By Morgan Hancock
I’m Morgan Hancock, and I attend Louis
Since childhood, I have known that my mind works differently. I am more assertive and daring than my peers. I was the head of the academic team and yet, the class clown. I was the class president, then a high school dropout. I can’t do anything with half an effort—for better or for worse.
I have been called obsessive, careless, immature, delusional, and even selfish because I have so many ideas and passions, and I act on them.
About five years ago, at the age of 31, a psychiatrist suggested that I might have ADHD. I rolled my eyes, holding onto the false belief that those with ADHD are lazy, unmotivated, and underachieving. In contrast, I consider myself hard-working, laser-focused, and successful. As I researched ADHD, I was surprised to learn that a disproportionate number of successful entrepreneurs have ADHD.
I realized that not only did I have ADHD but my ADHD actually drove me to become an entrepreneur.
The three main characteristics of ADHD are:
- Impulsivity
- Risk taking
- Always looking for something new
All these characteristics are connected to the genetic mutation of the DRD4 gene. This mutation prevents the production of dopamine, the feel-good chemical. Therefore, in order for us with ADHD to feel good, we need stimulation. If we don’t find it, we create it for ourselves, sometimes with negative consequences. But I’ve learned that I don’t always have to suppress ADHD-induced tendencies. Instead, I can lean and apply them to business endeavors.
In contrast, the three biggest obstacles to becoming a successful entrepreneur are:
- Reluctance to act
- Risk avoidance
- Contentment with the status quo
Fortunately, my ADHD brain produces the opposite behavior. I am literally genetically hardwired for entrepreneurship.
Since my ADHD diagnosis, I have become a more self-aware, confident, and resilient entrepreneur.
I shifted my focus from what I was lacking because of my disorder, and I focused on what I had in abundance, which is, ironically, the first word of the acronym ADHD: attention.
The name ADHD can be misleading because people with ADHD actually have an attention deficit—not a deficit. We pay attention to many things at once.
However, with the help of medication, multiple checklists, reminder apps, and accountability partners, I learned how to manage and manage my overwhelming attention to achieve my business dreams.
I know the ADHD characteristics I have looked at before that weaknesses are not only strengths for an entrepreneur but also necessities and maybe superpowers!
Morgan Hancock is a commercial real estate agent, Founder of Bourbon with Heart, US ARMY veteran, mother-of-two, bourbonista, and passionate arts advocate.
Follow him on IG @MorganBrookeHancock.
Learn more about his non-profit at BourbonWithHeart.Org.
Photo courtesy // Morgan Hancock //
