27. How can a person with ADHD succeed in today's competitive world?

27.1. Successful people with ADHD/ADD have the following characteristics

• Are physically active
  
• Have "I can" attitude and good self-esteem
  
• Are used to failures and don't give up (able to stand up after falling): Perseverance
  
• Focus on problem-solving rather than asking "why do these things happen to me?"
  
• Found way(s) to be organised
  
• Are self-reliant and responsible
  
• Focus on out-door / hands-on / creative / computer jobs rather than desk-bound and theoretical paper work.
  

27.2. The following are a list of actions which people with ADHD/ADD have tried and found useful:

• Making full use of their creativity
  
• Learning how to be organised:
  
  • Practise being more aware of what is happening (observe yourself when putting things down so that they don't get lost)
    
  • Have designated places to keep various things
    
  • Create permanent reminder list to minimise the common problems encountered (e.g. lost keys, comb, etc.)
    
  • Buy extras of non-essential (e.g. buy 10 combs at a time, etc.)
    
  • Develop habit of double-checking
    
  • Learn / develop ways to organise your things/work (e.g. a good and colour-coded filing system)
    
• Success in Work:
  
  • Find mentors, especially successful people with the same ADHD/ADD problems
    
  • Find ways to remember people's names: Repeat the person's name, ask the person to spell his/her name
    
  • Set short term goals to help you keep focus
    
  • Break big jobs with little pieces, each with its own deadline
    
  • Use organisers or calendar to help you track things to do
    
  • Have an executive assistant to help you keep things organised
    
  • Remember that people who failed the most are also more successful than others in what they do
    
• Success in School:
  
  • Find the best and most "interesting" teachers who can help you develop interest in the subject being taught
    
  • Highlight & mark up books; Prepare summaries of what you read (this is a more active form of reading)
    
  • Read the summary, title, first/last sentence/paragraph before you read the entire article
    
  • Give yourself a reason for paying attention or being interested in a particular topic/subject
    
  • Choose subjects/topics which provide hands-on experiences or real-life applications (in contrast to a class that covers only theories)
    
• Be Physically Active:
  
  • Exercise or enrol in a martial art class
    
  • Learn physical relaxation techniques
    
• Learn to use a computer
  
• Learn problem-solving skills: Ask yourself the right set of empowering questions, e.g.:
  
  • "What can I do to solve this problem?", "What can I do to prevent similar problems from happening?", etc.
    
  • Don't ask yourself: "Why am I such a jerk?", Why is everybody picking on me?", "Why is this happening to me?", "Why am I so stupid?", etc.