Ok, so it wasn’t just my ADHD; luck also played a big part of getting invited onstage last week by Paul McCartney at his Grand Rapids, Michigan (phenomenal) concert.
But I think it helped. Why?
People with ADHD tend to think outside the box. I knew that in order to get Paul’s attention (more about WHY later), I had to have a sign that stood out from the rest.
People with ADHD can be comfortable being different. It can take a lot of years to feel comfortable in your ADHD “skin”, but I walk, talk and breathe ADHD, so it didn’t even occur to me that doing this was odd or brave. Being different is what got me on stage.
People with ADHD tend to be creative and have lots of interests. We don’t have much research to prove that, but I see it all the time in my nearly 20 years of working with adults with ADHD. I work with musicians, artists, media types, writers, etc.
Dr. Ned Hallowell says, “Creativity is impulsivity gone right.
Being creative is the norm for me– I write, I play guitar/piano/bass/guitar and sing. I am also an artist. Figuring out how to meet Paul forced me to use my creative juices.
People with ADHD are often risk takers. I’m not hyperactive or overtly impulsive, but…I was willing to let myself be vulnerable and look silly in front of 18,000 people. And thousands more who read the local papers and read my social media posts. As it turned out, I got hundreds of emails and messages from people, congratulating me!
People with ADHD tend to hyper focus on things that interest them. Getting on that stage to meet Paul was my focus and I did everything in my power to make it happen.
And it worked.
Continue reading below the video.
Why, though? Why was this so important to me? People have asked me- why did I go to such extremes to meet a former Beatle?
The world changed for me and millions of others when The Beatles performed live on the Ed Sullivan Show. The timing couldn’t have been better for me. As a child, my young father had unexpectedly and suddenly passed away just four months before I saw the four mop tops perform on TV. President Kennedy- a father figure to me and many others- was assassinated only three weeks after my father died. I lost two grandparents the following year. I was a child numbed by loss and confused about her world
Then The Beatles came and distracted me from my grief and fear. By the age of 12, I was hopelessly in love with Paul McCartney. The “cute Beatle” – the one always laughing, jumping around- the optimist with a playful gleam in his eye- the complete opposite of what I was living- became my salve and salvation. Because of The Beatles, I wanted to learn their songs, and took up a number of instruments to help calm my shattered nerves and help heal my soul.
The Beatles got me through a whole lot of tough early years.
After many attempts at meeting Paul onstage, last week’s efforts taught me some good lessons:
Never lose sight of your dreams. Be ok with being different. Let your creativity go wild. And hyper focus on those 60 seconds of being face to face with your idol.
How about you? Have you had a dream come true? Did your ADHD help make that happen? Please post your experiences in the Comment section below.
PS: Want to see the video of me meeting my idol? Check it out HERE.
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WOW! That’s so amazing that you had such a huge “child hood” dream come true. It took true courage to do that.
Thanks, Becky! Courage— or some ADHD impulsivity— I’m not sure! 🙂
Another thing we have in common!!! My very first concert was The Beatles, 1964, Olympia Stadium, Detroit. On the way there and back, we “stalked” them at the Whittier Hotel (cranwd our necks as we drove by, to see if we could spot them).❤
Teri- what a great story! I lived in Detroit at that time but couldn’t get anyone to take me to the concert (I was just a kid). How lucky you were! Could you hear them? Did you see them by the hotel? Great story!
I was 6, my Mom was about 26, and took her teenage niece and me. I remember our seats were perched over one side of the stage, and the boys were playing their hearts out. But all we could hear was the girls screaming!🤣 No, we didn’t spot them at the hotel. “No crowds there” should have been our first clue that they were not around!🤣
What an experience! Even if you couldn’t hear then, you were THERE!! So lucky!
omg, Teri, so worth it, he is so “down to earth” person, a total impulse for us adhd people
Yes! So worth it and it took years, but I’m so happy it turned out. Have you ever met him?
I came across the video a few months back, so excited I found this page! Definitely a wholesome and one of my favorite videos starring him. Hope your new year is going well so far Terry 🙂