Magician and speaker John Michael Hinton grew up full of energy. As a kid, he lived abroad and stood out for his high energy. His parents noticed early on that caffeine seemed to calm him down, a clue that something deeper might be going on.

John Michael — who performs a few magic tricks in the episode! — talks with host Laura Key about how things fell apart academically in his freshman year of high school, leading to a 1.7 GPA. An ADHD diagnosis helped him get the support he needed. The biggest turning point came thanks to a mentor who encouraged him to stop living in “Ready, FIRE, Aim” mode and start thinking “Ready, AIM, Fire.” 

Now a husband and father of three (all with ADHD, too), John Michael explains how ADHD fuels his creativity, curiosity, and performance style.

Related resources

• John Michael’s website, www.johnmichaelhinton.com
• ADHD and creativity 
• ADHD and rejection sensitive dysphoria 

Timestamps

(00:00) Intro

(01:01) Growing up undiagnosed while moving around internationally, and being diagnosed in the states as a teenager

(06:19) College, rejection sensitivity dysphoria, and creativity

(09:01) Magic trick break #1

(11:15) ADHD and performing magic on stage

(13:15) Being remembered as the “weird kid” and using mentors to mature

(16:12) “Ready, aim, fire” instead of “Ready, fire, aim”  

(17:50) Magic trick break #2 

(19:15) Incorporating ADHD into his magic acts

(21:13) Home life with an entire ADHD family

(22:42) A message to all the other “spazzes” out there

(25:19) Outro and credits

For a transcript and more resources, visit the “ADHD Aha!” show page on Understood.org. We love hearing from our listeners! Email us at 

adhdaha@understood.org or record a message for us here.

Understood.org is a nonprofit organization dedicated to empowering people with learning and thinking differences, like ADHD and dyslexia. If you want to help us continue this work, donate at understood.org/give