EPISODE 271

ADHD, manifesting and running a business your way

 

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Today’s podcast episode is a personal one.

I’m talking about ADHD and entrepreneurship - and sharing a bit about my own journey being diagnosed later in life.

For years I thought I was just disorganised.
I forgot my keys constantly.
I always felt behind.
And I often felt like everyone else had things figured out except me.

Then I was diagnosed with ADHD in my 40s.

And suddenly… things made sense.

But this episode isn’t just about ADHD.

It’s about something much bigger:

👉 What happens when you stop trying to run your business like everyone else
and start designing it around how you actually work best.

Because the truth is - most business advice assumes we’re all wired the same.

Same routines.
Same systems.
Same way of thinking.

And when that doesn’t fit you, it’s easy to assume you’re the problem.

But you’re not.

You just haven’t been shown how to build a business that supports your personality, your brain, and your natural way of working.

In this episode, I share:
• what my diagnosis looked like
• why so many people discover this later in life
• the grief that can come with that realisation
• and the systems I use to run a successful business in a way that actually works for me

I also talk about one of my favorite strategies for creating consistency - even if you don’t feel like a “consistent” person.

(Spoiler: batching might change your life.)

If you’ve ever felt like traditional productivity advice doesn’t quite work for you… this will feel like a relief.

xx Denise

P.S. If this resonates, it’s exactly the work we do inside Sacred Money Archetypes® Live.

We take your natural strengths and show you how to design your business, marketing, and offers around them - so things feel simpler and actually work.

Enrollment closes very soon. We start live calls next week.

👉 Find out more and join here

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Prefer to read?

Here is the transcript for this episode:

Hey gorgeous, it’s Denise here, and today I’m talking about something that’s really close to my heart and very personal: ADHD and entrepreneurship.

I’ve had lots of questions come in about what I wish I’d known earlier, how to thrive in business when your brain doesn’t follow the usual rules, and some of the sabotages and challenges that have come up for me along the way.

This one is going to be honest and practical. And I know not everyone listening has ADHD, but chances are you know someone who does—whether that’s a client, family member, or friend—so hopefully this conversation is helpful either way.

I was very open about my ADHD journey when I got diagnosed, which happened when I was in my 40s. Time is a blur, but somewhere around then. And in hindsight, of course I’d had ADHD my whole life.

I presented in all the classic ways. I forgot my bus pass every day. I never knew what books I needed for school. I lost my keys constantly.

As a kid, when I had to let myself into the house after school, I often couldn’t because I’d forgotten my keys, so I’d sit in the secondhand bookshop near our house until my mum came home.

Even in my 20s, living in London, I’d sit outside in the cold waiting for flatmates because I’d locked myself out.

The signs were obvious.

But it was the 90s, and girls with ADHD weren’t really part of the conversation. Also, looking back, it’s very likely my mum had undiagnosed ADHD too. We moved around a lot, and many of those behaviours just felt normal to me.

So instead of recognising a pattern, I internalised the belief that something was wrong with me.

I really struggled with transitions.

Primary school was manageable because you stayed in one classroom with one teacher. But high school? Different rooms, different books, different schedules—I felt constantly lost.

I’d be asking:
“What class do we have now?”
“Where am I meant to be?”
“What books do I need?”

University was even worse.

I’d show up for an exam and realise:

• I didn’t know where the room was
• I didn’t have a calculator
• I didn’t have a pen
• I didn’t even feel remotely prepared

So much of my life was spent feeling like an imposter. Like I was behind. Like I was about to get into trouble.

And that same theme followed me into adulthood.

I always wanted to be an entrepreneur, but in my 20s I bounced from job to job, always feeling chaotic, behind, and like I was somehow failing adulthood.

When I finally started my personal development business in 2009 and became a coach, a lot clicked into place.

I’d always wanted to do that work, but honestly, I thought calling yourself a life coach sounded ridiculous at the time. Once I gave myself permission to do it, it felt right.

And entrepreneurship suited me far more than corporate life ever had.

But I still had all the ADHD stuff—feeling disorganised, feeling like everyone else had it together except me.

What really brought everything to the surface was perimenopause.

Apparently this is really common for women with ADHD, because many of your coping mechanisms stop working.

For me, it happened during Covid lockdowns. I couldn’t travel, I couldn’t go to conferences, I didn’t have all my usual distractions. I was home, surrounded by kids, noise, stress—and then perimenopause arrived at the same time.

I genuinely thought I had dementia.

I was jumpy. Itchy. Overwhelmed. Forgetting my own name some days.

I went on antidepressants because I thought that might help. Eventually, I started hearing older women talk about perimenopause—a term I had literally never heard before.

That sent me down a rabbit hole.

I ended up being diagnosed with ADHD and starting HRT around the same time, and honestly, life changed dramatically.

Things suddenly made sense.

I was talking recently with someone who almost certainly has ADHD but doesn’t want to pursue diagnosis or medication because it feels like a last resort.

And I get that mindset, because so many of us have spent our whole lives thinking:
“If I just get more organised...”
“If I just try harder...”
“If I just focus better...”

But our brains don’t work that way.

I told her one of the best things medication gave me was the ability to put washing in the machine and then actually move it into the dryer.

And if you don’t have ADHD, that might sound ridiculous.

But if you do, you know exactly what I mean.

Things like:

• laundry sitting in the machine for days
• knowing there’s a broken link on your website but being unable to fix it
• being aware of something urgent but feeling physically unable to act

That creates so much shame.

Now I have compassion for myself. I understand how my brain works. And I have support where I need it.

That has been life-changing.

What I wish I’d known before starting my business is this:

There is nothing wrong with me.

I’m not lazy.
I’m not flaky.
I’m not a bad person.
I’m not disorganised because I don’t care.

My brain just works differently.

And I think there’s often grief in discovering something like that later in life.

Not just ADHD—anything.

A chronic illness.
A diagnosis.
A realisation that your body works differently.
Discovering you don’t have the same energy as other people.
Learning your personality or money archetype means certain advice simply doesn’t work for you.

I’ve had friends receive late autism diagnoses and experience that same grief.

There’s mourning in wondering:
What could I have done differently?
What if I’d known earlier?
Would school have been easier?
Would I have started my business sooner?
Would I have made fewer mistakes?

There’s also shame around the people you feel you’ve let down. Projects abandoned. Promises not fulfilled. Businesses started and not sustained.

That takes self-forgiveness.

And honestly, I think perimenopause brought up a similar grief for me too.

I had moments of thinking:
Is this the end of my youth?
The end of my femininity?
The end of my sex life?

Now I laugh about it because thank goodness for modern medicine.

But at the time, it felt emotional.

Eventually I got to a place of acceptance.

This isn’t the end. It’s just another season of life.

Taking medication isn’t failure.

It’s not giving up.
It’s not weakness.
It’s not proof I didn’t try hard enough.

It’s just support.

Like glasses for your brain.

That’s really the thread through all of this: compassion.

Giving yourself what you need.

That might be:

• medication
• accommodations
• systems
• boundaries
• more support
• more rest
• simply acknowledging that you don’t want to work like everyone else

And honestly, there was a big ego death in that for me.

Because I always saw myself as a hard worker.

I thought:
“I can push through.”
“I can outwork anyone.”

And maybe I can.

But maybe I don’t need to.

Maybe I don’t want to.

Maybe batching intensely doesn’t feel as good anymore, and that’s okay too.

The more we talk about these things, the more permission other people get.

If sharing this helps someone go and get support, ask questions, seek diagnosis, or simply have more compassion for themselves, then I’m happy.

Now, the next question is a really juicy one:

How do you make manifesting work when you have ADHD and struggle with consistency?

Here’s what I always say:

I am not a consistent person.
But my business is.

That consistency serves me and it serves my clients.

I want a podcast episode to go out every week.
I want newsletters to be regular.
I want to show up consistently online.

That consistency keeps me top of mind. It builds trust. It creates momentum.

But I don’t create consistency by forcing myself to do things daily.

I create it through systems.

Back in 2009, I went to an Ali Brown event where she laid out a very simple structure:

• show up daily
• send weekly content
• make regular offers

And I thought, great. Decision made.

I don’t have to rethink the structure.

That’s what works for my ADHD brain.

The magic is in how I deliver it.

And for me, that’s batching.

Extreme batching.

I don’t sit down every week to record one podcast episode.

If I did, my rebellious brain would absolutely sabotage it.

I’d think:
I don’t feel like it.
Who says I have to?
What if I have nothing to say?

I hate feeling like I have homework due.

So instead, I batch.

I go into the studio for a full day and record 8–12 episodes.

And weirdly? That’s fun.

It becomes a challenge.
A game.
A hyperfocus activity.

I keep notes on my phone with episode ideas, so when I arrive, I already have prompts.

And ADHD actually helps here.

We’ve often been told:

• you talk too much
• you have too many ideas
• you’re all over the place

But that becomes a strength in a podcast studio.

I can absolutely talk for an hour from three bullet points.

And because I’m recording in bulk, I’m less emotionally attached to each episode.

Not every episode has to be perfect.

I just need to do my batch.

That mindset takes so much pressure off.

Last year I even mapped out a full year of content with Tash Cobain.

That sounds overwhelming, but honestly, it felt like doing a puzzle.

We chose themes by month. Broke topics into simple buckets. Created mini campaigns.

Instead of thinking, “I need 52 unique ideas,” I thought, “I need a few categories and some subtopics.”

That works brilliantly for my brain.

Same with social media.

I created most of my annual social content in batches because I turned it into a game.

Patterns.
Themes.
Categories.
Puzzle pieces.

That kind of structure helps ADHD brains hyperfocus in a fun way instead of feeling overwhelmed.

And then my team handles the rest.

I’ve done my bit.

They turn content into blogs, clips, newsletters.

That separation helps me stop feeling like my business is living inside my brain 24/7.

And that’s how I create consistency without personally being consistent.

Manifesting still works exactly the same way.

Manifesting means making something real.

You still meet the universe halfway.

You still show up.
You still make offers.
You still give people opportunities to work with you.

You just do it in a way that works for your brain.

That’s the difference.

And honestly, that’s what entrepreneurship should be.

Not forcing yourself into someone else’s model.

But creating one that actually supports you.