Know yourself. Learn to understand yourself and do work on yourself. I have found this helped me to identify going down the mental health path and doing something I believe in.

Aspart of our interview series called “5 Things I Wish Someone Told Me Before I Became A Founder”, I had the pleasure of interviewing Nick Bracks.

Nick Bracks is an acclaimed mental health advocate, actor, entrepreneur, and speaking who has delivered over 1,000 mental health seminars and several TED talks.

Thank you so much for joining us in this interview series! Can you tell us a story about what brought you to this specific career path?

Ihave worked as a mental health advocate and entrepreneur for the last 15 years and found myself on this path after spending a period of time being lost and having no purpose or passion. I have always seemed adventure and novelty and founding different ventures really appealed to me.

Can you tell us a story about the hard times that you faced when you first started your journey?

There are so many! I really struggled with direction and knowing how to apply my time and energy. I have had multiple businesses that did not succeed and it is always a hard and soul searching journey to go back to the drawing board and start again.

Where did you get the drive to continue even though things were so hard?

It comes down to self belief. I am a dreamer and believe in myself whole heartedly. No matter how bad things get I know that I can continue and will eventually succeed. It is my mantra.

So, how are things going today? How did grit and resilience lead to your eventual success?

Things are going well! I founded and run a mental health media company called Move Your Mind (www.moveyourmind.me), released a book last year and run a podcast (www.nickbracks.com) and am producing a TV show with mental health themes. It is a daily grind and sometimes things are good and sometimes bad…I keep pushing no matter what.

Can you share a story about the funniest mistake you made when you were first starting? Can you tell us what lesson you learned from that?

I was blindly naive and was trying to start three companies at once when I didn’t know how to execute one! I thought things would magically work and was not putting the work in. I quickly learnt my lesson!

What do you think makes your company stand out? Can you share a story?

I think it comes down to authenticity. I have shared my story to an audience more than 1,000 times and it is always about being real, raw and vulnerable. We incorporated those values into Move Your Mind. One story that comes to mind is doing a talk and having a participate getting help when they had made a plan to end their life. This kind of thing has happened more times than I can count. It reminds me to keep going.

Which tips would you recommend to your colleagues in your industry to help them to thrive and not “burn out”?

It is so important to have a daily routine and boundaries. Sleeping regularly, eating well, having time out from work and making sure you get moving and exercise daily. If you neglect yourself you will burn out and won’t be able to continue so you must look after yourself in the process!

None of us are able to achieve success without some help along the way. Is there a particular person who you are grateful towards who helped get you to where you are? Can you share a story?

I could not do anything without mentors and have been lucky to have them through every phase of my life. The most impactful was my uncle Bruce. He always believed in me, saw himself in me and was there for me since I was a kid wanted to be an athlete — at the time he would train with me three times per week and comes to my events. He encouraged me as an actor, understood me and always told me I could do it. He sadly passed away recently and has left a lasting impact on me. I am dedicating everything I do to him.

How have you used your success to bring goodness to the world?

Through the work I do in mental health and raising awareness. I work with a number of charities and try and do something every day to help move the mental health conversation forward.

What are your “5 things I wish someone told me before I started leading my company” and why. Please share a story or example for each.

1. Take your time. I always rushed and didn’t think things through which can lead to bad decisions and going down the wrong path.
2. Know yourself. Learn to understand yourself and do work on yourself. I have found this helped me to identify going down the mental health path and doing something I believe in.
3. Have mentors. Without mentors I would really struggle! We all need support.
4. Don’t be afraid to ask for help. I have always asked questions and sought help when I needed it. This goes a long way and most people are happy to offer support if you ask! Don’t be afraid to hassle people — just ask!
5. Set realistic goals. Aim for the stars long term but set achievable foals short term and keep yourself accountable. If you don’t do this you may lose direction and not gain momentum.

Can you share a few ideas or stories from your experience about how to successfully ride the emotional highs & lows of being a founder”?

My advice would be to get super clear on what your long term purpose is. It is impossible not to have ups and downs (often daily) so reminding yourself of the purpose and meaning behind what you are doing will help you to get through those short term set backs and emotional highs and lows.

You are a person of great influence. If you could start a movement that would bring the most amount of good to the most amount of people, what would that be? You never know what your idea can trigger. 🙂

I would say to just encourage people to truely accept that they are enough as they are and to encourage open, vulnerable and honest communication. If we all can speak openly and honestly to each other we will eliminate a lot of the negativity from the world. It is what I have spent the last 15 years of my life doing and will continue to do until I die.

How can our readers further follow your work online?

www.nickbracks.com

https://www.instagram.com/nickbracks/

https://www.tiktok.com/@nickbracksofficial

www.moveyourmind.me

This was very inspiring. Thank you so much for joining us!