Can ADHD lead to success at work and in life?

Progress has been made in removing the social stigma associated with mental health and illness. Author Peter Shankman takes it a step further and told Salon's Alli Joseph on "Salon Talks" that "you get diagnosed with things that will hurt you, and there's tremendous benefit I've found in ADHD."

In "Faster Than Normal: Turbocharge Your Focus, Productivity, and Success with the Secrets of the ADHD Brain," Shankman aims to go beyond just changing the conversation about ADHD, an analysis he's been labeled with, but to provide tools to harness ADHD for positivity and productivity in everyday life.

On "Salon Talks," Shankman discussed the evolution of the ADHD diagnosis both culturally and in his own life, the power of self-medication, and the importance for alternative methods of dealing with ADHD and ADD in young children.

Just because Shankman owns his uniqueness doesn't mean everything is easy. "I believe that on any given day, I am three bad decisions in a row away from being a junkie on the streets," he said. "It means I have to be very aware of how I live."

To combat this, Shankman set up "life rules," to keep him on track, and they're surprisingly universal whether someone has ADHD or not.