What If Not Fitting In Is the Point? With Mike Merkur

What happens when the way your brain works doesn't fit the way the world expects you to learn, work, or live?

Mike Merkur spent years being told, directly and indirectly, that he didn't fit. He was thrown out of class, quit chemical engineering in tears at 17, struggled to find his place, and eventually spent years couch surfing.

In this episode, Mike opens up about discovering his ADHD and autism, why traditional learning never worked for him, and how learning with his hands and visually changed the way he understood the world.

He also shares the moment he realized he couldn't keep looking backward. From being pushed down by society to finding his own path as a toy inventor and puzzle maker, Mike's story is about finding your unique gifts, accepting that your path may look different, and continuing forward when the conventional path doesn't work for you.

In this episode, you’ll discover:

1. Why Mike struggled to fit into traditional classrooms and workplaces.

2. How ADHD and autism affected the way he learned and interacted with the world.

3. Why traditional, text-based learning doesn't work for everyone.

4. How kinesthetic and hands-on learning can help people with different learning styles.

5. What five years of couch surfing taught Mike about himself and other people.

6. Why some people with big ideas never take the first step.

7. How overcoming obstacles can create the courage to move forward.

8. Why you shouldn't look back when you're trying to build a different future.

Key Takeaways:

1. Not Everyone Fits the Traditional Mold. Mike's experiences in school and work showed him that conventional systems don't work equally well for everyone.

2. Different Brains Can Need Different Ways to Learn. Mike describes himself as someone who needs to learn visually and with his hands.

3. Your Path Doesn't Have to Look Normal. Mike spent years couch surfing and exploring instead of following a conventional career path.

4. Obstacles Can Change How You Move Forward. Mike talks about people becoming fearless enough to act after being pushed down or overcoming major obstacles.

5. Stop Looking Back. Mike uses the story of Lot and his wife to explain why constantly looking backward can keep you frozen in place.

6. Find Your Unique Gifts. Mike encourages people to identify the abilities that make their way of thinking different.

7. Keep Going After the Knock. As Mike puts it, “Every knock's a boost.”

8. Go, Be, Do. Sometimes the first step is simply deciding to move forward rather than waiting for everything to be perfect.

Timestamps:

00:00 – Introduction

00:12 – Mike's unconventional path: school, engineering, and couch surfing

01:32 – Why Mike struggled in school

03:40 – ADHD, autism, and learning differently

04:27 – The experience of not fitting in

15:13 – Losing his father and close friend

16:19 – Being labeled “unemployable”

17:34 – Seeing the abilities behind different ways of thinking

18:57 – “How do you fit into society?”

22:14 – The Mike of today vs. 10 years ago

22:48 – Five years of couch surfing

26:19 – Mike's advice for people who don't fit the mold

36:10 – Why people with ideas don't always start

37:24 – “Let's just do it and never look back”

38:28 – How far you can go when you stop looking back

38:44 – “Every knock's a boost”

Connect with Mike Merkur:

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/mikemerkur/

Website: https://mikemerkur.com/

World Mini Music: https://www.worldminimusic.com/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@Mikemerkur

CONNECT WITH IAN BOWEN:

Website: https://watchmemindset.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/ianrbowen/

TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@ianrbowen

YouTube Channel: https://www.youtube.com/@PositivePersistence-ch8fk

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