Podcast Summary: "Unlocking Entrepreneurial Focus – Events, ADHD, and Beating Burnout"

Podcast: Beyond Blind Blaming
Host: Kevin D. St.Clergy
Guest: Stephanie Scheller
Date: March 24, 2026

Episode Overview

This episode features Stephanie Scheller, known as the "ADHD Event Alchemist" and founder of Grow Disrupt. Together with host Kevin D. St.Clergy, Stephanie explores the intersection of entrepreneurship, ADHD, event design, and the hidden mindset blocks that hold ambitious business owners back. The conversation highlights the unique challenges (and advantages) ADHD entrepreneurs face, the essential role of environment and support structures in achieving real progress, and practical strategies for sustaining momentum and beating burnout.

Key Discussion Points & Insights

Rethinking Events for ADHD Brains

• Stephanie’s journey: Disliked conventional “hustle harder” events—found them overwhelming and unhelpful.

  “If I'm going to do events, I want to do them in a way I appreciate, like what I want. And so that was where we started.” (00:00)

• Accidentally built ADHD-friendly events that prioritize focus, neurobiology, and real application.
• Customizes events with details like environment, lighting, scents, and even coffee blends to aid memory and focus.
• On embracing ADHD needs:

  "We stopped fighting our own neurobiology...I love that. That's exactly what it is." (06:48)

Structure vs. Mindset: The Dual Keys to Growth

• Entrepreneurs need both internal breakthroughs and external support structures.
• Breakthrough moments are not enough—structure ensures momentum.

  “Just having the breakthrough is rarely enough on its own. Like, you have to have some sort of structure and support.” (00:58, 07:36)

• Shifted career from coaching (which frustrated her) to creating breakthrough-focused, supportive experiences through events.

Blind Blaming and the ADHD Entrepreneur

• Blind blaming: Tendency to attribute repeated setbacks to external or surface-level issues instead of root causes.
• For ADHD entrepreneurs, blind blaming often turns inward—blaming themselves for not “measuring up.”

  “I think...where it shows up most often with ADHDers is blaming yourself.” (15:17)

• The combination of fast-firing brains and imposter/anxiety spirals can lead to destructive self-talk.
• Stephanie shares her own struggles with team communication, overcorrection, and the evolving realization that her internal blaming kept her stuck.

  “I've spent...sitting here being like, ah, I just need to send more detailed instructions. I'm just not communicating clearly enough...and it's just. So I was actually thinking about that this morning...” (16:29)

ADHD in Entrepreneurship: Born or Made?

• Common myth: Entrepreneurship "creates" ADHD.
• Stephanie explains that many don’t recognize their ADHD until entrepreneurship removes external structures that masked symptoms.
• Notable analogy:

  "We all sneeze once in a while, but if you sneeze every few minutes and your throat hurts, you're probably sick." (10:34)

• ADHD brains are wired for traits like risk-taking and multitasking, which help in business.
• Hormonal changes and life transitions can reveal or exacerbate symptoms.

Disruption as a Business Strategy

• Modern business is dominated by sameness—disruption is key for survival.

  “Marketing that is different and that stands out and disrupts and breaks through...That's going to continue to be the thing.” (25:53)

• Encourages entrepreneurs to stand out thoughtfully, not just for the sake of being different.

The Power of the Reread Shelf

• Stephanie keeps and revisits books that offer ongoing, evolving lessons—suggests listeners do the same.

  “I have one shelf in my office that is my reread shelf...I need to reread every so often because I'm always gonna get something new out of it.” (18:16)

• Kevin adopts the idea, planning a YouTube video about it.

The Burnout Solution: Protect Time for Yourself

• First step out of burnout: deliberately carve time for solitude, silence, or reflection—no multitasking, no productivity.

  “...the first shift you need to make is you need to get time for yourself back in there...even if you put time in the calendar for ourselves, we end up pushing other things into that space.” (32:05)

• Recommends making the “gap” non-negotiable—go somewhere or spend enough that it forces you to show up for yourself.

Investing in Yourself (and Finding Your People)

• Stephanie values selective group involvement—masterminds, writing groups, peer accountability—as her biggest investment.
• Careful about which groups and mentors influence her, to avoid negative environments.

  “One of the most important, like, the way I invest in myself is with allocating time to these groups...It helps gets me out of my own head a little bit more.” (37:54)

Notable Quotes & Memorable Moments

• On event design for ADHD brains:

  “We give people custom scents and custom coffee blends...You’re like an alchemist.” —Stephanie Scheller (04:31)

• On masking ADHD at work:

  “We had all these things that made it a lot easier...When we become an entrepreneur, we don’t have those...Or did it just give you permission to be who you’ve been this whole time?” —Stephanie Scheller (12:59)

• On blind blaming:

  “Blind blaming can look like blaming the market, the economy, software, even team members, and especially themselves.” —Kevin St.Clergy (14:55)

• On structure and breakthrough:

  “Breakthrough without structure goes nowhere. Structure without breakthrough will do the same thing.” —Stephanie Scheller (23:49)

• On investing in oneself:

  “I’m very careful about the groups that I plug into...it creates a space that gets me out of my own head.” —Stephanie Scheller (37:54)

• On tailored advice:

  “We are looking up how-to articles for the wrong operating system...make sure that what you're doing is working for you.” —Stephanie Scheller (44:43)

Timestamps for Key Segments

• 00:00 – Stephanie’s frustration with traditional self-help events & accidental ADHD-friendly design
• 03:07 – Welcome & background on Stephanie’s work
• 05:31 – Sensory design and environmental impacts at events
• 06:48 – On embracing neurodiversity and group authenticity
• 07:36 – Structure vs. mindset in entrepreneurship
• 10:34 – ADHD: nature, masking, and entrepreneurship
• 13:43 – The role of hormones and biology in ADHD symptoms
• 15:17 – Blind blaming and self-directed blame in ADHD business owners
• 16:29 – Stephanie’s case study: self-blame in team communication
• 23:49 – The RCD (Reflect–Connect–Decide) framework for breaking plateaus
• 25:53 – Defining disruption in today’s business context
• 28:16 – Stephanie and Kevin on the value of a “reread shelf”
• 31:59 – Fiction’s role in business development & combining familiar with new
• 32:05 – Beating burnout by scheduling protected personal time
• 35:46 – Kevin & Stephanie on the importance of having an assistant (protecting you from yourself)
• 37:54 – Stephanie’s favorite way to invest in herself: curated peer/mastermind groups
• 40:02 – How to connect with Stephanie & details on upcoming Grow Disrupt products
• 43:30 – "Blind Date with a Book" for entrepreneurs
• 44:43 – Final takeaway: tailoring advice to YOUR brain’s “operating system”

Additional Resources Mentioned

• Grow Disrupt: growdisrupt.com
• Blind Blaming (Book by Kevin D. St.Clergy)
• Top Recommended Books:
  • Find Your Yellow Tux by Jesse Cole
  • Essentialism by Greg McKeon
  • To Find a Nameless Fae (fiction)

Final Takeaway

Stephanie encourages listeners to question whether they’re following advice that fits their own mental wiring:

“A lot of times we are looking up how-to articles for the wrong operating system...If you can make that your metric, that would be my takeaways. I hope more people will start working on doing the things that work for them and how their brain, their body, their life really is wired.” (44:43)

Connect with Stephanie on LinkedIn: “The chick with the violin”
Upcoming event: The Reflect – April 17, 2026; other “sprints” and “blind date with a book” kits launching later in the year.

This episode is a must-listen for any entrepreneur seeking concrete methods to break through internal blocks, especially those embracing or curious about neurodivergent ways of working. Stephanie and Kevin blend science, real-world stories, and practical advice in an inclusive, energizing conversation.