The ADHD CEO

Alyece Smith

Welcome to The ADHD CEO. The podcast for ambitious entrepreneurs with ADHD done forcing themselves into neurotypical business models. If sales feel like panic-launching, you overthink instead of selling, or “just be consistent” doesn’t work for your brain... you're in the right place. Each week, I share ADHD-friendly sales tips, dopamine-driven marketing, and real talk on scaling a sustainable business without burnout. Follow now and make sales work for your brain.

  1. 8h ago

    216: I Wasn't Ashamed of My ADHD. I Was Confused by It.

    Full show notes here: https://sociallyausome.com/post/i-wasnt-ashamed-of-my-adhd-i-was-confused-by-it-ep-216/ Last week I promised I'd say something on this show I've never said out loud. Especially not live. So here it is. For years I didn't tell people I have ADHD, and everybody assumes that means shame. Part of that's true. But the bigger reason was this: I didn't think anybody would believe me. How do you say out loud that you built a six-figure business, spoke on a TEDx stage, and also have no idea where the water bottle you filled up forty minutes ago went? It sounds made up. So I said nothing for years and called it privacy. In this episode, I walk through the three walls that kept me quiet, and wall three is one I've genuinely never admitted publicly. In this episode:(00:00) The thing I've never said out loud(01:30) Wall one — everyone pictures a bouncing eight-year-old boy(04:15) Wall two — why the ADHD contradiction makes you sound like you're lying(05:00) Why ADHD pattern recognition points outward but never inward(07:15) No, we don't hate structure — we can't reliably build it(08:00) Why "everyone's a little ADHD" is not a compliment(09:30) Wall three — the one I've never admitted(13:00) What actually changed: I stopped asking one side of my brain to disappear Your one action: pick the wall you're standing behind and name it out loud. Then DM me on Instagram @socially.ausome and tell me which one is yours... wall three especially, because I've never heard anyone else say that one. Resources mentioned:📖 FLOW-First Thinking (Amazon + Audible) → https://amzn.to/3TaVuD7🎤 My TEDx talk → https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oBaJhU1gOVU✨ Free Spark Tracker → https://sociallyausome.com/spark-tracker-page🎧 My episode on ADHD Rewired → https://sociallyausome.com/post/adhd-rewired-masking-burnout-alyece-smith💼 Discounted 1-hour call (listeners who finish the episode) → https://api.leadconnectorhq.com/widget/bookings/onehourwithalyecesmithg0cjjj If this one hits, please leave the episode a review; it's the best compliment you can give!

  2. Jul 14

    214: Did Anyone Ever Ask Her How She Works Best? | ADHD CEO Podcast Ep 214

    Full Show Notes: https://sociallyausome.com/post/did-anyone-ask-how-she-works-best-adhd-workplace-ep-214 I once spoke with a manager after she let someone go. She walked me through everything. The missed deadlines. The late arrivals. The blank stare in meetings. She had done everything by the book. Documented. Coached. Warned. I asked her one question. "Did anyone ever ask her how she works best?" She went quiet. That employee wasn't difficult. She was unaccommodated. Nobody knew she had ADHD. Nobody asked. And the entire system she was handed was built for a brain she doesn't have. This episode answers the question a licensed clinical social worker left in my comments: "What helps managers create enough trust for that conversation before performance is already affected?" In this episode: - Why neurodivergent employees don't disclose what they need - and it is not withholding - The invisible adaptation job ADHD employees perform every day that nobody hired them to do - Why psychological safety is built in the moment after a small ask - not in a policy - 3 behaviors that create trust before the crisis hits The most expensive conversation in business is the one nobody had six months earlier. Book Alyece to speak at your organization: https://sociallyausome.com/alyece_speaking FLOW-First Thinking - the book: https://sociallyausome.com/books/flow-first-thinking Miss Episode 213? That's where this series started. https://sociallyausome.com/post/adhd-workplace-5-things-managers-get-wrong-ep-213/ Tag @socially.ausome on Instagram with a screenshot of you listening. If this episode hits, please leave a review. It is the best compliment you can give. Make it simple. Make it social. Make it Ausome.

  3. Jun 16

    211: AI Is Making Your ADHD Worse

    Full Shownotes Here: https://sociallyausome.com/episode_211 You downloaded three AI tools last month. Your follow-up email is still in your drafts.  Here's what nobody in the productivity space is saying right now: AI tools are giving ADHD entrepreneurs a brand new, socially acceptable way to stay in prep mode forever. And because it looks like work, you don't even realize it's happening.  In this episode:- Why "avoidance" now looks like productivity — and why that makes it more dangerous than Netflix ever was- The exact prep mode trap AI has created for ADHD brains - Why compounding confidence erosion is the real cost (not just lost time) - 3 boundaries that put AI back in its lane so you can actually execute - How the people getting results are using AI completely differently.  This one will be uncomfortably specific. Good.  FREE RESOURCE: 10 Ways ADHD Entrepreneurs Can Use Claude Cowork Every Day. Not prompts. Not a course. Ten real ADHD business problems and exactly how to use AI to finish the work — not avoid it. https://sociallyausome.com/claude-cowork-guide  FREE DOWNLOAD: Spark Tracker — find your real execution windows https://sociallyausome.com/spark-tracker-page  FLOW-First Thinking — Alyece's book on building a business with your ADHD brain https://sociallyausome.com/books/flow-first-thinking  ADHDpreneur Academy — execution, decision-making, follow-through https://sociallyausome.com/adhdpreneur_academy-2026   Tag @socially.ausome on Instagram with a screenshot of you listening. If this episode hit — leave a review. It's the best compliment you can give.  Make it simple. Make it social. Make it Ausome.

  4. Jun 2

    210: Wired for More: The ADHD High Achiever's Guide to Nervous System Performance with Ian Mai

    Full Shownotes Here: https://sociallyausome.com/post/adhd-wired-for-more-nervous-system-performance-ian-mai-ep-210/ You've hit every quota. You've built the business. You've stood on stage. And you're still exhausted, still numbing, still feeling like it's never enough. That's not a discipline problem. That's a nervous system problem. Ian Mai spent 12 years in tech consulting, became a president's club sales rep AND a pro bodybuilder simultaneously, and still hit complete rock bottom in 2020. The addictions, the near-failed marriage, the burnout he couldn't grind his way out of — all of it traced back to one thing: unmanaged ADHD and a nervous system that had never learned to rest. In this episode, we cover: Why the highly successful but quietly suffering ADHD professional never feels like enoughThe real neurological link between ADHD and addictionWhy zone two cardio is non-negotiable for ADHD nervous system recoveryHow to use exercise to rehearse high-pressure moments before they happenThe "double tab" awareness method and how it breaks the shame-avoidance cycleWhat it actually takes to go from knowing what to do to doing itIan is opening his H2 group coaching cohort on July 1st, and all of June is FREE for early sign-ups. Connect with Ian:🌐 ianmai.co🤝 linkedin.com/in/ian-mai-coaching🆓 Free Skool Community: skool.com/adhd-wired-for-more-6065/about📅 Book an intro call: calendly.com/ian-mai/30-minute-intro Resources from Alyece:📖 FLOW-First Thinking: sociallyausome.com/books/flow-first-thinking✨ Free Spark Tracker: sociallyausome.com/spark-tracker-page🎓 ADHDpreneur Academy: sociallyausome.com/adhdpreneur_academy-2026

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About

Welcome to The ADHD CEO. The podcast for ambitious entrepreneurs with ADHD done forcing themselves into neurotypical business models. If sales feel like panic-launching, you overthink instead of selling, or “just be consistent” doesn’t work for your brain... you're in the right place. Each week, I share ADHD-friendly sales tips, dopamine-driven marketing, and real talk on scaling a sustainable business without burnout. Follow now and make sales work for your brain.

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