We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Jessica Heimsoth a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.

Alright, Jessica thanks for taking the time to share your stories and insights with us today. It’s always helpful to hear about times when someone’s had to take a risk – how did they think through the decision, why did they take the risk, and what ended up happening. We’d love to hear about a risk you’ve taken.

I’ve taken big risks (like starting a business or committing to homeschooling my children), but I think some of the hardest risks to take are the very small ones. The risks that require me to give up “good-enough” or “comfortable” for something that MIGHT improve my life…..but might end up being MOSTLY a waste of time and energy. Pursuing adult friendships, getting up earlier in the morning to pray or work out, quitting alcohol, choosing to think kind thoughts about my husband, spending time regulating my own emotions so I could better help my children. These might not even SEEM like risks, but to me, and to people like me, the lack of intensity involved means these small risks require more of my energy, and are therefore harder to FULLY commit to.

Perhaps there is even advice in the way I’m thinking, here. Each of us might have reasons for calling ONE risk immense, while someone else would call it insufficient. If someone is afraid to do something we think is small….we should ponder what the risk might be for them, and how to minimize it.

Great, appreciate you sharing that with us. Before we ask you to share more of your insights, can you take a moment to introduce yourself and how you got to where you are today to our readers.

I got into coaching adults with ADHD after an ADHD diagnosis (my own) changed my life WILDLY for the better.

I was a former gifted kid who sailed through school with flawless grades and aspirations of being a novelist. But immediately after graduating from college (and getting married), I CRASHED AND BURNED.

I could not seem to FORCE myself to write, or cook, or clean, or do ANYTHING other than work part-time at a restaurant and nurse an eating disorder that took up a lot of my brain space. My husband would get home from work and ask what I had done with my day, and I would flush with shame because I couldn’t remember one useful task I had finished.

I know now that it was the ABSENCE of both the structure and praise that school had afforded me that caused my lack of performance. But at the time, I was baffled. Why couldn’t I put my dishes in the dishwasher or churn out a mere 500 words on my laptop? I had no answers.

My lack of productivity and impulsive spending strained my relationship with my husband AND myself, leading me to seek solace in a dangerous late-night lifestyle that severely damaged my health.

AND THEN…someone suggested I research ADHD, because I “might” have it. I laughed at them, but I still took the time to Google it.

And I checked all the boxes.

So I read everything I could about what MY unique brain needed to be able to take action…and I changed my whole life around. In the meantime, I discovered COACHING, and knew that helping other people who had gone through the misery I had was EXACTLY what I wanted to do with my life.

And that is what I do today: help adults with neurospicy brains learn about themselves and what they NEED to get what they want – WHATEVER that is.

I’m different from other coaches in a couple of ways that matter deeply to me:

1. I am a Christian, and it is important to me that I create a safe space for Christians to work on themselves without fearing they will be encouraged to ignore their faith. However, I welcome and work with people of ALL faiths, provided they will not be bothered by Christian references in my materials or group coaching calls.

2. I teach that EMOTIONAL CONTROL is a cornerstone of self-discipline, planning, and taking action. ANYTHING WE WANT, we can have….but not if we don’t know how to feel an emotion without fear, regulate our bodies, and CREATE a mildly positive emotion to drive the things we want to do. I find that in the ADHD space in particular, people tend to be so emotionally reactive that there is no way to guarantee ANYTHING they want to do. Building emotional control changes that. And I believe I can teach ANYONE who is willing how to manage and create their emotions (and therefore their actions.)

3. Along with emotional control, I also teach mindset/belief, self-acceptance, and ADHD-friendly planning, scheduling, evaluating, organizing, and implementation of learning.

4. I’m quirky and imperfect and my brain constantly moves faster than my mouth. There are typos all over the content I create. I can get depressed and insecure, and I make mistakes regularly because I put my ideas out into the world before my self-doubt can make me shrink myself. None of this is a problem for me or my clients. But I am most definitely the wrong coach to hire if you want someone to teach you how to be perfectly polished, zen, and robot-level productive.

If, however, you want to live joyfully with the brain you have, thrive in your relationships and your career, take care of yourself, your family, and your household in a sufficient way, and CREATE SOMETHING COOL in the world….I got you.

We’d love to hear a story of resilience from your journey.

I’m a creative dreamer surrounded by almost comically pragmatic realists. Over the years, as I have built my business and invested in my own mind and skills, it has been a near constant struggle to keep BELIEVING that my choices were GOOD, my products were worth the time and money it took to create them, and my career was going to benefit my family financially, not merely as a way to keep me happy and engaged with life (although, frankly, if it only did THAT, it would be worth it.)

I don’t mean to imply that I haven’t been supported or encouraged along the way. I’m definitely very blessed. But most of the time I received concern or skepticism at the precise moment when “I believe in you” would have gone a very long way. I’m a words-of-affirmation girl. Encourage me and I work hard for you. Praise me and I soar.

But the people closest to me didn’t do that. And since I didn’t get it from them, I really had to dig deep to keep believing in myself BEFORE the proof showed up.

Of course, as with most of the struggles I have been through….I’m particularly proud of the fact that I never gave up :)

Other than training/knowledge, what do you think is most helpful for succeeding in your field?

I’m ENDLESSLY curious about human beings and what makes them tick, and I think this genuine curiosity makes me a sharp and compassionate coach, as well as a creative businessperson. I’m a student at heart, and I don’t ever plan to stop learning and making things fresh (for MYSELF, mostly, but as a result, also for my clients).

And truly, what my clients most need is an example of exactly this. Curiosity without judgement, and the desire and ability to LEARN. It is an amazing strength to be able to lead by example in these areas, and it gives me incredible confidence, as I believe it will give ANYONE who prioritizes these things.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.everythoughtcaptivecoach.com
• Instagram: @everythoughtcaptivecoaching