It’s an Asset, Not a Deficit

In today’s media-saturated, hyper-accelerated world, there’s a growing awareness and acceptance of neurodiversity – Attention Deficit and its close cousins across “the spectrum.” And most of us in the creative arts will readily acknowledge at least a hint of neurodiversity in ourselves. It’s what makes us who we are.

Most of us learn through life experience how to cope with lack of focus, hyperfocus, insecurity, procrastination, and the myriad other distractions of our overactive brains. Sometimes it’s easy, other times overwhelming.

Learning to make it work for you is a skillset each of us learns in our own way, on our own schedule. Often the most gifted are the ones who struggle the most to find their own unique paths. Steve Jobs, Richard Branson, and even Albert Einstein were all “problem children” who battled with social challenges and even perceived learning disabilities.

It’s often been said that what happens to us matters less than the stories we create around those events. Our inner monologues are constantly at work, comparing ourselves to others, underestimating our own worth, and judging our success by other people’s standards.

We can control the stories we tell ourselves. There is unlimited power in our highly analytical brains. It’s an asset, not a deficit.

Quick Updates

We kicked off August with Season 16 of Insights In Sound, with our 150th episode featuring legendary producer/synthesist Robert Margouleff. Also live on the channel are chats with innovative sound designer Charles Maynes and electronic music historian Dr. Tom Rhea.

Upcoming guests include Blackbird Academy founder John McBride, Cherokee Studios co-founder Bruce Robb, Skywalker Sound’s Leslie Ann Jones, and the irrepressible Niko Bolas. And watch for a real-time demonstration of Mid/Side miking with Mojave Audio and Dusty Wakeman. Subscribe to the YouTube channel and this newsletter for the latest.

More fun videos in the works as we ramp up to Ampeg‘s 75th anniversary. Some great chats with bassists, live mixers, and studio engineers ranging from old school heroes to rising stars. Such a fun project. And editing the MIDI Innovation Awards program, to air later this month.

As I mentioned above, Neurodiversity is a subject that has always hit home with me. It’s something every creative person wrestles with, and it comes up in so many of my coaching sessions, musical collaborations, and even day-to-day conversations. Working together with the Music Industry Therapist Collective, we created a panel for the 2024 NAMM Show on Healthy Touring – Staying Grounded on the Move. I’m now working with some amazing experts to create some online courses and content that I hope will fill a need for so many of my creative brothers and sisters. I’ll have more info for you in the coming weeks.

As always, if you have comments, questions, gripes, brain farts, or bad dad jokes, feel free to send me a note.