Biohacking Your ADHD: Unleashing Your Full Potential with Angie Lee

Angie Lee  0:00  
I don't think it's linear. And I'm sure you know this better than me. I don't think it's a linear thing that Okay, now it's gone. It's like, no, there's months where it's great. Yeah. And there's months where it's, it's sucky based on my sleep. That's one of the number one things for me or my boundaries, or just other lifestyle things. It's so much deeper than just like, oh, do I have it? Or do I not? It's a spectrum that I think is constantly evolving, based on how you're managing stress hormones, just so many things. And so I look at it very holistically versus like a definitive you're you are in the spectrum of ADHD. It's like sometimes I'm like, I don't even feel like I have it. And then someone's I'm like, oh my god, I can't even left the stove on again, you know.

Brooke Schnittman  0:38  
Welcome to successful with ADHD. I'm Brooke Shipman. And if you have ADHD and are feeling overwhelmed, chaotic and negative self beliefs, you're in the right place. The successful with ADHD podcast shares my guests journeys of overcoming challenges offering their tips and strategies for success to empower you to take control of your life, and thrive with ADHD. Let's get started.

Hi, Angie. Hello.

Angie Lee  1:08  
Oh, I'm so excited. So excited to chat about my issues. I'm like, Oh, God, here we go. Talking about my darn problems. Okay.

Brooke Schnittman  1:24  
You do not have ADHD at all.

Angie Lee  1:27  
I mean, I like to actually I'm actually trying to sidenote after this podcast, of course, I tried to not talk about it as much because I've noticed it's like, exacerbates it almost, it's like, it's a thing, okay, we don't need to like make it this hole. It makes it worse for me, because then it's like, I'm labeling myself. And then I'm like, Oh, I'm broken. And you're not, you know, so it's

Brooke Schnittman  1:48  
absolutely, it's just difficult to talk about. Yeah. Hey, I totally get it. I just got off a podcast with Dr. monta. And he was saying, listen, like, just because you have ADHD doesn't mean that that is explaining anything. There's so many descriptions to it. And there's so many symptoms. So, you know, we all look different. We all are different with it. So anyway, welcome. And it's so nice to finally have you. And for those of you who don't know, Angie, she's an entrepreneur, founder, creator, comedian, very funny, podcaster speaker, and the host of the Angelus show, and if you haven't listened, it is explicit. But it's very funny. Very funny. So hide your kids. But real talk

Angie Lee  2:46  
if they're over eight, they already know. So just playing it in the car.

Brooke Schnittman  2:53  
And the co founder of Seoul with her brother, Mike Lee, yeah, why don't you give us a real proper introduction? Anything I missed there?

Angie Lee  3:03  
Yeah, I was gonna say I'm a very multi passionate person, obviously, I'm sure many of your guests are. So you're not surprised by that the neurodiverse brain loves to do all the things all the time. And we find these random obsessions that we want to go all in on. So yeah, my career started as a content creator, a blogger did not want to finish college. No surprise, felt like I was in jail, quote, unquote, I would tell my parents since kindergarten, take me out of jail. So I always hated the traditional schooling system. It didn't, I don't feel it's very conducive for the entrepreneur, highly creative, neurodiverse brain, unfortunately. And so I always struggled. And so I was, gosh, this is 2009 When I decided to quit Maltese. I was in tennis shoes when I decided to drop out of college and I started my online brand. And that turned into events, physical products, digital products, speaking, coaching, influencer, brand deals, podcasting, when are you kidding? It's kind of evolved into everything and all these random things, and now stepping more into comedy. So it's just been such a wild ride for the last 13 years. And I started soul which is a wellness brand and CBD line with my brother, which was really great. We started that five years ago. But my favorite thing to do in the world is to make people laugh and to entertain and to create really interesting, fun content. So that's where I'm at now at 33 with this crazy brain,

Brooke Schnittman  4:25  
and you just got engaged, right? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah, that's,

Angie Lee  4:28  
and I have a cute dog being pickles. He's sleeping right now staring at me.

Brooke Schnittman  4:32  
So you dropped out of college, you felt like you were in jail. And when were you diagnosed? So

Angie Lee  4:43  
again, I'm very curious your thoughts on this? This is like your niche. So I'm like, Oh my gosh, I feel like I'm gonna say something wrong. There's no whatever you want. There's no wrong way to say it, I guess. But my mom always had an idea that my brain was different. But she didn't say anything to me which I think actually has some pros to it because she didn't want to label me this is back in the 90s. The only the only solution to a hyperactive child AKA a kid who doesn't want to sit for eight hours and learn about George Washington like, I don't only because it's boring, right? And so right like I wanted to run around and not alive. Yeah, like, come on, I think they expect you to do at 10 years old. It's like no, your kids not broken. They're just bored. They want to go lick a tree and run down the street, which they should their children, you know. And so I think that there was this confusion of like, Is there something wrong with her? Is there not that teachers would tell my mom like, hey, and she doesn't want to read the book? Only if she's interested in something does she want to do it? If not, she's out like she's, she's just not doing her homework or she's not, you know, her comprehension is not high. She's very kind. She's very intelligent, but she's not paying attention to certain things. And so my mom didn't want to tell me because at the time, the only solution was Adderall and Ritalin. And my mom was like, Absolutely not. I don't just want to put my daughter on this right away. And I like her energy. I like her creativity. My mom noticed the gifts of it, which was really such a blessing. And I did an episode actually on my show with my mom. So if anybody wants to hear this sweet perspective of a parent, with a child who has this in, gosh, my future children, I'm sure will have it. So I'm, I'm like taking in lessons from her because I'm like, oh, man, that was to not always been easy. So she didn't tell me it wasn't until like, 25 that I was like, Mom, something's something's going on. Like what? I'm good at something. I'm really good at it. I have this thing called hyper focus. I feel like but when I'm not, I just don't care. Is there something wrong with me? When was this that was about probably five, five ish years ago. Oh, wow. Yeah. And I was like, I always kind of just knew that I had extra energy and extra creativity. So it's like, I kind of knew, but I, I joked about it. I always made a joke. Like, oh, I have ADD, oh, I'm hyper. And my brother who's totally the opposite would be like, Yeah, dude, you just have like this thing called add. So it was always a joke. It was always kind of like, My family told me I had it. But it was never a diagnosis, because I had heard from so many people, like there's never, you could go in and just like space out in the meeting. And the doctors like, Oh, you have add here some Adderall. Like it's very easy for them to tell everybody they have add now. So I kind of was like, I don't want to go take a test. That's stupid. And so. So it wasn't until I went to you're redefining

Brooke Schnittman  7:10  
the ways people go about ADHD.

Angie Lee  7:15  
I was like, I don't what am I going to do go to this meeting and tell this guy like, Hey, are you ever not interested in things? Yeah, bro. Like, oh, here's some Adderall. You know? So I remember once in college, I did try it once. And I was like, Oh, wow, I think I read a book for like nine hours straight. It was pretty intense. But other than that, I was pretty committed to. And again, I'm not against anybody's decision in this. I know, it's everybody's decision what works best. But I always wanted to try to figure it out naturally. If I could, I did not want to be on an audit in front of me. And I'm already hyper enough. I was like, Absolutely not. I don't want to do that. And so I think my journey five years ago was like, what's going on? Is there something different? So I started playing with certain things I will get into, like, nootropics and certain things with my lifestyle. And I saw Dr. Emmons work. And Mike and I actually interviewed him and Dr. Daniel Amon does a lot of work around the brain, at his facility, and I did a brain scan there. And that was exactly three years ago. My brother wanted to go to see all the damage that's been done to his brain as a professional athlete being hit. And I was like, Hey, let's see if something comes up. Yeah. And so when I did that scan was 2020. So yeah, about three years ago, and yeah, immediately the doctor when I got my results, he basically said, You are extremely classic type one, there's seven different types, I guess. And he said, You're type one he inattentive ADHD, which means your prefrontal cortex, if there's not dopamine surging, if you're not interested in something, you're out, like, you're just like, see you later your brain. He's like, but you're highly creative. If you are interested in something I'm like, Cool, cool. So I basically need dopamine to function in this world. He's like, Yeah, like people. But you lack it. I know. So I was like, why? So that was it, you know, and they and they give you some protocols. They have, obviously, the the medication route, and then the lifestyle route. And so that was really, I guess, when I knew but I'll be honest with you, when I when I got the results. I just go, Okay. Make sense? Like it wasn't like, Oh, my God, my life, man. It was like I kind of had a feeling it was gonna be more weird if you didn't say that. So no, that's

Brooke Schnittman  9:13  
basically self diagnosed five. When you said you knew it, you knew it. And you said that, like you were coached at some point, too. So you obviously know a lot about self development. And I'm sure you understood ADHD better than some people who aren't in that field. And you probably had tricks and hacks to figure it out. So yeah, I think

Angie Lee  9:43  
it's a constant. I don't think it's linear. And I'm sure you know this better than me. I don't think it's a linear thing that Okay, now it's gone. It's like, no, there's months where it's great. Yeah, and there's months where it's, it's sucky based on my sleep. That's one of the number one things for me or my boundaries or just other lifestyle. things it's so much deeper than just like, oh, do I have it? Or do I not? It's a spectrum that I think is constantly evolving, based on how you're managing stress hormones, just so many things. And so I look at it very holistically, versus like a definitive, you're you are in the spectrum of ADHD. It's like, sometimes I'm like, I don't even feel like I have it. And then someone's I'm like, Oh, my God, I can't leave. I left the stove on again. You know, it's hard when you live with another human because they're like, how did you not see that? I'm like, oh, because I was thinking of something else.

Brooke Schnittman  10:27  
And then once I thought of that other thing that I thought of another thing, and then my mind just went on a tangent. Yeah. Hey, I understand the whole feeling like you have a one day and not the other. When I gave birth, and I was pregnant. My first trimester, I felt so focused. Yeah, I was sick. But because your hormone shifts when when you're pregnant, when you go through menopause, when you're getting your period, you your symptoms fluctuate, like you said, with sleeping as well, some. Okay, so I like how you kind of are just being honest about what ADHD even as a successful comedian, and influencer and business owner, you're still shining a light on the, you know, strengths and the weaknesses of people with ADHD. It's not a one size fits all answer, and you don't overcome ADHD, you just overcome some of the symptoms by some strategies. So talk to me about what works for you.

Angie Lee  11:34  
I'm sure my family would be laughing right now. They're like, yeah, and tell us what works for you. My brother would say nothing, my mom would say, oh, a few things. Clay would say no, I don't know about that. So I'll give you my response. You know, there's so many different things I've done. But it is fascinating, the dopamine thing. So I've studied a lot about that, like what is what is necessary in order for my brain, my prefrontal cortex to function to feel this feeling of and everybody knows that feeling of hyper focus, where you're like, you're so obsessed with something you're so interested in it. And so you go all in. So I've realized, more so than people who are neurotypical, the neurodivergent brain must do what they love, not because it's cheap, like the cheesy quote, like, do what you love, and it won't be work. I'm like, No, literally, you won't have a job. Because if you're not interested in it, you're not showing up. Like, you're just like, I'm out. This is silly. I don't want to do this. And so I'm constantly asking myself, What is the next exciting thing that keeps you up at night like that you're so excited about because then I can be really great at things. But I'll be honest, the things that don't excite me, I'm not I'm not great at them. And so that's been really frustrating because I find that this selective attention is just so frustrating to function in this world. So that's when it gets frustrating, but I've played around with a few things. Number one is, movement and exercise are a non negotiable for me. If I can move my body, especially before I work, or have to focus on something, it changes the experience. 150% movement is medicine. It is the number one thing I think it's why it was an athlete, I think it's why a lot of ADHD people are athletes is because you're moving that energy, you're actually using that excess energy and it's stimulating your brain and it's releasing BDNF, which is brain derived neurotrophic factor, which is essentially the little tingly feeling of like, ooh, this feels good. I can focus on

Brooke Schnittman  13:24  
serotonin. It's like a low dose SSRI.

Angie Lee  13:29  
It is it really is. I know. And that's where I'm like, there's times where I'm sweating. And I'm working out I'm like, Oh, my God, this feeling like if we could bottle it, oh, yeah, they have tried to bottle it into stuff. But it is just so it's, it's inexplicable. It's so good. And it helps me so much. So I try to make that non negotiable every day. I'm also really big on my supplementation. So I do a lot of nootropics, which are essentially natural cognitive enhancers. So gingko be six. I don't really play with caffeine, which I know I should but I noticed my body doesn't do well with caffeine, unfortunately, which I'm so bummed about because I feel like it'd be such an aid for me, but it just kind of makes me feel anxious and then I can't sleep. So my favorite one is actually called the Cobra money airy, and it's worked really well for my brain. So I do a shot of that every day. So I have a lot of my supplementation. I've cut out sugar, gluten, and my diet is very pure. So I have a lot of protein, a lot of healthy fats, which are supportive to my brain. My sleep is like my biggest obsession ever. Like I talked about that today. Nine. I can't not and I think people think this is funny. I literally sleep nine hours every night. And the biggest question I get is How do you have so much energy? I'm like, Well, I sleep a lot. So you're seeing me hyper because I'm when I'm racking

Brooke Schnittman  14:38  
my brain and then my my greatest function. Yeah.

Angie Lee  14:42  
So I focus a lot on my sleep. If I don't sleep well my ADHD neck the next day is bad. And that's where I'm like already putting some pieces in play of what I will do with motherhood. Whether that is obviously sleep nurse, sleep training, I'm gonna do both of them because I will absolutely not deal with that. I have no shame in saying that. Oh, Oh yeah, I don't know how people are doing it.

Brooke Schnittman  15:02  
I work with someone who is full time essentially with her 14 month old and she never had a nurse. And she is a full time entrepreneur tip. I don't know how to end, her child wakes up every two hours. So yeah. Talk about someone who has ADHD who puts a lot of pressure on themselves. Yeah, I'm

Angie Lee  15:28  
gonna, like get some I'm gonna figure something out and not have shame about it. Because when I can sleep well, I'm such a, I'm a good I'm a good person. And I can function well, and I can focus and I can be who I need to be in this world. But when I'm not, it's I don't like that version of myself. It's really bad. And so I think for me, that's why I'm so protective of it. I wish I wasn't that way. But now I look back and think maybe I've always been that way since I was little because I almost knew that my brain needed it in order to repair. And so sleep supplementation movement. Those are like the foundation that if I don't have those, I don't think it would matter if I was on medication, let's say. And like I said, I've only done Adderall maybe once. I've recently been looking at something called Strattera, which is, I guess, a non amphetamine one, but I don't really want to mess with Yeah, it's a non stimulant. But again, I don't want to mess with anything pre and during and post pregnancy, stuff like that. So I don't know, it's very interesting. You're catching me at an interesting time with it where I'm actually, I don't know, I've considered it like, okay, just take it once a month and like, get a bunch of work done that day. But I'm still always pretty committed to like, okay, how can I just go back to the basics and be kind to myself when I'm when I have those moments? And we're like brain? Yeah, yeah. And a lot of its systems too. So Clay is exactly the opposite. Of course. He's extremely organized, extremely calm, extremely as everything goes.

Brooke Schnittman  16:44  
who don't know, clays her fiance? Yeah. Yeah. So he's,

Angie Lee  16:48  
I can't imagine when you told me your husband has ADHD, I'm like, What is your house? Like? Like, no, no, like, Oh, my God, God bless your soul. Yeah.

Brooke Schnittman  16:58  
It's a lot of fun. So yeah, no, it isn't. It isn't. Because he has created systems that work for him. And he's so disciplined, because that's what was instilled in him when he was younger. But also having me who knows ADHD, I give him a lot more grace in certain things. And we have like, we make ourselves communicate week after week, just to schedule and all of those things to make it work.

Angie Lee  17:24  
Yeah, he doesn't have as much grace for it. So it's the hard part of it. Yeah. And I'm so intrigued by his brain, because I'm just like, how did you how did you do that? And I think he's intrigued and also very frustrated with my brain to be honest. So it can really affect things. You know, I think on a serious note, obviously, I make jokes of a lot of things. But um, it can really damage and hurt relationships. It's a pretty if it gets bad, because if someone doesn't understand what's going on, they truly think that you're just being careless and being stupid and being immature. And it's like, that's not my intention. My intention was truly to do this one thing. And the next thing you know, this happened. So what I've learned is I have a lot of sticky notes everywhere sticky notes are like my best friend. I write notes to myself all day long, I'm writing down every single little thing that I have to do. Everything is either in like a calendar or a booklet and excel doc, our home, we're going to have like a whole home processing system through this app called notion soon. So I'm trying to get more like that. And I'll be honest, it's not fun. I don't like it. Part of me is like, This is so stupid. But if I don't clay will leave me so. So I hope this is helpful for listeners have

Brooke Schnittman  18:27  
been, but don't feel anxious when you don't do that. Like it's something that you don't want to do. But then when you do it, you're like, Oh, I'm so glad I did. Yeah,

Angie Lee  18:39  
I do feel better when I accomplish things because I get a dopamine hit. So I've noticed when I'm, quote unquote, lazy or I don't do the thing or follow through. I actually get really sad because I'm not getting that hit. Whether that's healthy or not. I'm not getting the drug of like, Oh, I did something. I got it done. But I don't know. Like, I'd be like, I don't know. Yeah, I haven't hit that point yet where I'm like, Oh, I love this systems in the house. Because then I can relax. No, I still think it's a headache to put these systems together. Well, that's it. I know, you're I don't, I don't like it. Don't like it.

Brooke Schnittman  19:09  
Okay. So you get the dopamine hit though from throwing out the post it when you finish it. So those systems are working for your student to be marriage. What else?

Angie Lee  19:23  
You know, something I'm working on still is getting I'm getting better at this the few times I've done it, it does seem to work well, but I don't know why I still resist it is batch creating things or batching your life so doing specific things on specific days, and treating my work like a sprinter versus a marathon runner. And so I noticed I still very attracted to or that's my natural inclination is to do a little bit of everything every day, versus giving specific tasks for specific days so that I'm not task switching because task switching is very exhausting for the brain. And so for example, let's say Mondays and Tuesdays I would podcast and then Wednesdays and Thursdays or meeting days instead of me merging those and blending those. That's been a tip that somebody gave me who was in the add space. And they said, I should start doing that, because I don't do that. And I was like, oh, man, I wonder if that would be helpful to like, do all my podcasts for the month on two days of the beginning of the month, and then I'm done for the month versus like, I sprinkle it or I try to and then it just doesn't. It's just I think I'm making it harder on myself. So that's something that I do want to try to implement more as well.

Brooke Schnittman  20:24  
Yeah, the task switching for the ADHD brain is so hard because attention shifting is part of our executive functions. And also, you know, it can take up to 10 minutes once you switch for your brain to get into the next task. So you're actually wasting time, every time we switch from task to task, so it's not being productive. And then it's draining on your dopamine as well.

Angie Lee  20:49  
I love that and start dopamine,

Brooke Schnittman  20:53  
that darn dopamine and those neurotransmitters. So you own so CB D and it's with your brother and Mike is he neurotypical or does he have ADHD?

Angie Lee  21:08  
Oh, he is neurotypical. I know, no one no one in my family. Well my dad My dad has a pretty bad for sure. My mom is neurotypical, my brother is neurotypical clay is neurotypical. So they all just love putting up with my brain.

Brooke Schnittman  21:24  
So how did you both decide to get into business together?

Angie Lee  21:28  
Yeah, we Well, me being the adventure seeker that I am, I was like, Hey, we should start a business around this because we both fell in love with CBD. I love it for anxiety, I find that one of the side effects unfortunately, with ADHD, for me is anxiety and overwhelm because the to do list doesn't get done. Everyone knows who's listening. You know what I'm talking about. Anxiety sucks. That's like a part of it that I hate about it. There's parts I love their superpowers. But that's a part I hate. And so I was using CBD for that back in 2014 2015. I was doing the tinctures. And then Mike as an athlete was using it for pain management, inflammation, sleep, everything like that. And so then we came together and I said, Hey, this is such an awesome time and effort and a great opportunity for us. And I was building my audience, he had a little bit of an audience as well. And so we decided, let's make this a business. And let's see if we can start a wellness brand around it. So it kind of started as not like a joke, but it was just really small it was, you know, my friend would come over in help us put together all the boxes, and we would label everything ourselves. And I would go to fedex and drop everything off. And it was a very grassroots, we put our own money into it. We didn't take outside investors initially, it started very, very small. And just to see if we could make some extra money here and there kind of thing. We did not have an intention that five years later become a massive brand and something that we're looking to sell soon. So it's it's just gone from starting in a living room as my warehouse to now see warehouses and it's really grown. So yeah, and Mike is the CEO. So people think I'm a CEO, and I am not a CEO. There's no part of me that has executive function in it. Yeah, no. So I do more of the creative aspect of it a lot of the marketing and helping with influencer marketing. We were really smart with our branding or influencer marketing, I had an audience to start. So that was the smartest thing I could do is I did the hard work of building an intimate audience who trust what I say and, and I'm really honest and vulnerable with and so when I came up with the product, it wasn't too foreign for them, for them to trust me to buy it. So that was what got us to our first million really, really fast is like, Oh, I already had an audience that already had these potential customers who trusted me and they really appreciated Mike and I story and our health journey. And so that was the initial, the initial push. Yeah, like the initial push of it. And then after that, then it started to become a bit more difficult. And Mike had to hire people. He's the CEO. So we had to get really strategic with really good hires. And now we're at another level of like, okay, how do we take this this to the next level before selling it so it hasn't necessarily been this easy ride but he has done a really good job hiring. We've done a really good job with the branding, I am obsessed with people and and community. And so when you're obsessed with that, almost before the product, you let them tell you what they want and that ultimately makes a brand that people are obsessed with because you created it for them not just because you wanted to make money. Exactly.

Brooke Schnittman  24:18  
When you lead with the love for the passion. As you mentioned, it comes full circle it shows and you're and it's all people first right and I don't believe that if you just have the vision to make money in a service based industry or a product that is people oriented I mean everything is people oriented but I don't think if you're just going for the money that you're gonna be successful long term, but that's just me,

Angie Lee  24:46  
to him that doesn't come as naturally and so we complement each other. Well, which which, if we had the same brain I think I would kill himself.

Brooke Schnittman  24:55  
So once you sell because you will once you sell yes then what

Angie Lee  25:01  
Well, I don't know if you know that when people sell companies, they just kind of

Brooke Schnittman  25:06  
they think go into another company, they become a consultant at their own company. Yeah,

Angie Lee  25:11  
you have to still work for somebody for a while. So let me take the, let me take the unsexy or the sexiness out of this because everyone's like, are you gonna go live in Tahiti and sip margaritas? No, Cheryl, I'm going to still be working.

Brooke Schnittman  25:24  
I love it. No, Cheryl is your go to person. I mean, wherever you are, Cheryl, Cheryl calls you out.

Angie Lee  25:32  
I just think it's never as sexy as people think. You know, we've got you got taxes. You guys see, that's I mean, yes, obviously, I'm in a great position. But it doesn't really change your life. Because you know what? You still got to do something you love. You can't just sit around all day. And bonds. Yeah, I think people think that and then people go into depression after they sell things a lot. So Mike, Mike is already thinking of things he'll do next. And yeah, we'll see. I don't know. I mean, I still want to create keep creating funny content, I would love to just go full blown comedian. So I think that's my passion. And to have the time freedom to just go do that. And just keep creating really funny content is, is my vision. And then ideally, I would love to create funny family content like mom content, it's kind of my vision, but we'll we'll see what happens.

Brooke Schnittman  26:13  
And I love how open you are to it, you have the successful product, you have the successful business and you're not scared to take that leap of faith again, sell it and then figure out what's next.

Angie Lee  26:23  
That space is very volatile. So you could only stay in it so long. So I think we kind of always knew like, hey, the cannabis space is an interesting space that you need to kind of Yeah, like know when it's time to get out. And so that was always kind of our plan. And then I don't know, maybe my next I actually do think you'll like this because you have a baby right now. I actually think my next brand will be something in the in the mom baby space, like a product that is like non toxic for babies are like, I don't know, I love non toxic stuff. I love healthy, organic, crunchy stuff. And then I think that the mom, Kid market is so smart, and also is needing so much help with what people are giving kids and the products they're using and stuff. So I could see in five years that being like my thing is I come up with something like that. I don't know. We'll see if I don't know. And then like when Mike might be the CEO again, I don't know. I mean, I think it's just it's a wild ride. So we'll see.

Brooke Schnittman  27:14  
Yeah, and you're you're down for it. So yeah, I also like the fact that you don't just jump in to like the end goal right away. Like I feel like a lot of people with ADHD, think they have to accomplish something or even just neurotypical in general like they see success on social media. And they think that it's overnight. And you You took a small step, you use your own money, Mike used his own money. And you started in a grassroot environment. So I think that's really cool that you were pretty logical about it. And you, you grew it, like with very small steps, rather than just taking a bunch of investor money and saying, Alright, we're doing this and there's nothing wrong with that. But you were practical about it.

Angie Lee  28:03  
Yeah, I guess. So. I'm really obsessed with enjoying the journey. So if you guys anybody listening knows what the Enneagram is. I think some of those quizzes are kind of silly. To 780 I'm a seven. I am like the most SEVEN, SEVEN there is I am motivated by fun. If it's not fun, I'm not doing it. I'm not motivated by money, which is hilarious, because it ends up happening when I don't try. Yeah, but I like I'm like, what would be so fun to create, like, what would be so cool. And so my friends who are threes, they're all like, what's the goal? What's the dinner? No. And I'm like, dude, just if you don't enjoy the process, you could die tomorrow. Like, why don't you just enjoy what you're actually doing? So exactly.

Brooke Schnittman  28:38  
Get to the goal. Yeah, stop the process. Absolutely.

Angie Lee  28:43  
You got to love what you're actually doing. Because even when you get to the end, you realize that it's not what you thought it was anyway, so it's like you might as well be

Brooke Schnittman  28:50  
Yeah, Jody Cena was saying today that build momentum. You don't know when this thing is going to happen. And build it enjoy it and it will come when it comes and it might not come and it like you said might be different than you expected. So yeah, yeah. So at 33 you have owned and almost sold a successful business. You have been in multiple different roles in leadership. You our presence on social media, your soon to be wife, what would you say your number one success tip is for anyone listening with ADHD?

Angie Lee  29:30  
Oh, wow. That's so difficult, I think because it changes based on the seasons. But I think

Brooke Schnittman  29:36  
what season are you into that

Angie Lee  29:37  
I think you really do need to. Again, I'm trying to figure out how to say it in a way that it doesn't sound like it is the cheesy Pinterest quote, but you got to find I don't want to say do what you love, because that's so overdone. That's so overset and I'm allergic to cheesy cheeky things, but I think there's like this level of it is so important for the neurodivergent person to find their interests. and find the things that they are naturally good at. Because the things that we are naturally good at and interested in, compared to the everyday person we're going to be exceptional at. But yet, we may not be as good on the on the other things on the every other every other, you know, the everyday things or the other or the other things that we're not obsessed with. So it's almost like, it's your job to find your strengths and define your obsessions. And I love the word obsessed. I think when you're obsessed with something, you can pour your heart into it. And so that's now where I'm at again of like, okay, what is Who am I now in my 30s? What am I now interested in now that I'm willing to pour my creativity into, versus even five, six years ago. And so I think that's really important to have this self awareness around your strengths and your obsessions. Because if you can do that, it makes work a lot easier. It allows you to actually finish things, it allows you to accomplish those goals versus you swimming upstream. And you're wondering why you can't do things. And I think it's because we're comparing and then trying to do what other people are doing on the internet or what they're doing with their jobs or their families. And so I'm constantly trying to get really clear on what do I want right now? Like, what do I want in the next five years? What looks good for me? Or what? What are my strengths versus other people. And I think that can be really hard. Because social media and you know, comparison itis but I think that's almost my job. Because when I do that, everything else goes better in life. Everything else goes smooth. But when I'm not seeing in my zone of genius, it's almost like that i Things get frantic. And I'm like trying to do all these different things. And I'm all over the place. Sure. So I hope that makes sense. But find your zone of genius zone of excellence. It could take a long time, but be constantly obsessed with trying to find that and refine that. Because when you do it actually makes your life and your work easier. Mm hmm.

Brooke Schnittman  31:40  
That's perfect. And I'm wondering when that clicked for you, because I was listening to your podcast. And I know that you said initially, you weren't as spicy on it. You weren't authentically you. Now, you're you. So you obviously have gained competence over the years. What has attributed to that? Do you think?

Angie Lee  32:05  
Yeah, I mean, I think it's maturity. I think it's your 30s you kind of all of a sudden, like, I don't know, I think the woowoo spiritual people will say it's like a Saturn Return or something. I don't know, you just all of a sudden, they're like, Oh, my God, what do I actually want to do? Like, wow, this is crazy. And I think, working so hard and working so much in my 20s in having these moments of success, I guess you could call them in my 20s. I'm now like, oh, wow, what really matters? And what do I really want to do? And what am I motivated by now. So I think it actually just hits you after you've done a few things. And I also think just time, and maturity, and also just dealing with like, you know, I've been public with my life since I was 19. On the internet, I've heard it all. So I think you also are kind of like, oh, no matter what I do, I'm going to have love run forward and hate. So it's like, I might as well just do what I like, because there's always gonna be a troll who's like, I don't like this. So you just get to the point where he almost becomes a meat like immune your immune to it. And then I don't know, I just want to set myself free. I don't have time really to, to not be v. So I so I just like that. I'm just more like even more carefree than I used to be. I'm just like, Yeah, I don't really care. I don't need to do this anymore. I get I want to do this. And so that's kind of what happened to is I got to the point where I'm like, I could just totally stop all this tomorrow. So if I could do anything, what would I do? And that's kind of where I'm at right now is like, what do I really want to create? What do I want to put out into the world? How do I want to help people? Because I think that I don't know, your 30s are kind of about that if you worked a lot in your 20s. And you're now like refining it a rediscovery. Yeah. I mean, I'm in a rediscovery phase, which is like, it's been very painful, but also like, kind of, I guess, exciting.

Brooke Schnittman  33:41  
And people can rediscover themselves at any age. So Oh, yeah. A 20 year old listening or your teenager listening and you haven't found your thing? Yeah, like Angie and broker here right now. I didn't find my thing until five years ago. It sounds like you didn't find your thing until five years ago. And you still might find a new thing. So yeah, going and enjoy the process.

Angie Lee  34:05  
Yeah, we don't have like one thing either, right. I think almost like taking the pressure off of that too. Yeah. Okay. What is your say? What is your purpose? This word is so heavy. It's like, why? Like, that's serious, you know? So I'm like, Okay, what my purpose in life to be a mother and then my highest excitement is what I create. That's how I want to do it. Because like, to me, family comes first. So it's almost like this other stuff is just kind of like Yeah, it's fun. I help people I make them laugh. But I think when you put so much pressure on your career to be the thing that makes you so happy. That's actually really dangerous to know. I'm very open about that. I think like,

Brooke Schnittman  34:41  
you're that you're codependent essentially on your career and then something happens then your self esteem crashes. So yeah,

Angie Lee  34:52  
and you're right, that's a good way to put it. It's like codependency I'm like money or followers or success of whatever it is. You're building the company, whatever it is. Like, I have to, at the end of the day know, like, if all of it crashed, it's like, oh, I still like myself, I still have family, I still have friends, I still have what matters in life. And I think that that's also really important. If you can keep your priorities in check, then then you're then you're golden. But if not, then it's like you get sucked into a machine. Right?

Brooke Schnittman  35:15  
Yes. 100%. And I think that people, especially with ADHD, could find themselves by work very often. Because why? Why do you think that is? It's because they can be really good at work. So they want to prove themselves to their bosses and to their co workers. And it's that contingent self esteem, that's self esteem that's built on rewards that they're getting from feedback from employees, from staff members, from bosses, from parents, wherever you work. So it's them, you know, seeking that reward. So that's why they put themselves into like this workaholic mode. And then you finally get burned out, you might realize that it's not a passion of yours in two or three years. And then you move on, and then through life, which is what you were sharing. You start discovering who you are, what your strengths are, what you your zone of genius is. And once you really embrace that, that's when you start building this confidence.

Angie Lee  36:22  
Wow, I didn't realize that. Wow. Oh, my gosh,

Brooke Schnittman  36:26  
yeah. Yeah. Both. I mean, I was a workaholic. I defined myself by my role. I moved to Florida, from New York from the hustle culture. I was a special education teacher administrator came here, not knowing what I was going to do. But I knew I wanted to start my own company. And then five years ago, started this company and from there and receiving coaching, that's when I finally realized who I was. And that attracted the right people met my husband became a stepmom overnight. Oh, became a mom to a 14 month old. So all of that started like the stars started aligning.

Angie Lee  37:03  
That's crazy. Yeah, you're right. And think about that they do. We do find it in because it's like the it's the reward cycle. Yeah, yeah.

Brooke Schnittman  37:11  
Yeah. Last thing, how do you think that so CBT helps. I know, you had mentioned people Withings at a lot of ADHD or anxiety. So whether we have coexisting anxiety disorder, I do. Or your ADHD generates anxiety based on your executive function deficits. How do you think CBD is helpful for people

Angie Lee  37:36  
with ADHD? Also, that's really fascinating. I don't know if you have obviously content around this that I can go read after this. But I'm, I'm curious, how do you know which one because now you're making me think I'm like, do I have anxiety that then set just exacerbates this at attention? Or is it I have ADHD, which then causes anxiety? I'm always curious about that.

Brooke Schnittman  37:54  
Right? So what I've learned is that if you have anxiety, based on things that are not ADHD related, yeah. Okay, so like, it's not like you have anxiety because you're stressed out that you might forget something or something related to your working memory or something about being organized. I have anxiety about like, my dad dying, and you know, things like that, that have nothing to do with ADHD.

Angie Lee  38:29  
Oh, yeah. Like, you're all of a sudden, like, oh my god, what if the world just stopped right now?

Brooke Schnittman  38:35  
What if I don't pick up that Penny and something bad's gonna happen now? I don't know if that's Oh, wow. That's it, but like, the more anxiety I have the

Angie Lee  38:44  
worst one is the sudden just decides to stop be a massage. You know,

Brooke Schnittman  38:48  
you talked about aliens being out there. So you never disorder? It's great. Yeah, exactly.

Angie Lee  38:58  
So probably a little bit of both. But here's where we're CBD comes in. So CBD is the non hallucinogenic form of cannabis. So you will not get high. We have zero THC in our products, which is really great for people who want to function at work or with their family and not behind during the day, but get all of the medicinal benefits of cannabis, which is really great for your central nervous system, inflammation, pain, anxiety, sleep. And so the way I see it is if you have ADHD, you're probably struggling with sleep issues potentially. That's like if you can't sleep at night, your brains not repairing so then the next day you have issues focusing so we have awesome sleep gummies awesome sleep capsules, so those I will take a few times a week. I love those so that indirectly but directly helps my focus. And then we have actual focus caps called big brain that have the cognitive enhancers that I mentioned earlier than nootropics. like ginkgo biloba will be six but Koba money airy, ginseng tyrosine those are all in that as well. And then the third thing is just our general gummies if you're just dealing with anxiety and you're just like hey, I'm My brain is racing with a lot of things. I'll just pop a gummy. I noticed sometimes I've shopped social anxiety and so I'll pop a gummy before I go to like an event or I go meet some people, that helps out a lot. And it just, it just makes me feel like I took the edge off in a way I don't drink. But when I have a few times, it's kind of like the feeling of when you've had a glass or two of wine, we're just like, okay, so yeah, like everything's good. But like you're still extremely coherent. You're still there on like alcohol. And so and it's not toxic to you like alcohol is and there's no top yet there's zero toxicity level, you could technically eat our entire jar of gummies because they're so delicious. And you wouldn't die. Right? And you cannot say that about a lot of pharmaceuticals down the street that I can go get at CVS. And so I love that it's all natural. It's all organic, no side effects, zero toxicity. And majority of people are using it for anxiety and sleep to be honest, that's the two biggest reasons and so for me, I'm like, I gotta sleep well, and I got to calm my tips. So that's why the

Brooke Schnittman  40:57  
show notes for how people can get it for sure. Yeah, for sure. I just real quick. Also want to know, you had mentioned the vitamins that you take for yourself. And I know your brand sells that as well. But how did you figure out that you needed those specific vitamins?

Angie Lee  41:14  
Yeah, you know, I'm a little bio hacker, okay, I'm doing you name it. I've done it. Okay, I'm red lighting my but I'm doing enemas. I'm doing lymphatic drainage. So

Brooke Schnittman  41:24  
this is the real energy coming out everybody.

Angie Lee  41:27  
The amount of time and energy and money that I spend on bio hacks, y'all. If I don't live to 100 and have like superhuman children, I will be pissed. Okay. So, I do a lot of this weird shit. So basically, I started my obsession with wellness, Gosh, 510 years ago. And so I started researching which vitamins and minerals helped the most with focus. And then I would ask my add friends, I'm like, Hey, what are you taking? And I've tried pretty much almost every nootropic on the market now that I've seen which ones my body responds well to, but that's how I kind of made the list of okay, ginseng, l theanine, tyrosine, Bukoba, money airy. And then caffeine in itself is like the number one and the tropic obviously, but I've noticed I don't do well on that. So I think you have to start with the basics. You could literally Google Top nootropics and they'll give you I mean, there's tons of blog posts on this. I would try them in isolation and then see which ones you respond well to a

Brooke Schnittman  42:17  
nation. The opposite like bringing it back in.

Angie Lee  42:21  
Yeah, it's almost like seeing which ones your brain responds well to I don't know, um, that's kind of where I'm where I'm at is I'm always always trying new things. Because it's a it's a lot of than the one thing we did mention that is so important. We're talking about adding all these things on and doing all this stuff, but say no to pretty much everything except the things that are important to you. I have really strict boundaries I like socially and relationship wise and workwise I say no to pretty much everything and I try to keep my plates so clean and my boundaries so tight, and then say yes to the few things that I really want to do. And that in itself helps my ADHD probably 40% More like just taking shit off my plate like our lives are so busy and notifications and oh, yeah, this all notifications are off my phone. I only follow literally three or four people like I have made. I'm making my life so simple and so focused.

Brooke Schnittman  43:11  
I love the notification thing. Sorry, not interrupted by Oh, go ahead. Yeah. So here we go. I turned them off all the time. I know Jim quick follows you and he is my favorite brain coach.

Angie Lee  43:24  
He's Clay's really good friend. That's so funny. Yeah, I

Brooke Schnittman  43:27  
love him. I actually bought limitless for my husband even though we live in the same house. So we have to have Jim quicks limitless book. And that was the very first thing turn off all of your notifications. Oh, yeah. All the notifications, unsubscribe to everything on your phone because we get 1000s of notifications a day? Uh huh. Oh, yeah.

Angie Lee  43:49  
I turned it all off. I'm in the mode now where like, I get on social, I'm going to create, I'm not going to consume. I'm not going to compare a little bit I do. But then you know, 510 minutes, I'm a human.

Brooke Schnittman  43:59  
But you you're able to regulate yourself and understand when you're starting to feel that feeling whether it be like physical or you're starting to get anxiety or like, Ooh, this is not good for me, right? Oh, yeah. Oh, yeah. I

Angie Lee  44:10  
noticed like the comparison itis chimes in and then I'm just taking in so much information in five seconds. I can be like, Oh, there's the girl's cool shoes. And there's five tips to start my morning. And there's this lady who's you know, doing this and then you're like, Oh my God, wait, so should I be embarrassing? Should I buy those shoes? And then should I buy this course and then should I and then your brains like I was just on a walk outside? Like it's so bad for us. I'm actually so scared of how bad it is.

Brooke Schnittman  44:35  
It really is. It really is. I mean, yeah, the the quick attention to things and then the distraction by the notification. And that kind of goes back to your point from the beginning where you're saying like, you don't want to multitask. Yes batch right, because our brain can focus on one thing at a time and do it really well when we are just present on that one thing without distractions. Yeah. Well, thank you so much for being on here today. And again, thank you. Like, we know that you say no to many different things. But you said yes to this podcast. And it's because you care about people and you want ADHD ears to thrive and succeed. So I appreciate you spending one of your 24 hours on me. Well, actually, nine of your hours are sleeping. So your 15 hours on me? Yeah.

Angie Lee  45:30  
Oh my gosh, thank you so much. This was so great. The same here.

Brooke Schnittman  45:34  
Thanks for listening to this episode of successful with ADHD. I hope it helps you on your journey. And if you need any additional support for you or a loved one with ADHD, feel free to reach out to us at coaching with both.com and all social media platforms at coaching with Brooke and remember, it's Brooke with Annie. Thanks again for listening. See you next time.

Transcribed by https://otter.ai