I’m Gary Coulton, author, ex academic, ex businessman, proud neurodivergent and unabashed benign subversive.
I enjoy asking inconvenient questions of the world, people and mostly myself. I then spend time musing on what I’ve learned. I’m drawn like the proverbial moth to the big “Why” question, knowing that it can never be answered. Instead, I make do with the “What”, “When”, “Who” and “How”.
“Demons to Champions”, refers to our battles between the intrusions of our mental saboteurs and our desire for happiness.
The “to” in the title is very important because it implies a journey or process from one state to another. From battle to victory. From instability to foundation. From despair to hope. From hate to love.
It’s likely that twenty percent of the world’s population are neurodivergent. That’s an amazing number! I added myself to that group at age sixty-five. I was writing my upcoming memoir, reflecting on my childhood and later life. I knew I’d always been a different thinker, the weird kid who never knew when to shut up (forgive me, I still don’t at times). I realised my daughter, brother, nieces and most likely my parents were either ADHD, autistic, or both. I took the tests and yes, I sit astride the AuADHD camp. Living always with a deluge of disparate thoughts and recurring obsessions. The perennial square peg in the world’s round holes.
I could spend eons bellyaching about the unfairness of the world. Yes, it's true that neurodivergent people are excluded and labelled. However, I want to share what I have learned about my own demons. How stepping away from self-judgement helped me fall in love with my neurodivergent maverick mind.
It comes as a shock to many that a neurodivergent thinker like me could have a successful academic career and run an Executive Coaching business. I'm also an obsessive marathon kayaker. I live mindfully and pay close attention to the moments of my life's seminar. My late father, Harry Coulton, asked me a question shortly before he died. “Gary, who do you want to come to your funeral, and what was it you did for them that made them want to come?" I’m still working on this, but I guess my memoir is one way of giving back.
I have still to be vigilant, but over the years I’ve helped my internal demons evolve into my champions. At the age of sixty-eight, I’m the happiest and I'm more creative than ever. I want to share my experiences and some of my mental sleight of hand that achieved this revolution.
How I’m still here is a miracle, and down to one woman, Mel my wife. Her unconditional and often tough love gave me the space and materials to rebuild myself. I almost took my life a couple of years after we were married.
In the pipeline
My next two projects are a novel (Thriller), and a family saga about one of my amazing Victorian ancestors “Eliza Peake.
