I have the best job in the world, if you could even call it a job. I am fortunate to continuously help individuals accomplish great things in their lives. In the martial arts I am able to take shy, timid children and adults, and empower them so much that they are able to break concrete with their hand. At Empowered Mastery I am able to help individuals who may feel they have plateaued, become re-invigorated towards their chosen direction. However, what I love the most is to see a client identify their passions and goals, and make them reality.
David Greenwood is an individual who has done just that. The two of us worked together a couple of years ago in a full day session, where we mapped out his goals. David has adult ADD, (Attention Deficit Disorder) and has utilized his ADD to achieve success personally and professionally. During our session David mentioned that he had a strong desire to share his story and also interview other individuals who have the ADD Diagnosis and have achieved high levels of success. He finally put his goal of writing a book on paper.
Well, we worked together for quite a while and David was sporadically contacting people he felt would be good subject matter for the book. It was more of a side project that he was slowly persuing while he ran is Video Marketing/Public Relations Firm. Fast forward to the present, and his book “Overcoming Distractions, Thriving with Adult ADD/ADHD” is out and available on Amazon and in Bookstores across the country. I was honored to be part of the project and to contribute on various topics such as martial arts, meditation and the importance of having a personal coach.
Of course, I pre-ordered the book on Amazon and started to read it right away. While I knew the book was going to be good, it exceeded my expectations. In the book, David interviewed many individuals who achieved high levels of success despite their ADD. Where the book is geared towards stories of those with ADD, I found the subject matter extremely applicable to anyone in business. Why? Because we live in a time where everyone is distracted the majority of time. Think about it, while Social Media has many benefits, it also has the ability to distract you from what you are doing. For many it completely stifles productivity due to the constant updates and notifications on their smart phone. Additionally, the smart phone in general is a huge distraction. Anyone can contact you 24/7 from multiple methods that for the most time requires attention or expects a response. We become victims to our smart devices and productivity goes right out the window. In a sense, we all have distractibility challenges that we need to find tools and methods to overcome.
That is where David’s book comes in. In “Overcoming Distractions” David and the many ADD authorities he interviewed gave powerful and meaningful tips that we all can apply into our daily lives to make us more productive and less distracted.
Here are five take-aways from David’s book I would like to share:
1. Exercise:
If you have read any of my blogs, you know that I always talk about the importance of exercise. For those who are easily distracted, exercise will help improve focus for many reasons. First, the endorphins and dopamine increase, which allows for a greater ability to focus. Second, while the body is active the mind has the ability to slow down while in action. This will give a sense of mental rejuvenation. This alone was probably the most common thread amongst all the subjects throughout the book.
2. Meditation:
A lot of individuals in “Overcoming Distractions” also discussed the importance of meditation to keep them focused. I was happy to be a contributer on this topic. Meditation helps slow down the brain waves allowing you to break through the clutter in your mind and get to a place where you can get a ton accomplished in your day. Again, this was a common thread that many in David’s book swear by.
3. Time Blocking:
This was huge for me and I personally apply this to my life. I really like what David explained as the Pomodoro Timer technique. This technique was developed in the 1980s by an Italian univeristy student who used a tomato-shaped kitchen timer (pomodoro in Italian is tomato) to help focus on studying. Basically, you set a timer for an allotted amount of time and you commit to hyper focus for the amount of time the timer allows, and then take a break when the timer goes off. During the break, you can check your email, Facebook or whatever else you want, but while you are in focus mode, you are working hard on one project. This was a key factor that helped David write the book and keeps him highly productive in his business.
4. Support Team:
Of course, if you have ADD you will want to surround yourself with people who can complement you. Your significant other will have to understand your MO (Mode of Operation) so they can support you as needed. Also, many of the subjects in the book discussed the importance of getting a mentor or coach to help with structure and organization. This is true for everyone, and I honestly believe that an outside perspective is invaluable. I personally seek guidance and advice from mentors and coaches often, even though I am a coach as well. It’s similar in the martial arts training; I am always a student and interested in continued growth.
5. Embrace it:
There are a lot of challenges that individuals with ADD have to overcome. David interviewed many individuals who had endured a lot of hardships growing up, from getting kicked out of class or even flying through a glass door. It was difficult for parents and teachers to understand and manage the ADD because for many, there wasn’t even a diagnosis. Truth is, ADD is a “Special Ability” rather than a “Disability”. Once this was realized, then and only then, did they start experiencing success. Another common thread is active ADD mind, the creativity and “out of the box” approach is second to none.
Final thoughts:
“Overcoming Distraction, Thriving with Adult ADD/ADHD” written by my close friend David Greenwood is a book for everyone, not just someone diagnosed with ADD. While I have not had a specific ADD diagnosis, I do have my share of distractibility. In David’s book, he goes through a section where individuals with ADD most likely will have these characteristics. He continues to say that if you experience one or two, you most likely don’t have ADD. However if you experience four or five, you may want to see a specialist. I turned to my wife and shared this with her because I personally experienced just about all of them. We laughed about it because we always wondered. What are they…you’ll have to read the book to see :).
I am very proud and honored to be a part of this book and I highly recommend it to anyone who experiences any form of distraction in their lives. Not just those with an ADD diagnosis. I found it extremely useful and helpful for me to be more productive and get more out of my day. We all want to improve, correct? Well, David has a lot of ways to help you do that.
I will be joining David in a book signing/discussion on December 10th at Tatnuck Booksellers in Westborough, Mass. Here is the Facebook link for more information. I look forward to seeing you there.
Respectfully,
Chris Berlow