At the encouragement of my good friend, Hugh MacLeod, I have decided to finally start writing a blog.
Well - - - Actually I will write two of them- - One a professional blog, and the other (this one) an outlet for my inner adventurer who is forever rafting down a rain-swollen stream of consciousness.
And, I don't really know Hugh MacLeod, but I have read both of his books (Ignore Everybody and Evil Plans, Having Fun on the Way to World Domination). Like many readers, I feel a kind of connection to an author whom I like.
Earlier today, I posted as a Facebook status that I was "juggling wolverines." Somebody liked it, and I had a comment or two.
Those of you with ADD/ADHD, and those of you whose life is made a living hell by someone who does, may understand the idea of "hyper-focus." Someone with the "gift" of ADD/ADHD can indeed concentrate, but it is often to the extreme.
I had such an experience this evening with "juggling wolverines." I wound up obsessing over it like a guy who holds a door open for a nice girl, and after she says thank you, immediately sends out save the date cards for the wedding.
For years, My Reason for Living insisted that I had ADD. I blew it off as so much psycho-babble.
Then I had an epiphany.
In July 2004, I was in Evora, Portugal driving for TeamUSA in the 24 Hours of Evora, an endurance go-kart race that attracts drivers from F1 and Le Mans racing. Yes - - there is such a sport, and yes - - I did race for what amounts to the US National Team. The pic above is of me on the left, with Pedro Lamy, a Portuguese F1 driver, who went on to race for Peugeot and win the 24 Hours of Le Mans.
It was about 10 pm in Evora. I had just taken over our kart from a teammate and was a few minutes into the 45-minute stint when I found myself on the second fastest point on the course . . . and my mind was wandering . . . at a rather high rate of speed, given that we don't use seat belts.
And this was occurring right before an extremely difficult, and rather dangerous turn.
Epiphany . . . test of bladder control . . . call it what you will.
Sooooo, upon getting home, I called a friend who is a behavioral pediatrician.
Given the fact that I am regularly judged immature, this seems a reasonable thing, no?
Actually, I had done some public policy stuff with this guy in the 90's, I knew he had ADD, and would be sympathetic.
Turns out he had taught my personal physician how to screen for it.
I went to said physician.
He screened for it.
He rolled on the floor, incapacitated with laughter.
"You have Attention Deficit Order." Dr. Mengele told me, "and I hate to break this to you so bluntly . . ."
"Yes, Doctor???"
"Frank, your case is TERMINAL."
More uncontrollable laughter.
For a brief moment, I rued the fact that in my day job, I work to protect the assets of doctors from "blood-sucking malpractice attorneys" (that is a technical term . . . forgive me).
He gave me a prescription.
I found an executive coach who understood entrepreneurs with ADD, and liked motor sports.
And I began a conscious journey to learn how to make having ADD a positive.
The good news is that it can be . . . and I thank God that I do have it.
Oh . . . the hyper-focus thing . . .
When something catches our attention, or we (those of us with ADD/ADHD) focus our attention on something interesting/important/exciting to us, we are pretty much like my Rottweiler-Yorkie mix, Medusa - on it like white on rice, and yapping about it to anyone who will listen.
You see alot of us in trial law, emergency room/trauma medicine, extreme sports, and racing. Get us in our favorite element, and with some exceptions (like I had racing in Portugal in 2004) we get into The Zone.
The rest of the time, we often find ourselves managing crises, and trying to select the most effective place to apply ourselves.
And, it often does not occur to us to ask for help, or delegate, or outsource, or GET ON OUR KNEES AND PRAY TO A GRACIOUS GOD FOR SOME HELP!!!!!
Thus, we find ourselves "juggling wolverines," mindful that if we drop one, it will likely express its displeasure at being mishandled in a rather painful way.
More later. For now I am hyper-focusing on a wolverine I just dropped.
This should be interesting.
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