From Tragedy to Truth:

The Coach Who Lost Nearly Everything and Found The Right Path Forward

Coach Mark Barstow

Who I Am    

  • Dad to three grown daughters
  • Founder & director of a 120-voice rock choir
  • Trainer, facilitator, and entertainer of 30+ years
  • Former Corporate IT leader of 25+ years
  • Brain cancer survivor
  • ADHDer diagnosed in adulthood as a major lifequake approached
  • Certified Master Life Coach & NLP Practitioner
  • ADHD Coaches Organization Member
  • ADHD Pathfinders Founder

My ADHD Lifequake Story

  • On paper: Successful Corporate IT Director
    • In reality: Exhausted Imposter
      • Trying to hide my chaos and overwhelm
      • Beating myself up for being "undisciplined"
      • Powering through burnout and work I'd outgrown
      • I was put on a Performance Improvement Plan (PIP). 
        • It was the second one in 2 years. 
        • My doctor called the first PIP "basically an ADHD diagnosis."
        • I got fired before approved ADHD accommodations began.
          • Just two weeks prior, my wife had left me.
            • My lack of planning, organizing, execution, follow-through, and other skills left her without a fully capable partner and forced her into a caregiving role.
            • With other untreated symptoms like poor listening, impulsivity, and emotion regulation challenges, I routinely failed to see, hear, or respect her gently expressed needs.
              • I caused the woman I loved to spend many years feeling disrespected, sidelined, and unloved.
              • I didn't realize it until she'd fallen for another man.
            • My career + my family crumbled in the lifequake.

            My Transformation


            In the wake of the disaster, I made an all-in commitment to transformation.

            • Dug into an ADHD treatment program with a psychologist
            • Partnered with my own ADHD coach to decode my brain
            • Trained and transformed in programs with Tony Robbins, Simon Sinek, Dean Graziosi, Ilana Golan, Calvin Coyles, and others.
            • Discovered my purpose, my power, my passion, and my partnership with my brain. (Your brain is always listening, and it's taking orders!)
            • Earned two Life Coaching certifications & two NLP Practitioner certifications
            • Became an ADHD Coaches Organization member
            • Founded ADHD Pathfinders to help others like you navigate from secretly struggling to openly flourishing—without the pain and loss I suffered.
            • Started the Is It ADHD? program to help people out there struggling like I was with no explanation why, a poor understanding of their own brain, and no clarity about what to do next
            • Started the End Overwhelm. End Shame. program to help people with ADHD (regardless of diagnosis status) transform into the best version of themselves
            • Started ADHD Pathfinders Workshops to help organizations, teams, and employees transform ADHD in the workplace from struggle to strategy
             
             

            How I Show Up

              The best way for me to convey the experience you'll have when we team up to make great things happen is to share the top five values that drive me and my work:
              Compassion: I believe transformation happens through compassion without judgment. Every interaction is guided by genuine care for your success and well-being.

              Authenticity:
               After decades of hiding in shame, I know the exhaustion of pretending to be something you’re not. I help you remove your masks and start to flourish as your true self.

              Growth: 
              I’m committed to continuous learning and evolution, both for myself and my clients. Stagnation isn’t an option when there’s always another level of breakthrough waiting!

              Service:
               My mission and passion is to help ADHDers break free from the systems, stories, and critics that once restricted them, and guide their transformation into people who won't ever be confined again... ideally, before tragedy strikes in their lives. 

              Honesty
              : I’ll tell you what you need to hear, not what you want to hear. Real change requires real truth, and I won’t waste your time or money with false encouragement.