Aug 17
Jessi Kingan left the United States at age 22 for what was meant to be a six-month adventure of traveling and teaching scuba diving around the world. Like so many ADHDers with a plan though, she ended up on a completely different path than she was expecting.
Now almost 13 years later, Jessi lives with her husband and children in Iceland, where she owns and operates a restaurant, hostel, and apartment hotel on the south coast, and she couldn’t be happier. Jessi makes entrepreneurship work for her by leaning into her ADHD strengths and letting others take over in the areas where she struggles, which keeps her work engaging and saves her unnecessary stress.
Join our conversation to hear more about Jessi’s ADHD journey, including the unique experience of going from a freshman in high school to a freshman in college, how she ended up where she is today, what she’s learned about entrepreneurship so far, and much more.
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"Throughout everything I've done, I've learned something new along the way."
- Jessi Kingan
"I realized that I have a lot of strengths that other people don't necessarily have that are in demand, like creative problem solving is one of my great talents that is most used. I have this great talent for divergent thinking where I can come up with a lot of possible ways to tie these things together or take care of this situation or that one."
- Jessi Kingan
"People would tell me, ‘you're so good at this, you're a natural’ and I'm thinking, if only you knew I'm not a natural, I've been trying really, really hard and I don't want you to see that. So never let anyone see work in progress, just when it's finished to my high standard."
- Jessi Kingan
- Jessi describes herself as a perfectionist who has been driven to succeed by the doubts of others, leading to a sense of impostor syndrome.
- Jessi wanted to prove herself to her father by getting a good SAT score and attending a prestigious college.
- Jessi's parents were supportive of her decision to attend college early, despite some reservations.
[21:17 - 39:36] ADHD and life decisions
- Jessi considered various options for saving money before deciding to take a program in Thailand, which included dive training and accommodation.
- Jessi reflects on her past decisions, realizing they may have been influenced by undiagnosed ADHD, leading to a series of events that shaped her life.
- Jessi realized that acceptance of her ADHD traits led to an improved relationship with her husband.
- Jessi describes how she met her partner while working as freelance diving instructors in Thailand, and how their shared love of adventure and freedom led them to live and work together in the same location without a formal employment contract.
- Jessi started a construction company after realizing she didn't enjoy the day-to-day management of the hostel or hotel, preferring the construction end of things.
- Jessi highlights the benefits of her family connections in Tenerife, including access to a larger extended family and a more relaxed environment for her children.
Raudahusid.is - restaurant
Bakkihostel.is - hostel, apartment hotel and cabins
Algjortnammi.is - chocolatier
