The Simmonds Signal

Write to bring peace to your mind. Write to create financial abundance. Write to find your people. Write to discover your personal path to spirituality. Write to know yourself. Write.

Insights, actionable tips, and philosophies for writers, creatives, and storytellers…

I finally know what's been wrong with me for 30+ years.

Last week, I got diagnosed with ADHD.

It might be one of the most defining moments of my life.

But I almost didn't write about it...

Why?

Because "I have ADHD" content makes me want to crawl out of my skin and die of embarrassment.

You've seen it everywhere.

LinkedIn is littered with it. Twitter drowns in it. The vulnerable-yet-brave confession that reads like engagement bait wrapped in a victimhood chic.

After years of watching this algorithmic theater, I swore on everything holy I'd never become that person.

But since getting diagnosed, I understand why people can't shut up about it.

Because I had ADHD completely, devastatingly wrong.

And that ignorance cost me years of silent suffering…

The Brutal Truth About "Hidden" ADHD

Our culture would have you believe ADHD is just a focus problem.

When someone says "ADHD," you picture some hyperactive kid bouncing off walls, fidgeting like a coked-up squirrel, driving parents and teachers to the brink of insanity.

(I know because I was one of those teachers).

Those extreme cases exist, sure.

But the subtle form I have? Nothing like that.

It doesn't manifest as a focus problem.

It manifests as a motivation problem.

And that distinction has been destroying my life without me even knowing it…

The Two-Speed Brain

Since childhood, I've had exactly two settings:

Setting #1: Obsessive passion. Like when I discovered the video game Persona 5 and disappeared for 200 hours, collected every Funko Pop, then spent weeks researching its creative development process.

Setting #2: Complete indifference. If something doesn't trigger that obsessive switch, I literally cannot force myself to care. Not even a little bit.

While building my business, this wrecked me psychologically.

Friends like Dakota Robertson could work on their business from sunrise to sunset with laser focus.

Meanwhile, I struggled—no, battled—to find the motivation for a single productive hour.

Every moment felt like my mind had declared war against me.

Writing a tweet felt like pulling teeth without anesthesia. Client work felt like navigating a hostage negotiation with my brain as the terrorist.

It was like playing the game of business with both arms tied behind my back and a blindfold over my eyes.

How was I ever going to achieve anything great when doing the smallest tasks required heroic mental effort?

The Diagnosis That Changed Everything

Here's what my diagnosis revealed: my struggles weren't character flaws or bad habits.

They were symptoms of a brain with faulty wiring.

Specifically, a dopamine regulation issue.

To put it simply: I require far more dopamine than the average person to feel motivated to do anything at all.

This is why my brain craves activities that deliver nuclear-sized dopamine bombs—video games, books, and deep philosophical rabbit holes.

But now that I'm experimenting with ADHD medication?

Writing no longer feels like a chore. It feels like a calling.

The Hormozi Fallacy

Alex Hormozi says if you can't work on one task for 8 hours straight, you'll never achieve anything great.

For most people, that's solid advice.

But what Alex doesn't understand—what most "productivity gurus" don't understand—is how it feels to have a brain that actively sabotages you every waking moment.

A brain that makes basic work feel 10 times more exhausting than it does for everyone else.

A brain that turns simple tasks into mental marathons.

This leads to a life pattern that might sound painfully familiar:

• Starting projects with burning enthusiasm, then abandoning them mid-way

• Feeling unstoppably inspired today, completely lost tomorrow

• Being magnetically pulled toward procrastination, but rarely toward productivity

This is why knowing yourself—truly knowing yourself—is so damn important…

Why Self-Knowledge Is Your Most Powerful Weapon

Not all advice is created equal.

Following Alex's advice left me feeling more insecure than it did inspired.

What works for someone with a "normal brain" might be completely useless for someone like you or me.

If I hadn't taken my mental health into my own hands, I might have suffered another decade without diagnosis.

Ten more miserable years where writing a single tweet would feel like climbing Everest in flip-flops.

I'm only a week into medication. The results are already profound:

• I'm less impulsive

• I'm more consistent

• I'm less anxious and insecure

Will I post about this on my public platforms? Probably not.

I don't want to be "that ADHD guy" (still makes me cringe).

But I wanted to share this with you as a challenge: seek self-knowledge like your life depends on it.

Because in many ways, it does.

To conquer the world, you must first conquer yourself.

And that conquest begins with ruthless self-awareness.

-Taylin John Simmonds

PS. When you’re ready, here’s a few ways I can help you:

1. Watch this podcast to learn how I built a $500k per year digital writing business from square one. This is by far my favorite podcast I’ve been on.

2. Read this to land your first $3,000 per month ghostwriting client. No bullsh*t, just an actionable system.

3. Watch this video created by my mentor, Dakota, to learn more about ghostwriting. Whether you’re an amateur or seasoned writer, this is you fastest path to earning 6 figures as a writer (I’m biased, of course).