Imprisoned or Taking Action – Which ADHD Group Do You Fall Into?

Updated: November 27th, 2019

I’ve just finished reading a book called The Ultimate Success Secret.

The Ultimate Success Secret is a very short book written by Dan Kennedy, who is a legendary “ruthless” author and entrepreneur.

The purpose of the book is to expose the #1 most important secret to success, and then drill down on this one secret throughout the entire book.

I totally agree with the secret to success that’s revealed in this book…because I personally experienced considerable success after applying the general principles listed in this book.

Best of all, The Ultimate Success Secret is 100% applicable to living a successful life with ADHD.

So, the rest of this article consists of my review of The Ultimate Success Secret, and how this book applies to living a successful life with ADHD.

Enjoy…

The ultimate success secret revealed (are you imprisoned, or taking action?)

In The Ultimate Success Secret, Dan Kennedy makes it clear that there are two groups of people in this world.

The first group consists of people who build their own mental prisons. These people mentally incarcerate themselves by repeatedly telling themselves stories of:

• Resentments
• Excuses
• Complaints
• Pessimism
• Procrastination

This is the most common group of people who you’ll encounter in this world.

(I lived in this world for quite some time.)

The harsh reality is that most people allow their handicap to imprison them. Everyone has some kind of handicap that they’re dealing with. So, most people use their handicap as an alibi for living a sub-par life.

The second group of people are all about accomplishing extraordinary things in spite of, or in some cases because of their handicap.

When I think of this second group of “extraordinary achievers,” I immediately think of Jon Morrow, who managed to build a multi-million dollar internet company despite being unable to move anything but his face. Jon Morrow is 99% paralyzed. But, he can move his eyes and his lips. So, he’s able to use speech recognition technology to build awesome online businesses, travel the world, and inspire other people.

To be perfectly honest, whenever I’m feeling like a tired little weakling, I sometimes think of Jon Morrow. Then, I remember that I don’t really have any valid excuses for avoiding work, or skipping out on my commitments.

Everyone gets to choose which group they fall into (the first group, or second group) depending on the actions that they take.

You’re either stuck in a mental prison of your own creation. Or, you’re taking action to solve your problems, and live a better life with ADHD.

Are you imprisoned, or are you taking action to solve your problems?

Please make sure to choose your group wisely…

How to take action and escape the “mental prison” of ADHD

The worst feeling in the world is when you’ve avoided tasks all day long, and suddenly it’s ten o’clock at night, and you haven’t accomplished anything meaningful.

Unfortunately, this is a very common occurrence for many people with ADHD.

So, you ultimately have to do whatever it takes to start making significant progress in your life.

Otherwise, you’ll just feel bad every day. And that’s no way to live your life.

Here are some actionable tips that will help you make real progress in your life:

• Learn about the connection between dopamine and the ADHD brain (you have to understand ADHD before you can conquer ADHD)

• Find out why homeostasis (your own biology) causes you to be lazy by default

• Start taking small doses of ADHD medication if you have to (not a perfect solution, but it’s much better than feeling stuck all day)

There’s nothing worse than procrastinating, and feeling like you’ve wasted an entire day.

This feeling drives me absolutely crazy. You probably feel the same way.

In The Ultimate Success Secret, Dan Kennedy explains that the name Action Jackson describes the type of person who makes the most out of life. (Yes, this is a movie reference.)

Dan Kennedy explains that an “Action Jackson” is someone who:

• Sets and rapidly accomplishes meaningful, worthwhile goals

• Meets fascinating people

• Visits exciting places

• Lives an exciting life

In other words, taking action is the only antidote that you have available to break out of the mental prison of ADHD.

> If you’re a salesperson, this means setting appointments and closing sales

> If you’re a writer, this means tapping keys on a keyboard, and publishing new content

> If you’re a stay-at-home mom, this means taking care of your kids, and possibly working some kind of part-time job, or starting a small project of your own

Life is a grind most of the time. Life will always be this way.

But, if you can force yourself to take action every day and enjoy the process of taking action, then you’ll go to sleep feeling like a champion.

Because, once you’ve tucked yourself into bed knowing that you’ve accomplished something worthwhile, you’ll feel like everything is good in the universe.

A day full of action feels one thousand times better than a day full of procrastination.

Challenge your self-image to become the person you actually want to be

One of the recurring themes of The Ultimate Success Secret revolves around something called “The Strangest Secret” by Earl Nightingale.

The Strangest Secret is an audio program that I’ve linked to in the video above. You can listen to The Strangest Secret right now, if you like.

The Strangest Secret is one of my favorite audio programs of all time. It’s a classic self-help audio tape that actually works (when applied).

Here’s a quote from The Ultimate Success Secret / The Strangest Secret:

There is a kind of mental magnetism connected to the self-image. Earl Nightingale put it this way: we become what we think about most. Of course, that’s not instantly, literally true. But over time, it is true. People think themselves sick. Or old before their time. Or a victim. A perpetual loser.

If you’re like me, then you’ve dealt with a lot of negative thoughts and self-talk in your lifetime.

It’s common for people with ADHD to deal with many failures, embarrassing moments, and traumas during their lifetime.

These negative experiences can leave a lasting impression on your self-image, and cause you to deal with some pretty nasty limiting beliefs if you aren’t careful.

So, be sure to carefully manage your thoughts, and be vigilant about the thoughts that you allow into your head.

Here’s another quote from The Ultimate Success Secret that rings true to most people with ADHD:

Take a close look at the labels sewn on you. Labels get sewn on children. And they often stay on them as they become adults even though they are no longer correct (if they ever were).

You should be aware that there are all kinds of external negative forces that are actively trying to ruin your self-image, and possibly even sabotage your life as a whole.

So, you have to challenge your self-image, and take massive action to become the person who you really want to be

> Is there anything that’s actually stopping you from moving to a new city, changing your career, starting a business, or taking the relevant actions that align with your true desires?

> Are you still listening to your own preconceived limitations and labels that have been placed on you since childhood?

> Are you going to exist in the first group that consists of excuses and inaction, or the second group that revolves around extraordinary achievement in spite of handicaps?

You have to challenge your self-image and take massive action to make lasting changes in your life.

This is the only way forward.

How to strengthen your mental and physical limitations, and increase your value as a person

It’s true that The Ultimate Success Secret primarily focuses on the one “ultimate secret” above all else (taking action to escape mental imprisonment).

But, Dan Kennedy reveals a few other important secrets in his book too.

Here are some of the other secrets laid out in The Ultimate Success Secret:

You can benefit enormously from testing your limits.

This is rather cliché advice. But, it’s nice to be reminded that you should continuously test your physical and mental limits.

> Are you really making an effort to stay in good physical shape?

> Are you really making an effort to improve the quality of your thoughts, emotions, and work output?

> Could you do just a little bit more to have better relationships with the people in your life?

These are questions that everyone should think about more often…

Here’s another piece of advice from The Ultimate Success Secret that was one of the most important realizations I’ve ever had:

The world largely accepts YOUR appraisal of your value, and just about everybody under-values and under-prices their contributions.

I first realized that the world 100% accepted my appraisal of my own value when I started a freelance copywriting business a few years ago.

For example, when I first started writing copy, I set my hourly rate at something like $35/hour. And, the quality of clients that I had was absolutely horrible. My clients treated me poorly. I was being hired by clients who lived in India, so I was essentially being outsourced to companies in South Asia. And I had even gotten scammed by fly-by-night businesses on numerous occasions. Clients often refused to pay me.

But here’s the thing:

I valued myself poorly. So, my clients felt the same way.

Fast forward a few years later, and I set my hourly copywriting rate at something like $125/hour, because I had gained much more copywriting experience, and I valued my time a lot more. Suddenly, I was getting cushy job offers left and right. It seemed like everyone wanted to hire me for their project. There was even a point when I simply had too much client work, and I had to leave my freelance copywriting business behind.

These days, I no longer accept client work. But if I did, I would set my consulting fee at $1,000/hour.

The point is this:

If you don’t value yourself highly, then no one else will.

The world largely accepts your appraisal of your value. You can become whoever you want to be. And people will largely accept that.

Just make sure to value yourself highly.

People will eventually fall in line to meet the expectations that you set.

Final thoughts

The Ultimate Success Secret primarily focuses on the power of taking action to escape mental imprisonment.

This is the #1 most important secret that people with ADHD can take away from The Ultimate Success Secret.

Action is the only antidote for mental imprisonment. You have to take action to achieve positive results in your life.

Of course, the specific actions that you take each day will depend on the unique vision that you’ve set for your life.

Want to live a better lifestyle with ADHD?

Then you’ll probably need to take actions like:

• Socializing with good people more often
• Eating healthier foods
• Exercising more often
• Watching more comedy
• Building better systems that lead you to the results that you want to achieve

You’re the only person who can decide on the best actions to take that will provide you with the optimal results for your life.

Take action. Escape mental imprisonment. And live a meaningful life with ADHD.

Anyone can do this.

So, I have faith that you can do it too.