Last year, I had two weeks left on deadline for a book I was writing. My publisher was getting antsy, as I hadn’t sent her anything yet. I’d done all the research, the problem was sitting down and getting the writing done. But I wasn’t worried. I’d been here before.

With 12 days left until my deadline, I went to the United Airlines website, and bought a round trip business class ticket to Tokyo, leaving the next day.

I got on the plane, armed with nothing but my laptop, a power cord, and my phone.

When the plane took off, I took out my laptop, and in the 14 hours it took us to get from Newark to Tokyo, I wrote chapters 1-5. We landed in Tokyo, I went through Immigration, walked outside, took a deep breath of fresh air, turned right around, went back through security, back to the gate, and boarded the same plane back from Tokyo to Newark. I even sat in the same seat. On the 12 hour flight home, I wrote chapters 6-10. I landed 31 hours after I took off, with a completed book, and my second best-seller.

When I tell this story to “normal” people, they look at me like I’m insane. Why? Because what normal person would spend upwards of $5,000 to not really go anywhere, and write a book in 31 hours?

"Daddy, why are you always smiling?

“Daddy, why are you always smiling?

Not one normal person. But then, if you’ve ever met me, you know: I’m not normal. I’m faster than normal. And if you’re here, chances are that you are, too.

Good.

Welcome to Faster Than Normal. My name is Peter Shankman, and I’ve been diagnosed with ADD/ADHD for many years now. I’ve done what I wrote about above countless times, and no doubt will continue to do it. But I’ve also done some other things – I’ve successfully started and sold three companies for a lot of money. I’ve written four books, two of which have been best-sellers. I fly about 250,000 miles a year for work, giving speeches all over the world, appearing on TV news programs every week, and somehow, have still managed to have several businesses up and running at any given time, while raising a daughter and being a husband. Oh, and for kicks, I’m an Ironman Triathlete, and a licensed skydiver with close to 500 jumps under my belt.

So how is all of this possible? Simple: I have ADHD. Thanks to my ADD/ADHD, my brain runs faster than normal. I can get more done, be more productive, more creative, and more present – every step of the way. I run two, three, five times as fast as a “regular” person, 24 hours a day. I believe my ADHD has resulted in my business success, my personal success, and my ability to have more fun, get more done, and overall be much happier in my life.

But – that doesn’t come for free. The fact is, that as carefree as I seem, my life is carefully constructed. I have rules I must follow. I have procedures in place that keep me on my path. Without them, I’d be homeless in the streets, I have no doubt.

Having ADD/ADHD is a gift – if you know how to manage it, the same way having a Ferrari is much better than having a four-door hatchback – Again – if you know how to drive it.

Here at Faster Than Normal, I’m going to show you how I drive my faster than normal brain. We’ll interview tons of people with ADD and ADHD on our podcast, and get them to share their best tips, tricks, and hacks for managing and thriving with their gift. I’ll share tons of ideas and knowledge here on the blog, and we’ll have countless guest authors, as well. Finally, we’ll have a great collection of lessons, videos, and other tools you can use to help yourself make the most out of your special talents that come with your ADD or ADHD diagnosis.

Finally, if you don’t have ADD or ADHD, but know, work with, or love someone who does, you’re in the right place as well, and we’re glad you’re here.

Stick around as we grow Faster Than Normal into the top resource for learning how to truly utilize this wonderful gift we’ve been given – the gift of speed, the gift of creativity, the gift of thinking just a little bit different – the gift of being Faster Than Normal.