For most of her fifty years, Barbara was at war with herself. Keeping organized, being on time, and finishing what she started were always a struggle. (Sound familiar?)

She always secretly felt that she was broken and that there was no way out.

We met after a presentation I did for NAWBO, a womens business group.

My desk is a train wreck, I cant get myself to do the things I know I have to do and I know Im smart but my brains take a hike when I need them most. Can you help me? she asked, the words running together in a stream of hope and fear.

After coaching ADD-ish entrepreneurs for the last 13 years, Barbaras frustration was very familiar to me. During our first coaching session, I used Dr. Edward Hallowells list of 20 traits used to profile Adult ADD. (Be my guest take a similar test online!)

A score of 12 gets you into the club of ADDers. With Barbaras score of 18 she could run for president!

Like so many people, Barbara felt a surprising sense of relief in having a name for the challenges and loneliness that had haunted her all of her life.

You Mean Im Not Lazy, Crazy or Stupid?

As I spoke to her about being ADD-ish, tears ran down her face in a blur of emotions. Suddenly she wasnt broken and there was a lot she could do to be happier and more successful the ADD-ish way!

I shared my positive outlook of being ADD-ish. I know first hand, because Im one, too.

I told her about our tremendous gifts like passion, creativity, compassion, seeing the big picture, intuition, and so much more that counterbalance the challenges when you have the strategies and support that work for you.

Barbara wasnt a victim any more. Now that she knew how her brain works, she had new choices she could make.

Since then, weve worked together to redesign her life around her strengths. Instead of hanging out alone in her condo, shes joined a church group where she made a number of new friends. Rather than doing routine work that bored her, she now has a project-oriented job in outside sales. Shes dropped 25 pounds since she began exercising regularly and staying away from junk food and late night TV.

Lifes not perfect, but shes a whole lot happier!

Most importantly, she feels so much better about herself. And thats a great thing!

Suzan Fiskin

I am a lifelong entrepreneur. I started my first company after college (UCLA) which was a celebrity photography business called "Gotcha." I then began a marketing and advertising firm with a partner in Marin County, CA. We ran that for just shy of 9 years serving clients like AutoDesk, Birkenstock and Continental Airlines. It was fun for a while, but...

My body broke under the stress of the ad business and, from my hospital bed, I decided it was time for a major life change. I jumped off the side of my life for a year. I lived in the woods of Colorado and then in the island of Grenada where I was a beach bum. I also sat in on quite a few medical school classes there.

When I came back to the States, I continued my education in NLP (Neuro Linguistic Programming - which is also the foundation of Tony Robbins' work), and got a Master's certification. I began my coaching practice in 1992. NLP has given me an invaluable set of tools to help my clients get beyond old beliefs and on to new ways of thinking and acting that serve them better. It works!

I have worked with clients in the US Army, Oppenheimer, Oracle, FedEx and other big corporations. In the past five years, I've focused on working with entrepreneurs (many are ADDish!). I enjoy their independent ways, and out-of-the-box thinking. In recent years, I've zeroed in on working with Adult ADDers because there's a lot of great work to be done.

I am also a very passionate motivational speaker - I love sharing new ideas.

For fun, I'm a singer-songwriter, kayaker, tennis player, photographer, eclectic reader, meditator, improvisational comedienne, dancing fool, writer and traveler.

I am also a lifelong learner - keyboards, guitar, techie toys, giving/taking seminars, alternative medicine, mind research, NLP, and that's just for starters!