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You are listening to the Navigating Adult ADHD Podcast with your ADHD coach and expert, Xena. Hello, hello, hello, my friend. Welcome back. We're here for Navigating Adult adhd. Gotta tell you. Oh, man, sometimes I wonder if we should just like record these episodes and put them on YouTube, like video and all, you know what I mean? Because I just took the hugest drink of water and my water glass is a 1L glass. It looks like a jar, right? And if you hold it up, it is the. The size of my head. It's huge. And I just took a big drink out of it and spilled most of it down my front. So, yeah, that's how we're rolling today. I love it. I just crack myself up so often before we dive in. Today we are talking about 14 big achievers with ADHD. I just to give you a funny little life update as it definitely relates to adhd. So over the past weekend, we had two kids who had birthdays on Friday. One of the boys turned 13. So we've got two teenagers in the house now. Send help, please do, please send help or wine. Okay. And then on Sunday, we had our youngest one. He turned 10 and we actually decided to throw him a birthday party. I. Oh, my friends, I am not a kid's birthday person. I know some, some people love that. Not me and not my partner, but we did it and we've decided it was a once in a lifetime experience. He had an absolute blast. And I actually decorated the house. I went and bought some decorations. Not, not extravagant, but, you know, happy birthday signs and the balloons and like, things hanging up. And this is where I'm so impressed. So they stayed up a couple days. The kids went back to their mums for the week and those decorations were still up, I would say a good two days after the event. So we've still got all these birthday decorations and yesterday I took them down. I'm very proud of myself. Okay. Because these decorations wouldn't often be up for a long time and they are all down now. So I'm just, yeah, feeling really good about myself today because in true ADHD fashion, that is something that I would have just been like, yeah, I'll do it later and just kind of lift those birthday decorations up for a while. I think you understand where I'm coming from. All right, my friends. So have you ever looked at somebody super successful and thought there is no way that they could struggle with adhd? Like, there's no way they could have ADHD like I do? Well, my Friend, buckle up, because today I am going to share with you 14 big achievers who all have ADHD. Some of them have other forms of neurodivergence too. And these are people whose success is not in spite of their adhd, but often because of it. Now, these people have learned how to harness their fast, curious, restless, sparkly brains and really channel that energy into creativity, into innovation, movement, purpose. You're going to hear about a variety of people. We've got entrepreneurs, we've got athletes, musicians, politicians, and change makers. And each of them have their own unique ADHD flavor. And there might be people on this list who go, oh my gosh, really? I had no idea. Okay, I love that. So some of these people were diagnosed young, so some of them in childhood and some of them much later in life, especially some of the women that I'll be sharing with you. So they talk about their hyper focus as often being a superpower. There's also people in this list who share how they've learned to manage the overwhelm and overcome the distractions or the shame that they have experienced. So there's a real variety of people, which I love. Now, as I go through, I'm going to share my own thoughts and interactions and experience with these people because I really want to show you something, something really important. Having ADHD does not limit what is possible for you and your life. Now, it might make that path a little zigzaggy, a little adventurous, but it's also the reason that we see the world so different, differently. And that difference is where the magic happens. Now, you may have heard the saying before that you are the sum of the five people you spend the most time with. Okay, so as I share this list with you today, I want you to think about, who do you want to be the sum of? I really invite you to think about that. Who do I want to be the sum of? Who are those five people that I want to surround myself with? Because there are people on this list today who are in my five now. Do they know that? No, they don't. They don't. I listen to their work, I read everything that they share, and I am in their world. I hang out in their world all of the time, so I make them part of my five. So, my friend, grab your coffee or your cat, whatever fuels your dopamine today. And let's celebrate 14 incredible humans doing big, bold, brilliant things in the world who all have adhd. And if you are loving the podcast, don't forget to hit follow, share it with a Friend and leave us a review to help other ADHD is find us. Okay. And to give me a little bit of dopamine. Thank you. All right, number one. Number one on our list is Mel Robbins. So Mel Robbins is an American author. She's a motivational speaker. She's also host of a very popular podcast called the Mel Robbins Podcast. So you may know her from her books, the Let Them Theory. That book with the bright green cover has been incredibly popular recently. She also wrote a book called the 5 Second, which is pretty cool. It has you count down 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, and then just click go do the thing. So you don't have time to overthink it, right? You're lying in bed, you're like, oh, should I get up? What am I going to do? Am I going to hit snooze? You just go, five, four, three, two, one. You get up. Right? She has a real focus on like mindset, motivation, habit change, those sorts of things. And she speaks a lot about that in her books. On her podcast, she was also diagnosed, she being Mel Robbins diagnosed later in life. She was in midlife after, I believe. Was it her son? It was one of her children was diagnosed. And she does talk very openly about her symptoms and some of the things that she struggled with, such as difficulty focusing. She talks about procrastination, memory issues and how all of that's affected her. And she also talks about how she has reframed a lot of that and uses her brain differently as a result of this diagnosis, which has been a real game changer for her. I love Mel Robbins because if you've ever had any interaction with her, you'll know she's super down to earth and relatable and she will be very honest upfront about her own challenges, her own struggles and how she's continually learning and growing and practicing. Even all of the things that she talks about, she's continually practicing that stuff in her own, you know, day to day life. So if you're not like following her, if you haven't checked her out, I highly encourage you to go listen to her podcast, right? The Mel Robbins podcast. Also the book the Let Them Theory is awesome as well. She's got a lot of, you know, really amazing things out in the world that you can absorb. All right, number two on my list is Stephen Bartlett. So Stephen is host of the incredibly popular, I think it's like number one in the UK and the US quite often, but it's the podcast the Diary of a CEO where he has a variety of guest experts in all sorts of different fields. So he's had, you know, brain health expert, heart health experts. He's had ex CIA agents, which is so interesting. He's had, like, I think Matthew McConaughey. He's had Kamala Harris. He's had just such a huge variety of people on his podcast, and he asks really beautiful, deep questions. And he does come from a really sort of just the average Joe perspective. Just somebody working a 9 to 5 job. You know, how can they apply this? What could they do differently? Or, you know, just small baby steps and breaks things down really, really well. I'm a huge fan of him. Okay, here we go. Here's a story. I'm such a fan of him. I said to my partner the other day, we're out walking, I was like, you know, Stephen Bartlett, my partner listens to his podcast and stuff, right? And. And he's like, yeah, yeah. And I said, I'd marry him. My partner's like, what? What do you mean you'd marry him? I was like, yeah, I'd marry him. He's like, for the money? I was like, no, for his mind. No way. Oh, my God. Yeah, he's rich as. But it's not that. He's just such a brilliant mind. I've actually been reading his book, the Diary of a CEO book. He also has another one called Happy Sexy, Happy Sexy Millionaire. Haven't read that one yet, but I'm just loving the principles. He's got 33 laws of life and business in there, and there's some really epic stuff in there that he talks about. So I'm just obsessed with this guy right now, and I tell my partner that I would marry him, and he keeps bringing up Stephen all of the time. I think there's a little bit of jealousy there, which is quite funny. So Stephen Bartlett also rose to not fame, but, like, he rose to sort of being quite well known at a young age. So he dropped out of university, much to his mum's disgust. There was this line in the book, I wish I actually had it with me now. It was really powerful line where his mum said to him, don't call me and don't speak to any members of our family until you go back to university. Like, basically, you're dead to us until you go back to university and finish your degree. And he didn't. He went off and started his own company, did his own thing. And, you know, he is incredibly successful. And I'm sure his mom probably talks to him now. I don't know, but he was, I think, the youngest ever judge on the UK show Dragon's Den, which is a really popular show. And he kind of rose to prominence, shall we say, by building social media marketing companies and doing things really outside of the box. And he talks a lot about, like failing and trying lots and lots of different things and I love that. Like he was just willing to try lots and lots of things as, as experiments. And he was diagnosed live, well, not live necessarily, but during a recording of the diary of a CEO, which goes both on YouTube and on available on podcasts. And he was diagnosed by Dr. Daniel Amen, who does brain scans and is, you know, very well known as well in the ADHD space. So Stephen has talked really openly about his struggles with formal education, how he also has this incredible ability to like, hyper focus super deeply on things that excite him and he struggles to, you know, stop working because he just loves what he does so much and he definitely struggles with anything that doesn't interest him. So classic adhd. All right. As you can tell, I love him. Stephen's awesome. So number three on the list is Anika Moa. Anika Moa is a New Zealand singer, songwriter. She's also been a TV radio broadcaster and she has had a really successful music career. She's also pretty well known here in New Zealand for her authenticity, that sort of real down to earth vibe that she brings things, and her really creative, beautiful voice that she has. It's very unique. So her ADHD diagnosis also came later in life and she described it as 15,000 voices in my head all day, every day. And she said that that diagnosis also changed how she sees her creativity and her mental health and how she works. A lot of things made sense with that diagnosis. Number four on my list, Simone Biles. So Simone Biles is one of the greatest gymnasts of all time. So multiple Olympic gold medals, she's won world championships, and she really has this created this sort of legacy, I guess, of dominating in her sport. She has spoken very publicly about her ADHD diagnosis and emphasizing that she sees it as nothing at all to be ashamed of. And she also uses her story to show that elite performance and discipline can coexist with having adhd. So I love that. Number five on the list is Will. I am. So you may know him from the Black Eyed Peas. He is an American musician, producer, and also an entrepreneur. And if you've ever watched the US documentary about ADHD called the Disruptors, he features in that. And if you haven't, I'm Going to link it in the show notes because it's a great, a great watch. So it's called the Disruptors. And so he features in that as well as many other sort of well known people across America because it is an American documentary. But it has a real relatable and inspiring, encouraging approach to the way that they view adhd. It's a really cool documentary. I believe here in New Zealand you can only watch it through Apple TV and you rent it. I think it's like roughly 5.99 or something like that to rent it or you could buy it, but I think it's way more, whatever it is. So back to Will I am. He has talked about how ADHD makes it hard for him to slow down and stop. Yep, I can relate to that. I'm sure you can too. But importantly, he sees that having ADHD really helps to fuel his creativity. And he's, he's actually quoted saying, if you listen to the songs I write, they are the most ADHD songs ever. They have five hooks in one and it all happens in three minutes. I was like, yeah, actually now when I listen to your music, I'm gonna really see that and appreciate it. Number six on the list is Richard Branson. So Sir Richard Branson has founded over 40 companies. You may know him as the founder of the Virgin Group, so Virgin Airlines. He has got ventures in music, airlines, space tourism and loads of other things. And recently he also started a company or I think co founded a company around dyslexia and supporting people with dyslexia. Because not only does he have adhd, he also is dyslexic and he talks about very openly his academic struggles, how he dropped out of school really early. This is one of the things I love about him is he like dropped out of school, didn't go on to university and he just didn't let that stop him. So he has really leveraged his differences into creative strengths. Right. Using big visions and, you know, thinking outside the box and just breaking boundaries. And I love that he talks about his ADHD as part of his entrepreneurial edge and his dyslexia as a different way of thinking rather than a limitation. Number seven is Nicole Murray. So she is a New Zealand paracyclist with a very impressive, shall we say, resume. Do we call it that in sport? I'm not sure, but she's competed in the C5 classification. So she actually has her left hand amputated below the wrist and she's a multiple medalist at world championships as well as at the Paralympics. So incredibly impressive woman. And she was diagnosed later in life. Again, like many women describing her diagnosis as a revelation, she's spoken outwardly about how understanding her brain has helped her training focus and her ability to channel high energy and drive into her elite sport. Right. Isn't that so cool? Number eight on my list is Gary V or Gary Vaynerchuk. So he is a serial entrepreneur, investor, author. You may know him from the book Crush it or the thank you Economy. He is a social media personality. So he does a lot of things on like Instagram, YouTube or he's across all social media platforms. And he is just known for this high energy. No. Which I love. No style, rapid topic hopping, intense, like, hustle, work ethic. A lot of traits that as soon as you have an interaction with him, you're like, oh, My gosh, yes, 100 ADHD. You can just like, he just oozes it and I love it. And he describes his ADHD as a lens that helps him to channel speed, curiosity, rapid movement into business advantage rather than seeing it as a liability. But, yeah, again, I follow a lot of his stuff on social media and I just love his no direct approach. But he comes with so much love, like, so much care and kindness and like, authenticity oozes from him, which I. Yeah, I love. I'm a big fan of him. He's an awesome dude. Number nine, Channing Tatum. So Channing Tatum is an American actor. He's also a producer and a dancer. But you may know him from the film Magic Mike. And if you haven't seen it, I mean, I'm not going to say the acting's great, but you know what's great, if you've seen it. Also, 21 Jump street, which is pretty funny. He also has dyslexia and he talks about how he grew up struggling with reading, struggling with schoolwork, not feeling very smart. And how his ADHD and his dyslexia combined really made the school system challenging for him, which I know myself and so many of us can relate to. And despite that, he found success through movement. I love that. Right. Because we get the dopamine from the movement. So he found that success through movement, performance and having a strong work ethic, which I think is something that we often do have as ADHD is. I feel like we often work twice as hard as others. Right. But he's harnessed that unique mix of sort of energy and expressiveness and that, that sort of physicality, I guess, into becoming a really big Hollywood star. So, yeah, I Think that's freaking awesome. Number 10 on my list at the age of 40. She was diagnosed at age 40 is Lisa Ling. So Lisa Ling is an American journalist, a television host, and an author. So I had known the name, but I had to Google an image because this one, she only came recently onto my radar, I'd say a couple of months ago, because I always keep a list because when I'm giving a talk in public, I like to bring up some well known people with adhd because people are often like, really? I had no idea. And I'm like, yeah, see, they're everywhere. So anyway, I looked up and I was like. When I googled images of her, I was like, oh my gosh, yes, I know exactly who that is. So if you don't know, definitely do that with any of the names I've given you because it might spark a memory. So again, Lisa Ling, she was diagnosed late later in life, and she kind of realized that, that her lifelong patterns of distraction, hyper focus, shifting attention were all part of adhd. And she appeared on the show. Now, I haven't watched this yet, but it's on the list, a show called the ADHD Explosion. Okay, so it's an American show. And then she was officially diagnosed as a part of that or. Or after that, I believe. So her journey really does speak to the late diagnosed ADHD female presentation, where she's like less outwardly hyperactive. Like, you can't see it physically. It's more a hyperactive brain or like the ability to sort of get very easily distracted or sort of drift off. Okay. But also through her story, she talks a lot about how that light diagnosis brought a lot of relief and also empowerment for what's possible now going forward. Number 11. We're up to number 11, my friend. Number 11 is Chloe Swarbrick. I hope I'm pronouncing her last name right. But she is a New Zealand politician who currently serves as the co leader of the Green Party. Now she has an impressive story because she first entered parliament at the age of 23. That is so young. Okay. And it made her one of the youngest ever to do so in New Zealand, which I think is pretty fucking incredible. Now, Chloe has adhd, but she also has dyscalcia, which is a learning difference related to numbers. Having a difficulty with numbers. Right. And she's a politician. Right. Fucking awesome. She has spoken very publicly about her ADHD diagnosis and how before getting diagnosed, she spent so many years calling herself lazy or feeling like she was underperforming and how that diagnosis brought so much clarity and also helped her with self forgiveness. So she uses her platform as the Greens party mental health spokesperson and she highlights a lot of issues in ADHD diagnosis and treatment. She's very loud in talking about that in New Zealand, which is fantastic. She talks a lot about the wait lists, about the cost barrier, the gender biases, the lack of recognition of adult adhd, all of these sorts of things. So she is a great voice for ADHD in New Zealand, right? Number 12. Number 12. My friend is David Goggins, right? If you don't know who that is, like, this dude is mind blowing, like superhuman, right? So David Goggins is an American ultra marathon runner. And when I say ultra marathons, I'm talking a hundred miles, I kid you not. He talks about in his book, which I'll tell you about in a minute because it's fucking epic. He talks about in his book how he literally shat himself, himself whilst running because he hadn't prepared enough and kept running to complete the race. I'm like, damn, damn. So he's also a former US Navy Seal, so becoming a Navy Seal is pretty freaking hard to do. An Army Ranger and an Air Force tactical air controller. Like, he has a book which I listen to this book every January. It like pumps me up for the year. And it's called Can't Hurt Me. I recommend audiobook because in the audiobook he does this kind of like in between each chapter. He had a ghostwriter actually help him because he has dyslexia as well and he struggled with, with reading and writing and he had a ghostwriter write it with him and he has his ghost writer interview him sort of podcast style in between each chapter and they talk about bits that weren't necessarily in the book and he talks about stories and different struggles and it's really good. So David Goggins, the book is Can't Hurt Me. Okay? So he's got this like ridiculous list of achievements, like, as I said, completing some of the world's most brutal endurance events, right? But he also uses his story as a real powerful template for pushing past the self imposed limits that we have. He talks a lot about his brain wiring, his hyperactivity, his distractibility, getting really stuck on an idea and being very, very stubborn, which, trust me, if you know him at all, you'll be like, yeah, that's. That describes him to a T. And also how he's reframed a lot of his struggles for, you know, endurance, mental pain tolerance, focus, discomfort, all of that. And how he uses that as fuel. Okay, so, yeah, fascinating guy. I think he takes it, like, a little too extreme, don't get me wrong. Like, he's crazy, but in a really good way. Definitely fires me up anytime I listen to any of his. His audiobooks or his podcast interviews or anything like that. So David Goggins, number 13. Number 13 might just be my favorite actress of all time. And that is because anytime I watch a clip of her so often on TikTok, when I'm on TikTok, or if I'm, you know. Yeah, it's pretty much TikTok sometimes on. On, what is it? Instagram. I love watching anything where she pops up because I just go, she is ADHD as fuck. And she's just so like me, right? She just says it like it is. She just. Just blurts something out and then goes, oh, shit, should I have said that? Oh, my God, I'm on live tv, right? It's just. Oh, my God. Fucking love it. So it's Jennifer Lawrence. All right, so Jennifer Lawrence is well known from being in the Hunger Games series. She also won an Academy Award for her performance in Silver Linings Playbook. So she has been in lots of different movies. She was actually raised on a horse farm in Kentucky, Describing herself as hyperactive as a child and always feeling like she was a misfit in school. Her nickname was Nitro as a nitroglycerine because she was so hyperactive, curious, and kind of all over the place. Right. I can so relate to that. I love it. She's also very open about her own mental health struggles. She's talked a lot about anxiety. She talked about postnatal depression with her second child and how her anxieties made her traditional schooling quite challenging and how acting really became a pathway where she felt capable and alive rather than held back. But again, if you are to watch any just, like, tiny little clips of her, oh, my God, she's hilarious. Just hilarious. I remember this one where she was accepting an award and she got up on stage and nobody said anything. And she looks around and she goes, what am I supposed to do? What do I do now? And it was just like, hilarious. Like, the crowds start cracking up. She's like, I thought you were meant to ask me questions. Why aren't you asking me questions? It's like, cracked me up. Anyway, so, yeah, I Love her. Number 14. The last one on our list, my friend, number 14 is Michael Phelps. Michael Phelps is the most decorated Olympian in history with 28 Olympic medals. Okay? He struggled in school, he had behavioral issues as a child. He was diagnosed with ADHD when he was younger, and yet he was able to turn his hyperactivity into this intense training focus and record breaking performance. His story also highlights how you can really channel that extra energy or that difference into extraordinary outcomes. He has also had a lot of his own struggles and of course, like being a well known person, many of those are in the public eye. So he's had struggles with alcohol use and he has talked quite openly about that. But again, an incredible example of what's possible. So, my friend, if there is one thing that you take away from today's episode, I really hope is this ADHD does not hold you back, but misunderstanding it and solely focusing on the challenges that does. Every single person that I mentioned today has learned how to work with their brain, not against it. That doesn't mean that they don't experience challenges. Right? And when they've learned to work with their brain, when they've done that, everything has changed. They've, you know, that focus became passion, restlessness became drive, and impulsivity became courage. Now, you don't need to be a billionaire, an Olympian, or some famous actor to live an extraordinary life with adhd. You just need to understand how your brain works and build a life that fits you. So I invite you to become number 15 on my list. Okay. And I'm really curious which of these stories spoke to you the most? Which ones inspired you? If you're not hanging out with me on Instagram, come and hang out there and tell me. Let me know. Navigating ADULT adhd All right, my friend, have a beautiful week. Huge love. Take care. Hey, friend, if you want some more help navigating and thriving with ADHD and some help applying everything that you're learning here on the podcast, then head over to our website, navigating adultadhd.com.