¶ Intro / Opening
Where does my girlfriend fall into my routine? It's something I've actually struggled with because when you're always on and you're so obsessed with work, and you're so focused on what you're doing because you love that you have to go How do I make time for the
outside world? How do I make time for life and it's actually something that's gotten me in trouble in previous relationships careers and it was more from the stimulant side but the ADHD side of you're so focused that you do forget that other stuff you do forget how to pause it and so what we do now that actually works is it's always sort of this connection this call this chat this catch up around the five o'clock time when we're both off and we can at least have our moment putting
her into the routine as weird as that sounds where she goes, this is our time to talk and then on weekends it's okay is this a weekend where it's going to be working because this weekend off and fully committing to the off because there's no together and work it really is all or nothing? Welcome to successful with ADHD. I'm Brooke Shipman LET'S GET STARTED
¶ Introducing Mikey Goldman of Quiet Mind.
welcome everybody back to successful with ADHD today I have Mikey Goldman he is the original weighted pillow maker and his company quiet mind is a wellness brand offering clever solutions to help people suffering from common disorders like ADHD, anxiety, stress, insomnia, and loneliness. I know I can feel you thinking where can I get his pillow? Trust me, I got my hands on it. And you're going to thank yourself for listening to this
episode. So quiet mind provides a compact and convenient alternative to weighted blankets in the form of an ultra soft weighted pillow that you can hug and will hug the bat like a stressful for your body. So welcome. Welcome Mikey. Thank you so much for having me happy to be here. Absolutely ends we only bring on people who have ADHD are experts in ADHD. So Mike a, believe it or not, has extreme ADHD. And we are going to talk about his journey from that to creating the first ever
weighted pillow. Let's do it. Let's talk all things ADHD and resources and weighted pillows. Let's do it. Let's do it. So, Mike, you when did you realize you had ADHD? So I tell this a lot. And I think, you know, I might resonate with a lot of other people with ADHD. But my mom always said as when I was a kid, he has answered his pants. And it was something that at the time, I didn't really know what
it meant. And then now you know, years later when I connect the dots and I kind of say, Okay, this makes a lot of sense, the answering your pants, or the never being able to sit still the highs and lows of emotions where you're not, you know, maybe throwing a typical fit. It's this all out emotional outbursts, something with sensory processing where you you don't, you know, interpret
stimuli, you know, correctly. So it was the ants in the pants, and then through school, that kind of the biggest tell for me, or, you know, sleepovers. If I hear a clock ticking, I lose my mind. Oh, my God, I absolutely lose my mind. Yeah. And so knowing this cannot be the way that other people's because if everyone's having this exact same issue that we all got a problem. So I think that was probably kind of those early signs of you have the ants in your pants not being able to sit
still constantly moving. And then what's going on with these certain sounds? What's going on with these smells? And that's probably when things really were, something's happening here. Yeah, so we could have sensory overload, and sometimes it's just too much for us. So it's funny because I am doing EMDR for my stress along with hugging your pillow. And my therapist started drinking water during one of our visualizations. I'm like, I'm sorry. But I gotta just stop for a second. Like, please stop
drinking the water. I can't visualize right now. Or maybe put yourself on mute because it's distracting me. I'm sorry, I'm a people pleaser. But I had to say it's not going to work if you know, gulping the water. So that misophonia the high sensitivity to sound and touch and feel. A lot of us have it. Yeah, it's I mean, you know, it's, it's not comfortable, especially when you're a kid, you're going to need sleepovers. And someone has that clock in the room and you're going why
can I not fall asleep? And why is that sound starting to make me furious? What is going on with this whole thing? Because you're you're trying to you know, as a kid, you're going other kids have sleepovers what's going on with the you know, how do they do it? And you can't understand why there's this frustration in your brain.
And I mean, even you know, stuff where it's had bad to say sometimes where you're in an Uber or your taxi, and there's a smell there, and that's the same thing where you get so
¶ The frustration of misophonia and sensory overload.
frustrated. And it's these moments where like, you want to throw up. Yeah, yeah. And I get angry and I, you spiral because of this anger you're going, why would the person do this? This is so rude. And it's the same type of anger that comes with sounds. And you know, I mean to your water story, you know, one thing I do have a huge water. So now I'm gonna be very self conscious while while grabbing my little coffee and
visualization right now. And I'm actually going to move the microphone. On my
okay over it. Yeah. But that reminded me where when I go to, you know, if I go to the movies, and if my girlfriend's eating popcorn, and there's one by one, and it's a crunch, crunch, that's all I focus on. And so this hyper focus on things where internally, you're just reacting and has such a negative, strong way, that, to me is one of the worst parts of the ADHD where you just you're not comfortable. That's that's the easiest way, but you're just not comfortable.
That physiological feeling of like, stress, whether it be the the neck feeling, or the tension in your legs, or your shoulders or the headaches, when you talked about smelling the cap, one of the biggest smells that trigger my, you know, sensory issues are when I go on an airplane, and they they give out airplane food. It's the weirdest thing. But there's this association with the smell of the airplane food. There's nothing wrong with
it. There's nothing wrong with it, but I just cannot eat those like old fashioned chicken and vegetable meals that are on an airplane. Yeah,
I mean, that's funny. You mentioned airplane when I was a kid, and I don't do this anymore, because I've now you know, you're so used to. But when I was a kid, I would literally walk on an airplane. And I would put my shirt over my nose, because just the airplane smell was so alarming to me. And it was like, Oh, my gosh, what's going on here? I can't deal with
this. And you look back in your own why was I doing that, but it was every time I was covering my nose until I could finally sort of let it settle in more calmly less aggressively than just sort of that abrupt walk. But it was it was really strange to sort of why am I having that reaction for this? Yeah,
I hear you. So you knew that you had a strong sensation or senses. So what happened once you learned you had ADHD?
¶ Getting an ADHD diagnosis and learning about the body.
So through school school was obviously a struggle, because I think the most, you know, common phrase is also he thinks outside the box, I could solve problems, but it wasn't by your typical way of solving the problem. It was always a workaround, or how do I make my brain work for me so I can get to the answer. And you're doing that enough. And then you're doing testing and the tests
aren't there. But then when you're you know, talking to the teacher orally and explaining something, she goes, you get this, what's going on with the you know, the connection between the brain and the paper versus explaining it out loud. And so when you get tests, or when I got tested, you know, you go through the whole thing. And then even the funniest part about the testing was, you know, they did this thing where they would put something in my hand.
And every time we had something in my hand, I was always much more attentive or calm. And I was more diligent in my answers. And then she you know, she noticed she goes, I mean, that's one of the, you know, signs right there, you're able to focus when you have something to fidget with. And then you get that diagnosis. And I mean, at first it was, this was back in God, it was, you know, early 2000s. And you're kind of going, Okay, this, this doesn't make a
lot of sense. But then besides some of the, you know, you get extra time. So extra time is amazing. And then you get a little bit easier. So you have the time you get more excited for SATs, whatnot. But parents didn't say we're going to do any ADHD medication. They said, wait until college, and also the stigma back then it was still is this real. So granted, besides the extra time, you didn't get a lot of comfort, or you didn't get too much help, because I
wasn't on stimulant. So it was still pretty normal, minus the extra time for myself. And that I think was one of the harder parts. But you know, it does help when at least for buying talk a college and taking those tests and all that stuff.
Yeah, yeah, it really does. And it's hard to get those accommodations for college because IP doesn't necessarily go with you to college, you have to then reapply for that accommodation. So I hear you on that one. So you notice that you take tests differently, you think differently, you arrive at the answer differently. So your teacher was on top of things in understanding that about you. And you got that accommodations in college. What else changed for you once you realized you had ADHD?
¶ Constantly researching natural solutions for ADHD.
I think it started is really when I became in tune with my body. And I started listening to my body because up until that point, everything I was doing there was no rhyme or reason to it or you're not really able to pinpoint an answer for something thing, say why did I just do that? Or why am I acting like this? Or why are things so difficult? But once I got the diagnosis, then it was okay. Now is the time where I'm going to start researching things to take, you know, supplements.
What other ways can I control the symptoms. And that's probably you know, the strongest part for pre stimulus premia that when I go, Okay, now, it's all about supplements, diet exercise, what, what helps me, you know, what online resources are there. And it was really the moment of just Okay, time to
learn my body. And, you know, fast forward now, I'm at the point where everything I, you know, do or take or consume, I know exactly how it, you know, communicates with me how it makes me feel because I not only am pretty strict on what I you know, consumer take, but I am able to tell the, you know, the positive the negative reactions now, because it's such a limited, you know, I like to bring in things, you know, one at a time, and I think that's the biggest benefit is, you
know, once you get it goes, Okay, now that I have it, let's start researching. Let's start learning about me, let's start learning about why I'm, you know, quote unquote, different what's going on with my brain. And that was, you know, exercise was a big one. Fish oil was a big one. Diet was a huge one. Those are the first kind of three things that I was like, we're gonna start this right away. And
¶ Staying motivated to keep up healthy routines.
okay, so you started that right away, you had the motivation to understand the way that your body works fast, and your brain works fast. And now fast forward, you're saying that you're still motivated to continue to eat healthy take supplements that work with your brain and your body? Yeah,
cuz it's, it's this relationship with stimulation, and dopamine, which is this ever evolving relationship where you're always trying to find something that is not going to set you off, and it's not going to go too high or too low? So that relationship where for the longest time, if I'm drinking coffee, why does coffee sometimes make me tired? Why does coffee sometimes put me in a weird mood or then sometimes you drink too much, then it really spikes. But then you have this super negative
crash. And I'm going what's, what is this relationship? So then it's switching to macho, and it's saying, okay, macho works much more effectively. For me, it's more calm. also realizing caffeine with ADHD is not the best combination. And it's trying to find those stimulation plays that work well. And it's the, you know, the same thing with food, realizing there are certain foods that spike this dopamine or spike the serotonin, and then you consume it too much, or you
use too much of it. And all of a sudden, you go out, why am I so full? What just happened in that moment in time, because you kind of black out almost by eating because you don't even realize why this rush of dopamine. And so it's this life change that really says what's control the dopamine levels? Because, you know, learning about how with ADHD that if we have lower dopamine levels, so the normal stimulation that a lot of people feel the normal satisfaction, pleasure that someone might feel
something simple. We're not getting that. And how do you find a way to work around that, so things just don't give you that spike? And that's where I've always say it's a, you know, it's an evolving thing, because I'm looking for ways that spiked me just enough, but don't make me obsessed or make me you know, not lose my mind. But you know, the equivalent, I guess, a little lesser tone of that. Yeah.
Yeah. You kind of hit on something that I was going to ask you, and it was biting my tongue. But I will ask you now that you hit on it, but first, I'm gonna ask you something else not to confuse you. Did you go to school? For nutrition?
¶ How Mikey became obsessed with nutrition without formal education.
I studied economics, I was in business. And the reason I found nutrition, you know, there's a couple reasons why I became obsessed with nutrition one. As you get older, you obviously start feeling things a little
different. So if you eat something poor, the you know, the next day, maybe you're a little slower, you move a little bit heavier, but also just seeing where there was such extremes with it, where you could eat certain foods, and you're you're almost what's the way to put it, you're, you're eating it not out of hunger, but out of pleasure. And the sort of pleasure eating where for me, I'm more of a sustenance here. The way I eat is basically hey, let's just get food down and
then move on. I don't want to think about it husbands,
right? You don't like if you could not eat? You wouldn't, right?
Yeah, exactly. And so then seeing the moments that are almost the opposite of that where you're going, Why am I just snacking so aggressively on this because something's happening with this dopamine reward and then you get to was beyond full when you know it that I never understood because I wouldn't have these normal bus just pauses of your full if I was eating kind of or the regular way, but when I would sort of overeat over binge, something was going on and go
this is just not fun. So looking into it, seeing the reaction was sugars as well. And then just knowing okay, my ADHD Things are always out of whack. If food is the most simple thing that I can do, because I have to do it daily for survival. Let's start with the most bare, you know, bare foods, whole grains, simple year, whether it's eggs, egg whites, vegetables, we don't have a lot of sauces or seasonings. And let's just start there and see the difference.
And then learning about it and going, okay, if I'm doing this, things are a lot easier, things are a lot more controlled on my end, then I can go to the next thing. But if I'm not focusing on the fuel source, the energy as being the clean energy, the clean fuel source, it throws off the rest of the day, the process the ADHD. So fuel, in the cleanest form is just is what works for me. So you
¶ Do you need obsession to be successful with ADHD?
feel your body feel your brain, and you use the word obsessed. So would you say, in your history? How old are you? 3333? That's my favorite number. Actually. I was a Ewing fan. And then there's morning and Larry Bird. And I can go on and on. But yes, I was a 33 basketball player. And then I hurt my knees like Ewing for all of you 80s babies out there. But okay, so you use the word obsessed? Do you feel in order for you to be successful at something? You need to be obsessed with it?
Yes. And that's I mean, that's a great question. Because that is something I never had, up until starting quiet mine and that obsession where you're going, this works, or I can do this. But there's such a level of defeat, you know, you feel depleted while doing stuff that you don't have the passion for, where and it's not even. And it's it's the struggle to even get yourself to that goal, or to that job where you're going. This feels that you know, maybe I don't like this. But God, there's just
nothing stimulating there. And seeing the relationship of stimulation and obsession, and learning how they're connected. And just learning about stimulation. I mean, it was always previous what I was doing. Yeah, if I was not obsessed, I wouldn't do it. But then I would hyper focus on something and you're overly obsessed, you know, and I saw something where it was about ADHD people, you know, you'll focus on something for two
weeks, then move on. And it was that was always the theme of me, it was two weeks of obsession, then move on.
¶ Making routines become obsessions.
But I see that with nutrition. And with a pillow, you were in. This isn't a two week fix. You were totally motivated in it. And I'm sure there were days where you had off days, but you still, like figured out your path in order to create a healthy lifestyle and also this product that is helping lots of people and hopefully will help millions someday. So sounds like you had motivation.
Yeah. And it goes into the kind of the routine, where the routine becomes when you when you find something that works. I don't even know the right way to put it where when you find something that works you put you almost put it in the routine and the routine becomes the obsession, where I don't even know if obsession is the right word. But for me, the
routine is everything. So when I have routine when I have structure when I have you know less indecision, we're doing well, we're okay, you know, I tell people I wear the same, you know, shirts every day. Because if I go look at a shirt, and if I don't do that, then I go, What am I going to do that one for? Maybe I'll need this one, or what am I going to do later today? Where you're having this conversation internally, it makes no sense. And you go Hold
on, just put the same thing. So when I obsess over something and then throw into into this routine bucket, then it takes decision away and I go I know I'm gonna work. This is gonna work for me. So it's exercise, then it's the food thing, the nutrition that's in the routine. And so then I guess I view it a little differently as the obsession same thing with work now is in the routine, or no, that makes the works probably an obsession. But yes, the it's that routine routine
¶ The power of simple, consistent clothing choices.
is the obsession and you find things that you're obsessed with and you put it into your routine and I love the clothing analogy because Steve Jobs did the same thing. And Elizabeth, what's her last name? The one who's arrested now the car yeah, Holmes Yeah, she would do the same thing because there's no like cognitive overload where you wear a black shirt and jeans and that's it. There's no thought process and you make that
routine of you. Yeah, yeah. And I didn't understand that because I think too with you know, Mark Zuckerberg it was he also did the same thing. People are gonna What is this and it really helps to, you know, keep yourself moving and keeps you away from distraction. Because I've had times where, like I mentioned where you're looking at and you have this conversation playing out every scenario of what's the weather where you gonna go when you know, you're not even gonna
go anywhere that day. You're like, Hey, I'm working from home or IKEA's, you know? Who cares what the weather is? Yeah. And it makes no sense and you just go on Okay, let's cut that out. Throw it into the routine. Turn that into the obsession and then move on. Because it just that internal monologue Ogg is crazy with some ADHD people, especially myself, where it just goes back and forth. You're spinning your wheels.
Yeah. So where does your girlfriend fall into your routine?
¶ Fitting relationships into the ADHD routine.
Where does my girlfriend fall into my routine? So that's actually something with the new venture, learning how to put that into routine and saying, okay, usually this is where we talk, or this is where we spend our time, learning how to actually, you know, a dog trying to phrase it in a way don't get in trouble.
Because it's it beautiful thing about a podcast, we could cut it, but we're not. No,
we should keep it because it's, it's something I've actually struggled with. Because when you're always on and you're so obsessed with work, and you're so focused on what you're doing, because you love that you have to go, how do I make time for the outside
world? How do I make time for life and it's actually something that's gotten me in trouble in previous relationships, careers, and it was more from the stimulant side, but the ADHD side of you're so focused, that you do forget that other stuff you do forget how to pause it.
And so what we do now that actually works is it's always sort of this connection, this call this chat, this catch up around the five o'clock time when we're both off, and we can at least have our moment, you know, all and for the day, and I'll go on a walk. And so I know on this walk, because I need that to get outside, I need to you know, have a break, that we put that into our routine, where it's every day and even with, you know, my system where when I call her and she doesn't answer,
I got what's going on. And it feels a little weird internally, because you're like something just a little bit off. So it's putting in those, you know, putting her into the routine, as weird as that sounds where she goes, this is our time to talk. And then on weekends, it's okay, is this a weekend where it's gonna be working, because this weekend off, and fully committing to the off because there's no together and work you because
there's no in between? It's all or nothing? Yeah, it
really is all or nothing. And, you know, it's funny, you asked that because looking at previous relationships and previous careers when I was doing you know, I was I used to I come from tech marketing up in
Silicon Valley. And with the previous girlfriend, or previous relationships, previous family, there's this sort of drive and this obsession and this way you tune out the world and whether that's on your computer, whether that's what stimulants or whether we you know, whatever you're doing that coming up for air going hold on, I do need to incorporate the rest of life into what I'm doing. Because it can turn into a blackout of times where you go, Wait, what is going on with everybody else?
Why am I why am I not you know, being as connected with my family being protected with the girlfriends with friends, because you just kind of forget, which is I mean, it's as simple as that you just forget,
out of sight out of mind for an ADHD or the struggle is so real. And that goes into all of the other buckets of our life, like texting people back, going to sleep, you know, whatever you don't focus on, you know it. It's in trouble, essentially. But when you what you focus on grows like Tony Robbins says. So, I love that you are intentional about that. Because you obviously really care about your relationship and you schedule time for each other.
There's those non negotiables when you guys are together cannot interfere.
Yeah, no, that that's a great question, actually.
¶ Mikey's journey to creating the first weighted pillow.
Thank you. So speaking of work, tell me a little bit about your motivation for the weight pillar.
So like I mentioned, I come from this world of tech marketing, I was in San Francisco up in Silicon Valley for eight years before I moved down to LA, been down here for a little over five years. And I was doing marketing, I was always doing things, you know, I was I was I learned about marketing and how to market software. And so I had this background knowledge, but there was something about it that never really felt, you know,
right to me. And this was also when you know, I got to college, or you know, before that I got to college and that's when I went on prescription stimulants. And this was back when there was this huge over prescription. So every time I would have a side effect from a stimulant
when there was an over prescription back then not now. True.
Very true. I guess it Yes, right now everything's running out. No one can get it I guess the the way I meant it was treating side effects with medication. So everything back then was oh, you're having this problem. We're gonna give me more medication. So I was taking stimulants. I was taking benzos
I was taking sleep pills. I was taking multiple stimulants for short term long term and doing this and going this is crazy my mental health and not even realizing that the benzo side of things I don't didn't you know then have anxiety but it was I couldn't sleep. So let's try that for sleeping. And I go I graduate I'm on a million things. I'm going this is crazy. Trying to figure out other ADHD people where are these
resources? You know, where are people talking about what they're doing in a natural way because it wasn't working for me, the stimulants worked, but the over kind of take everything, you know the mismanagement, that's what did not work for me. And it took a toll on the mental health. So I always had this passion. I gotta find the natural things that we we touched on, you know, with the diet exercise and so I get off everything. And fast forward. I go, okay, natural, natural, natural, I get a
weighted blanket. weighted blankets, especially over COVID blew up because they naturally calm you down, and I go, these are great. This works really well. But
¶ An over-medicated history that led to natural solutions.
they're really like hot. They're hot. Some of them are too heavy.
They're cumbersome. You get claustrophobic, and you know, I guess and yeah, it sits somewhere. And so it's on my bed. And you know, I after a couple nights are long, you know multiple nights you wake up, you're Get off of me. Are you trying to pull it on you? It's like the biggest struggle. I go, let me disorder wait at pillow. Turnover, look on Amazon, nothing. I go. That's weird. Okay, go to sleep. Next day, let me get away to pillow I already
sleep with pillows. And I keep searching and there's no way to pillows. And I thought I was missing something because way to pillow is. It's very simple. It makes sense. Straightforward. And I go what is going on Where's his way to pillow. And I could not for the life of me find a way to pillow. And that is when this moment goes. I'm just obsessed with this, this is something in me that I can I cannot get my take my focus off
of. So I bought some spas and Amazon made a way to pill like, oh my god, this works way more efficiently than blankets which I can touch on later, which why it works more efficiently. And it was one of those things where the second way to pillow popped in my head. Every single day. I did more, I did more. And I did more. And I got to the point where I was doing it more than my job. And I you know, I went and told somebody about it. I said, Hey, I got this idea. I feel like I'm crazy. I feel like
I'm missing something. He goes, this is brilliant. We talked about the ADHD thing, we talked about how it naturally would help people ground them calm them down. And it was kind of right then that I go I've been waiting my entire life to find something that I'm passionate about. This gave me purpose. This gave me my life's purpose.
You know, it's a you know, you know, tool, but it gave me that purpose that I didn't have prior where I go, I can help my community, I can make natural resources, I can make natural products, I can just do something that say hey, let's try this versus the alternative. And that's how I started quiet mind.
¶ Tricking your nervous system to fully relax.
I have to tell you, I truly believe in your product you had sent me the the green and blue one I happen to like your pillow colors. So good job on the color beast. And you have the small I think you sent me the small and the medium size. And I was having a really stressful week when you had sent me them and I literally just put it on my chest. I sat there, I held it. And you didn't ask for anything in return, but I just
was holding them. Oh my gosh, literally like five minutes later, my whole nervous system just became calm. And I my uncle passed away recently. Just unexpectedly I gave them the medium sized one to my dad and he's like what is this thing? I was like, just use it hold it when you feel stressed and use it I'm gifting you this I'm keeping the blue one don't even go there with that but it really makes such a difference and even
for sleeping. I'm a side sleeper so what I realized after having my baby is that I need to hold something. I used to use those pregnancy pillows even after I had my baby because you know having my knees with a pillow underneath it and arms with a pillow underneath it but now I use the wave pillow and it just Yeah, I can't explain it you just got to try it it's genius. Hopeful
Thank you there was I mean it was it was one of those moments to where people you know you hear way to pillow you you search for a player like okay this this is in here and I you know after building the way to pillow I kind of learned what maybe are like you know I hypothesize why people probably didn't jump into the weighted pillow because I obsessed over the details to help with sensory stimulation and how to make the weighted pillow work for your nervous system how to make it
work with your body where it's not this beanbag it's not this you know poorly made thing and I go okay for your nervous system to work when you place weight on top of you it's called deep
pressure stimulation. And it's this reaction that starts to you know, begin start with your nervous system where you're the goal is to go from fight or flight to rest and digest and it does that by pressure and weight increased serotonin increased dopamine increased melatonin while decreasing cortisol the stress hormone and so if you're getting all of that you know that those neurotransmitters react with pressure and weight you have to then tell your your nervous system. We liked this we
are comfortable with it. So in our waited pillow, we came up with this you know patent pending design to hide the weight so when you squeeze it, it literally feels like a pillow versus I made different prototypes where you could feel Some of the hard stuff inside and you're going, this isn't working, you're you're getting kind of uncomfortable and your, your nervous system saying no, we don't like this. So we had to
hide it. Then the next thing we had to do was we had to have this memory foam that you know, everyone who's gone to yoga or when you do breath work, or if you're stressed out, they say, you know, breathe in, breathe out, take deep breaths, and I go, Okay, well, I want the pillow to breathe in and breathe out kind of like a human would or at least give you enough resistance that if you're doing a four second seven second, you know, in and out it, it breathes with you and you can squeeze it
so it feels like that human sort of reaction. And so doing a special memory foam and making it you know, blend in with the weighted core. That was your next component. And then finally, it was the fabric. You know, I talked about fidget spinners or sensory processing disorder, I wanted the fabric were really give you this feedback for your fingertips that goes, Ooh, I like this, there's more sensory stimulation to aid in the overall
experience. So then you're really able to say, when you place it on top you, Hey, your nervous system goes, Okay, we like this, that's okay, let's shift over to that rest and digest. And let's really increase the amount of dopamine serotonin that we can get into your body, because it's almost kind of been I tell people, it's almost like tricking your your nervous system. Because we like it, we're comfortable. And then we're able to get more of those
hormones in. And it's more efficient than a weighted blanket, we're weighted blankets don't give you that same amount of calm and comfort, because it's not the same amount of pressure and weight. Correct.
¶ How weighted pillows work better than blankets.
I definitely feel that and what I think is so helpful. I used to be a special education teacher, and I got my masters in art, and I was an assistant director of special education for children with autism, and like, you know, extreme sensory issues, they used to put this weighted vest on them. So this is something that doesn't have any like negative association with it, it pretty much gives that same type
of effect, right? But it's a pillow, you just, you take it with you wherever you want, you know, you could drive with it, you could sit with it on the couch, you could sleep with it. And it just really, it does really, really does calm your nervous system. So you became obsessed with the need for this. And obviously, you came through a lot of like trials and tribulations, you said that you had a lot of different prototypes. I'm sure your house is covered with different types
of pillows. Going through that right now with his prototype of something. Yeah, it just shows and everyone who's listening that if you're really, really believing in something, and you have a passion for something, you can get a career you can make it your passion, you can make money off of it. There's so many ADHD errs that wish they could quit their day jobs and say, I just wish you know what I enjoy doing. I can make money off of Well, look, you did it. And I'm sure it wasn't easy, but
you stuck with it. And how long did it take from start to end?
¶ The 2-year journey bringing the weighted pillow to life.
It was a little over two years from idea to where live, we're live as a company. And it was yeah, it was one of those things internally that just something fuels you something keeps you going. And you know, as you're growing up and learning, you always hear people talk about these ideas that they do that they love you going God I wish I could figure that out? Or how do I get that? You know, how do I find something that that I can do.
But you don't search you don't search for it, it comes to you, right? This
is the weirdest part of the story, where the way it popped in my head where I was just sitting there, it could not have been more clear. Where it's you know, I'm in bed, I'm struggling with the weighted blanket and the way weighted blanket pops in my head already sleep with a pillow under my arm on my stomach. And I just go that was odd. It from that moment was obsession, and I can't really explain it. But I
don't know why. It was so clear that it did focus everything inside me goes well, we're not giving that up. And then yeah, you know, it took over two years. This was also over COVID. Think 2021 was when we started in, I want to say April or March was when that the you know, the idea. And I first reached out to someone, and then it was figuring out, okay, I gotta learn how to do direct to consumer, I need to learn how to build the product to do reach
out to you. I tried to do it locally, then I had to go back to China to make it because the supply chain and locally, everyone wanted to build the stuff in China anyway. So it was really hard to figure out how do you do this. And then finally we got out and it was just there's something in you that just tells you keep going and it goes back to the I was a kid I was struggling and I wanted something that had these types
of resources. And I wanted something that talks about a story that I could relate to. Because for me I needed a person I could look at and go Oh, I see myself in that. That would have helped me because now I can
follow his playbook. And so I just thought you know what, I can have this product I can tell my story because it was something that I you know, wanted as a kid if I could help someone With the story, or then at least offer resources and other forms to help someone you know going through something, it just all you know, kind of connected my dots and I go, this is it, I have to do this.
¶ Following your passion and sharing your story to help others.
I love that. So lots there to unpack. And for those of you who are either in school and are out of the box thinkers or people who are wanting to launch something that they're passionate about, listen to Mike I'm sure he'd be happy to share any you know, hardships or processes along the way. If you reach out to him on one quiet mind it is right. Yeah,
I mean, you can shoot me an email it's Mikey at one quiet mind.com The the company name is quiet mind. But unfortunately, there is a quiet mind.com that somebody has had for 30 years or something. They're they're not willing to give it up. So right now it's one quiet mind.com You can reach out to me at Mikey at one quiet mind.com our Instagram though is quiet mind, which is pretty fun. So you can you can find us on
Instagram. And then the last thing I'll say about the pillows which is actually one of the sort of the the secret weapons or the magic sauce with our pillows paired to blankets. When you hug something for 10 seconds or more you release oxytocin, oxytocin, the social bonding the cuddle love hormone. And so when you do when you take the pillow, and you start squeezing this for 10 seconds and more, you actually get that added benefit that the blankets don't give you because the blankets will give
you those other hormones. But this blends into the other hormones and it creates this warmth, this this grounding safety and security that really helps for people just go Hey, okay, you know, if you're lonely, if you're at home, it just adds the sort of element of this calm, that you're not getting with blankets. And it really is a magical experience to give this thing a squeeze and see what your natural, you know, hormones can do for you. Yeah,
I love that. So one thing that you would share to everyone listening, that would be your tool for success.
¶ Listen to your body for what works for you.
The one thing for my listen to your body. I think it's it could not be more clear as I got older to go, whatever is going to work with my body, we're going to do that. Because you can fight it, you can try and do things that don't but for my success, it has always been you know, especially as of late, if I eat something and it works perfect. If I don't, we're not doing that anymore. If I do an exercise that works or you know, a time for me that works, which is the morning we're going to do
that. And it's whatever I can do to listen to the body and say, add the things that work. We're just going to keep it that way. And so I'm always listening to my body every single day. Because if I don't, something goes wrong, and you cause it to go haywire. The nervous system is out of whack. So the best piece of advice, you know, listen to the body, and let that be kind of your love
that. Well, Mikey, thank you for coming on today. And we'll share where people can reach you in the show notes. And I just appreciate your time and your innovation. Well, thank you
so much for having me. I love talking ADHD. I love being a part of this community. I think it's it's, it's a small community that we're finally growing and we're, we're being talked about so I love how I can help and yes, please anyone reach out to me, I do like it. 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 brooke.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.