Life
Why Negative Publicity Is A Blessing In Disguise
When a load of negative publicity comes your way unexpectedly, it can be difficult to know what to do. In the midst of an online crisis I always recommend doing nothing at all initially. This happened to be a fortnight ago when I posted my very first article on Entrepreneur.com
The article was all about the barriers standing between you and owning a Ferrari. The Ferrari was really only a metaphor for success, and I wasn’t trying to outline how actually to own one. When I submitted the article to the editor for review, they posted the article with a feature image of a Bugatti car instead of a Ferrari.
It’s not uncommon on well-established websites for them to be very careful about what photos they use and where they come from because the risk of getting sued is far greater. After first seeing my article go live, I was disappointed in the photo they used, but it wasn’t the end of the world.
For the next two weeks, all of my social media channels and my personal email were inundated with negative people hurling abuse at me for not knowing the difference between different types of luxury cars. Now sorrrrryyyy that luxury cars are not at the top of my priority list.
I’m more interested in how to change the world than I am about a chunk of metal, with four wheels, which has some fake badge stuck on with glue, that was made by a factory worker in a third world country, who probably earns significantly lower than the average person.
Keep reading because what seems like a sad story turns into something quite unexpected.
Now that the abuse has died down, I thought it would be cool to share with you the 6 reasons why negative publicity like this is a blessing in disguise:
1. You amplify your impact tenfold
Negative publicity amplifies your impact tenfold because our society is programmed to consume bad news. Every TV station you turn on, newspaper you pick up, and any online publication you read will have tons of negative stories present because bad news, and hype sells.
Seeing someone worse off than ourself helps ease the pain of our own life. What the groups of negative nancies don’t understand is that by banding together to bring someone down, they are increasing the number of eyeballs that are paying attention.
People are more likely to hear your message when there is something controversial or messed up with the story. My article with the wrong picture caused exactly this sensation, and it helped me to reach out to more people including some that did resonate with what I was saying.
Some of my newest followers on social media may never have found me if it wasn’t for the beautiful, compounding effect that is negative publicity.
2. True friends come to the rescue
It’s cool how during the toughest of times our true friends come through for us. Many of my closest friends contacted me with words of encouragement and one of them even told me to write this article! My friends supported me whether I was right or wrong and they went on social media to respond to some of the messages.
After this negative experience with Entrepreneur.com, I was thinking to myself that I might not write for them again. My friends told me not to let one bad experience with a publication stop me from pursuing my dream.
These words of encouragement helped me see through the short-term disappointment and get back to why I was writing in the first place. Everyone messes up at some stage or another, and I don’t believe for a second that the editor put up the wrong photo on purpose.
I feel like it was almost divine intervention that my first article could have this happen, allowing it to get so much more attention.
3. You realise all the people that you want nothing to do with
The people that trashed my name on social media did me a favor because they showed me that they are not the sort of person I want to interact with. Anyone who gets joy out of bringing others down is off my Christmas shopping list and doesn’t deserve even five seconds of my time.
On the other hand, anyone who spends their entire life raising consciousness to a higher level through inspiration and a positive message deserves all of our attention. It’s these people that go on to fly rockets into space, build electric cars that are better for the environment, break world records in sport, inspire us through their hobby, and challenge the status quo.
4. You see your true fans shine through
Through the negative publicity, I saw who my real fans were because they didn’t care less about the mistaken photo; all they cared about was the message I was trying to deliver. Instead of being shallow and automatically assuming the worse, they had faith in me and my intentions.
Some of those fans have now become close friends, and that would have never occurred without all of this negative publicity.
“It’s through the struggle that you find your true tribe”
5. You’re reminded you are not perfect and never will be
I’ve got a confession to make: I’m not perfect, and neither are you. We’re going to make mistakes every day and the words I’m typing are probably wrong in some way too. That’s right; I got an email during the week to inform me that my grammar is terrible, and I can’t write to save myself.
In this scenario, I asked the person for evidence, and the examples that she sent to me were so minute they weren’t even worth mentioning. They were the type of grammatical errors that only elite writers who have had a New York Times Best Selling book might pick up.
The quality of your work is always going to be subjective, and people’s standards of what is acceptable will vary greatly. I wish I was amazing at English and could write every sentence perfectly, but the fact of the matter is I can’t.
What am I supposed to do? Never try? No, I’m supposed to just get started and have a crack. Over time my writing will improve, and my message will become more succinct. We’re never going to be all things to all people so let’s abolish this mythical idea and get back to our own personal why.
It’s my why that has got me here in the first place ranting and raving like a madman, and it’s your why that is going to get you out of bed at 4am to pursue your passion and never give up on your dream. Take action and don’t get lost in negative people’s opinions.
In your own life, dish out encouragement and positive criticism rather than verbal diarrhoea. Live your life and don’t become too obsessed with everyone else’s.
6. You become immune
As Julia Gillard, the former Prime Minister of Australia said to me a few months ago, “this isn’t my first Rodeo.” If you have been reading my articles for a while, you would know that this is not the first time this has happened.
Guess what? When you put yourself out there, people are going to hate on you no matter what you are doing. Get used to it and expect criticism! The good news is that the more you have negative publicity, the better you get at dealing with it.
In fact, in my case, I have become immune to it. I’ve stopped caring about what people think, and I’m 100% focused on delivering inspiration through personal development and entrepreneurship. The insults just bounce off me because I know that there is no energy behind them that can assist me in breaking through the barriers of my own struggle every day.
Like a virus, the more times I become infected, the better I get at dealing with the symptoms. After all, success is not about you; it’s about those that you serve.
“When you get out of your own big fat head and how you’re being perceived, and focus on what it is you are trying to say, the effect of the haters disappears” – Tim Denning
***The End Of The Story***
So I promised you all at the start that the story has a happy ending, and it does as always, otherwise it wouldn’t be in the true Addicted2Success style. After the hundreds of complaints I received, the photo got changed by my editor, and the article ended up being shared thousands of times on social media.
It became so popular that it hit number four on Entrepreneur.com’s most popular article list. What a great way to be featured on the site for the very first time. Everything happens for a reason so just go with the flow and know that you’re going to be remarkable no matter what you do.
Short-term disappointment can always be replaced by euphoria and joy if your mind is programmed to focus on what’s good in this world and to drown out all the negativity that we’ve become so addicted to as a society. Live your dream and never give up!
Have you ever experienced a rush of criticism like this before? Let me know on my website timdenning.net or my Facebook.
Entrepreneurs
The Brutal Truth About Entrepreneurship with ADHD (And Why Most Advice Is Making It Worse)
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
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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!
Health & Fitness
The Health Planning Habits That Support Long-Term Success
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.
Life
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