The “Superpower” I Wish I Knew I Had Sooner

I’ve never talked about this publicly before.

Dear readers,

Today I want to do something a little different. Instead of my usual “What’s in the news” update, I want to share a personal story that I think many of you can relate to.

I’ve never talked about this publicly before, but I was diagnosed with ADHD years ago — a label I honestly don’t spend much time thinking about.

But today, I came across a moment on Joe Rogan’s podcast with Lionel Richie that hit home for me. It was exactly what I WISH I’d heard growing up.

Richie and Rogan on ADHD

According to the CDC, an estimated 7 million children aged 3–17 in America have been diagnosed with ADHD.

Many of those kids are quickly put on Adderall, Vyvanse, Ritalin, and other stimulant drugs that paradoxically calm them down so they can sit still in a classroom and “learn” more effectively.

But should we really treat a child’s lack of interest in sitting still at a desk as if it were a disability?

Lionel Richie shared on Rogan’s podcast how his ADD/ADHD, which he struggled with as a kid, ended up “all serving him well.”

His message to parents was blunt: “Leave them [ADHD kids] alone.”

Rogan jumped in with full agreement: “Everybody wants to diagnose everybody and medicate them. I had for sure ADHD when I was a kid. I think everybody that I know that’s talented and creative has ADHD, whatever that means.”

Richie then explained the difference between academic and creative kids — and why forcing one into the box of the other can crush their potential.

“Put them in a creative school where they’re nurtured into their [interests]. Yes, they’re gonna work on math, and, yes, they’ll work on their science, but don’t make that the priority.”

He went on to point out that no one has ever asked to see his college degree or even his high school diploma. He admitted he was a C student.

But in his words, what’s important is not your grades; it’s “What did you end up being? Who did you end up discovering? How comfortable are you with yourself?”

My Take

Richie and Rogan are spot on. In high school, I coasted by with As and Bs because I was naturally smart enough to half-listen in class and still do well on tests.

But once I hit college, everything changed. I was studying something I wasn’t interested in, the learning demand went up, and my report cards reflected that.

My 3.5 GPA dropped to a 2.5, and I couldn’t figure out why. Sure, part of it was effort. But what really crushed me was the LACK OF INTEREST.

For people with ADHD, forcing them to learn something they don’t care about is one of the worst things you can do.

The ADHD “Superpower”

Here’s where things get interesting.