My Story
This story has been a long time coming...
I was diagnosed with ADHD at the age of 10. Outside of the classroom I never really noticed. I was a social kid with a big heart, and considered everyone my friend. That hasn’t changed over the years. It was not until high school that I realized I was different from my peers. I struggled to focus in school. I was impulsive, I had trouble concentrating. I felt like it was impossible for me to retain anything. This led to self-esteem issues. I felt couldn’t fit the norm.
At 18, I graduated high school and attended Hofstra University. The struggle continued: impulsivity, lack of concentration, lack of retention. During winter break, my mother passed away after a 3 year battle with cancer. She was my number one fan and biggest supporter. When she passed, I lost my advocate. After one semester, I left school and went to work for a trucking company. After 4 and a half years with a dead end job and no room for growth, I needed a change. I was miserable. I made a decision to follow in my mom’s footsteps and got into real estate in New York. I also got married.
I enjoyed being a real estate broker in New York for ten years. However after a decade long career and a divorce, I felt like it was time for another change in both career and location. I moved to Austin. However, my issues came with me. I dabbled in real estate again, but eventually went to work at a tech company. I worked there from March, 2016 and left in April of the following year.
I decided to take some time off to do some soul searching. To see what I was truly passionate about. Within 6 months there were 2 incidents which changed the course of my life.
The first was in June, 2017. I was interviewing with the CEO of a company. The CEO asked me how I would define success for myself in 10 years, both professionally and personally. I looked at him like a deer in the headlights. I was two months away from turning 36, I and had never once thought about where I would be in 10 years. I had only lived for tomorrow, and had never considered long-term plans or goals. The question made me feel lost and unmotivated. I felt like I had no purpose. I would later learn not seeing time is an ADHD trait. In the meantime, I was determined to answer that CEO’s question in my own life by finding my purpose.
This brings me to the second incident that changed the course of my life. I started reading personal growth and self-development books in search of that answer. This eventually led me to a book called Attention Deficit Disorder in Adults, A Different Way of Thinking by Lynn Weiss. I read it in October, 2017. Only 26 pages in and I was in tears.
A 30 year tidal wave of emotions hit me all at once. Years of inadequacy, feeling lost and alone. Feeling misunderstood when I didn’t even understand myself. Not understanding why things so difficult for me seemed so easy for other people, or why I seemed to have no purpose or motivation.
All of my struggles were a direct result of my ADHD. I started to get a better understanding of what ADHD actually is, and how it manifests in our lives. Although ADHD manifests differently for everyone, no one should ever have to go through life feeling the way I felt. We all deserve to know who our true self is. It’s relieving to know there are ways to focus on our strengths and gifts rather than on our weaknesses.
For the first time, I started to feel hopeful.
This is what has led me to becoming an ADHD Coach. I want to empower people who struggle as I did. I want to help restore confidence in their daily lives, social situations, career choices, etc. I want to see them be the best and happiest version of themselves.
No matter where you are in your ADHD life, I am here to help you find your path in life.
You are not alone.
Michael Snyder, Certified ADHD Life Coach
The Coach Foundation has chosen Michael Snyder as one of the Top ADHD Coaches