The Myth That Broke Us
Letting go of the dream that was never meant for us
Every fall, as the air turns crisp and the light shifts, I find myself slowing down.
The season change always brings me inward. It’s like nature gives me permission to pause and take stock — to ask where I am, what’s working, what isn’t, and what needs to change.
This year, those questions hit differently.
I’d been watching a string of videos — the kind that show up when you’re in a reflective state. Some about prepping, some about the state of the world, and one about why people vote against their own best interests.
In that last video, the speaker said something that stopped me cold:
“The American Dream isn’t broken — it’s been captured.”
And just like that, something in me clicked.
The Grief I Didn’t Realize I Was Carrying
For years, I’ve believed in the dream — the same one most of us were taught growing up: If you work hard, do the right things, and stay consistent, life will reward you.
You’ll get ahead. Your kids will have it better than you did.
That was the promise.
But as I looked around at what’s happening right now, that promise felt hollow.
While the rich and powerful consolidate more — billionaires getting richer, authoritarian leaders bending systems to their will — the rest of us are told to “tighten our belts.”
My partner’s ACA premiums are set to double. For millions of Americans, it could triple or even quarduple if the tax credits aren’t restored.
We’re told to dream big — while being pushed to the edge just trying to survive.
And as someone with ADHD, that dream has always felt just out of reach. I’ve worked hard, started businesses, pushed through burnout after burnout — all while wondering why I couldn’t seem to “get ahead.” Even now, earning six figures, I’m still living paycheck to paycheck.
The realization hit hard: It’s not that I’ve failed the dream. It’s that the dream failed me.
That grief — the slow awareness that something sacred was never real in the way I was told — has been sitting heavy in my chest.
The Illusion of Progress
We were sold a myth: that success is a straight line upward if you just try hard enough.
But the truth is, that line was drawn by people who never wanted us to reach the top.
When you look around — rising costs, disappearing stability, the next generation drowning in debt before they even begin — it’s clear the system isn’t broken by accident. It’s working exactly as designed.
That’s when I started to see how the American Dream isn’t just about money or status — it’s about control.
Control through the illusion of hope.
Control through the constant pressure to hustle harder.
Control through the lie that your worth is measured by how much you can produce before you break.
The ADHD Connection
For those of us with ADHD, this system is brutal.
Our brains are wired for creativity, curiosity, connection — not monotony, not survival-mode living. But the world we live in constantly feeds on urgency and distraction.
It’s like being trapped in a maze that keeps rearranging itself while someone tells you to “focus harder.”
No wonder so many of us burn out trying to play a rigged game.
That’s when I realized — this isn’t just about politics or economics.
It’s about psychology. About identity. About how the story we’ve been told shapes who we think we’re allowed to become.
Writing a New Story
That’s why I created The Myth That Broke Us.
It’s not a manifesto — it’s a guide for letting go.
For people like me — people with ADHD, or who are neurodivergent, entrepreneurial, or simply tired of living inside someone else’s story — this guide is about making peace with the truth: The American Dream we were promised no longer exists.
But that doesn’t mean our dream can’t.
The Myth That Broke Us helps you:
Identify the old scripts that keep you chasing someone else’s definition of success
Understand why our brains latch onto “fixing” the unfixable
And most importantly, start writing a new narrative — one built on authenticity, creativity, and self-defined freedom
Because once you see the myth for what it is, you can stop trying to live up to it — and start living beyond it.
Letting Go To Move Forward
I don’t have all the answers. But what I do have is clarity. And clarity changes everything.
We can’t rebuild what’s been captured — but we can create something new. Something honest. Something real.
That’s what The Myth That Broke Us is all about: Letting go of the story that broke us, and writing one that sets us free.
Are you ready to stop chasing someone else’s dream — and start building your own?