ADHD in Insurance Sales: Self-Awareness, Workday Design, and the Struggles Behind Producer Success
You can see a producer’s results. You rarely see everything it takes for that person to deliver them.
The growing book of business. The speaking engagements. The podcast episodes. The steady stream of content.
From the outside, those accomplishments can make success look effortless. For a newer producer trying to find a rhythm, that creates a dangerous comparison.
In a personal solo episode of Power Producers Shop Talk, David Carothers opened up about his experience with ADHD, the frustrations that followed him from childhood into adulthood, and the changes he made to support his work.
His message went beyond productivity. It challenged the assumption that successful people have everything figured out and encouraged producers to understand their own needs before trying to replicate someone else’s routine.
For David, that understanding changed how he approached his day, his career, and himself.
The results you admire may come from someone who has worked hard to build around struggles you cannot see.
Success Does Not Mean the Struggle Disappeared
David began the episode by addressing a perception that follows successful agency owners and producers.
If someone can produce business, lead an organization, and maintain a visible presence in the industry, people may assume the rest of that person’s life runs smoothly.
David wanted listeners to understand how incomplete that picture can be.
He described losing his train of thought in conversations, struggling to retain passages while reading, and working to manage the impulse to interrupt. Those experiences exist alongside his professional accomplishments.
That distinction matters for newer producers.
When you compare your daily frustrations with someone else’s public results, you leave out the adjustments, support, and effort behind those results. You may interpret your own difficulties as proof that you lack what successful people possess.
David’s story offers a more useful perspective.
Learn from the people you respect. Study their skills and decisions. However, leave room for the possibility that their way of working developed around needs different from yours.
A successful career does not require an identical daily routine.
Before There Was an Explanation, There Were Labels
Much of the episode focused on David’s childhood.
He recalled getting in trouble at school, at church, and at home. Fidgeting, speaking impulsively, and struggling to remain still were treated as behavior problems in the environments he described.
The explanations he heard were familiar: he was difficult, hyper, or failing to apply himself.
Meanwhile, David experienced things he could not easily explain.
He could intend to complete a task, walk into another room, and forget what he had been asked to do. He could read several sentences repeatedly because his attention had moved elsewhere before he absorbed the passage.
From the outside, those moments could look like a lack of effort. From his perspective, the intention was there.
That gap between intention and interpretation stayed with him.
Being told to try harder offered little clarity about why ordinary tasks could become frustrating.
David shared those memories to explain how he came to understand himself. His account also raises a useful question for agency leaders: how much do you actually know about the difficulty behind an employee’s visible behavior?
An observation can start a conversation. It rarely tells the entire story.
Understanding ADHD Changed How David Approached His Work
David described receiving a diagnosis as an important turning point.
It gave him an explanation for experiences he had previously struggled to understand. From there, he began reconsidering how he organized his workday.
Instead of judging every difficulty as a personal failure, he could examine the conditions under which he worked most effectively.
What held his attention? What caused him to lose momentum? Which parts of his environment helped him move work forward?
Those questions led to practical adjustments.
David also spoke candidly about trying medication and disliking how it made him feel. That was his individual experience, rather than a recommendation for other people to follow.
For additional clinical context, the National Institute of Mental Health explains that adult ADHD treatment can include medication and psychotherapy, and that evaluation involves a review of symptoms and history. Decisions about diagnosis and treatment belong in a conversation with a qualified healthcare professional.
The professional lesson from David’s story is about self-awareness.
Understanding what you are dealing with gives you a better starting point for deciding what support and adjustments you need.
Build a Workday Around How You Actually Work
One of the most memorable parts of the episode was David’s description of his desk.
He uses multiple monitors and compares his movement across them to an old-fashioned typewriter.
He begins on one side, works on a task, and shifts to the next when his attention starts to fade. Eventually, he returns to the beginning and continues the cycle.
To someone watching, the process may appear scattered. David describes it as a way to keep his mind engaged while moving responsibilities toward completion.
The important detail is what happens to the work.
He explained that, in his system, he returns to the tasks and gets them done. Moving between activities has a purpose within the way he organizes his day.
That does not make multiple monitors or frequent task changes a universal answer for ADHD in insurance sales.
It illustrates a broader principle: observe your own working patterns closely enough to make deliberate choices.
A producer might consider:
- Which activities are easiest to begin?
- Where does attention tend to drift?
- What helps a task reach completion?
- Which routines create repeated frustration?
- What changes have actually improved follow-through?
These questions translate David’s experience into a practical review. The objective is to understand your work well enough to improve the conditions around it.
Agency Leaders Can Make Success Easier to Understand
The episode began with a concern about newer producers looking at successful people and assuming everything is perfect.
Agency leaders have an opportunity to correct that impression.
They can explain how their own routines developed. They can acknowledge the tasks they find difficult and the adjustments they use to complete them.
That kind of transparency gives newer producers a more accurate picture of professional growth.
It also changes the coaching conversation.
Instead of presenting one routine as the only path, a leader can help a producer examine the work: what needs to happen, where the process breaks down, and what would improve the result.
This is a leadership application of David’s story. His experience shows how much can remain hidden behind visible performance.
Share the effort and adjustments behind your results so others have something realistic to learn from.
Build a Career That Leaves Room to Be Yourself
David closed the episode by offering to talk with people who feel misunderstood or are working through similar frustrations.
That invitation reflected the purpose of the conversation.
He wanted listeners to know that the person they see producing, speaking, and creating content has also experienced difficulties they may recognize.
His progress involved understanding himself more clearly, changing how he worked, and continuing to address the effects of his behavior.
For middle market producers, the lesson is practical.
Study your working patterns. Notice where you perform well and where you repeatedly struggle. Be honest about what needs improvement, and seek appropriate support when you need it.
You can learn from successful people while building a process that fits your own responsibilities and needs.
Choose one recurring frustration in your workday and take a concrete step toward understanding it. A more effective career can begin with a more honest conversation about how you work.
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