I now have diagnoses of rapid cycling bipolar II and moderate autism, but in the early Nineties I realized I was dealing with ADHD. I was fortunate that one of my autistic abilities was being extremely good at mathematics and computer science. My important adjustment was becoming a computer consultant on projects that lasted several months. I can attack new projects with great intensity, but I fry out after a few months.

While I did great in the Nineties, I didn't leverage my work into a network of contacts. Giant mistake as the Dot Com crash destroyed me professionally. I went from making $65/hr to being homeless living in the woods.

I reinvented myself by going back to college working towards a Ph.D. in mathematics. I ended up concluding that I didn't have the communication skills needed to teach mathematics or the publications needed to be a researcher.

Ultimately I had to give up being a computer professional. I could no longer get intellectually and financially appropriate work. I have continued to work on a number of projects over the last twenty years, so I have preserved much of my programming skills. I have had a popular website for twenty years on http://tetration.org covering what exists beyond exponentiation.

I learned that something one must be ready to completely reinvent themselves to have a chance at happiness.