Connect with us

Life

Unusual Advice To Any Young Person Wanting To Live An Extraordinary Life.

Published

on

When I dropped out of high school and took a year off to work on a business full- time, I thought I knew where I was heading. Boy was I wrong!

What saved me was good people who saw something in me that I couldn’t see (my potential). Not long after high school, I was knee deep in lots of business ventures and I had a very successful DJ career.

My early 20’s were well lived and I definitely fit the cookie cutter version of success that you see on all of those entrepreneur blogs where the dude gets out of a Bentley with a tanned colored briefcase and the latest Versace boat shoes.

So, I figured based on my younger years that I’m qualified to talk about how you reach an extraordinary life.

Going through my early 20’s, these are a few things that I wish I known that lead to an extraordinary life:

Whatever you are doing in your 20’s will change.

My early 20’s are 360 degrees different from where I am now. I was a drunk, a brat, incredibly negative and selfish. We all start somewhere.

Wherever you are right now will be completely different in ten years so quit worrying so much.

You’ve got time.

You don’t need to be a millionaire by the time you’re 30. This is shitty advice and not practical. What you need to do is experience life and find out who you want to be.

Being too impatient will stop you from enjoying just how good the now is when your body is young, you don’t have wrinkles, your hair is all there and not grey, you can remember loads of information and you have energy.

Life will become more than just looking after yourself.

Your 20’s start out being all about you. As you move through life, it becomes more about what you can do for others. The quicker you get to this way of living, the faster you’ll reach the nirvana of an extraordinary life.

“Extraordinary life = being associated with something that’s bigger than you and focusing on the needs of others which will ultimately lead to fulfillment”

Show you’re hungry.

Tell the recruiter you’ll walk through walls to get the CEO position. When a mentor asks for a favor which could be your big break, grab the opportunity by the balls and be confident with your ability. Show gratitude and back yourself.

Indecision and lack of confidence is everywhere in society and so if you can give people the feeling that you’ve got your stuff together and you’ll be able to execute, you’ll win most of the time. Sometimes you’ll lose too so don’t fall in the habit of complaining either. Losing is normal.

Experiment on the side.

Your 20’s are about trying things to see what you like and what you hate. Maybe you love working for a big corporate and you have it within you to be CEO. Maybe you can’t stand working for someone else and you’ll end up as an entrepreneur.

All of these outcomes stem from experimenting lots. You won’t know until you try something and analyze how it makes you feel. If it feels good and is congruent with who you are, then go all in. If you lose everything, well hey, you’re still young so it’s no big deal.

I tried something I thought I hated – blogging – and now I love it. Experiment like mad.

Your concept of success will fall off a cliff.

Everyone, when they are young, falls for the idea of success that is money, fame and a good career. This whole philosophy will fall off a cliff when you reach your 30’s. Once you’ve had a small taste of all of this, you’ll see how meaningless it is.

The feelings that come from money, fame and a career that’s all about you will die off quicker than my indoor plants do (I must be doing something wrong!).

The majority of what you see on the Internet does not reflect reality.

The Internet is not fact. The Internet is not reality.

As soon as you come to terms with this somewhat unconventional idea, the sooner you’ll quit thinking everyone is living the good life and you’re not, so you need to work harder – this is not true.

Reality is what you experience day-to-day when you’re not looking at that stupid phone you carry in your pocket. Reality is what you make of it and you are in the driver’s seat.

Disconnect from the liars, fakers, imitators, has been’s etc.

No matter how much you try, if you spend time with these people, then a little bit of them will rub off on you. Reputation takes years to create and only minutes to destroy. Lying, faking, imitating and focusing on the past will not allow you to take any shortcuts.

There are no shortcuts.

“Honesty, integrity and working away at your dream is how you become extraordinary”

Most of the “piss up’s” can be skipped.

Try going to an event that has alcohol available and drink water for the night. Then you’ll see the truth of what’s really going on. People drink to forget, mostly. You don’t need to forget when you’re living a life of purpose. Sure, socialize here and there, but there’s no need to overdo it.

Be smart with your money.

Put some money away into a savings account or index fund. Money will give you freedom later on. Waking up with no money in the bank one day, will give you zero options. There’s going to be a time where you are between careers and you’ll need money to make that smooth transition.

“Money can buy you back time which is the only thing you’ll want more of as you get older”

Your parent’s rules are probably out of date.

Our parents were brought up in an era where it was all about university and owning a home with a white picket fence. In the age of technological disruption, online free speech, unlimited information on the Internet, dating apps and alternative investments, your parent’s advice probably won’t help you.

Your parents are basing their view of the world on when they were young. Living life using the rules of the 60’s and 70’s will make you fail in the age we live in today. Take your parents advice in small doses.

Questions and books form the basis of everything.

That’s why asking questions has become such a big deal. Every self-help book is preaching questions because they work. Questions lead to new discoveries and huge opportunities. The order in which you ask questions and how specific you are will lead to different paths – a bit like a choose your own adventure book.

You’ll also need to read. Reading about extraordinary things will give you the spark of creativity to do the same one day. You have to understand the ingredients of an extraordinary achievement before you can do the same.

Big pivots in life are the cornerstone of something great.

Stuff ups in your 20’s will drive you nuts. You’ll wish they didn’t happen.

As you move through your life, you’ll wish for more stuff ups which is counter-intuitive. This wish usually comes about with the realization that everything good that happens starts from something that probably sucks.

Not getting what you want forces you to go harder at getting what you want. You’ll probably get stuck later in life following the same routine every day. I’ve found that when I break the pattern, I get different results which are far better than what I was getting previously.

Chill the F out.

There’s no need to stress. You’re still young and you have so much to learn. Relax once in a while and stop trying to control every bit of your future. Take a chill pill and reframe from being so serious. Living an extraordinary life takes years, so sit back and enjoy the ride.

If you want to increase your productivity and learn some more valuable life hacks, then join my private mailing list on timdenning.net

Aussie Blogger with 500M+ views — Writer for CNBC & Business Insider. Inspiring the world through Personal Development and Entrepreneurship You can connect with Tim through his website www.timdenning.com

Advertisement
Click to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Entrepreneurs

The Brutal Truth About Entrepreneurship with ADHD (And Why Most Advice Is Making It Worse)

Published

on

Image Credit: Joel Brown - Addicted2success

You’re not lazy. You’re not undisciplined… and you’re definitely not broken.

You’re an entrepreneur with ADHD, and right now you’re probably sitting on 19 unfinished projects, 47 open tabs, and a brain that feels like it’s running on 12 different radio stations at once.

You’ve read the books. You’ve tried the planners, the Pomodoro timers, the accountability groups. You’ve even hired coaches who promised to “fix” your focus. Yet here you are — brilliant ideas, massive potential, and a business that still feels like it’s one step away from collapsing under the weight of your own mind.

Here’s what almost nobody in the entrepreneurial space will admit:

The real struggle isn’t your ADHD. It’s that you’ve been trying to run a neurodivergent brain inside a neurotypical business model — and then beating yourself up when it doesn’t work.

Most advice for entrepreneurs was written by people whose brains work differently. They preach consistency, routines, long-term planning, and steady execution like those things are universal truths. For the ADHD entrepreneur, those “truths” feel like trying to swim upstream in cement. You can force it for a while (and you have), but eventually your brain rebels, the burnout hits, and you’re left feeling like a failure who just needs to “try harder.”

That cycle is quietly destroying more talented founders than cash flow problems or bad hires ever could.

The deeper layer most people never reach is this: your ADHD isn’t a bug in the system. It’s a different operating system entirely. And when you stop trying to install Windows on a Mac and start building everything around macOS, the game changes completely.

The Hidden Addiction That Keeps ADHD Entrepreneurs Stuck

You already know the surface symptoms — time blindness, rejection sensitivity, starting strong and fading fast, shiny object syndrome.

But the real trap is more insidious.

It’s the addiction to chaos and novelty.

Your brain is wired for dopamine. New ideas, big visions, last-minute sprints, high-stakes pressure — these things light you up like nothing else. The boring, repetitive, systems-building work that actually scales a business? It feels like torture.

So unconsciously, you keep your business in a state of controlled chaos. You say yes to too many things. You chase the next exciting opportunity. You avoid building the boring infrastructure because “I work better under pressure anyway.”

And every time the pressure gets too high, you crash, swear you’ll get organized next quarter, and repeat the cycle.

Meanwhile, the neurotypical advice keeps telling you to “just build better habits.” As if your brain is a poorly trained dog that needs more discipline instead of a high-performance race car that needs the right fuel and track.

This isn’t a character flaw. It’s neurology.

And until you stop treating your wiring as something to overcome and start treating it as your greatest strategic advantage, you’ll stay stuck in the same exhausting loop.

The Identity Shift That Changes Everything

The entrepreneurs with ADHD who finally break through don’t “fix” their brains.

They redesign their entire business to work with their brains.

They stop trying to become the consistent, routine-loving founder the gurus talk about. Instead, they become the architect of a system that leverages their natural strengths — hyperfocus, pattern recognition, creative problem-solving, relentless drive under pressure — while outsourcing or automating everything that drains them.

This is the layer most ADHD entrepreneurs never reach because it requires something terrifying: accepting that you are never going to be “normal” at entrepreneurship… and that’s exactly why you can win bigger than most.

Your ability to see connections others miss. Your tolerance for uncertainty. Your capacity to go all-in when something lights you up. These aren’t liabilities. They’re unfair advantages in a world that rewards speed, creativity, and bold moves.

The shift is simple but brutal:

Stop trying to manage your ADHD. Start designing your business around it.

How to Actually Build a Business That Works With Your Brain

  1. Stop fighting your energy cycles — weaponize them. Most ADHD entrepreneurs try to force 8-hour focused days. That’s insane. Instead, track when your brain actually works best (for many it’s 10pm-2am or random 4-hour hyperfocus bursts). Build your schedule around those windows. Protect them like gold. Do the deep, high-leverage work then. Use the low-energy periods for admin, calls, or recovery.
  2. Build “chaos containers,” not rigid systems. Traditional project management tools feel like cages. Create loose but effective structures that give your brain freedom. Use tools like Notion with massive flexibility, or body-doubling (working alongside someone virtually), or even hiring a “chaos wrangler” — an assistant who thrives on turning your scattered ideas into executable plans.
  3. Turn your rejection sensitivity into rocket fuel. That intense fear of letting people down or looking stupid? Channel it into creating ridiculously high standards for your customer experience or product quality. Use it as fuel instead of letting it paralyze you.
  4. Outsource the parts that make you want to die. The execution, follow-through, and maintenance phases are where most ADHD entrepreneurs lose. Hire or partner with people who love the details. Your job is vision, strategy, and big swings. Let someone else own the spreadsheets.
  5. Create external pressure on your own terms. Deadlines and public commitments work wonders for the ADHD brain. Use them strategically — announce launches, create beta groups, or work with coaches who understand neurodivergence instead of fighting it.

The entrepreneurs with ADHD who are quietly crushing it right now aren’t the ones who finally became “disciplined.” They’re the ones who stopped apologizing for how their brain works and started building empires that are specifically engineered for it.

They have teams that handle the boring stuff. They have systems that flex with their energy instead of fighting it. They’ve turned their “flaws” into the exact reasons their businesses stand out.

Your ADHD brain is not the enemy. The enemy was trying to play the game by rules that were never designed for you.

The moment you accept that and start designing everything… your calendar, your team, your offers, your processes — around how you actually operate, the struggle doesn’t disappear… but it becomes manageable, even exhilarating.

You were never meant to fit the mold. You were meant to break it and build something better.

The world doesn’t need another cookie-cutter entrepreneur. It needs the chaotic, brilliant, all-in, slightly unhinged visionaries who can only operate at full power when the game is built for them.

That’s you.

Stop trying to fix yourself. Start building the business that was always meant to be run by a mind like yours.

Your next breakthrough isn’t going to come from working harder or being more consistent. It’s going to come from finally giving yourself permission to work differently.

And when you do that? Watch what happens.

The same brain that once felt like a curse becomes the exact reason your business becomes unstoppable.

You’ve got this. Not despite the ADHD. Because of it.

If you want to learn more from me or send me a personal message I’ll respond to you on Instagram at https://instagram.com/iamjoelbrown speak soon!

Continue Reading

Health & Fitness

The Health Planning Habits That Support Long-Term Success

Published

on

Image Credit: Joel Brown - Addicted2success

Most people think about health planning only when something forces them to.

A medical bill arrives unexpectedly. An insurance issue appears during treatment. A diagnosis changes how future care needs are viewed. Suddenly health planning becomes urgent instead of preventative.

The problem is that long-term health stability is usually shaped by smaller habits built quietly over time, not just by major decisions during emergencies.

That includes physical health habits, of course, but it also includes how people approach insurance coverage, preventative care, financial preparation, and long-term healthcare planning before problems become immediate.

The families who navigate healthcare stress most effectively are often not the ones avoiding every issue entirely. More often, they’re the ones who built systems early enough to make difficult situations feel more manageable later.

Consistency Matters More Than Perfection

A lot of health advice still revolves around extreme change.

Perfect diets. Aggressive routines. Complete lifestyle overhauls.

In reality, most long-term health success comes from consistency people can realistically maintain for years instead of months. Small preventative habits tend to matter more than dramatic short-term efforts that collapse under pressure.

That principle applies financially too.

People often spend more time researching investment strategies than understanding their healthcare coverage or preparing for future medical costs. But healthcare instability can disrupt long-term financial plans surprisingly quickly when households are unprepared for how expensive even routine care can become over time.

The practical side of health planning is becoming harder to separate from overall financial planning now than it used to be.

Preventative Planning Reduces More Stress Than People Realize

One overlooked benefit of health planning is emotional stability.

People who understand their coverage, maintain preventative care routines, and think ahead about healthcare decisions often describe feeling less overwhelmed when unexpected situations happen. The goal is not eliminating uncertainty entirely. That’s unrealistic.

The goal is reducing how chaotic healthcare decisions feel under pressure.

That’s one reason broader conversations tied to healthcare and health insurance have expanded significantly over the last several years. Rising costs, changing coverage structures, and increasing healthcare complexity have made long-term planning more important for average households than many people expected.

Healthcare is no longer something most families can comfortably approach reactively forever.

People Underestimate How Quickly Healthcare Costs Compound

One reason health planning habits matter so much is that healthcare costs rarely arrive in one dramatic moment alone.

More often, they build gradually:

  • recurring prescriptions
  • specialist visits
  • ongoing treatment plans
  • insurance deductible increases
  • long-term care considerations
  • unexpected procedures layered on top of existing expenses

Families often absorb these costs incrementally until they realize how much financial pressure accumulated over time.

That gradual buildup is part of what makes proactive planning valuable. People who think ahead about coverage structures, emergency savings, provider networks, and preventative care tend to adapt more smoothly when healthcare needs eventually increase later in life.

The difficult part is that many households delay these conversations because they feel healthy right now.

Healthcare Decisions Have Become More Complicated

Another challenge is that healthcare systems themselves continue evolving quickly.

Insurance structures change. Telehealth expands. Employer-sponsored benefits shift. Prescription pricing fluctuates. Patients now carry more responsibility for understanding deductibles, provider networks, and out-of-pocket exposure than previous generations often did.

That complexity creates decision fatigue.

Even relatively organized households sometimes feel uncertain about whether they’re making good healthcare choices because the systems themselves are difficult to navigate confidently. A lot of current health insurance trends discussions reflect this larger issue, healthcare planning is becoming less about isolated medical events and more about long-term sustainability across entire households.

People want predictability, but healthcare systems increasingly feel harder to predict.

The Most Effective Health Habits Usually Feel Boring

One thing people rarely admit is that good long-term planning habits are often not particularly exciting.

Scheduling preventative appointments. Reviewing insurance annually. Building emergency savings slowly. Staying physically active consistently. Maintaining realistic routines instead of dramatic cycles of burnout and reset.

None of those habits feel dramatic at the moment.

But over long periods, they create stability that becomes incredibly valuable once life gets complicated. The people who navigate healthcare stress most effectively are often the ones who built ordinary systems early instead of waiting for perfect motivation later.

That applies financially and physically at the same time.

Why Long-Term Success Depends on Adaptability

Health planning is ultimately difficult because people’s lives keep changing.

Careers shift. Families grow. Aging parents require support. Medical needs evolve. Financial priorities change over decades in ways nobody predicts perfectly in advance.

That’s why the strongest long-term health planning habits are usually flexible rather than rigid.

The goal is not building a flawless plan that never changes. It’s creating enough structure, awareness, and preparation that future adjustments become manageable instead of overwhelming.

Most people cannot control every future health outcome. They can, however, build habits that make uncertainty easier to navigate when it eventually arrives.

Continue Reading

Life

Why Moving to a New City Can Change Your Mindset

Discover how moving to a new city boosts neuroplasticity, builds resilience, and reshapes your mindset

Published

on

How relocation changes your mindset

Relocation is always a challenge. Rebuilding and restarting your life requires you to step outside of your comfort zone. (more…)

Continue Reading

Change Your Mindset

The Hidden Reason You Can’t Stay Consistent

If motivation keeps failing you, the real issue isn’t discipline. It’s the identity shaping your habits and long-term success.

Published

on

Identity-based habits

Success often looks like a time-management problem. You buy a planner, set reminders, and hope that next week will be different. For a few days, it works. Then stress hits, motivation drops, and old patterns return. (more…)

Continue Reading

Trending