I Got You

"Marcus, you are to intense and the team is getting pissed off",

My reply

"Boss I'm not intense I am passionate".

It's 2017 and I'm serving as a Police Officer. My son always used to say I am like Nicholas Angel from Hot Fuzz. The Inspector had pulled me to one side in front of the shift and I just didn't get it.

Regardless of your job or situation, we all know that most people will do the minimum or they will just do what they need to do to get by. I think this is why we see such a high level of neurodivergence in entreprenuers. Whilst most people prefer calm, easy and simple, for the neurodivergent calm is chaos and chaos is calm.

Little would I know around 1 year later this image that was being painted of me, or would I say starting to surface, not only in work, but in my life would lead me to want to end it all.

It Made No Sense - But for some reason it made perfect sense to everyone else - I was a burden not an asset.

However looking back this has pretty much been my life, Why can't we just do that, I never saw barriers.

It's funny because phrases like "God loves a trier" and "Your a really nice guy but....." and worse "You're just not the right fit" or even "Stop doing such a good job, you're showing other people up", that's the Nicholas Angel thing again, have become ever present themes which led to a question a few years ago - "Why don't people see my value", this was my entry into understanding the neurodivergent mind I wasn't aware of, I just thought I was a burden, stupid and quite frankly I started to feel like I was better off dead.

The truth is, when your not in an environment that supports your talent, in an environment that creates clear boundaries of communication and expectation, whilst allowing you to grow and learn, and to quote "You are told you are pissing people off" with no evidence, discussion or understanding, there is only one option, bury it. But that energy has to go somewhere, this is why many people breakdown, get angry, even take their own lives.

Recently I had 2 conversations where I was trying to explain and be of service and the prequal to allowing this is - "Keep it Short". I even spoke to a colleague and told them I had created a virtual AI me to support my clients and the response was "One Marcus is more than enough".

When you come against these jovial comments which aren't intended to harm, I don't think people realise these comments compounded over the years are hurtful and unless you have a deep insight into shifting that energy because you truly understand who you are the consequences can be devastating.

Let's pause and rewind, by the way neurodiverse alert, I am saying what I am thinking so don't be offended - Not long ago, women were denied the right to vote, and ethnic minorities faced segregation, social isolation, and systemic repression. What was once widely accepted is now seen as unjust and unthinkable. As society has grown to embrace cultural and gender diversity, we must now extend that same understanding to neurodivergent individuals, without labels —who often face subtle but damaging biases. Their unique ways of thinking aren’t flaws but strengths. It's not a disability it's a skill that is not being harnessed in the right environment.

The question is: Will we continue to overlook potential, or will we create environments where all minds are valued?

We wouldn't think of of saying to a Black man - Hey Sambo poor the tea out, or hey love pop the kettle on like a good woman. In fact just writing that makes me feel sick, but it was acceptable once.

What makes it worse is that although neurodiversity is recognised in the workplace it's seen more as a disability than and asset. I guess I am lucky, when everything crumbled I had a choice, allow a label or find out why I feel the way I do. What if instead of say "Neurotypical" is the norm why don't we ask "How can we create psychological safety and embrace all view points and approaches"?

The CFO in a company is key because without them the CMO would run a mock with the budget, when they work together they create balance.

Creatives need space to create but too much space they lose their direction.

Process driven people create frameworks to contain that creativity, which is required so it can be put to use,  but all too often they actually build cages, which harms companies, communities and humanity in general.

What have I learnt on this journey then?

Today - Yes often I don't realise my boundless energy can't be handled by others, but I accept who I am because the genius that others see as overwhelming has helped so many others find their voice, step into their authentic self and say I love me.

Whether you define yourself as neurodiverse or neurotypical, I say rip up the label and say yes to you and do the work to navigate your version of life.
We all have a place, we all have a space, the key is accepting who you are and then finding where you can thrive and grow.

The key here is oppotunity, oppotunity for neurotypical people to understand the advantage of neurodivergence and neurodivergent people doing the work to understand who they are and how to communicate their needs without a label. That's diversity, taking the best aspects of humanity and creating environments where people can be their best.

The key is simple, create psychologically safe environments which not require labels or excuses for behaviour. Create the oppotunity to understand each other, communicate with compasion and empathy because when we do that the mind calms, we create connection and it's in those moments of shared connection we create and serve.

If you can relate to this article or know someone who needs to hear this please share and if you need help then get in touch.

Final Note: To those who spotted the gramtical errors, spelling mistakes or anything else, trust me I checked - Genius comes in many forms

When you know how to mentor your mind and say yes to your true authentic self, the world feels less dangerous and lonely