From Dreamer to Doer: How I Turned ADHD Into My Superpower
Kevin LaChapelle, is the founder of PowerMentor
Growing up, I was the kid with a million ideas. I could see solutions where others saw problems, dream up new businesses, and imagine entire worlds in my mind. Teachers and peers often called me "creative," "visionary," and “full of potential.” But there was a catch—those ideas rarely made it past my imagination.
ADHD wasn’t just a label for me. It was a storm inside—racing thoughts, scattered focus, and a frustrating inability to follow through. I'd start projects with excitement, but finish almost none. My room, notebooks, and even my conversations were filled with half-built dreams and “what ifs.” It was exhausting to want to do so much and yet feel stuck on the launching pad.
One day as a teenager, my mom sat me down and asked me something that changed everything. She said, "Do you want to be known as someone who talks about doing things—or someone who actually does them?"
At the time, I shrugged it off. But that question planted a seed.
In my twenties, that question came back to me—loud and clear. I began to see the difference between dreamers and doers. I realized that success wasn’t just about ideas—it was about execution. Action. Grit.
So I made a decision: I was going to become a person of action.
It wasn’t easy. I had to train my brain to slow down, to finish what I started, to build systems that worked with my ADHD instead of against it. I learned to use tools, planners, accountability partners, and above all—discipline.
Now, people don’t just know me as “the one with ideas.” They know me as someone who makes things happen. I’ve become a strong executor—on projects, in teams, and in my own goals. I still have a wild imagination, but now I harness it with structure and momentum.
ADHD hasn’t gone away. But it’s no longer the thing that holds me back—it’s the thing that fuels my unique way of thinking, problem-solving, and leading.
If you're reading this and you've ever felt overwhelmed by your ideas, or frustrated by the gap between vision and action, know this: change is possible. You can become a person of action. And when you do, there’s nothing more powerful than someone with ADHD who has learned how to execute.
