THE REAL STORY

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From Broken to Building: The Complete Truth

 

Hi, I'm Adam Tilove

 

I'm 53 years old. I've lived with undiagnosed ADHD since childhood, with two traumatic brain injuries for 37 years, and I've been sober for 13.

Two years ago, I lost everything. My job. My business. My sense of self.

Building this program kept me alive. Now, helping others is the most satisfying work I've ever done.

 

It Started in Second Grade

 

My second grade report card said it all:

"Adam has amazing ideas, but he will need to work on the bridge between 'idea' and 'finished product.'"

"No matter the task—putting papers in his binder, taking out the trash can, even hammering a nail—Adam seems to struggle to get things done."

This was the late 1970s. ADHD wasn't talked about. Executive dysfunction wasn't understood. It was just: "Adam needs to try harder."

So I did. For decades.

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The Complications

 

In 1988, at 16, a car accident left me with two traumatic brain injuries—two epidural hematomas, one on each side of my brain.

Undiagnosed ADHD + serious brain damage = a lifetime of struggling to keep up.

But I did keep up. I built a career. I became a head of school. Twice.

Behind the scenes, though, I was barely holding it together. Stress, anxiety, poor self-care.

 

The Self-Medication Years

 

For most of my young adulthood, I self-medicated with alcohol and drugs. Being high made me more comfortable than facing the truth: I couldn't execute. I was struggling while everyone else seemed fine, and I felt broken without knowing why.

So I stayed high. For years.

 

Sobriety Was the Beginning, Not the End

 

Thirteen years ago, I got sober. It gave me clarity. I started facing my demons. It stopped the spiral.

But it didn't fix the underlying problem. I still had unmanaged ADHD. I still had brain injuries. I still had no foundation.

I was still the kid with brilliant ideas who couldn't finish anything.

 

The Breaking Point

 

In 2023, I lost my position as head of school. I tried to start a business—it failed and left me in debt. I tried 75 Hard. Failed that too.

Then I just... broke.

For a year, I was lost. Depressed. No energy. No path forward.

I'd spent my entire life trying harder. I'd finally hit the wall.

Sober for 12 years. A successful career. A house and family. And I still ended up here—broken, in debt, wondering how to go on.

 

The Question That Changed Everything

 

Somewhere in that darkness, a question emerged:

"What if the problem isn't me? What if the problem is that every system is unrealistic, not accounting for how real people live and feel?"

That question became a lifeline.

 

The Research

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I enrolled in executive coaching certification because I knew I wanted to help people. I understood how lonely leadership is, how emotionally draining it can be. I had a talent for it, and I wanted to find a way to support leaders in becoming more successful, stable, and happy.

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I spent months in deep research: neuroscience, health psychology, habit formation, behavioral science, addiction recovery, trauma processing.

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A pattern emerged: every sustainable system starts with the body, not willpower.

Sleep quality supported or undermined everything. Movement regulated my nervous system. Nutrition affected my focus. Meditation calmed the chaos. Digital boundaries protected my attention.

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I started building a framework. Not for a business. For survival.

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And it worked.

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Not instantly. But gradually, I started functioning again. My brain came back online. I could finish things. I could see forward.

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From Survival to System

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As I documented what was working, I realized: this is what I've needed my entire life.

 

What I needed in second grade when I couldn't bridge idea to execution.

 

What I needed at 16 when brain injuries made everything harder.

 

What I needed when I was self-medicating to function.

 

What I needed when sobriety alone wasn't enough.

 

What I needed when I lost everything and couldn't see a reason to continue.

 

I started coaching a few people. Then a small group. Then I ran a beta cohort of 12 participants.

 

Watching them transform became the most satisfying work I'd ever done.

More satisfying than being a head of school. More satisfying than sobriety alone. More satisfying than anything in 53 years.

 

But here's what surprised me: I loved working with people on all kinds of challenges. Executives, yes—but everyone is fascinating, wonderful, kind, and looking for help and support. That's why this program is open to everyone. And it's why we work in cohorts: because we all need community to get through real change.

 

That became the NeuroDiscipline™ Protocol.

 

Why This Works

 

I understand the high-functioning trap: you're successful enough that people think you're fine, but you're drowning in private and know something's fundamentally broken.

I know what it's like to:

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• Have brilliant ideas but never finish them

• Try harder and harder and still fail

• Self-medicate just to function

• Get sober and think that will fix everything

• Lose your job, fail a business, end up in debt with no path forward

 

I also know what it's like to find the thing that actually works. And to help others find it too.

 

What I Bring

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• Certified Executive Coach specializing in behavior change and habit formation

• Former Head of School at two independent schools

• NeuroDiscipline Podcast Host exploring the neuroscience of sustainable change

• 53 years of lived experience with ADHD and brain injury

• 13 years sober with deep understanding of recovery science

• Someone who built this protocol to save his own life

 

More than credentials, I bring this: I know what it's like to feel broken. And I know a way out.

 

The NeuroDiscipline™ Difference

 

This isn't 75 Hard. It's not extreme willpower. It's not "just get sober" or "just try harder."

 

It's what actually works with your brain, and not against it. It's body-first behavior

change backed by neuroscience and built from necessity.

 

We start with sleep. Then movement. Then nutrition. Then presence. Only after your body is regulated and your brain is online do we touch your calendar.

 

Because you can't out-discipline bad sleep.
 

You can't willpower your way through exhaustion.
 

You can't "just try harder" when your foundation is broken.
 

You can't get sober and ignore the underlying systems.
 

And you can't execute brilliant ideas without the infrastructure to support them.

 

This is the system I built to survive. The system that gave me hope when I had none. The system that finally works for brains like ours.

 

What You Get

 

In the 13-week NeuroDiscipline Protocol, you receive:

Structure:

• 7 private 1:1 sessions where we work on your specific blocks

• 13 weekly group calls where you learn, implement, and troubleshoot

• The complete protocol I built to save my own life

• A community of high-functioning people who get it because they're living it too

 

Support:

• My lifetime of hard-won experience and professional training

• Direct access during the most critical transformation period

• Accountability that works for ADHD brains

• A system designed for executive dysfunction, not against it

 

This isn't theory. This is what kept me alive and helped me rebuild.

 

The Truth

 

Your brain can work better. Your life can feel different. You can find your way forward.

The most satisfying thing in the world? Helping you get there.

I know because this program saved me. And now helping others gives my life meaning.

I'm 53. I was broken two years ago. It's never too late.

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