292: Why Your Personal Weakness is Your Super Power: How ADHD Helped Ross Discover His Innate Gift to the World

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YOUR GREATEST PERSONAL WEAKNESS

What if you could find the career that fits you by reframing your weakness? Or what if your greatest weakness was really your secret weapon? It turns out it actually is.

“DON’T CHOKE!”

Many high achievers live with a loud inner critic. The voice in their heads reminds them of past mistakes, motivating them to do everything possible to perform perfectly in future opportunities. Constant reminders of where they’ve missed the mark push them to hit the bullseye in their follow-up attempts. This seems like a reasonable (albeit painful) system, and it works for many people.

But what if I told you these people have a drastically greater chance at achieving career happiness if they focus on honing strengths instead of correcting their weaknesses? Furthermore, what if you discovered your “weaknesses” are actually a necessary counterpart to your strengths?

HOW ADHD BECAME ROSS’ SUPERPOWER

When my friend Ross was growing up, he realized his brain worked a little differently from others. He tried his best to listen in class, and anytime he felt confused, he raised his hand to ask a clarifying question. The problem was, all his classmates started giggling when he asked questions. Apparently the teacher had already said whatever he needed to know.

Ross wasn’t intentionally ignoring his teachers, and eventually he discovered he had ADHD. Relieved to have a name for the problem but embarrassed and discouraged by the difficulties it placed on learning, Ross couldn’t wait to be out of school.

Throughout every class, Ross felt the thorn of ADHD in his side. He counted down the days until college graduation, fully ready to put ADHD in his rearview mirror. But when he joined the career world, he realized his ADHD would factor into his work life as well.

After struggling to land a role he wanted, Ross decided to pick up a part-time job at his local Apple Store. Twenty hours per week, he served customers in a store that—as he describes it—was the size of a shoebox. Naturally interested in all things Apple, Ross found ease in creatively solving problems for customers. On top of this, his high energy overflowed throughout his shoebox-sized store, and every time he walked through the doors, his peers became more motivated. This in-between job quickly turned into a world he loved and thrived in.

“I CAN’T REMEMBER A TIME IN MY LIFE WHERE I HAD RECEIVED SO MUCH AFFIRMATION FOR JUST BEING ME.”

A few months into his job, Ross realized he received more daily compliments and affirmations than ever before. He’d accidentally landed in a role that tapped into his natural gifts, and people couldn’t help but notice. He started hearing phrases like:

“How are you so good at this?”

“How did you learn to talk to customers like that?”

“I really appreciate the energy that you bring. You light up our room.”

“I feel like when you’re here, your enthusiasm rubs off on me and I’m more excited about the day.”

The feeling was incredible. Imagine getting constant praise for just living out your natural strengths. At first, Ross didn’t realize the energy came from his ADHD. However, when a performance review left him with some negative feedback he’d heard as a schoolboy, he realized he hadn’t “graduated” out of ADHD. This was something he needed to learn to deal with even outside of the classroom.

For help in this endeavor, Ross began meeting with an ADHD coach. As he worked with the coach, developing practices to be productive alongside his deficit, he also met with a giant epiphany: ADHD wasn’t his kryptonite—it was his superpower.

A NEW NAME FOR WEAKNESS

Through conversations with his coach, Ross started to connect the dots on his strengths and perceived weaknesses. He began to realize his tendency to get bored with details and his unending energy to go, go, go came from the same place: ADHD.

This is where Ross began to reframe his thinking. Instead of focusing on the ADHD thorn in his side, he realized that without it, he wouldn’t have this energy that differentiated him from everyone else in the world. Ross didn’t need to feel embarrassed about the side effects of his disorder; he could begin to appreciate his strengths and acknowledge the shadow side of those strengths, also known as his anti-strengths. He found a Happen To Your Career coach and began dreaming of careers that utilized his strengths and minimized the need for his anti-strengths.

If this is your first time hearing about anti-strengths, let me explain.

Anti-strengths are those traits that appear to be weaknesses, but in actuality they are connected to key strengths that make you successful. For example, my friend Rushi is highly organized and creates incomparable project plans for his company. When he is named a project leader, his coworkers hope they will be placed on his team. They know they can expect hyper-focused attention to detail that will guide them throughout the entire process. However, Rushi can also be slow to get started on a project or find difficulty in focusing if his office isn’t in tip-top shape. His family says he is almost OCD-like in much of his behavior. Rushi thought this need for things to be just right was a weakness until he realized it’s a shadow of what makes him successful.

Now, Rushi has repositioned his thoughts about these tendencies: “My organization is a great strength because it helps things run very smoothly, but it can cause me to move more slowly because I want everything perfect.” He no longer views this flaw as a burdensome weakness but as a natural part of his unique gifts.

WHAT’S YOUR SUPERPOWER?

We all have anti-strengths. They are the negative habits that come along with your special abilities. When you learn how to reframe your perception of your weakness, you’ll be better positioned to focus on your strengths. (You can also find a guide on using your strengths to get hired here.)

As you figure out your superpower, you should try to imagine what you simply can’t stop doing. In Ross’ case, his high level of energy made it where he couldn’t be lethargic if he tried. In Rushi’s case, his need for organization made it where he couldn’t possibly turn in a shoddy project timeline. Discovering your unique strengths and the resulting positive and negative effects of each one will help you pursue roles that fit. As you identify anti-strengths, instead of pushing yourself to improve a weakness, you can simply choose a different route.

Today, Ross is leaning into his superpower. His ADHD that fuels his high energy and motivation makes him the perfect fit for a traveling speaker and thought leader. Now, he travels around talking to students about the positive power of ADHD. He’s discovered how tapping into his innate sensibilities can help transform the world. As he puts it, “These are the moments that fill my bucket. It makes me feel this monumental sense of purpose…this is what I’m designed to do.”

To find out the steps Ross took to find his strengths and create his ideal career, listen to our interview at the play button above.

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Ross Loofbourrow 0:00
What worked out up to that point, pretending it wasn't there, didn't talk about it and never let other people know. And then this moment occurred where, holy smokes, I absolutely felt like I could lose my job if I don't pivot quickly in a different direction.

Introduction 0:20
This is the Happen To Your Career podcast, with Scott Anthony Barlow. We help you stop doing work that doesn't fit you, figure out what does and make it happen. We help you define the work that's unapologetically you, and then go get it. If you're ready to make a change, keep listening. Here's Scott. Here's Scott. Here's Scott.

Scott Barlow 0:45
Here's some fun facts. In 2015, the CDC estimated that around 6 million children have diagnosis for ADD or ADHD. Here’s more fun fact. For children, on average, in a classroom of 30 students, 1 to 3 of those children have ADHD specifically, three boys are diagnosed with ADD for every one girl. The average onset is five for severe ADHD, seven for modern symptoms and eight for mild symptoms. Okay, well what about adults with ADHD? Well, turns out that roughly 4.4% of the adult US population has ADHD, and 41.3% of adult ADHD cases are considered severe. Well, here's a couple of other things, too. Interestingly enough, students with ADHD are two to three more times likely to have problems with expressive language than are in their non-ADHD peers. About one third of students with ADD have one of the following: either language deficits like, poor listening comprehension, poor organizational skills, poor memory, poor fine motor skills. So, with all this stuff, and our current society, most of it look at ADD, an ADHD as something that's not so great. However, I wanted to ask the question, coming from my own experience, what if ADD and ADHD could actually be helpful?

Ross Loofbourrow 02:38
Those are the moments that fill my bucket. It makes me feel this monumental sense of purpose and like: wow, this is partly what have designed to do. I want to do more of that, helping people in that way.

Scott Barlow 02:52
That's Ross Loofbourrow. Ross has ADHD. And he's found that growing up, it's not always easy to live in a world when you have ADHD, where most people look at it is not a great thing. However, he's found that actually, it can be incredibly helpful. And in his case, and even in his career, it has been a competitive advantage, even. We're gonna unpack that in a whole bunch more. But I want you to take a listen to Ross’ story. Right about now.

Ross Loofbourrow 03:31
I started my career at Apple. How that happened? Well, my parents basically said, “you better get a job” and all the goals and the things I thought was gonna happen when I graduated college didn't, ended up moving in with my grandparents. Just very uncool in my mind and started saving money, started trying buy ring and get married and I fell into a job at the Apple Store. A friend of mine worked there and someone I really respected had amazing thing to say about it and five interviews later for a part-time retail specialist role. And I was in. That was over nine years ago today.

Scott Barlow 4:09
Yeah. I'm curious what you said. Some of the things that you thought would happen didn't as you came out of school and then that led to moving in you with your grandma, which you thought was uncool maybe some people do. My grandma was pretty cool. But I don't know that I would have wanted to live with her necessarily so kudos to you. But what were some of those things that you thought would happen that didn't in that way.

Ross Loofbourrow 4:32

Yeah, so when I graduated, I mean everyone talks about in their Senior Year, what are you doing when you graduate? And know, if you really are having things and you got your life in order, you know exactly the job you're gonna have when you step out of that school. And so, I lined up what I thought was a great opportunity as an admissions counselor at my school and I've been, had been a tour guide all four years, love doing that, I just felt pretty confident that it was gonna happen because I knew everybody in the office and I was ultimately told “Hey, Ross. After the extensive interview process. Hey, Ross ifwe had one more spot. It would go to you. I'm so sorry.” So that blew up my world and I thought I was gonna be a live my friends in Santa Barbara after I graduated. And I had to move home and moved in with my grandparents who are awesome, but I never dreamed I would live with them

Scott Barlow 05:31
Yes,totally.

Ross Loofbourrow 05:32
So, yeah, that's the plan I had that completely crumbled in front of me and it was an ultimate low at that moment where I was like, what am I doing?

Scott Barlow 05:41
What happened from there then? You’ve got, you ended up working at the Apple Store five interviews into it. And boom. You got your part-time a role and-

Ross Loofbourrow 05:51
That’s right

Scott Barlow 05:52
What happened at that point?

Ross Loofbourrow 05:53
Yes, I started to store. It ended up being the last Mini Apple Store in the entire world, is the store that I started at.

Scott Barlow 06:01
Really?

Ross Loofbourrow 06:02
This store people can't even conceptualize how small it was. It was the size of a shoebox. Honestly. It was a little crazy like a submarine at times. So, I stated there and I thought man I'm here for maybe three or six months get a little work experience. Slap it on my resume and I'm out of here. I'm gonna go get a big boy job for have a college degree. I loved it and I started getting so much affirmation really quickly. Hey man, how are you so good at this like, where did you learn how to do that? Like how you talk to people like that? Man, the way you just described the iPad was like so cool and fresh. Like I never thought of describing it that way.

Scott Barlow 06:43
Yeah.

Ross Loofbourrow 06:44
And I can’t remember a time in my life where I was receiving so much affirmation for just being me. I thought that's just kind of fun. So, I stuck with it and I basically went from part-time role into a full-time role. Then I became one of the first experts when Apple rolled up that role to their stores and then within about two years, I became a manager. Which was really rare at the time. People really realize that in 2009, what the percentage chance was that you got a job at Apple any role: part-time, retail specialist, you name it. Guess what’s the percentage chance was 80%, 40% andthis is for iPad or before watch.

Scott Barlow 07:30
Oh, my goodness. I would say like 20% 30%.

Ross Loofbourrow07:36
2%

Scott Barlow 07:37
2%? Oh my goodness, I highballedit.

Ross Loofbourrow 07:40
About getting a job at Apple or so. And so, I got in and-

Scott Barlow 07:43
Yeah.

RossLoofbourrow 07:44
I was loving it. So, became a manager which was really rare at the time to be promoted from within to that role and then ultimately have worked now at five different Apple stores in the bay area, have worked alongside hundreds of different people, have had a plethora of different coworkers. And now, I’m a manager at the Monterey location. So yeah, it's been a ride for sure.

Scott Barlow 08:09
So, here's what I'm curious aboutthen. You got into Apple, realized very quickly that hey there are some of these things that people are appreciating about me. Obviously latch onto those and doubled, it sounds like double down in some of those areas started inrealizing that hey this is I’m enjoying getting this feedback. I'm enjoying getting this affirmation. I'm enjoying actually doing these things that are getting there and then dive further into it. Clearly that was rewarded as well, which I think is super cool by the way leaning into some of those areas that you are already loving and already adding value to the world. I mean, that's obviously something we spend a lot of time talking about here. So, you were able to do that there. But also, somewhere along the way I know that you became interested in doing additional things too and-

Ross Loofbourrow 09:02
Absolutely

Scott Barlow 09:03
You know, I alluded to this at the very beginning. I know that you’ve experienced ADHD and I know that somewhere along the way you decided you were interested in integrating the speaking component into your career, too. So how did that come to be? What was, what caused you to begin even thinking about that way back when and then later to start doing it?

Ross Loofbourrow 09:25
Yeah. It all started a few years ago. I was at this point in my journey at Apple had been a manager for quite a while at that time had held a bunch of different roles. As a manager, managers will oversee different areas of the store. So, I done that for quite some time and, I was kind of getting this age like, “Man, I’m a millennial. And I don't feel like one because I've been at the same company for so long. I haven't resisted moving but so many people my age are jumping from company to company.” So, I was getting a little restless kind of wondering like, am I doing right thing? Am I becoming stagnant? I don't wanna be stagnant.

Scott Barlow 10:05
Am I really a millennial?

RossLoofbourrow 10:07
Yeah. Exactly I've always been called an old soul.

Scott Barlow 10:11
I get that too, totally understand. Also, a millennial just barely.

Ross Loofbourrow 10:18
So, I hit this point, you can call a career made a moment, a career staller and in the biggest way.

Scott Barlow 10:24
Yeah.

Ross Loofbourrow 10:25
The first time in my career. I had coworkers and I had people that I reported to sharing with me, you know it, Ross,I don't know if you really have what it takes to continue being a successful leader here at Apple any longer.

Scott Barlow 10:39
Yeah.

Ross Loofbourrow 10:40
And dumpinglike a lot of negative feedback on me and more than that I never seen. This was caught me totally by surprise. I thought I got hit by a truck and I started spiraling which we can do with ADHD. I thought, what’s Plan B? I don't have plan C. All I've done is Apple, like what in the world am I gonna do if I'm not here? Well, that is when I decided, “you know what, Ross? You can't keep ignoring your ADHD” because I graduated college I said, “Forget this. I've never thinking about my ADHD again.” It has been a nightmare for me worrying about school and ADHD made it worse. I'm gonna go live my life, so I do. What workout up to that point pretending it wasn't their, didn't talk about it, never let other people know. And then this moment occurred where: holy smokes. I absolutely felt like, I could lose my job if I don't pivot quickly in a different direction.

Scott Barlow 11:43
Yeah.

Ross Loofbourrow 11:44
So, I got the help I needed.I started looking for a clinic. A place where I could really start to harness and understand my ADHD brain because really at that time I didn’t and that’s where I found my first ADHD coach.Working with ADHDcoach week over week for a year and no it was not cheap it’s significant that myself and that was the start of unlocking the new ways that I view ADHD and then ultimately that's what led me to Happen To Your Career. And that's what led me to working with you guys, is that I continued asses’ questions of, where can I add more value to the world? Apple has blessed me with understanding here is where I can, here are my gifts, here are my strength, but what else I can do with those things.

Scott Barlow 12:30
So, there's so much there and just a little bit of backstory. I am very high on the ADD spectrum kind of middle as far as when you're looking at it, if you’re looking at it on the Spectrum, kinda middle to high on the what many people consider the ADHD spectrum and I have three children that all fall into various different ranges of that too. So, this is very much my world in a lot of different ways. So that's part of the reason why it's near and dear to my heart. What I'm curious about first, ‘cause I am really interested in some of the things that you have since done with that, but I'm curious where did you recognize was this when you were a kid? Where did you recognize that it created some of these differences for you in one way or another?

Ross Loofbourrow 13:17
Yeah, it was when I was in second grade. Second grade was kind of a culmination moment. I had noticed for quite a while there. People were laughing at me and ridiculing me when I would raise my hand and ask a question in class and I would be paying attention. I would be focusing as hard as I could. Ask these questions and everyone would giggle and laugh and as a second grader you feel horrible. Like, you know they’re not laughing with you, they’re laughing at you.

Scott Barlow 13:44
And the world is over after that, too.

Ross Loofbourrow 13:46
The world is over and your life is ending. And my mom who is an angel, I don't know if I would be here today without her to be honest. She helped me identify. And figure out that I had an auditory processing deficit and what that means is that I can be listening as hard as I want but things that come in to my brain certain things sometimes just don't compute they get left out so I can be, comprehending everything you're saying but then I don't even realize that 30 seconds or 2 minutes or a big chunk of what you are sharing, I do not remember. I can't recall and so that's why I would ask these questions, that’s was a big unlock moment andwas like, okay this is happening. And then we also found out that I had ADHD it was a double whammy.

Scott Barlow 14:39
Wow.

Ross Loofbourrow 14:40
Yeah.

Scott Barlow 14:41
So, recognized it way back in second grade. Unfortunately, you had your mom there to help you begin to make sense of this in some way and start moving down that path and eventually started having the show back up all the way later, fast forwardwhat,eight, ten years fully into your career. Actually, after you got out of school. And then now for the first time you're having to reconcile with it again, and-

Ross Loofbourrow 15:10
Yeah

Scott Barlow 15:11
It’s sounded like that caused you to get some help and get some guidance on how to look at this thing and utilize it differently and we got the pleasure of working with you through as you were seeking out that out too. What point did you start realizing that I can take this thing and really help other people understand and begin to understand through speaking and engaging other people in different ways. To help them look at it as more of a gift than anything else. Where did that enter for you? Where did you first start thinking about that?

Ross Loofbourrow 15:44
Well, I think really go back to Happen To Your Career’s, career change boot camp.

Scott Barlow 15:49
Yeah.

Ross Loofbourrow 15:50
The webcast and call that you guys offer I had stumbled on your podcast around this time. I found it and I never found anything quite like it. I'm like this exactly I would be listening to. Like where canI pivot, how can I find something that fits more-

Scott Barlow 16:04
Now you’re on it, just a year later.

RossLoofbourrow 16:08
Yeah and ultimately, I've seen that boot camp, and I'd like, “Oh got on time, I have time” and it finally came up again on my radar and I thought I'm gonna do this. I did that and that was when I met for the first time, in that environment, Lisa got to hear more from you and ultimately started working with Lisa after my ADHD coach and what was really interesting is my ADHD coach said he started to prime, my thinking of, he’s said, “have you ever thought of doing like, video stuff, like you're so animated like that. That could be something that you really enjoy doing and can resonate with people” and he started to plant seeds but working with Lisa. She was the first person ever to validate my crazy dream and that was she said, “Ross, what do you really wanna do?” I said, “I wanna be speaker. Like I want to be a speaker that motivates others that empowers them that brings them hope and helps them take those first steps to becoming more than they ever thought they could be. And she immediately said “yes.” And we really talk on the phone about 30 minutes, but I already trusted her enough. And for her to say, Ross you can totally do that. That was a massive unlock and then it was figuring out. Okay? I wanna do this. But who am I to speak on anything. Like what am I gonna speak about? I'm not an expert on anything and that was when I ultimately started to dig down deep through those sessions with Lisa. Uncovering what are my biggest differentiators, is the fact that I do have ADHD-

Scott Barlow 17:59
Yeah.

Ross Loofbourrow 18:00
And that I have you know seen both sides of it.

Scott Barlow 18:03
Yeah.

Ross Loofbourrow 18:04
I've seen the ugly and I've also seen the good and what can I do with this and that led to getting in to relieve that focus around mental health and specifically in ADHD brain.

Scott Barlow 18:17
That's amazing and the thing I love about your story and what Lisa's shared with me and I told you she shared some tidbits along the way too.You didn't know about the, she was like, “Ross, there’s this awesome guy, you got like some point along the way you gotta meet him.” And one of the things that I was really impressed with that she had shared is. Itwas relatively short period of time that you started acting on this dream too. It wasn't like hey, okay, let's talk about this and then five years later, maybe someday kind of will start doing this but to the point where even as you and I got on this call got to be able to record this interview this morning. You had just come off of a speaking engagement. Was yesterday is that we said?

Ross Loofbourrow 19:06
Yeah yesterday.

Scott Barlow 19:08
Yeah, and I would love if you would share a little bit about that and what you got to go speak and how that turned out because I think it’s you use the word humbling, but I really think that that's good. So, set the set the stage for us. How did how did this happen in the first place? What led up to this in a speaking engagement? And who were the kids and what did you get to talk about to them about?

Ross Loofbourrow 19:30
Yeah, it was to a couple schools over in Palo Alto.

Scott Barlow 19:34
Yeah,

Ross Loofbourrow 19:35
A private school that you know really focus on supporting kids with learning and attention challenges and differences. The schools are right over the hill and ultimately is a connection that I made at a conference I spoke at last spring.

Scott Barlow 19:50
Yeah.

Ross Loofbourrow 19:51
So, last spring was my breaking out moment. It was the first time I ever talked about ADHD being a superpower in the advantages and the gifts and so this a continued connection from that and ultimately yeah, I walked in there. I didn't know any of the kids. The first group was 7th to 10th graders and then about 30 of them are so and then the second group pretty much immediately afterwards about fifth to eighth graders about another 30 or so kids. And yeah, I mean, there are kids and some of them are, they're dealing with their own challenges and so, you're there sharing, my message and I'm questioning myself the whole-time thinking is this even resonating with this guy over here. I mean this little girl over here it seems like she's really feeling what I'm sharing but I don't know and I was just filled with all kinds of doubt and thinking and this is a train wreck. This is all horrible. And I came to discover afterwards that it actually went really well. I'll have the teachers had shared with me that the kids loved you and they want you to come back. Like you're welcome back anytime. You should come back and ride bikes. We’re going morning bike rides, and I had kids coming up to me afterwards and tears. Just sharing. I mean, fifth grade kids, seventh grade kids sharing. Hey, like I wanna tell you my story nothing but don't say that this dive into it telling you about how hard there go at life has been and how now they're at the school that really understands them. Things are so much better.

Scott Barlow 21:28
That's amazing.

Ross Loofbourrow 21:29
And then those are the moments that fill my bucket and it makes me feel this monumental sense of purpose and like wow, this is partly what have designed to do. I want to do more of that helping people in that way.

Scott Barlow 21:44
That is amazing on so many different levels and I love talking about those moments where you or anybody for that matter where you get a taste of that and you realized I have to do this more like in one way or another in-

Ross Loofbourrow 22:05
Yeah.

Scott Barlow 22:06
I've had many of those over the course of the last 10 years and know exactly what I'm talking about for the first time I went and spoke on careers. Actually, just this last week and I did a keynote and I totally understand by the way what you're talking about when you're looking at the crowd and you like things seems to be resonates with this person, this person’s like taking a picture with her phone and that person looks so bored and not evenconnecting, so Itotally understand what goes through in that like the speaker brain in that way. So, can absolutely it looks like-

Ross Loofbourrow 22:33
And the kids it’s like amplify.

Scott Barlow 22:35
Oh, my goodness! Yeah, like times a hundred at least. Yeah on steroids for sure. So, absolutely understand and appreciate that. Here's what I'm curious about then. Obviously a little biased for a number of reasons in terms of how I think about ADD, ADHD and other types of things that the world has a tendency to look at as disabilities in one way or another. But I'm really curious for you. Why do you believe that this is such a super power for you? Why do you believe that this can be such a super power for other people as well?

Ross Loofbourrow 23:17
Yeah, so one of the biggest reasons is my energy.

Scott Barlow 23:21
Yeah.

Ross Loofbourrow 23:22
And I always put this to disclaimer out there if you are listening to this and you're thinking “Why I have ADHD, but I don't have that energy factor.” It doesn't mean you don't have ADHD and you don't have a brain like that. It just means, it's a spectrum. Like you were just mentioning and some of us fall on the spectrum with the energy component and I certainly do. I don't drink coffee. This is all natural.

Scott Barlow 23:48
This is all… yeah awesome.

Ross Loofbourrow 23:53
As a kid that's never looked as a positive thing. It’s like, hey sit still, be quiet, pay attention. Like stop it, like they wanna control you and that's the exact opposite of that's a nightmare for this energy component of mine. When I got to Apple, that's one of the key ways people describe me. I mean all see people now have been there so long that. I run into people I haven't seen in years and I'll say, hey, you don't remember my name? Energy like dude, you're the energy guy and that's the word. And it's by far the thing that people have said the most about me in such a positive way. And like I really appreciate the energy that you bring like, the way that you light up our room, I feel like when you're here, like it just rubs off on me and like I'm more excited about the day just by default because of you and so like that was definitely a specific and I will call it a super power of ADHD and I sort of recognize,whoa, like most of the people don't innately have this and someone told me recently I told them, yeah, I'm ADHD and these are some of the things that I have believed and they looked at me and said well, we're all jealous, because of my energy. So, that’s absolutely one of the key moments I started just to think, there's gotta be something more to this. What other things could there be and at Apple, I spent a lot of time as a manager, working with my team and connecting with them on, I mean, it’s one of the reason I still love Apple so much is ‘cause we are such a human focused organization and we connect with our team around personal stuff. That's going on the highs, the lows and we help them understand, like, their blind spots. And we remind them other gifts and things are amazing at it. The ability that I have this intuitive nature relationally to know the right thing to say. And know at the right moment to say it and almost to describe things in a way about people that have others around me go, “oh, no one’s ever describe that person that way but you just nailed it. Like how is your gut so often right?” I feel like it's most of the time spot on. So again, like that intuitiveness that gut instinct my energy like those are some of the ways I might, there's something different about this.

Scott Barlow 26:49
That’s amazing.

RossLoofbourrow 26:50
That I wanna share.

Scott Barlow 26:51
That’s fantastic and I find it so fascinating and well, obviously, I'm very interested in this sort of thing, but the way that ADD, ADHD brains are wired for lack of a better explanation, allows different, I mean, it completely allows different types of connections when compared to the average person. It’s been so interesting for me to see myself and then my three kid who have all completely different elements of it. Like I didn't understand just I didn't understand till he's really start my wife and I really started diving into this and she's been a teacher and actually did a number of projects on ADD and ADHD and a couple other things to throughout college way back when and then as part of her some continuing course work and so at the time she didn't know she’s gonna have three children that we're going to test this knowledge later on for her.

Ross Loofbourrow 27:52
Yeah.

Scott Barlow 27:53
But it's been really interesting to see all of the different ends of the spectrum. So, for example, like you mentioned that incredible energy and how you show up differently and my son, my middle son Camden. We see a manifest in similar ways, but also like to the point where people as a whole are terrible multitaskers, right? This, like as a whole. So, this kid-

RossLoofbourrow 28:18
Don’t get me start on multitasking.

Scott Barlow 28:19
Oh, my goodness. Yes.

Ross Loofbourrow 28:22
it doesn't exist.

Scott Barlow 28:24
So, it doesn't exist and not in any ways that are really helpful, but I am amazed at the capacity with this kid and his brain. He can be like out playing sports or doing something that occupies like 100% of his physical energy and still be able to like have perfect dictation and recall of exactly what somebody was saying over off to the side in another conversation with all of those with several other conversations around the side and just it blows my minds in the ways that those types of things will show up which does not necessarily mean that, that’s how it shows up in everybody to your point earlier.

RossLoofbourrow 28:59
Yeah.

Scott Barlow 29:00
But it's fascinating how it can turn into such a gift in a variety of different ways. So, I appreciate you sharing it.

Ross Loofbourrow 29:09
Yeah, oh absolutely.

Scott Barlow 29:12
What's next from here because you have, I feel that in some way like you are unlocking a really cool piece of your own journey, and I so appreciate that you have allowed us to participate in a portion of a ride.And I'm just very thankful for that. And I know my team is as well and Lisa too and what is next and what is upcoming for you? Where do you see yourself going from here?

Ross Loofbourrow 29:42
Yeah. So, I'm just getting started and I have to constantly remind myself that it is a journey and it's just one step at a time ‘cause one of those things that in ADHD brain is prone to do is we have this gross misunderstanding of how much time it takes to accomplish things and so, I will have 25 different large things on my to-do list on any given day.

Scott Barlow 30:14
Yeah

Ross 30:15
And so, treating this journey the same way. It's really important to my myself. Okay, like it's one step at a time, and I'm just figuring things out. Right now, I know that I want to continue speaking. I know that, that's an area where I can add so much value and really help others. I've already seen that. And, I wanna continue to share resources and you know these differing thoughts and opinions and even ground-breaking researches out there that people are just not even aware of the things that we're finding on ADHD. Like there's so much to still unknown, but it is fascinating and it blows people's minds. For example, I have to share one of those things. So, what some of the latest like brain research were fighting with ADHD is that, you could actually rename the condition a diagnosis of boredom. Wait, what do you mean? Well, ultimately what they found is that a brain with ADHD when compared to a brain without ADHD. All of our brains have the dopamine receptors that exist in this reward region of the brain that is deep beneath the cortex and in ADHD brain we have vastly fewer of these dopamine receptors. So, in layman's terms like so what well essentially anyone beneath areas in your brain is likely walking around just generally disinterested in the world. Like in most of things around them there just not most things don’t light their fire like a normal brain would, so that's why it's so critical for an ADHD here to find the final thing that passion about. Find the thing you love doing. And the thing that's right in your wheelhouse riding your strengths because that is the area where you're gonna be able to hyper-focus in the best way, not the worst way. That's the way that you're gonna be able to discover, kind of like I'm last couple years like it's the unlock moment. Oh, my goodness. This is something I can do. This is the place I wanna stay. Yeah, so that's one piece that I've just found fascinating learning about and it helps you look at yourself seriously and not look at your ADHD as a joke or this thing doesn't exist, but you really start to understand. Whoa. This is how I work. Okay, like let me take some steps in your directions but to answer your question. Yeah, I wanna speak more actually set a goal this last year of I was gonna write my first book. And you know that goal is probably not coming to fruition by the end of 2018.

Scott Barlow 33:13
There are still a short period of time in 2018 left, go ADHD brain go.

Ross Loofbourrow 33:21
Exactly. It's one of the spinning plates that is dropping and you can't beat yourself up if you say, hey that’s not gonna get done, but you try to do too much and that's all right, you know, let's keep it going. So, I'm definitely gonna do that in the future. I also wanna get into coaching. That’s the component I think it massively helped me with at Happen To Your Career. And then with my ADHD coach at the clinic that I worked with that it changes my life, massive. So, I really wanna get into that and see how I can, yeah help others, learn more about themselves, self-reflect and really pivot and moving those directions that they really feel called to do.

Scott Barlow 34:06
Very cool. Well-

Ross Loofbourrow 34:07
Yeah,

Scott Barlow 34:08
I so appreciate you taking the time and coming and sharing a portion of your story and I said thank you again, but I really meant it for allowing us to sit a front row seat along for part of the ride and it's just been amazing to hear a little update from Lisa and to finally get to meet you and people aren’t going to see you on here, but we're chatting via video and it just been fantastic. So, I very much appreciate that. Thank you.

Ross Loofbourrow 34:42
Yeah. No. Thank you Scott. It was surreal when I started actually listening to the Happen To Your Career podcast and your voice I recognize obviously and then to have us connecting and talking today. It was a moment like, “is this happening?”

Scott Barlow 35:01
This is happening Ross. This is happening right now. Hey, this really has been very cool. And I've had a ton of fun and so that we can support what you're doing. And obviously I am a huge fan of that for many different reasons. But if you are interested in having Ross come and speak and want to get in touch with them. What is the best way that they can do that Ross?

Ross Loofbourrow 35:25
Yeah, so my website is the best place to get in contact with me. That's gonna be my full name: RossLoofbourrow.com. It’s kind of a doozy two OO’s. Well several OO’s and a couple more ‘r’s’ so definitely check the show notes on that, but you can also just type in https://heroicADHD.comand that will redirect you to my website as well https://heroicADHD.com

Scott Barlow 35:50
Hey, I hope you loved that new way to think about ADHD. And even if you don't have ADD or ADHD, I want you to begin thinking about those things that you considered not great about you in a completely different light in a completely different frame of mind. And what we find in working with at this point thousands of people is that, those things that they can't stop doing, those things that they often have a tendency to consider a bad part of themselves, well, we find that those are directly related to some of the very best things about you. And as it relates to your strengths, we actually call those the dark side of your strengths or the shadow side, or you might have heard it called on some of our past podcasts, the anti-strengths. And you have those things that are great about you. And you have those things that maybe aren't as great some of the time, but are there directly because you have the strengths directly, because you have those things that are in fact, amazing about you. So, I want you to consider that and begin to reframe it and look at it completely differently. Because that can absolutely change your life. If you want to implement what you have heard, and you want to completely change your life and your career, then let's figure out how we can help. So, here's what I would suggest, just open your phone right now and open your email app. And I'm gonna give you my personal email address, scott@happentoyourcareer.com just email me and put conversation in the subject line. And then when you do that, I'll introduce you to the right person on our team. And you can have a conversation with us. We'll try and understand your goals and what you wanna accomplish in your career no matter where you're at. And we can figure out the very best way that we can help you and your situation. So, open it up right now and send me an email with conversation in the subject line. scott@happentoyourcareer.com and if you haven't already, click Subscribe on your podcast player so that you can download this podcast in your sleep and you get it automatically. Even the bonus episodes every single week, sometimes multiple times a week. Until next week, adios. I’m out.

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