd love to hear more on this subject as it is something that can really mitigate the stigmatization that sometimes accompanies diagnosis.

Hi Dave,
I wanted to let you about an upcoming teleclass series that I thought might be of interest to the many bloggers out there. The teleclass series is:
Coaching the Entrepreneur with ADHD; Finding the Fire Within

You can find out more info and read testimonials from students who have taken the series in the past at http://www.addca.com/entrepreneur.html

hi Dave, I came across your article looking for information on business and ADD. I am in a career currently that is killing me. I am sitting at a desk 10 hours a day spending most of that trying to stay organized. I have given up on trying to innovate the business as I am often 20 steps a head of my co-executives. They often get angry at am and accuse me of changing gears constanly. The constant ideas I have for improving the business frustrates them. When they finally get up to speed using new technilogy etc. it has become old news and something new is out there. I am currently looking for another avenue of cash flow but haven't found the approriate vehicle yet. It's hard to do being tied to a desk all day. Like I said this business is killing me slowly.

I have diagnosed ADHD and know categorically that I am entrepreneurial. I have wanted to work for myself for years and will hopefully be making this step very soon as I am now in the right position to do so. I firmly believe that ADHD/dyslexia has much to do with being a successful entrepreneur. But unforunately, when you work for non-entrepreneurs they think like 'drones' and being the Queen Bee don't see things the way you do. Consequently, you end up getting slated and criticised for being who you are. It's very difficult but I have said to those 'drones' for years and years that I would have the last laugh !!

This is an interesting article that I find to be so true. As a child I was hyperactive. As an adult I have a plethora of interest. I parlayed that into sales profession, and then into business. I found that I could run multiple business as long as I could leverage myself by hiring the "farmers"/drones. As long as I hired managers to handle the day to day activities - I was left to scan back and forth - the pertinent details of each business unit - the numbers, the sales revenue, the net income, the results, and continual innovation using - hyper creativity - out of the box, inside the box, and boxless kind of thinking. After I made my first million, I learned how to delegate more and not get distracted with the specifics, although the details (the devil) is in the details. Anyhow, great comment, I've just got another text message, gotta go!