The New York Times has called Peter Shankman “a rockstar who knows everything about social media and then some.” He is a 6x best selling author, entrepreneur and corporate keynote speaker, focusing on Neurodiversity in the workplace, customer service, and the new and emerging customer and neurotatypical economies. With three startup launches and exits under his belt, (most notably Help a Reporter Out) Peter is recognized worldwide for radically new ways of thinking about customer experience, social media, PR, marketing, advertising, and the Neurodiversity. Additionally, Peter is the Futurist in Residence at Price Benowitz and BluShark Digital.

Peter’s sixth book, (and his first children’s book,) came out in mid-March of this year. “The Boy With the Faster Brain” is a heartwarming story about a young boy named Peter, who discovers that his ADHD brain, which was always getting him into trouble in school, is actually a super-powerful tool that he can use to achieve anything he wants – as long as he learns how to use it the right way. (And yes, it’s obviously very much autobiographical.) It’s the children’s version of Peter’s previous bestseller on ADHD, “Faster Than Normal: Turbocharge your Focus, Productivity and Success with the Secrets of the ADHD Brain” (Random House, 2017.)

In addition to his passion for helping people and companies find success, some of Peter’s highlights also include:

• Founder of HARO – Help A Reporter Out, which became the standard for thousands of journalists looking for sources prior to being acquired three years after launch

• Faster than Normal – The Internet’s #1 podcast on ADHD, focusing on the superpowers and gifts of having a “faster than normal brain,” which has helped thousands of people all around the world realize that having a neurodiverse brain is actually a gift, not a curse.

• The ShankMinds Breakthrough Network, an elite, online mastermind of thought leaders, business experts, and change makers

Peter is a worldwide influencer and/or spokesperson for several global brands including Adobe, Sylvania, National Car Rental, Manscaped.com, Sealface, Thule, and many others.

Finally, Peter is a father, a 2x Ironman triathlete, a class B licensed skydiver, and has a pretty serious Peloton addiction. When he’s not traveling around the world speaking to companies big and small, he’s based in NYC, where he was born and raised, with his ten year old daughter and three-year-old dog, both of whom consistently refuse him access to his couch.

Interesting Parts

[00:04:44] Started companies, helped reporters, acquired, lucky.

[00:07:26] Stop caring what people think; prioritize self.

[00:11:25] ADHD causes sleepless nights and impostor syndrome.

[00:13:44] “Move, try new things, adapt, and adjust.”

Find Peter Online

https://facebook.com/petershankman

https://linkedin.com/in/petershankman

https://shankman.com

https://fasterthannormal.com

https://www.threads.net/@petershankman

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Transcript (Provided by CastMagic.io)

Seth [00:00:00]:

Entrepreneur’s Enigma is a podcast for the ups and downs of entrepreneurship, to the wins and the fails that we all face being entrepreneurs, how we learn from adversity. Every week, I talk to a different entrepreneur with a story to tell. I’m Seth Goldstein. Come with me on the journey. In. This is Entrepreneur’s Enigma. Let’s get started. Hey, everybody. Welcome to another edition of the Entrepreneur’s Enigma podcast. I’m your host as always, Seth. Today, I have a great guest. It’s Peter Schenkman. He is the boy with the faster brain. He is actually in quote called by the New York Times, which is is pretty wild. A rock star who knows everything about social media and then some. That’s pretty wild that The New York Times, the old great lady said that about him. So they must actually know something. You know? I’ve seen him in person at some conferences. He does know quite a bit. He Is a corporate speaker, a 6 time best selling author, an entrepreneur. He focused on neurodiversity in the workplace, customer and the new emerging customer in their typical economies. He has had 3 startups, launches, and exits under his belt, And he is best known for help a reporter out, Harrow. Many of us digital marketers use it. This is the guy who came up with it. This is pretty it’s pretty cool. It’s pretty cool. He came up with it. It’s funny for someone who was ADD, myself, and he does as well. That, it’s a little overwhelming when three Issues come out 3 times a day, and you look at it and you’re like, ah, ADD bring ADD bring ADD bring. It’s kinda ironic, But it works and I love it. So he is a father of an awesome kid and a doggy. He lives in New York And we’ll we’ll and he also fights with the couch. Oh, and one more thing. He has a very healthy Peloton, addiction. So let’s bring Peter in here as well. How’s How’s it going, Peter? Thank you for making the time.

Peter [00:02:10]:

It’s going well. Thanks for having me.

Seth [00:02:12]:

So Peter and I met way back in 2012 At the Aweber Ascend Conference. I don’t know why I remember this, but I remember I met you, I met Marcus Sheridan, I met Anne Hanley, kind of the crumb of the crumb of, you know, social media people and whatnot. And I had everyone on the show but Anne, so I gotta get her on next. So please bear

Peter [00:02:33]:

I, yeah, I miss her.

Seth [00:02:34]:

Oh, she’s awesome. She and and her bow I both have editions of her book back here. Your books are, I think, up there somewhere. So I should I should have pulled should I prepared a little bit better by IMEDD? I’d like to just jump into things. So, Peter, How did this all get started? I was here because I know your story. I just don’t know where to start because you have quite a story. In your 6 time best selling author, oh, we forgot to mention you have a podcast, the Fast Than Normal podcast, which is Absolutely superb. So as well. So how

Peter [00:03:07]:

does all this how does

Seth [00:03:07]:

it gonna get started?

Peter [00:03:09]:

Where do I begin with that? So I went to I was an undergrad in Boston University. I was in grad school for fashion and portrait photography on the West Coast. With 18 credits left, I lost my financial aid. The government sent me a letter, said, your parents are making too much money. We’re taking away your financial aid. I sent the government a letter to my parents. Do make too much money. They keep it. Government didn’t find that funny. So I moved back to New York, was Living in my parents’ basement was hanging out in a chat room on America online about Melrose Place. Oh. You remember my

Seth [00:03:47]:

office though?

Peter [00:03:48]:

Remember that? Yeah. Melrose Place. Someone in that chat room said, hey. We’re, we’re trying to start a newsroom. You have a journalism degree. Submit your resume. I said, sure. I have no experience to be perfect. I learned that sarcasm doesn’t translate on the Internet, and I was hired by America online to be one of 3 founding editors of AOL News.

Seth [00:04:04]:

And wild.

Peter [00:04:06]:

So, yeah, no experience.

Seth [00:04:07]:

Chat room in the nineties.

Peter [00:04:08]:

Good chat room. No experience. Moved down to Virginia. Helped launch the AOL newsroom. It’s pretty crazy. Did that about 3 years, moved back to New York. It was amazing experience in a great time, moved back to York, started consulting, started doing PR, realized that I could do PR a lot better than other people.

Seth [00:04:23]:

Mhmm.

Peter [00:04:24]:

Realized that I could do it quicker for the .com set, and so I launched a .compr firm and and with no experience. We had nap clients like Napster, Juno, AOL. It was amazing. So I ran that about 3 years, wound up, selling it to a larger agency, and, that was my first my first hit.

Seth [00:04:42]:

Dopamine hit big time.

Peter [00:04:44]:

Yeah. And I get, so I say I get to the 1st company. Second one, I started a travel company that gets acquired pretty quickly. Then, eventually, I came up with the idea to help a reporter out. I just talked to everyone. If you’re on a my ADHD means if you’re on a plane next to me, I don’t know everything about you unless you fake your death. And so I created this idea that we could create create connect journalists with sources. It blew up. I was making a ton of money And I had a lot of fun with it. And, eventually, it was acquired by Vocus, now Cision slash PR Newswire. And, yeah, it was a lot of fun. I got lucky.

Seth [00:05:14]:

It is a really great service. I mean, it I think it doesn’t have the sparkle that it once did when you were running it or, like, right after. It’s very it’s it’s a little bit more corporate, which is fine. Nothing wrong with it. It still works. People still use it. I still get the the 3 the 3 emails 3 times a day. You know, the general the height the I think the general, the business, and the high-tech is what I get every single day. Love it.

Peter [00:05:37]:

Yep.

Seth [00:05:38]:

Like I said, it does get a little overwhelming when they pop in there. I’m like, oh my god. ADD moment, ADD moment, that kind of thing.

Peter [00:05:44]:

And I sold it I sold it now 13 years ago, but I’m so glad to hear that people are still using

Seth [00:05:48]:

Oh, I I know ever it’s like it’s like the honestly, I get I get horror spam from people saying, oh, we can we can do horror for you. So that that means you’ve made something special is when the spammers are like, we can do it for you.

Peter [00:06:01]:

Exactly. Exactly.

Seth [00:06:02]:

That’s pretty wild. So You were die you you only realize your die your your diagnosed and realized your ADD back in when you were in your thirties. Right?

Peter [00:06:13]:

Yeah. Yeah. I didn’t get diagnosed till my mid thirties, like 35, 36. And, you know, at that time, a lot of stuff is starting to make sense already, but, at least just give it a name.

Seth [00:06:21]:

We’re We’re gonna take a quick break, hear from our sponsors, and get right back to the show. Exactly. And that’s always helpful. I was one of the first children to be diagnosed with ADHD in the eighties, the late eighties. And mommy was a psychologist. She discovered it. I discovered that I had it. And she’s already today that, no, that she’s not I mean, she’s smart. Not that smart. You know? Sorry, mom. But, But then she became actually, because of me, she became a school psychologist. Because of my wacky, awesome, you know, non neurotypical brain, She decided she could help other kids because she figured me out somewhat. You can never fully figure. I think we still strive to figure ourselves out half the time.

Peter [00:07:01]:

Oh, yeah.

Seth [00:07:02]:

But, yep, I’m not a late diagnosed. I’m an early diagnosed kid who was one of the first because you were around the same age, give or take 10 years. And so for it to be early diagnosed in the eighties, it’s pretty remarkable. And my mom picked up on this. Thank you, mom. And, You know, look, it’s still a struggle and all that. But how has ADD helped you? I’m really curious because, I mean, it’s it’s a superpower.

Peter [00:07:26]:

So it’s one of those things that that when you know you have it, fighting with it as opposed to against it is a lot more beneficial. So for me, The biggest change in my life is when I stopped caring what other people thought. Mhmm. Right? You know, you sit there, and you’re like, oh, they must think I’m this. I’m that. And then you wake up, and you’re just like, actually, who gives a shit? I’m just gonna live my life, and I know what works for me and I know what doesn’t work for me, so I’m gonna do the things that work for me. You know, I was I I I’m up at 3:30 every morning, 4 o’clock every morning. I’m on the bike, for an hour, hour and a half before my daughter wakes up, I’m a single dad. So the only time I have to make sure that my that I get that dopamine from that exercise is before my kid wakes up. So I’m on that bike sometimes as early as 3:30 in the morning. This morning, I was on at 5 AM. I got to sleep in a little. I saw a bike from 5 to 6 Biked from 5 to 6, worked for a couple hours, and then went to the gym to to the boxing, boxing lesson by instructor from, 8:45 to 9:45, ran back here, Dried off with a towel, and I’m sitting down, ready to go to work. So, you know, it’s one of those things that that when you learn what’s good for you and you learn what works for you, you just do it, and all else be damned. You know? My Yeah. I I I know how I work when I I know that when I need to write a book, I get on a plane. That is how that is how it work best. You know? And so I I have a bunch of books that I bunch of stuff I wanna write, so I am in the process of, booking a flight as we speak up or I went to going to Dubai next week or something. Just My kid’s out of town with her mom, so I’ll probably go to Dubai for a few days. Just get out of town and and and get to work.

Seth [00:08:54]:

Dubai. Because because well, because we gotta realize, you write best on the plane. What’s what’s better than flying to Dubai, which just gives you a lot of time on the plane? 100%. That’s all. And then you’re there. You might as well hang out for a little while.

Peter [00:09:06]:

Exactly. Hang on for a couple of days and come back. And it’s 14 hours each way nonstop, so let’s go to work.

Seth [00:09:11]:

Yeah. Might as well. I mean, you’re gonna sleep. You get blood clots, so let’s not do that. Let’s stay upright, that kind of thing. So

Peter [00:09:17]:

Mhmm.

Seth [00:09:18]:

That’s a good thing. So what is the best thing about in your mind, because you did very briefly did work for AOL. What is the best thing about being an entrepreneur, especially being EDH day?

Peter [00:09:31]:

There’s never the same day twice. You can do as much or as little as you want. There there are a lot of downsides, but the the upsides are that 2 weeks ago, I was I was taking a conference call from a pool in Santorini. Oh, wow. Because I could. On the flip side, entrepreneurs tend to work harder than anyone else. I have at any given time, I have 4 different businesses I’m running, you know, 4 different revenue streams all at the same time. I I always I always joke with my ex wife, if she’s getting a little Crazy at work. She can take a day off, and she still gets paid. I’m like, that must be fun.

Seth [00:10:01]:

That must be nice. She

Peter [00:10:03]:

Must be a nice thing. She can she can, you know, she can she has an HR department where she Going for help or whatever. I’m like, oh, cool.

Seth [00:10:09]:

That’s cool. You’re everything. Yeah.

Peter [00:10:10]:

You know? But on the flip side, you know, I don’t work for Santorini. She can’t necessarily do that. So there’s there’s a there’s a middle ground there, but for me, I look at it along the lines of I don’t play well with others. Right? And and I I’m a lot I’m much faster than others. And so for for me to be able to go in and and Work on my own Yeah. Will almost always provide a better outcome than working for someone else.

Seth [00:10:39]:

Yeah. Have your own sandbox, Literally. Yep. With your own toys, you play how you wanna play. You look. I mean, if you were if you were were We’re an entrepreneur. You couldn’t get on a plane for a 14 hour flight to Dubai for shits and giggles to write a book. Exactly.

Peter [00:10:54]:

Like, how

Seth [00:10:54]:

are you gonna explain that to HR? Like, how Exactly. Like, how would you explain that? Like like, I need to be on a plane on a relatively, you know, comfortable seat on a plane for 14 hours, write a book for you. Yep. It it doesn’t compute. So and then on the flip side, you said on the flip side, you know, you’re always working. I mean, you are, I mean, you are taking a flight to to Dubai to write a book, and that’s something, you know, you need to do. But, like, what else is, like, on the flip side? What keeps you up at night?

Peter [00:11:25]:

You know, one of the things about ADHD is that you constantly most people who have ADHD have incredibly bad impostor syndrome. So, You know, I will be asleep and I will wake up randomly because the dog will move or something at 2:30 in the morning, and I’ll wake up. And now I’m up. I’m up all night. I’m not going back to bed because in the back of my head, Today is the day that the New York Times is gonna write that article about how full of shit I am and how nothing I ever did was, you know, important to whatever. It’s not obviously, it’s not gonna happen, but that’ll lead me all within that rabbit hole. Lead another rabbit hole of, you know, what if I never get another client? That lead to so it’s just it’s it’s a nights are very difficult. I mean, I go to sleep early. My daughter’s asleep right because I get up. Don’t sleep at 8 o’clock. I’m usually out by 8:30. But sometimes if I get enough sleep, that means I’m up at 2:30 and and and either I get on the bike and start working out Or I just sit in bed at 2:30 in the morning and and and worry about all this bullshit that probably won’t ever come to fruition. But in my head, you know, I can’t get you to stop.

Seth [00:12:15]:

Tough because no one, Except for the night shift, it’s up at 2:30 in the morning. Like On the plus

Peter [00:12:20]:

side, I do have I’ve I’ve friends in Asia. So sometimes I text them.

Seth [00:12:24]:

Called them up and say, I have some imposter syndrome. Talk me through this. Exactly. And that’s the thing. I I I feel it’s good to know, because I feel that too. It’s kinda like imposter syndrome is a big thing, you know, for It is everybody, let alone let alone, you know, people with ADD because we think faster and we also the rabbit holes are real. The rabbit holes are very real because our brain gets very creative with everything.

Peter [00:12:49]:

It’s incredibly easy for me to go down that hole and and say, you know, None of it might make any sense, but in my head, I figured out a reason why everything That I’m doing is wrong. You know?

Seth [00:13:02]:

It it’s it’s like it’s like when

Peter [00:13:04]:

I give a speech to 20,000 people, and 19,999 of them in the audience will stand up and cheer A little against standing ovation. There’s 1 guy

Seth [00:13:10]:

Oh.

Peter [00:13:11]:

In the 47th row who’s sitting down. He could be a paraplegic for all I know, but in my mind, he’s Sitting down because I am just the, you know, the worst speaker you’ve ever heard, and it’s gonna ruin my career.

Seth [00:13:20]:

Oh my and you of course, you’ve zone in on that 1 guy because we have that laser focus. We find that 1 person. It’s, like, insane. So

Peter [00:13:27]:

That’s what we do.

Seth [00:13:29]:

So what is the most important thing to carry with you all the time?

Peter [00:13:37]:

You know where near as bad as you think you are.

Seth [00:13:40]:

Mhmm.

Peter [00:13:40]:

And if you don’t like where you are, Move.

Seth [00:13:44]:

Yeah.

Peter [00:13:44]:

One of the greatest pieces of advice I ever got says that if you don’t like where you are, move. You’re not a treat. And I’ve always tried to stick with that. If I’m not happy where I am, I’ll just try something else. You know, there’s that’s the beauty of this world is I’m you could try anything. I’m I’m, You know? And and again, the ADHD side of that makes it you know, COVID was a bitch because I’d be sitting here, you know, normal week for me is I’d I’d leave on a Tuesday to Fly to Asia, give a speech Thursday morning in a land Wednesday night, give a speech Thursday morning back Thursday afternoon on the you know? And and it’s tough, but, you know, then COVID hits. I give a speech at 10 PM on a Monday, which is the end of Tuesday morning, and then my week’s done.

Seth [00:14:22]:

Uh-huh.

Peter [00:14:22]:

And they have nothing to do all week. And I’m like, well, What should I do? I could start another company. I could I could maybe I could try meth. You know, it’s like it’s like Yeah. It was very dangerous to to be in that position. So So the fact that we’re getting back to busyness and then I’m on a plane and I’m traveling and the things are happening is is just magical for me because I I just need that so much.

Seth [00:14:44]:

And it’s good that you know what you need, and it’s one of the the hardest things about ADD and not

Peter [00:14:49]:

Knowing yourself is mandatory mandatory for for ADHD. You have to understand yourself. You have to accept yourself.

Seth [00:14:56]:

Mhmm.

Peter [00:14:56]:

And you have to accept yourself for for for what you are.

Seth [00:14:59]:

Yep. So you’ve written 6 books. The latest is the boy with the faster brain. What inspired you to write a children’s book? I mean, because that because that’s completely different from writing anything else. Because because you’re ready to

Peter [00:15:11]:

My most recent before my children’s book, my most recent book was called Faster Than Normal. It was the concept that ADD and ADHD is a gift, not a curse as long as you know how to use it. So I gave it gave, you know, ways to use it and things to do. And then, over time, everyone’s like, my god. This book is great. I wish you had one for kids. I can show my daughter. I can show my son, You know, ADHD, I’m like, yeah. I should do that one day. I completely forgot about it. And then, one day on a plan, I’m like, I really should write this kid’s book. And, you know, 2 hours later, it was written. And One day you’re on a plane.

Seth [00:15:39]:

There’s a trend here, folks. One day he’s on a plane, that’s when he writes.

Peter [00:15:43]:

Mhmm.

Seth [00:15:44]:

And I and I I’ve read it. It’s fantastic. It’s gonna be for even adults because it’s a quick read for adults. Yeah. And since when you’ve ADD, it’s nice to have a quick read every once in a while. Jay Baer just came out with a 50 page book, and I was like I wrote them. I said, thank you for writing eight Small books is you know, he’s a smart guy, but when you’re smart, you tend to write a lot. And the books can tend to get be, like, 500 pages, and I’m like, Oh, a 50 page book? Thank god. Yep. So so so thank you for the boy with a faster brain. I read it. I’m like, oh my god. This is me. You know? And then anyone who follows Peter online and he hears his story on podcasts, he realized that he is the boy with the faster brain, only he finally figured, He’s totally figured it out in his thirties, but everything kinda clicked in. I was like, okay. I was the boy with the faster brain. So that’s really great. So, Peter, Where is your big watering hole online? I know you I know you don’t like x anymore because x is garbage.

Peter [00:16:39]:

Yeah. It’s just such a shame. I was such a Twitter fan. I was, god, I was such True Japan. I had a good of

Seth [00:16:43]:

it and I loved it. Yeah.

Peter [00:16:45]:

Oh, it was I missed it. I but the interesting thing is I’m not I’m on threads, but the desire to post on threads as much as what used to be on Twitter is not there. Yeah. So I use it. But I’d say primarily my big thing is Instagram. I love my Instagram stories. I I try to post on them every day. I try to post good quality content on Instagram. So instagram.com/, Peter Schenkman. And then I’m on Facebook, and I’m on LinkedIn. I’m everywhere, but, you know, yeah, I I miss I miss what Twitter was. And even if even if it Went back to everything it was. I don’t think I’d go back to it. I think it’s been tainted.

Seth [00:17:16]:

Yeah. That, and also you realize that there’s more than Twitter now. And you can actually get a breakthrough right in your book.

Peter [00:17:22]:

Yep. No question about it.

Seth [00:17:24]:

Alright. So, Peter, thank you so much for being on the program. Thank you so much for taking time even though this is midday for you. Even though it’s 10 o’clock here, it’s midday for you.

Peter [00:17:33]:

My pleasure.

Seth [00:17:34]:

And, Lou, I appreciate it, and we’ll see everyone next time. That was a great show. If If you’re enjoying Entrepreneur’s Enigma, please view us in the podcast directory of your choice. Every review helps other podcast listeners find our show. If you’re looking for other podcasts in the marketing space, look no further than the marketing podcast network at marketing podcasts .net. Goldstein Gia hopes you have enjoyed this episode. This podcast is one of the many great shows on the MPN Marketing Podcast Network.