Grant currently works as a full-time contractor and virtual event video coordinator for Dell Technologies. A man wearing many hats, he was previously a three-time social media manager on both the agency and brand side, a past YouTube channel manager for Fortune 100 enterprises, a nationwide conference speaker on video marketing, a former professional editorial cartoonist and talk radio host, a comedy club staffer, and a dabbler in documentary film production. He is a proud fighter of free speech for everyone and was represented by the ACLU during his college years. Grant volunteers with Karen as foster parents for a cat and kitten adoption and rescue organization. For fun, he enjoys running in thousand-acre forest preserves, looking for the best craft beer deals across state lines, listening to offbeat podcasts, enjoying quirky documentaries, open mic nights, and getting into spirited dialog with humor. His first solo book, GRANTASMS! is the culmination of many years of word creations from his big ideas, small wonders, and unfinished business. You can find it HERE. He is an enthusiastic student of creative psychology and social health, and he explores twisted ways of treating people online with empathy daily. He succeeds some of the time, laughs at the others, gets pissy about a few, and tries to learn from them all.
Today we talk about “Grantasms”- the descriptive word mash-ups we all need, about his diagnosis of ADHD and sleep apnea, the many hats he wears for work & how he keeps them all secured to his head! It’s a fun one today that we recorded at the very beginning of 2020, Enjoy!
In this episode Peter & Grant discuss:
1:20- Intro & welcome Grant Crowell!
2:50- So when were you diagnosed; what’s your story?
5:00- On being diagnosed with sleep apnea and how that changed his life too!
6:00- On maintaining his creative outlets, post diagnosis. Ref: Rich Hall’s Sniglets
8:20. You wear many hats for your job. What sort of rituals, practices, things do you have in place that work for you- that you have to do in order to remain successful? Ref: The 5 Minute Gratitude Journal Calm meditation app Focus@Will music app
12:00- On writing his book of Grantasms
14:20- On using cellphone pix to remember stuff! Ref: spacial dyslexia aka directional dyslexia
18:00- On “big little moments” and the term ADHD
19:00- On why he wrote the book
19:50- On how ADHD is really a misnomer, & how hyperfocus is awesome! Ref: The 4,000 piece lego car that Peter built!
20:00- How can people find you? www.onetwistedsquirrel.com grant@onetwistedsquirrel.com Twitter: @GrantCrowell INSTA: 1_twistedsquirrel YouTube FB for Grantasms LinkedIn: /grantcrowell
23:49- Dopplersation: When you’re running somewhere and you see people coming from the other direction talking, but only catch a couple of seconds of the conversation and it makes you so curious!
24:30- Thank you Grant for joining us! And thank YOU for subscribing, reviewing and listening. Your reviews are working! Even if you’ve reviewed us before, would you please write even a short one for this episode? Each review that you post helps to ensure that word will continue to spread, and that we will all be able to reach & help more people! You can always reach me via peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. You can also find us at @FasterThanNormal on all of the socials.
25:10- Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits
As always, leave us a comment below and please drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! As you know, the more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! Do you know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note, we’d love to hear!
Ellin Bessner is a Canadian journalist based in Toronto. She is the author of a new book about Canada’s Jewish servicemen and women who fought in the Second World War. The book is called “Double Threat: Canadian Jews, the Military, and World War ll”. Ellin was born in Montreal and graduated with a degree in journalism and political science from Carleton University. Her career as a journalist took her around Canada and around the world, working for CTV News and CBC News, and also stringing for the Globe and Mail, The Canadian Press and other organizations. As a foreign correspondent based in Rome, Italy, during the 1990s, aside from reporting on the Vatican, the Mafia, Italian food, fashion, and opera, and of course, on Italian soccer, Ellin also covered several brutal civil wars in Africa. She’s interviewed Prince Phillip and the Dalai Lama. She was a business anchor for many years at Report on Business Television, now BNN. Ellin has also taught hundreds of budding young journalists, in her capacity as a professor at Centennial College Journalism School in Toronto, and before that, at Seneca College and Ryerson University.
In her spare time, she plays Mahjongg, gardens, and loves the “Outlander” series. She lives in Richmond Hill, Ontario with her husband and two sons. Today we talk about how she discovered her ADHD & Journalism, how her ADHD has helped her in the field, influenced her life, her career, her writing, marriage and her children. Enjoy!
In this episode Peter & Ellin discuss:
0:52- Intro & welcome Ellin Bessner!
1:39- What was school like for you?
4:00- On making the decision to get tested for ADHD
6:00- On deciding to do the work and use self care
7:05- On feeling shame about your ADHD
7:51- On how Ellin discovered Journalism and how she uses her ADHD in the field
9:30- On how she manages her ADHD
11:30- Did you use your hyperfocus when writing & researching your book? “Double Threat: Canadian Jews, the Military, and World War ll”
13:56- What are your top 3 pieces of advice for people with ADHD?
16:00- How can people find you? www.EllinBessner.com via ebessner@gmail.com and on Twitter: @ebessner
16:30- Thank you Ellin for joining us! And thank YOU for subscribing, reviewing and listening. Your reviews are working! Even if you’ve reviewed us before, would you please write even a short one for this episode? Each review that you post helps to ensure that word will continue to spread, and that we will all be able to reach & help more people! You can always reach me via peter@shankman.com or @petershankman on all of the socials. You can also find us at @FasterThanNormal on all of the socials.
16:44- Faster Than Normal Podcast info & credits
As always, leave us a comment below and please drop us a review on iTunes and of course, subscribe to the podcast if you haven’t already! As you know, the more reviews we get, the more people we can reach. Help us to show the world that ADHD is a gift, not a curse! Do you know of anyone you think should be on the FTN podcast? Shoot us a note, we’d love to hear!