November 19, 2024 • 34 mins
Kyle Goodknight introduces Kristina Manning, who shares her entrepreneurial journey and insights into managing ADHD. Kristina discusses the creation of Calm Minds and her work coaching parents of ADHD children. They explore the impact of diet and routine, the challenges of procrastination, and the effectiveness of the Pomodoro technique. The conversation delves into the difficulties ADHD children face with transitions and Kristina's shift from teaching to entrepreneurship while managing anxiety. They discuss the challenges she encountered as a school counselor and her decision to embrace parent coaching. The episode highlights the impact of COVID-19 on her work and the importance of STEM education for ADHD students.
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Episode Transcript
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(00:00):
So transitions are hard for for every child.
But with an ADHD brain, they are really, reallyhard.
So meltdowns are very common.
So one thing that you can do for transitions isreally try to set clear expectations and have
this you know, set your kids up for success,like, whatever the transition may be.
Like
(00:24):
Hello, and welcome back to the Ignition Pathpodcast.
I'm your host, Kyle Goodnight.
Before we get into the show, don't forget tolike, subscribe, and share.
Make sure that if you're listening to this andour guest or I say anything that resonates with
you or anybody else that you know, don't forgetto hit that share button and just push it right
out to that friend of yours to get them to hearthis con conversation and and the content that
we create here on the Ignition Path podcast.
(00:46):
So I'm excited to talk to you today aboutChristina Manning.
She is my guest today, and, she's got a great,discussion about her path through
entrepreneurialism.
And, oh, I said that really well that time.
A lot of times, I fumble that.
So I'll go ahead and let, Christina introduceherself and and, go ahead and introduce
yourself and then just talk about, like, whatyou did prior to becoming an entrepreneur or
(01:09):
when you thought maybe you could be anentrepreneur.
Talk about that path and then don't go all theway into what you're doing now.
We'll get into that later, but just let's talkabout that path that got to where you are for
now.
Absolutely.
So in my former life, I was a classroomteacher.
I taught 3rd grade for a while, and then I gotmy master's in school counseling.
And during the pandemic, as it turned into amental health crisis for pretty much all adults
(01:33):
and kids.
Yes.
Yeah.
It was a very, very striking to see how manykids, especially with ADHD, were really, really
struggling.
I mean, every child struggled during thepandemic, but kids with ADHD thrive on routine
and structure.
And so when they had to start learning at home,it was just incredibly difficult.
(01:58):
And so a lot of parents were reaching out to meand they were like, Christina, how do I, you
know, how do I support my ADHD kid at home?
You know, they're having meltdowns daily, youknow, and being out of the routine is really,
really tough.
So that was pretty much the catalyst for whatmade me create my my brand Calm Minds.
(02:19):
And so now I'm not I won't get into it toomuch, but I do I am a parent coach for kids of
ADHD.
So so you're a parent coach.
Do you actually coach the the children as wellor just the parents to help them manage it?
Mainly the parents because it always startswith the parents.
Yeah.
I give them lots of tips, and we createroutines.
(02:41):
And yeah.
I really help the parents because a lot oftimes, parents who have a recent diagnosis with
their child with ADHD, they really have no ideahow an ADHD brain works and the best and most
effective ways to support them.
So
Right.
Yes.
Well, you know, and it's it you know, I've Ihave an ADHD child as well, and he's 23 now
(03:04):
just as as of yesterday.
So well, 2 days ago, 29th.
So he he turned 23 on 29th, and we diagnosedhim through official means back when he was
probably in 6th or 7th grade, right aroundthere.
Mhmm.
And it was pretty unique because I have I'mlearning disability.
I'm I've had a learning disability my entirelife, so I was probably ADHD prior to and
(03:29):
probably woulda had one of those, what do theycall them when they have a program?
An IEP or a
50 4 5.
Yeah.
IEP.
I would've I would've easily been labeled inthe IEP program.
I had special tutors growing up, all the waythrough elementary and junior high.
High school was more of a I actually went toseparate classes.
I'd go to my homeroom class, and then I wouldleave for the day, come back at lunch and
(03:50):
recess, and then come back and then come backat the end of the day.
So I was pretty outcasted in the beginning,before any of this stuff.
I mean, we're talking, you know, seventies andearly eighties.
I was graduating in 1990.
So, you know, we're talking about about, youknow, thank goodness my mom and dad moved me to
a school district that actually had proper, youknow, education path for this, but it wasn't
(04:13):
called IEP back then.
So Right.
You know but, you know, by the time I got inhigh school, I had all the people that used to
pick on me want me to help them study becausewhat my learning disability did through my back
then non, you know, IEP back then was taught mehow to study.
And, you know, when we got Carter diagnosedwith ADHD and through the process of that,
(04:36):
since I was never labeled ADHD, I remembersitting with the doctor, and as he's going
through and talking about Carter and and allthe things that he's telling us about how his
diagnosis came, I look over at my wife, and mywife looks over at me, and I'm like, and she's
pointing at me, and I'm pointing at myself.
I'm like, oh my god.
I'm ADHD.
You know?
Let alone learning disability.
(04:56):
You know?
Let learn let letting let alone learningdisabled.
I mean, I'm I'm successful.
Like, you know, I've I've had multiplebusinesses.
I'm a podcaster.
I'm a voice over actor.
I'm a paramedic.
I mean, it hasn't slowed me down.
I mean, I I save people's lives for a living,so I'm I'm not stupid, and that's what a lot of
people think that IEP is.
You you learn differently.
And same thing with the ADHD stuff.
(05:17):
So we did notice that having a routine washuge, and we, you know, red dye and all of that
stuff.
And any of the dyes and diet really affectADHDers.
Oh, yes.
And we were very strict on that in thebeginning.
So talk a little bit more about, when you notjust working with ADHD children in your in your
school and the mental health struggle thatCOVID was.
(05:40):
Mhmm.
But, you know, where where did your passionreally come in?
Was it was it did you have some of thatbeforehand?
Have you had ADHD issues of your own or peoplethat you know and from the be you know, from
prior to wanting to get out of the educationalspace and and take on your own thing?
Yeah.
So I definitely believe I have ADHD.
(06:02):
I've never been diagnosed.
Actually, when I started coaching, I asked mydoctor.
I'm like, I I really believe that I have ADHD.
Like, I've always been the, like, space cadetin class.
Like, on my report card, like, this again wasin the nineties, so ADHD wasn't really a thing
back then.
It would just say, oh, Christina often zonesout, and she's more concerned about talking to
(06:23):
her friends than completing her work.
And, yeah, that was totally me on, like, everyreport card.
Social butterfly.
And but it obviously, I didn't have that formaldiagnosis.
But I still, as an adult, struggle withfocusing and prioritizing tasks.
And, you know, just when I try to do a task,I'll sit down, but then I'll do, like, 800
(06:46):
things at the same time I'm doing that task.
So 100%, that certainly has to do with why I'mso passionate about this because I really wanna
try to flip the script.
Because like you said, there is this stigma.
Like, people think that people with ADHD arestupid, and they just need more consequences,
and they're just bad badly behaved kids, butthat's not it at all.
(07:07):
I've worked with the most gifted Oh, superpower.
ADHD.
It is a superpower.
It has absolutely nothing to do withintelligence.
An ADHD brain is like they say it's like aFerrari engine with bicycle brakes.
Oh, yeah.
100%.
Yeah.
Yes.
Oh my gosh.
That's a great explanation because that'sexactly what I am.
(07:27):
You know?
I am go go go.
Like I mentioned, I have multiple businesses.
I'm a handyman.
I'm a voice over actor, and I run I have my own2 podcasts, and I run 6 other podcasts.
So Wow.
That's amazing.
I'm a full time paramedic where every 3rd day Igo and serve my community.
And, you know, a lot of us in the 1st responderworld are ADHD because that rush you know, my
(07:50):
favorite place to when I worked in a hospital,my favorite place to work was the ER.
You wanna know why?
Because I got that adrenaline rush every timesomething came in that was crazy, and it was
this this severe focus for 20 minutes or 30minutes, and then it was then it was calm for a
little bit, and then the next one.
You know?
And and, you know, my dopamine levels were Iloved working at the hospital, but until I got
(08:11):
to the point where it but I'd come home and Icould barely walk because I'd, you know, I'd
I'd walk 12 miles at the hospital.
I mean, in a 12 hour shift.
Yeah.
As a respiratory therapist.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
And and to kind of piggyback off of that, yeah,people with ADHD have typically lower dopamine
levels.
So like you said, like, they're we're alwaysseeking out, like Yeah.
(08:31):
Excitement and thrill.
So a lot of times with ADHD, I mean, there's 2different types.
There's the hyperactive and then there's theinattentive or there there's the combined where
you have both.
But a lot of times with ADHD kids, they'll,like, poke at their sibling or they're making
the noise or they'll do something that'sannoyed quote, unquote annoying.
But it's really because they're trying tocreate their own excitement,
(08:54):
you know?
They have such low dopamine.
So that makes so much sense and that's amazingthat, you know, you're just hanging out with
people with cardiac arrest and it's
Well, I'm calm, like, I'm not one of you know,so I didn't know what anxiety was until I got
into the corporate world.
You know, I I deal with I deal with cardiacarrest.
I deal with people difficulty breathing.
I deal with children being hurt, you know,everything.
(09:17):
About childbirth, I've delivered my first babya couple of months ago in my career.
I've seen many I've seen many births in thehospital setting, but as a paramedic, I've
actually delivered my first baby, a couplemonths ago.
And, you know, it's one of those things wherewhen I got into the corporate world because of
my because of my background and my my clinicalside of things, and I was also in medical sales
(09:37):
for a while as well, I got recruited to helpdevelop new medical supplies, and it was very
corporate.
I went to an office, I sat in a cubicle, andabout 3 months in I looked up and here I feel
that the cubicle's coming in on me, And I'mlike, I even to the point where I reached up
and I grabbed it.
And I'm like, oh, wait.
(09:57):
I'm like, who's pushing the cubicle?
No one.
It was my brain and my anxiety because of allit.
And I I mean, I finally had to had to quit thatjob be and go back to the clinical space
because that's where I'm more comfortable.
Call it
Right.
You know, knowing everything or call itwhatever you wanna call it.
You know, calling it that rush.
You know, there wasn't that much.
There were some good things that werehappening, things I was I was helping develop,
(10:19):
bring, and save lives in that other other job,but I never had that adrenaline rush, and I was
working 16, 70 hours a week, you know, andcoming home, eating dinner, putting my kids to
bed, and getting back into my computer, andthat's just not how I work.
I need to have as an ADHD or yourself, you knowthat we had to have our downtime just as much
as we have our uptime.
Oh, yes.
Downtime is so so important
(10:40):
Yeah.
Just to be able to
Yeah.
Rest our brains because, like, they are Ferrariengines going
and going.
Yeah.
And sometimes sleep isn't enough.
Sometimes you just need a complete, you know,dump.
One thing one thing I wanna ask you about and,you know, share with me what you talk about
with your parents when it comes toprocrastination.
I feel that ADHD, there's a built inprocrastination that happens to it, but then
(11:03):
I've recently done a deep dive onprocrastination even with myself, and that'll
actually get us into my sponsor here in acouple of minutes.
But Yeah.
You know, my procrastination is its ownsuperpower sometimes because Mhmm.
Because I work so well under pressure.
I procrastinate, I think, you know, becausewhen, I'm like, okay.
It really doesn't need to be done.
(11:23):
There's no consequences if I don't do it untilthe last minute.
You know, if I get it done and but but and I'vealso noticed that there's no there hasn't been
any consequences yet with my procrastinationbecause I get it done.
There may be added stress.
But talk a little bit about what you teachpeople when it comes to the procrastination of
factor of ADHD.
Absolutely.
Have you ever heard of the Pomodoro theory?
(11:46):
I I think I have.
I couldn't recite it for you.
But yeah.
So one of the main things that I do when I workwith parents is have them, apply the Pomodoro
theory, which is basically just setting a timerand just first, you you break down the tasks
into small parts.
Because with ADHD brains, it can become very,very overwhelming.
(12:07):
You tell a child to go do 3 an ADHD child to godo 3 things at once.
They're not going to remember, you know, theexecutive functions with the working memory.
Like, they're they're not gonna remember.
So one is chunking, chunking, things into smallparts.
The Pomodoro theory is setting a timer for andthis can be adapted based on age, but they say,
(12:27):
like, set a timer for 25 minutes.
And literally for that 25 minutes, you're justgonna focus on one task.
Right?
But again, if it's a small smaller child, itmight be 10 minutes.
Go do these 3 math problems in 10 minutes.
Right.
So timers, Yes.
Making checklists and our our dopamine yeah.
(12:50):
When we check things off oh, it's such adopamine hit, isn't it?
Yes.
Yes.
Right.
Yeah.
And just, you know, the ADHD brains, like I hadmentioned before, just really thrive on
structure and routines.
So having visuals visuals so that we can knowand what to expect and know, like, for a child,
(13:11):
like, I have to we I've designed morning,routines for parents.
So, like, get up, you know, put on my clothes,brush my teeth, breakfast, and have that
checklist somewhere visible, like, in thechild's bedroom or on the refrigerator or
whatever.
And then also have a checklist for the afterschool routine because I'm sure that you've
(13:34):
heard and you've probably experienced thisyourself, Kyle, the after school meltdown when
you come home and you just, like, pretty muchfall apart.
Yeah.
I do.
I that happens to me when I because I do a lotof training now.
And so I'll go out there and I'll I'll havethis huge rush of training, And then I may
train anywhere between 2 and 3 stations in myday.
(13:55):
You know, actually, I I go train on on Monday.
I train all day long.
And I get back from training, and I'll sit downfinally.
And not driving, like, sit down and not haveanything in front of me to do.
And it's like Like Kaboom.
Kaboom.
My friends are like, you literally like, youknow, because when when when you're when you
live 24 hours at a at a at a medic house Yes.
You're allowed to you're allowed to sleep, youknow, to you know, you're you're allowed to
(14:18):
sleep appropriately.
Right?
Right.
Mhmm.
And we we have a living room and we havecouches and we have, you know, lane lazy boys
and all the amenities of a house because welive there for 24 hours in a 121 days a year.
So we have all the amenities.
Right?
So I've I've had that and my wife will my wifewill tell me to tell you this too, but I've
been in the middle of a conversation and justfall asleep after a after a big day like that.
(14:42):
Right?
Oh, I can imagine.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You're going and going.
Yeah.
So, you know, back to the back to the whole,you know, talking about, you know because some
of the stuff you're saying, I'm like, I'velived it.
I've gone through it with my son.
I mean, that timer, you know, and and, this isnot a plug.
This is not the sponsor, but I'm gonna put alink into the timer that we used for Carter
(15:03):
that we were suggested, and it's the visualtimer.
Yeah.
And it's it's it's got red of like, you turn itand it turns red.
So when the red leaves and the red is gone, youknow your time is up.
And it's a great timer.
It's a visual timer because most ADHDers too,they don't have a concept of what the what 5
minutes have been.
No.
What 10 minutes has been.
They can see a visual clock of, oh, I've got aquarter of my clock left.
(15:28):
Yes.
And then it gets down to, oh, I've got thismuch of my clock left.
Oh, I've got this much of my clock left.
And people listening on the, on the podcast andnot watching it on YouTube, I was I was using
my hands as a as a as a Yes.
As the time shrank.
You know?
But but yeah.
So the visual clock is huge, and I'm sure youyou tell your parents about the visual clock
because it was a game changer for us.
(15:50):
Yeah.
100%.
And, you know, you can really just go onlineand just, like, type in timer.
And they I mean, I I understand what you meanby, like, the ones that have the colors.
Yeah.
Those are really, really helpful, especially ifyou can't tell time yet.
But for parents who are listening, if you justliterally, like, type in timer in Google, you
(16:11):
can have that timer and have that screen set upright in front of your child's, like, working
space.
Yeah.
Exactly.
And, you know, that's one of the things that,that I really focused on with with Carter was
transition.
So speak a little bit about because what wefound out that not only the plan.
(16:33):
Yeah.
So and and like I said, this is this is, like,2 ADHD parents.
You know, one who actually created a course andhelps parents and one who lived through it and
actually knows exactly what she's teaching, andI wish you were around back then because we
learned the hard way, trial and error.
You know?
And so Exactly.
But wait.
I've learned all the things you're talkingabout, and one of them is we found out that
with Carter and with me, and I'm sure with you,any of us ADHD ADHDers, we have a problem with
(16:59):
transition.
Yes.
You know, because we're we hyper focus.
We wanna get this done, and if it's not doneand not done in the way that we like it, and we
gotta do something new, it's it's like it's ameltdown to transition.
100%.
100%.
So do you want me to talk on transition?
Yeah.
Please.
Please.
(17:19):
Okay.
So transitions are hard for for every child,but with an ADHD brain, they are really, really
hard.
So meltdowns are very common.
So one thing that you can do for transitions isreally try to set clear expectations and have
Mhmm.
You know, set your kids up for success, like,whatever the transition may be.
Like, even if it's something like we're goingto grandma's house for the Christmas party,
(17:43):
there's gonna be a lot of people there and, youknow, just, like, really having that
conversation about it might be loud.
You might be overstimulated.
And we will eventually leave.
So when you're finally having fun, you knowthat we gotta leave.
So when I come to you and tell you that wegotta leave, don't have another meltdown,
buddy.
Right.
Exactly.
And and you know what?
And also normalizing, like, it's okay to feel,like
(18:05):
Yeah.
Overstimulated or angry or, like, nervous.
You know?
Just have a plan.
Like, maybe if your child needs, like, a stressball to squeeze when they're in, like, a, you
know, high, stimulating environment, or a planto go to a quiet space.
Right?
Also, like, let's say the transition is, okay,we are now leaving elementary school and you're
(18:28):
gonna be in middle school next year.
So one thing that I tell parents is 100% withyour ADHD child, go visit the middle school.
You know, drive by, go meet the teachers, youknow.
Walk through the halls.
Walk through the halls, show them where thecafeteria is and show them where everything is
so that they're familiar.
Yeah.
(18:48):
But a lot of it is and also visuals, too.
If you want to create a visual about, say,you're going on a trip with the family on a
vacation and you want to just, you know, remindthe child like, what, or not remind them
rather, but like, set them up for success andlet them know like, what we're going to do
first and what we're going to do next.
(19:08):
And this might happen and just try to it's justall about planning, really, and setting them up
for success.
Right.
So yes.
Yeah.
Exactly.
Well, this would be a good spot to put in the,my sponsor.
We'll talk about that for a couple of minutes,and we'll come back from the sponsor
discussion.
And, we'll talk more about your entrepreneurialpath inside and, and what, what happened when
(19:30):
you actually made the transition.
So right now, a little word from our sponsor.
Let me ask you a question.
Would your life be better if whatever you'restruggling with, you could finally break free
of?
So what am I talking about?
The funky five.
What's the funky 5 you ask?
It's those oh so familiar struggles.
Procrastination, people pleasing,perfectionism, low self confidence and the one
(19:52):
I call the big a, anxiety.
For years I struggled to manage my own version,and I call them my funky 3.
I had 3 of these funky 5 weighing me down.
I've tried just about everything to deal withthem.
Then a guest on my podcast, Daniel Packard,shared with me a profound thought that I had
never thought of.
So Daniel, a UC Berkeley engineer, spent 8years working with this team and over 3,000
(20:17):
people to create an approach that doesn't justhelp you manage these issues, it actually frees
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The number one thing I was dealing with wasprocrastination, but miraculously a deeper
(20:40):
rooted struggle with people pleasing, somethingI'd been unknowingly battling for a lifetime,
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(21:02):
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(21:51):
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I am a different person now, and I've literallysquashed my procrastination to almost nil.
My anxiety is completely gone, and my peoplepleasing, I'm still working on that one, but
(22:11):
it's coming down.
So back to Christina and and her, and and herprogram.
Let's talk a little bit more about when youmade the transition from being a teacher
because on Ignition Path, we always like totalk about the path that we got to our
entrepreneurial ways.
Talk about the those days that you decided toleave the teaching industry and go full time at
this.
What what was involved with that?
(22:32):
Were there any funky 5 funky 5 asprocrastination, anxiety?
Yeah.
People pleasing, self self doubt.
You know, those are, you know, one more youknow, those so that's the funky stuff that we
all deal with as entrepreneurs when we makethat switch.
So talk a little bit about that switch.
Absolutely.
Entrepreneurs when we make that switch.
So talk a little bit about that switch.
Absolutely.
So, you
know, I had spoke about how, you know, I havemy own ADHD tendencies.
I guarantee that I would be diagnosed with ADHDif I, you know, go and get a formal diagnosis.
(23:00):
But with ADHD comes anxiety.
ADHD and anxiety are very much, you know, comehand in hand.
And I've struggled with anxiety my entire life.
And as a teacher and then moving into a schoolcounselor, I worked in a very, very high needs
school.
I mean, I had to be trained on Narcan at anelementary school.
Like it was it was really, really intense.
(23:22):
And it was mainly for more the parents of thekids.
But, you know,
coming in, dropping them off and then Right.
Being in their car after they drop their carkid off.
Yeah.
Okay.
Right.
Right.
I mean, I've been trained on an EpiPen as ateacher, but Narcan is a I'm That's a whole
another story.
Right.
So, I had my own anxiety.
You know, I literally had a lot of I mean, I'mnot special.
(23:43):
Everybody had mental health issues during thepandemic, but I was literally having kids write
on Google Classroom.
I'm going to kill myself, and then I wouldn'tsleep that night.
How could you?
Right.
Exactly.
I'm the counselor of the school.
And, you know, in distance learning, it wasvery, very hard to get in touch with parents.
And so, yes, I struggled with my own anxiety,which was part of my own burnout that led me to
(24:07):
become an entrepreneur, which now is such agift.
But yes, at the time I had my own struggles.
I was having panic attacks.
I wasn't sleeping.
And I'm like, why don't I just turn this into athing?
Like, I'm going to move into parent coaching.
I'm going to help parents with my passion ofADHD.
(24:29):
And that's how I got started, and I have notlooked back since.
It's been the best decision ever.
And I don't think I'd go back to the schoolsystem ever.
Well, you know, in that in that that makes somesense.
And and I totally get what you're sayingbecause, you know, we do know that there is a
there is flaws in our schooling systems rightnow.
(24:49):
And Yes.
And, you know, it needs a complete revamp.
But for the people that are living it and andlike yourself and have seen their kids go
through it, you know, we're I'm lucky.
My kids and and I are really lucky that we arein one of the best school systems in all of
Ohio.
And some of the best some of the best gradesand yes.
There was a little bit of struggle, but thankgoodness Carter was on the back end of his his
(25:13):
high school career.
It was only the last 3 months of his highschool career that COVID hit.
Now my daughter, on the other hand, she was afreshman at the time, and and that was a little
bit different.
Went to get her back into the flow once schoolstarted up again the the next year, that was a
little different in that hybrid stuff.
But she's a completely different kid thanCarter was too.
She's not ADHD.
She's very, you know, focused.
She's very they're both very smart, but she hasthe she's a female too.
(25:37):
So she just has a drive to to to study and tonot get distracted and and all that.
So she's she's not ADHD that I know of.
I think she has some little bit of testanxiety, but, you know, who doesn't?
Right.
Right.
Exactly.
Nervous about how important, you know, nursingschool is.
But but it's one of those things.
So talk a little bit about how when when youcame over from when you left that day, that day
(26:02):
that you made that decision, like, was it liketell me what it was like.
I I I think I know what it was like, but I wantyou to say it.
It was really scary
at first.
Well, there's that.
Yeah.
Yeah.
But it was also really liberating.
The weight off your shoulder?
Yeah.
Yes.
I was like, you know, because I thought I I Idon't wanna call working in a school, like, you
(26:24):
know, being in prison.
But like you said, that the the school systemthe public school system really, really needs a
good revamp.
I mean, kids literally are expected to sitthere and sit still, which is so unrealistic.
And, yeah.
And that's why kids fall apart when they gethome.
Right?
Because they're like, like little sheepthroughout the entire day.
(26:46):
And like, we do this, then we do that.
And the bell rings and then I do this, youknow, like a robot.
So that said, I'm so I couldn't have beenhappier to to leave that environment and have
the opportunity to serve others, but also workfrom the comfort of my home.
Yeah.
It's been great.
Yes.
Yeah.
And get to know people and and and, honestly,just like myself, when I help people with
(27:09):
podcasting
Mhmm.
I'm not stuck to the school itself and thepeople that are in that building.
Right.
And the parents that are in that building.
I am global.
You are now global.
You put out your message.
You get someone that comes into your Facebookgroup or wherever wherever you get your leads
from for people that need help, and they couldbe a whole another country.
(27:30):
You know?
I've worked with parents in Australia.
Exactly.
And and that's what that is that is truetransformation of what we have to offer the
world and our expertise and our passions, andand it's the world.
It's no longer our own community.
Don't get me wrong.
I've got a couple of people that I help in myown community, but and I would like I would
(27:50):
like more because I love in purse in in person,meetups and and education and and teachings.
But to be global like we are, I mean, oh, whata blessing.
Right?
It's such a gift.
It really is.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And I never thought I I really like when I wentback to school to be a counselor, I just
figured I would be in the public school systemfor 30 years, then retire.
(28:12):
And so, the pandemic in a way, yes, it had alot of its challenges, but it also provided a
lot of opportunities.
Yeah.
It really did.
It really did.
My handyman business exploded during thepandemic.
I mean it's because people were needing officesat home.
They needed doors and walls built so they couldhave an office at home.
So I've all of a sudden I I did like 6 or 7,room, enclosures during the pandemic.
(28:37):
Wow.
You're really a dreadful trait.
You do everything.
My my dad, you know, you know, that that kindagoes back into my my upbringing.
My dad was in construction.
When I was when I was old enough to swing ahammer, I would go to the sites with him or he
they own property they own 26 properties backin the day, and I would go with him to fix
things at the property.
I just kinda learned it through you know, I wasyou know, my mom and dad were both
(29:01):
professionals, and my mom was, you know, amultiple day you know, she wasn't a stay at
home mom when I was by the time I came, I wasthe last of 4 10 years closest to my, closest
sibling.
So oops.
Oh, oopsie.
But, hey.
You know, best oops they ever had.
Right?
Right.
But it's one of those things where, you know, Icouldn't just stay at home.
(29:22):
So dad was like, hey.
Come with me.
You gotta come with me because you're, youknow, you're not old enough to stay at home or
what have you.
So I kinda learned that kind of stuff, youknow, through, just through being around it.
You know, and then the main thing was when itcame to when it came to my schooling and
growing up, I wanted to mention this as well.
I'm I'm just as I hear what you're saying andwhat you do for people, I just I'm so blessed
(29:48):
and lucky that my mom and dad moved me to theWesterville school system back in 1st grade.
And it's Westerville, Ohio is where I live.
That's a school system that was advanced betterthan you know, it was more advanced for the for
the IEP, non IEP, you know, the learningdisabled student back then.
But even inside of that, my I remember my 8thgrade year, my my 7th grade year, my science
(30:10):
teacher came to me and said, hey, Kyle.
We're putting together a new curriculum forscience, which was one of my favorite subjects.
Mhmm.
Because it was hands on.
I understood it.
It was
almost like, you know, engineering stuff.
Right?
Yes.
We're putting together a new a new thing.
What would be called now the STEM program iswhat what it what it was.
Oh, wow.
Instead of learning about rockets, we builtrockets.
(30:31):
Instead of instead of, you know, looking atpictures of anatomy, we dissected a fetal pig,
which is 99% like our body when it came when itcomes to anatomy and what they have inside of
it.
You know?
So all these hands on things.
And that's that's I mean, once that happened, Ibecame so interested in sciences.
(30:51):
Sciences were never tough for me.
They were exciting for me even through highschool, through college, and all that.
So so if you're out there and you and stem is apossibility for your ADHD a ADHD student, try
the stem program because it it it's a differentway of learning.
See, like, our school system has a separatebuilding, a whole separate building that all 4
(31:12):
high schools send students that wanna be inSTEM to that high school.
It's a it's a 5th high school, but it's builtoff of the other 4 high schools.
Wow.
And and it's its own STEM.
My son was in it for 1 year and did all kindsof great stuff, and it led him to the career
center that led him to what he's doing now on afull time basis.
(31:32):
So it can start as early as that.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And for anyone listening and that doesn't knowwhat STEM is, it's science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics.
Yep.
Exactly.
Exactly.
Fantastic.
So tell us, we'll go ahead and wrap this up andjust tell people how to get a hold of you, what
services you provide.
Of course, all the links will be below, to geta hold of Christina and find out if her
(31:55):
services are what you need and what you wouldlike to have, and I'm sure she gives some sort
of free consultation.
We all do.
Yes.
I do.
I do.
So to find me, I have a Facebook group, and Iand Kyle's gonna drop the links.
I also have an Instagram, and I'm calm_minds.
My business is called Calm Minds.
(32:15):
And my Facebook group my goodness.
I think it's Calm Minds Raising Kids With ADHDor Supporting Kids With ADHD, but you'll see
the link.
I do offer a free consult, so please hop on ifyou have a child with ADHD or you suspect that
they have ADHD.
We can talk through that together.
I do have a freebie.
It's an ADHD guide for parents, and it willreally, really help you understand your ADHD
(32:40):
child's brain, as well as effective tools tosupport them at home.
Awesome.
Thank you so much for coming on, Christina.
For those listeners out there, thank you somuch for tuning in and listening to yet another
episode of the Ignition Path podcast.
Don't forget to like, subscribe, share.
Share meaning if you hear someone you you havea a a a sister-in-law that has a you think has
(33:05):
an ADHD child or no.
No.
That that may not that may not go over.
I'm like, hey.
I think you need this.
No.
But no.
But, yeah, in all in all seriousness, we have Iwe we had people contact us that were loved
ones of ours and said, hey.
Have you ever thought about getting, you know,Carter, you know, you know, diagnosed with
ADHD?
(33:25):
You could have some you know, there could beyou know, we were totally against medication,
so don't think if you get diagnosed with that'sanother thing.
Woah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Don't think if you have a child that may bediagnosed with ADHD, don't think that
medication is the only answer because it's not.
We we chose not to do medication and did thestuff that Christina and I talked to.
Mhmm.
And we were able to manage my son very easily.
(33:46):
Absolutely.
Yeah.
My, I have a family member whose son is beingdiagnosed right now, and they're like, oh my
gosh.
But we're not putting our child on medication.
Like
Okay.
You don't have to.
You don't have to.
There's so many natural ways to support yourADHD child.
Take out all the dye.
Take out all the dye.
I wish that's one thing I wish that our ourour, food system could do is get rid of all the
(34:08):
dye.
I would love that.
But Yes.
Illegal.
It's illegal in Europe to put dye in food.
I know.
How is it not illegal here?
Oh, and ADHD brains need a lot of protein, justas a last tip.
Okay.
So Alright.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I did that's a that's a c.
I learned something new.
Even though I lived through it, I didn't knowthat the protein was a huge factor.
So
Yes.
Awesome.
(34:29):
Alright.
Thanks, Christina, so much for coming on theIgnition Path podcast, and, we'll talk to you
real soon.
Bye, everybody.
Thanks for having
me.
Thank you for listening to Ignition Path,fueling the entrepreneurial fire.
So transitions are hard for for every child.
But with an ADHD brain, they are really, reallyhard.
So meltdowns are very common.
So one thing that you can do for transitions isreally try to set clear expectations and have
this you know, set your kids up for success,like, whatever the transition may be.
Like
(00:24):
Hello, and welcome back to the Ignition Pathpodcast.
I'm your host, Kyle Goodnight.
Before we get into the show, don't forget tolike, subscribe, and share.
Make sure that if you're listening to this andour guest or I say anything that resonates with
you or anybody else that you know, don't forgetto hit that share button and just push it right
out to that friend of yours to get them to hearthis con conversation and and the content that
we create here on the Ignition Path podcast.
(00:46):
So I'm excited to talk to you today aboutChristina Manning.
She is my guest today, and, she's got a great,discussion about her path through
entrepreneurialism.
And, oh, I said that really well that time.
A lot of times, I fumble that.
So I'll go ahead and let, Christina introduceherself and and, go ahead and introduce
yourself and then just talk about, like, whatyou did prior to becoming an entrepreneur or
(01:09):
when you thought maybe you could be anentrepreneur.
Talk about that path and then don't go all theway into what you're doing now.
We'll get into that later, but just let's talkabout that path that got to where you are for
now.
Absolutely.
So in my former life, I was a classroomteacher.
I taught 3rd grade for a while, and then I gotmy master's in school counseling.
And during the pandemic, as it turned into amental health crisis for pretty much all adults
(01:33):
and kids.
Yes.
Yeah.
It was a very, very striking to see how manykids, especially with ADHD, were really, really
struggling.
I mean, every child struggled during thepandemic, but kids with ADHD thrive on routine
and structure.
And so when they had to start learning at home,it was just incredibly difficult.
(01:58):
And so a lot of parents were reaching out to meand they were like, Christina, how do I, you
know, how do I support my ADHD kid at home?
You know, they're having meltdowns daily, youknow, and being out of the routine is really,
really tough.
So that was pretty much the catalyst for whatmade me create my my brand Calm Minds.
(02:19):
And so now I'm not I won't get into it toomuch, but I do I am a parent coach for kids of
ADHD.
So so you're a parent coach.
Do you actually coach the the children as wellor just the parents to help them manage it?
Mainly the parents because it always startswith the parents.
Yeah.
I give them lots of tips, and we createroutines.
(02:41):
And yeah.
I really help the parents because a lot oftimes, parents who have a recent diagnosis with
their child with ADHD, they really have no ideahow an ADHD brain works and the best and most
effective ways to support them.
So
Right.
Yes.
Well, you know, and it's it you know, I've Ihave an ADHD child as well, and he's 23 now
(03:04):
just as as of yesterday.
So well, 2 days ago, 29th.
So he he turned 23 on 29th, and we diagnosedhim through official means back when he was
probably in 6th or 7th grade, right aroundthere.
Mhmm.
And it was pretty unique because I have I'mlearning disability.
I'm I've had a learning disability my entirelife, so I was probably ADHD prior to and
(03:29):
probably woulda had one of those, what do theycall them when they have a program?
An IEP or a
50 4 5.
Yeah.
IEP.
I would've I would've easily been labeled inthe IEP program.
I had special tutors growing up, all the waythrough elementary and junior high.
High school was more of a I actually went toseparate classes.
I'd go to my homeroom class, and then I wouldleave for the day, come back at lunch and
(03:50):
recess, and then come back and then come backat the end of the day.
So I was pretty outcasted in the beginning,before any of this stuff.
I mean, we're talking, you know, seventies andearly eighties.
I was graduating in 1990.
So, you know, we're talking about about, youknow, thank goodness my mom and dad moved me to
a school district that actually had proper, youknow, education path for this, but it wasn't
(04:13):
called IEP back then.
So Right.
You know but, you know, by the time I got inhigh school, I had all the people that used to
pick on me want me to help them study becausewhat my learning disability did through my back
then non, you know, IEP back then was taught mehow to study.
And, you know, when we got Carter diagnosedwith ADHD and through the process of that,
(04:36):
since I was never labeled ADHD, I remembersitting with the doctor, and as he's going
through and talking about Carter and and allthe things that he's telling us about how his
diagnosis came, I look over at my wife, and mywife looks over at me, and I'm like, and she's
pointing at me, and I'm pointing at myself.
I'm like, oh my god.
I'm ADHD.
You know?
Let alone learning disability.
(04:56):
You know?
Let learn let letting let alone learningdisabled.
I mean, I'm I'm successful.
Like, you know, I've I've had multiplebusinesses.
I'm a podcaster.
I'm a voice over actor.
I'm a paramedic.
I mean, it hasn't slowed me down.
I mean, I I save people's lives for a living,so I'm I'm not stupid, and that's what a lot of
people think that IEP is.
You you learn differently.
And same thing with the ADHD stuff.
(05:17):
So we did notice that having a routine washuge, and we, you know, red dye and all of that
stuff.
And any of the dyes and diet really affectADHDers.
Oh, yes.
And we were very strict on that in thebeginning.
So talk a little bit more about, when you notjust working with ADHD children in your in your
school and the mental health struggle thatCOVID was.
(05:40):
Mhmm.
But, you know, where where did your passionreally come in?
Was it was it did you have some of thatbeforehand?
Have you had ADHD issues of your own or peoplethat you know and from the be you know, from
prior to wanting to get out of the educationalspace and and take on your own thing?
Yeah.
So I definitely believe I have ADHD.
(06:02):
I've never been diagnosed.
Actually, when I started coaching, I asked mydoctor.
I'm like, I I really believe that I have ADHD.
Like, I've always been the, like, space cadetin class.
Like, on my report card, like, this again wasin the nineties, so ADHD wasn't really a thing
back then.
It would just say, oh, Christina often zonesout, and she's more concerned about talking to
(06:23):
her friends than completing her work.
And, yeah, that was totally me on, like, everyreport card.
Social butterfly.
And but it obviously, I didn't have that formaldiagnosis.
But I still, as an adult, struggle withfocusing and prioritizing tasks.
And, you know, just when I try to do a task,I'll sit down, but then I'll do, like, 800
(06:46):
things at the same time I'm doing that task.
So 100%, that certainly has to do with why I'mso passionate about this because I really wanna
try to flip the script.
Because like you said, there is this stigma.
Like, people think that people with ADHD arestupid, and they just need more consequences,
and they're just bad badly behaved kids, butthat's not it at all.
(07:07):
I've worked with the most gifted Oh, superpower.
ADHD.
It is a superpower.
It has absolutely nothing to do withintelligence.
An ADHD brain is like they say it's like aFerrari engine with bicycle brakes.
Oh, yeah.
100%.
Yeah.
Yes.
Oh my gosh.
That's a great explanation because that'sexactly what I am.
(07:27):
You know?
I am go go go.
Like I mentioned, I have multiple businesses.
I'm a handyman.
I'm a voice over actor, and I run I have my own2 podcasts, and I run 6 other podcasts.
So Wow.
That's amazing.
I'm a full time paramedic where every 3rd day Igo and serve my community.
And, you know, a lot of us in the 1st responderworld are ADHD because that rush you know, my
(07:50):
favorite place to when I worked in a hospital,my favorite place to work was the ER.
You wanna know why?
Because I got that adrenaline rush every timesomething came in that was crazy, and it was
this this severe focus for 20 minutes or 30minutes, and then it was then it was calm for a
little bit, and then the next one.
You know?
And and, you know, my dopamine levels were Iloved working at the hospital, but until I got
(08:11):
to the point where it but I'd come home and Icould barely walk because I'd, you know, I'd
I'd walk 12 miles at the hospital.
I mean, in a 12 hour shift.
Yeah.
As a respiratory therapist.
Yeah.
Absolutely.
And and to kind of piggyback off of that, yeah,people with ADHD have typically lower dopamine
levels.
So like you said, like, they're we're alwaysseeking out, like Yeah.
(08:31):
Excitement and thrill.
So a lot of times with ADHD, I mean, there's 2different types.
There's the hyperactive and then there's theinattentive or there there's the combined where
you have both.
But a lot of times with ADHD kids, they'll,like, poke at their sibling or they're making
the noise or they'll do something that'sannoyed quote, unquote annoying.
But it's really because they're trying tocreate their own excitement,
(08:54):
you know?
They have such low dopamine.
So that makes so much sense and that's amazingthat, you know, you're just hanging out with
people with cardiac arrest and it's
Well, I'm calm, like, I'm not one of you know,so I didn't know what anxiety was until I got
into the corporate world.
You know, I I deal with I deal with cardiacarrest.
I deal with people difficulty breathing.
I deal with children being hurt, you know,everything.
(09:17):
About childbirth, I've delivered my first babya couple of months ago in my career.
I've seen many I've seen many births in thehospital setting, but as a paramedic, I've
actually delivered my first baby, a couplemonths ago.
And, you know, it's one of those things wherewhen I got into the corporate world because of
my because of my background and my my clinicalside of things, and I was also in medical sales
(09:37):
for a while as well, I got recruited to helpdevelop new medical supplies, and it was very
corporate.
I went to an office, I sat in a cubicle, andabout 3 months in I looked up and here I feel
that the cubicle's coming in on me, And I'mlike, I even to the point where I reached up
and I grabbed it.
And I'm like, oh, wait.
(09:57):
I'm like, who's pushing the cubicle?
No one.
It was my brain and my anxiety because of allit.
And I I mean, I finally had to had to quit thatjob be and go back to the clinical space
because that's where I'm more comfortable.
Call it
Right.
You know, knowing everything or call itwhatever you wanna call it.
You know, calling it that rush.
You know, there wasn't that much.
There were some good things that werehappening, things I was I was helping develop,
(10:19):
bring, and save lives in that other other job,but I never had that adrenaline rush, and I was
working 16, 70 hours a week, you know, andcoming home, eating dinner, putting my kids to
bed, and getting back into my computer, andthat's just not how I work.
I need to have as an ADHD or yourself, you knowthat we had to have our downtime just as much
as we have our uptime.
Oh, yes.
Downtime is so so important
(10:40):
Yeah.
Just to be able to
Yeah.
Rest our brains because, like, they are Ferrariengines going
and going.
Yeah.
And sometimes sleep isn't enough.
Sometimes you just need a complete, you know,dump.
One thing one thing I wanna ask you about and,you know, share with me what you talk about
with your parents when it comes toprocrastination.
I feel that ADHD, there's a built inprocrastination that happens to it, but then
(11:03):
I've recently done a deep dive onprocrastination even with myself, and that'll
actually get us into my sponsor here in acouple of minutes.
But Yeah.
You know, my procrastination is its ownsuperpower sometimes because Mhmm.
Because I work so well under pressure.
I procrastinate, I think, you know, becausewhen, I'm like, okay.
It really doesn't need to be done.
(11:23):
There's no consequences if I don't do it untilthe last minute.
You know, if I get it done and but but and I'vealso noticed that there's no there hasn't been
any consequences yet with my procrastinationbecause I get it done.
There may be added stress.
But talk a little bit about what you teachpeople when it comes to the procrastination of
factor of ADHD.
Absolutely.
Have you ever heard of the Pomodoro theory?
(11:46):
I I think I have.
I couldn't recite it for you.
But yeah.
So one of the main things that I do when I workwith parents is have them, apply the Pomodoro
theory, which is basically just setting a timerand just first, you you break down the tasks
into small parts.
Because with ADHD brains, it can become very,very overwhelming.
(12:07):
You tell a child to go do 3 an ADHD child to godo 3 things at once.
They're not going to remember, you know, theexecutive functions with the working memory.
Like, they're they're not gonna remember.
So one is chunking, chunking, things into smallparts.
The Pomodoro theory is setting a timer for andthis can be adapted based on age, but they say,
(12:27):
like, set a timer for 25 minutes.
And literally for that 25 minutes, you're justgonna focus on one task.
Right?
But again, if it's a small smaller child, itmight be 10 minutes.
Go do these 3 math problems in 10 minutes.
Right.
So timers, Yes.
Making checklists and our our dopamine yeah.
(12:50):
When we check things off oh, it's such adopamine hit, isn't it?
Yes.
Yes.
Right.
Yeah.
And just, you know, the ADHD brains, like I hadmentioned before, just really thrive on
structure and routines.
So having visuals visuals so that we can knowand what to expect and know, like, for a child,
(13:11):
like, I have to we I've designed morning,routines for parents.
So, like, get up, you know, put on my clothes,brush my teeth, breakfast, and have that
checklist somewhere visible, like, in thechild's bedroom or on the refrigerator or
whatever.
And then also have a checklist for the afterschool routine because I'm sure that you've
(13:34):
heard and you've probably experienced thisyourself, Kyle, the after school meltdown when
you come home and you just, like, pretty muchfall apart.
Yeah.
I do.
I that happens to me when I because I do a lotof training now.
And so I'll go out there and I'll I'll havethis huge rush of training, And then I may
train anywhere between 2 and 3 stations in myday.
(13:55):
You know, actually, I I go train on on Monday.
I train all day long.
And I get back from training, and I'll sit downfinally.
And not driving, like, sit down and not haveanything in front of me to do.
And it's like Like Kaboom.
Kaboom.
My friends are like, you literally like, youknow, because when when when you're when you
live 24 hours at a at a at a medic house Yes.
You're allowed to you're allowed to sleep, youknow, to you know, you're you're allowed to
(14:18):
sleep appropriately.
Right?
Right.
Mhmm.
And we we have a living room and we havecouches and we have, you know, lane lazy boys
and all the amenities of a house because welive there for 24 hours in a 121 days a year.
So we have all the amenities.
Right?
So I've I've had that and my wife will my wifewill tell me to tell you this too, but I've
been in the middle of a conversation and justfall asleep after a after a big day like that.
(14:42):
Right?
Oh, I can imagine.
Yeah.
Yeah.
You're going and going.
Yeah.
So, you know, back to the back to the whole,you know, talking about, you know because some
of the stuff you're saying, I'm like, I'velived it.
I've gone through it with my son.
I mean, that timer, you know, and and, this isnot a plug.
This is not the sponsor, but I'm gonna put alink into the timer that we used for Carter
(15:03):
that we were suggested, and it's the visualtimer.
Yeah.
And it's it's it's got red of like, you turn itand it turns red.
So when the red leaves and the red is gone, youknow your time is up.
And it's a great timer.
It's a visual timer because most ADHDers too,they don't have a concept of what the what 5
minutes have been.
No.
What 10 minutes has been.
They can see a visual clock of, oh, I've got aquarter of my clock left.
(15:28):
Yes.
And then it gets down to, oh, I've got thismuch of my clock left.
Oh, I've got this much of my clock left.
And people listening on the, on the podcast andnot watching it on YouTube, I was I was using
my hands as a as a as a Yes.
As the time shrank.
You know?
But but yeah.
So the visual clock is huge, and I'm sure youyou tell your parents about the visual clock
because it was a game changer for us.
(15:50):
Yeah.
100%.
And, you know, you can really just go onlineand just, like, type in timer.
And they I mean, I I understand what you meanby, like, the ones that have the colors.
Yeah.
Those are really, really helpful, especially ifyou can't tell time yet.
But for parents who are listening, if you justliterally, like, type in timer in Google, you
(16:11):
can have that timer and have that screen set upright in front of your child's, like, working
space.
Yeah.
Exactly.
And, you know, that's one of the things that,that I really focused on with with Carter was
transition.
So speak a little bit about because what wefound out that not only the plan.
(16:33):
Yeah.
So and and like I said, this is this is, like,2 ADHD parents.
You know, one who actually created a course andhelps parents and one who lived through it and
actually knows exactly what she's teaching, andI wish you were around back then because we
learned the hard way, trial and error.
You know?
And so Exactly.
But wait.
I've learned all the things you're talkingabout, and one of them is we found out that
with Carter and with me, and I'm sure with you,any of us ADHD ADHDers, we have a problem with
(16:59):
transition.
Yes.
You know, because we're we hyper focus.
We wanna get this done, and if it's not doneand not done in the way that we like it, and we
gotta do something new, it's it's like it's ameltdown to transition.
100%.
100%.
So do you want me to talk on transition?
Yeah.
Please.
Please.
(17:19):
Okay.
So transitions are hard for for every child,but with an ADHD brain, they are really, really
hard.
So meltdowns are very common.
So one thing that you can do for transitions isreally try to set clear expectations and have
Mhmm.
You know, set your kids up for success, like,whatever the transition may be.
Like, even if it's something like we're goingto grandma's house for the Christmas party,
(17:43):
there's gonna be a lot of people there and, youknow, just, like, really having that
conversation about it might be loud.
You might be overstimulated.
And we will eventually leave.
So when you're finally having fun, you knowthat we gotta leave.
So when I come to you and tell you that wegotta leave, don't have another meltdown,
buddy.
Right.
Exactly.
And and you know what?
And also normalizing, like, it's okay to feel,like
(18:05):
Yeah.
Overstimulated or angry or, like, nervous.
You know?
Just have a plan.
Like, maybe if your child needs, like, a stressball to squeeze when they're in, like, a, you
know, high, stimulating environment, or a planto go to a quiet space.
Right?
Also, like, let's say the transition is, okay,we are now leaving elementary school and you're
(18:28):
gonna be in middle school next year.
So one thing that I tell parents is 100% withyour ADHD child, go visit the middle school.
You know, drive by, go meet the teachers, youknow.
Walk through the halls.
Walk through the halls, show them where thecafeteria is and show them where everything is
so that they're familiar.
Yeah.
(18:48):
But a lot of it is and also visuals, too.
If you want to create a visual about, say,you're going on a trip with the family on a
vacation and you want to just, you know, remindthe child like, what, or not remind them
rather, but like, set them up for success andlet them know like, what we're going to do
first and what we're going to do next.
(19:08):
And this might happen and just try to it's justall about planning, really, and setting them up
for success.
Right.
So yes.
Yeah.
Exactly.
Well, this would be a good spot to put in the,my sponsor.
We'll talk about that for a couple of minutes,and we'll come back from the sponsor
discussion.
And, we'll talk more about your entrepreneurialpath inside and, and what, what happened when
(19:30):
you actually made the transition.
So right now, a little word from our sponsor.
Let me ask you a question.
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So what am I talking about?
The funky five.
What's the funky 5 you ask?
It's those oh so familiar struggles.
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(19:52):
I call the big a, anxiety.
For years I struggled to manage my own version,and I call them my funky 3.
I had 3 of these funky 5 weighing me down.
I've tried just about everything to deal withthem.
Then a guest on my podcast, Daniel Packard,shared with me a profound thought that I had
never thought of.
So Daniel, a UC Berkeley engineer, spent 8years working with this team and over 3,000
(20:17):
people to create an approach that doesn't justhelp you manage these issues, it actually frees
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rooted struggle with people pleasing, somethingI'd been unknowingly battling for a lifetime,
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So if any of the funky 5, or maybe your ownversion of the funky 5 are holding you back,
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(21:51):
if you have any of the funky 5 that we talkedabout in that in that that that, section there,
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I am a different person now, and I've literallysquashed my procrastination to almost nil.
My anxiety is completely gone, and my peoplepleasing, I'm still working on that one, but
(22:11):
it's coming down.
So back to Christina and and her, and and herprogram.
Let's talk a little bit more about when youmade the transition from being a teacher
because on Ignition Path, we always like totalk about the path that we got to our
entrepreneurial ways.
Talk about the those days that you decided toleave the teaching industry and go full time at
this.
What what was involved with that?
(22:32):
Were there any funky 5 funky 5 asprocrastination, anxiety?
Yeah.
People pleasing, self self doubt.
You know, those are, you know, one more youknow, those so that's the funky stuff that we
all deal with as entrepreneurs when we makethat switch.
So talk a little bit about that switch.
Absolutely.
Entrepreneurs when we make that switch.
So talk a little bit about that switch.
Absolutely.
So, you
know, I had spoke about how, you know, I havemy own ADHD tendencies.
I guarantee that I would be diagnosed with ADHDif I, you know, go and get a formal diagnosis.
(23:00):
But with ADHD comes anxiety.
ADHD and anxiety are very much, you know, comehand in hand.
And I've struggled with anxiety my entire life.
And as a teacher and then moving into a schoolcounselor, I worked in a very, very high needs
school.
I mean, I had to be trained on Narcan at anelementary school.
Like it was it was really, really intense.
(23:22):
And it was mainly for more the parents of thekids.
But, you know,
coming in, dropping them off and then Right.
Being in their car after they drop their carkid off.
Yeah.
Okay.
Right.
Right.
I mean, I've been trained on an EpiPen as ateacher, but Narcan is a I'm That's a whole
another story.
Right.
So, I had my own anxiety.
You know, I literally had a lot of I mean, I'mnot special.
(23:43):
Everybody had mental health issues during thepandemic, but I was literally having kids write
on Google Classroom.
I'm going to kill myself, and then I wouldn'tsleep that night.
How could you?
Right.
Exactly.
I'm the counselor of the school.
And, you know, in distance learning, it wasvery, very hard to get in touch with parents.
And so, yes, I struggled with my own anxiety,which was part of my own burnout that led me to
(24:07):
become an entrepreneur, which now is such agift.
But yes, at the time I had my own struggles.
I was having panic attacks.
I wasn't sleeping.
And I'm like, why don't I just turn this into athing?
Like, I'm going to move into parent coaching.
I'm going to help parents with my passion ofADHD.
(24:29):
And that's how I got started, and I have notlooked back since.
It's been the best decision ever.
And I don't think I'd go back to the schoolsystem ever.
Well, you know, in that in that that makes somesense.
And and I totally get what you're sayingbecause, you know, we do know that there is a
there is flaws in our schooling systems rightnow.
(24:49):
And Yes.
And, you know, it needs a complete revamp.
But for the people that are living it and andlike yourself and have seen their kids go
through it, you know, we're I'm lucky.
My kids and and I are really lucky that we arein one of the best school systems in all of
Ohio.
And some of the best some of the best gradesand yes.
There was a little bit of struggle, but thankgoodness Carter was on the back end of his his
(25:13):
high school career.
It was only the last 3 months of his highschool career that COVID hit.
Now my daughter, on the other hand, she was afreshman at the time, and and that was a little
bit different.
Went to get her back into the flow once schoolstarted up again the the next year, that was a
little different in that hybrid stuff.
But she's a completely different kid thanCarter was too.
She's not ADHD.
She's very, you know, focused.
She's very they're both very smart, but she hasthe she's a female too.
(25:37):
So she just has a drive to to to study and tonot get distracted and and all that.
So she's she's not ADHD that I know of.
I think she has some little bit of testanxiety, but, you know, who doesn't?
Right.
Right.
Exactly.
Nervous about how important, you know, nursingschool is.
But but it's one of those things.
So talk a little bit about how when when youcame over from when you left that day, that day
(26:02):
that you made that decision, like, was it liketell me what it was like.
I I I think I know what it was like, but I wantyou to say it.
It was really scary
at first.
Well, there's that.
Yeah.
Yeah.
But it was also really liberating.
The weight off your shoulder?
Yeah.
Yes.
I was like, you know, because I thought I I Idon't wanna call working in a school, like, you
(26:24):
know, being in prison.
But like you said, that the the school systemthe public school system really, really needs a
good revamp.
I mean, kids literally are expected to sitthere and sit still, which is so unrealistic.
And, yeah.
And that's why kids fall apart when they gethome.
Right?
Because they're like, like little sheepthroughout the entire day.
(26:46):
And like, we do this, then we do that.
And the bell rings and then I do this, youknow, like a robot.
So that said, I'm so I couldn't have beenhappier to to leave that environment and have
the opportunity to serve others, but also workfrom the comfort of my home.
Yeah.
It's been great.
Yes.
Yeah.
And get to know people and and and, honestly,just like myself, when I help people with
(27:09):
podcasting
Mhmm.
I'm not stuck to the school itself and thepeople that are in that building.
Right.
And the parents that are in that building.
I am global.
You are now global.
You put out your message.
You get someone that comes into your Facebookgroup or wherever wherever you get your leads
from for people that need help, and they couldbe a whole another country.
(27:30):
You know?
I've worked with parents in Australia.
Exactly.
And and that's what that is that is truetransformation of what we have to offer the
world and our expertise and our passions, andand it's the world.
It's no longer our own community.
Don't get me wrong.
I've got a couple of people that I help in myown community, but and I would like I would
(27:50):
like more because I love in purse in in person,meetups and and education and and teachings.
But to be global like we are, I mean, oh, whata blessing.
Right?
It's such a gift.
It really is.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And I never thought I I really like when I wentback to school to be a counselor, I just
figured I would be in the public school systemfor 30 years, then retire.
(28:12):
And so, the pandemic in a way, yes, it had alot of its challenges, but it also provided a
lot of opportunities.
Yeah.
It really did.
It really did.
My handyman business exploded during thepandemic.
I mean it's because people were needing officesat home.
They needed doors and walls built so they couldhave an office at home.
So I've all of a sudden I I did like 6 or 7,room, enclosures during the pandemic.
(28:37):
Wow.
You're really a dreadful trait.
You do everything.
My my dad, you know, you know, that that kindagoes back into my my upbringing.
My dad was in construction.
When I was when I was old enough to swing ahammer, I would go to the sites with him or he
they own property they own 26 properties backin the day, and I would go with him to fix
things at the property.
I just kinda learned it through you know, I wasyou know, my mom and dad were both
(29:01):
professionals, and my mom was, you know, amultiple day you know, she wasn't a stay at
home mom when I was by the time I came, I wasthe last of 4 10 years closest to my, closest
sibling.
So oops.
Oh, oopsie.
But, hey.
You know, best oops they ever had.
Right?
Right.
But it's one of those things where, you know, Icouldn't just stay at home.
(29:22):
So dad was like, hey.
Come with me.
You gotta come with me because you're, youknow, you're not old enough to stay at home or
what have you.
So I kinda learned that kind of stuff, youknow, through, just through being around it.
You know, and then the main thing was when itcame to when it came to my schooling and
growing up, I wanted to mention this as well.
I'm I'm just as I hear what you're saying andwhat you do for people, I just I'm so blessed
(29:48):
and lucky that my mom and dad moved me to theWesterville school system back in 1st grade.
And it's Westerville, Ohio is where I live.
That's a school system that was advanced betterthan you know, it was more advanced for the for
the IEP, non IEP, you know, the learningdisabled student back then.
But even inside of that, my I remember my 8thgrade year, my my 7th grade year, my science
(30:10):
teacher came to me and said, hey, Kyle.
We're putting together a new curriculum forscience, which was one of my favorite subjects.
Mhmm.
Because it was hands on.
I understood it.
It was
almost like, you know, engineering stuff.
Right?
Yes.
We're putting together a new a new thing.
What would be called now the STEM program iswhat what it what it was.
Oh, wow.
Instead of learning about rockets, we builtrockets.
(30:31):
Instead of instead of, you know, looking atpictures of anatomy, we dissected a fetal pig,
which is 99% like our body when it came when itcomes to anatomy and what they have inside of
it.
You know?
So all these hands on things.
And that's that's I mean, once that happened, Ibecame so interested in sciences.
(30:51):
Sciences were never tough for me.
They were exciting for me even through highschool, through college, and all that.
So so if you're out there and you and stem is apossibility for your ADHD a ADHD student, try
the stem program because it it it's a differentway of learning.
See, like, our school system has a separatebuilding, a whole separate building that all 4
(31:12):
high schools send students that wanna be inSTEM to that high school.
It's a it's a 5th high school, but it's builtoff of the other 4 high schools.
Wow.
And and it's its own STEM.
My son was in it for 1 year and did all kindsof great stuff, and it led him to the career
center that led him to what he's doing now on afull time basis.
(31:32):
So it can start as early as that.
Yeah.
Yeah.
And for anyone listening and that doesn't knowwhat STEM is, it's science, technology,
engineering, and mathematics.
Yep.
Exactly.
Exactly.
Fantastic.
So tell us, we'll go ahead and wrap this up andjust tell people how to get a hold of you, what
services you provide.
Of course, all the links will be below, to geta hold of Christina and find out if her
(31:55):
services are what you need and what you wouldlike to have, and I'm sure she gives some sort
of free consultation.
We all do.
Yes.
I do.
I do.
So to find me, I have a Facebook group, and Iand Kyle's gonna drop the links.
I also have an Instagram, and I'm calm_minds.
My business is called Calm Minds.
(32:15):
And my Facebook group my goodness.
I think it's Calm Minds Raising Kids With ADHDor Supporting Kids With ADHD, but you'll see
the link.
I do offer a free consult, so please hop on ifyou have a child with ADHD or you suspect that
they have ADHD.
We can talk through that together.
I do have a freebie.
It's an ADHD guide for parents, and it willreally, really help you understand your ADHD
(32:40):
child's brain, as well as effective tools tosupport them at home.
Awesome.
Thank you so much for coming on, Christina.
For those listeners out there, thank you somuch for tuning in and listening to yet another
episode of the Ignition Path podcast.
Don't forget to like, subscribe, share.
Share meaning if you hear someone you you havea a a a sister-in-law that has a you think has
(33:05):
an ADHD child or no.
No.
That that may not that may not go over.
I'm like, hey.
I think you need this.
No.
But no.
But, yeah, in all in all seriousness, we have Iwe we had people contact us that were loved
ones of ours and said, hey.
Have you ever thought about getting, you know,Carter, you know, you know, diagnosed with
ADHD?
(33:25):
You could have some you know, there could beyou know, we were totally against medication,
so don't think if you get diagnosed with that'sanother thing.
Woah.
Yeah.
Yeah.
Don't think if you have a child that may bediagnosed with ADHD, don't think that
medication is the only answer because it's not.
We we chose not to do medication and did thestuff that Christina and I talked to.
Mhmm.
And we were able to manage my son very easily.
(33:46):
Absolutely.
Yeah.
My, I have a family member whose son is beingdiagnosed right now, and they're like, oh my
gosh.
But we're not putting our child on medication.
Like
Okay.
You don't have to.
You don't have to.
There's so many natural ways to support yourADHD child.
Take out all the dye.
Take out all the dye.
I wish that's one thing I wish that our ourour, food system could do is get rid of all the
(34:08):
dye.
I would love that.
But Yes.
Illegal.
It's illegal in Europe to put dye in food.
I know.
How is it not illegal here?
Oh, and ADHD brains need a lot of protein, justas a last tip.
Okay.
So Alright.
Yeah.
Yeah.
I did that's a that's a c.
I learned something new.
Even though I lived through it, I didn't knowthat the protein was a huge factor.
So
Yes.
Awesome.
(34:29):
Alright.
Thanks, Christina, so much for coming on theIgnition Path podcast, and, we'll talk to you
real soon.
Bye, everybody.
Thanks for having
me.
Thank you for listening to Ignition Path,fueling the entrepreneurial fire.
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