The Power of Pause: Overcoming, Resetting, and Inspiring with Will Craig

It's not about how I led always. It's what did they learn from me, what were they inspired from, and how I lived my life every single day. I think about it a lot with parents and while I'm not one myself, one thing that has always been acutely aware to me is most of what a kid learns is through osmosis. It's by what they see every single day.

Ladies and gentlemen, welcome back to another episode of Mick Unplugged. And today is we're talking to a personal friend of mine. He's turned passion into purpose, silence into strategy, and mental health into a mission. From battling personal darkness to becoming a best selling author, a viral speaker, and a corporate truth teller. He's bold, he's transparent, and he's a good human. He is. Mr. Will Craig. Will, how you doing today, brother?

I'm doing good, my friend. How about yourself?

I am doing amazing. Doing amazing, man. It's, it's cool that, that we get to have this conversation, man. Like, you know, when, when Robert Irvine introduces me, like when we're out, he's always like, the power of LinkedIn. Because that's kind of how our relationship started was LinkedIn. And now I get to do the same thing to my buddy Will, man. Like the power of Instagram, right? It was like it was an Instagram message. We chatted a lot on Instagram. You invited me onto your podcast and now we're like boys, man. So like, I want people to understand the power of social media. When done correctly, can, can really introduce you to some amazing people because I got introduced to my good friend, Mr. Will Craig.

Now I completely agree. And it's, I think there's even like a, whether it's social media or even just in person, like, I think it's a skill that doesn't get talked about enough, like in school or anything else is just the ability to just walk up or reach out to somebody that you don't know and just like try to extend an olive branch, right? That simple connection. Because like all that happened with us. For those who don't know the backstory here, with Mick and I, he had engaged, he had liked a couple of my videos that I had posted and then I just shot him a message. I didn't know if he was going to reply, but to me it was like, let's, why not? Why not reach out, say hi, I appreciate what you're doing in the space, and let's go from there. And so I think that's an untapped market for Everybody is just, shoot your shot, reach out.

No, totally agree. Like, shoot your shot and, and do it with purpose and with passion and with, with really positive energy. Right. Like, you know, again, my mentors, I all met some somewhere, and one of the things that they will all tell you to look you in the eyes to your face and tell you is one of the reasons they respect me is because I'm not like, oh, let's take a picture, let's do a selfie. Right? I'd rather ask a question. Because those conversations go further and they'll remember a conversation more than they will remember, you know who they did a selfie with? Damon John. Takes a million pictures a day, right? Les Brown takes a million pictures a day. Robert Irvine. A million pictures a day. But it's those conversations that actually move people. And so that's just one little tidbit of advice that I would give out to folks as well, too, man, like, shoot your shot, but make it meaningful.

Couldn't agree more. It's, you know, it's that if you think about it, you only get so many chances with everybody. You walk into life, no matter where they're at in their stage, either it's like that impression will last. And so to your point, like asking the right question or, you know, leaning in to what someone's background is, doing just a little bit of background work ahead of time to know, like, hey, this person cares about these things. I'm going to make the impression to say, I did my homework, I came prepared, and I want to have this conversation with you because I think you're a meaningful person to have that with.

Absolutely. Absolutely. Well, man, so let's get into it for the, for the audience. And I want the audience to know a little bit about your because. Right? Like, what's that thing? And like, I know, but I want the audience and I want the viewers and listeners to know because to me, it's really dynamic. Like, what's that thing that keeps you driving? What's that real reason behind your why that keeps you doing what you do every day?

Man, I love the way, by the way that you frame it up as the because, you know, the why is great. Simon said it was right. Start with why. But that has to lead into the because. So I think that's worth calling out to folks. But for me, as you called out in the beginning of the show, I've had to battle a few different demons. Personally, I went through some dark bouts of depression. I had a significant other die unexpectedly. I've had six Brain surgeries, and I'm gonna have more. And all of those are just part of my story of who I am as a person. And that's my why. That's what got me caring about mental health and caring about these things. But as I put myself out there in the space to write, to speak, to make videos, the. Because it became more clear, which is that it's one simple mission. I want others to feel less alone in their struggle. When you're in the darkest parts of your life, when you're in that place that it feels like nobody's gonna understand, the reality is you're not alone. And there are other people who have been in your shoes, and there are people that are willing to hear what you have to say. But so often we. Whether it's depression, anxiety, you name it, those things feed off your ability to feel alone and that nobody else is going to care. So if you can understand and if I can be the person to extend it out and say, I've gone through these things, I have struggled in these places, I have come out the other side from it. And A, maybe it's an inspiration, but B, it's. If nothing else, it's to let other people feel less alone. And as I've evolved, what I'm doing with the podcast, it's getting other people to share those stories, too. And, you know, I only have so many experiences. How do I get other people to express theirs as well, to make the rest of the world realize they're not alone in their struggle?

That is deep, man. And I want to unpack, no pun intended, unplug a little bit of what you talked about there, man. I want to go into this segment that I want to say, who was Will Craig? Because who you were versus who you are today. Right. Are different. So who was Will Craig, man? Like, if we were to look back and say, you know, you talked about the brain surgeries, the loss of loved ones, right? I know a little bit about the. The darkness that you. You lived in. Who was Will?

He was a scared kid at its core. He was just so scared for a number of reasons, the core of which being because of a medical condition I have called hydrocephalus. At the core of that, Like I said, I've had six brain surgeries. I'm gonna have more. And I truly believed that my existence in other people's lives was a sunk cost to them. So I had to be exceptional in. In order to be worth anyone's time. And that fueled arrogance. It fueled cockiness and all These things because I had to go the complete other extreme. And so, you know, if you talk to 22 year old me, he's this arrogant, want to be something guy who's got everything to prove but nothing to actually show for it. Because I needed everyone in my life to see me as something more than I was. Which at the end of the day, all anyone ever actually needed of me was to be a good guy.

Right, right. That's so deep, man. And, and so six brain surgeries. Talk to us about that. Like what's the story again? Part of who was Will? Like the, the brain surgeries were part of who Will was.

Right? Yeah, yeah. So as I mentioned before, it's a condition called hydrocephalus. So you've got your brain, you got your skull and in the middle you got cerebral spinal fluid. Your body brings it up, drains it out naturally absorbs it through the body mind brings it in, but none drains out naturally. So I've got a mechanical device called a shunt that goes into my brain, drains out the shoe pile fluid brings down to my abdominal cavity. It's a man made piece of plastic. It'll break and it's going to break. And they can't make it out of metal because that's not practical for a number of reasons. You also have to do CAT scans. So it's got to made out, it's a polymer plastic and that's not meant to last forever. So the doctors, my neurosurgeon, neurosurgical team that I work with have said if it breaks, I've got roughly eight hours. That's kind of the estimate of what happens when that. And you would know, it'd be very, very obvious. Wow. And so that, you know, living with that kind of ticking time. But so I was diagnosed at 2 months old, at 4 months old, at I had my first break and then I went from four months till I was 16 without a problem. And then at 16 I collapsed in high school and went home. My dad and I thought I had the flu, but then took me to the hospital and because my temperature got down to like the, the high 80s and was headed to a coma. And then that's when it's like, okay, this is going to be a part of your life now forever. And I had two more when I was in high school. I had one more about eight years ago.

Wow, bro. So like the pause is me just sitting there thinking about you saying you have eight hours. And then you also said, but you know, right. Like you know, you know when it happens, you know what it feels like. Like, I. I can't fathom that as I'm sitting here right now that, okay, something happened. I've got eight hours. What if my doctor or surgeon is, you know, in Maui or is asleep or, you know, isn't picking up the phone? Like. Like, what happens, brother?

That actually not Maui specifically. He was on vacation, though. That actually happened to me when I was in high school. So I had the two that I had when I was 17. One of them was, it is about a year after the last one, and then went in and either a mixture of, like, it didn't take or, you know, wasn't fitting incorrectly, whatever the case may be, two days later, like, I was back in the hospital. And so my doctor who had done the previous surgery had gone on vacation and so somebody else in his medical group. But that's where, like, having a team, having a plan, having all these things are so important. So wherever I've moved, wherever I've lived, like, I always make sure to have a team in place to know, hey, you're my team. You know me, you know my stuff, you have my records. We know, we know what hospital to go to. Even when I travel, you know, having that in the back of my mind of knowing, hey, we're staying at this hotel. This is where I would go for this. This is how we do it. If we go out of the country, hey, this is how we have to handle medical insurance. Like, just having a little bit of a plan to. To know that we know the steps, we know where to go. At the end of the day, I'm going to need brain surgery if it breaks. So that's. That's obvious. And most major hospitals can do that. So it's just about knowing the right place to go that has the best team in place and, you know, training the people around me as well, too. Training my wife, my. My good friends, making sure all of them know, like, hey, this happens. This is. This is what you have to do, this is what you have to say. Because I'll get to a place in the beginning phases, I'll be able to communicate by like, hour four or five. There's a good chance I can't talk much. So I need the people around me to advocate on my behalf and, you know, growing up as my parents and, you know, God bless them, because they. I can't imagine the amount of stress, anxiety, fear that they've had raising me. I know they wouldn't change it for anything in the world, but at the same time, that had to be hard.

So for everybody that's listening or watching right now, I want you to pause. I really want you to pause. I want you to come in and I want you to think about. You have eight hours, right? You know, you have eight hours. What are you doing? What's important to you? Who are the people that are around you? Because my buddy Will lives with that, right? Like knowing that something happens. I literally have eight hours. So I want everyone to think, I really want you to pause. I want you to dial this in. Something happens to you and you know, you have eight hours to. To fix it, to get right. Like, what's your mindset? What's your purpose? Who are the people that you're rallying with? How prepared are you for anything? And I also want you to think about the things that you're going through today. The things that you contemplate today. How important are they really? The decisions that you're making. How important are they really? The things you put on your plate, how important are they really? Because my guy Will, man, like, again, you know, we talk a lot offline. We. You're really one of my good friends, man. And like, I just. One, I want to applaud you for the things that you do. But two, looking back at who Will was, right, that's pretty, it's pretty dynamic to know who you are now, right? And now let's transition to that. Let's transition to who Will is now. So, you know, I talked about best selling author, man. Talk to us a little bit about the book. What made you write the book? And then like one, I'm proud of it because I've actually read it and it's a good book. But like, what can viewers and listeners pick up from the book? So let's start with. Tell us a little bit about the book and why you wrote it.

Thank you. So why I wrote it, funny enough, was the challenge of a friend. So I had been blogging for years, and when I was blogging, it would just be something that's been brewing on my mind. Sit down one night, write it, we're good. Post it the next day, maybe edit it real quick in the morning and call it a day. And I didn't think I had the discipline, frankly, to like sit down and write a full book. And then a friend of mine who happens to be a full time author kind of challenged me. He's like, yes, you can. You just are viewing it the wrong way. You're seeing it as, I can only write in These bursts. You have to look at it from the full picture. If you just took a couple years of your blog, you could have a book. So that's where that sat as far as, like, where it came from. But it really, to me, was cathartic because it got to take the last four or five years of writing that I had done and really contemplating everything I am about as a person and putting it all into one cohesive story to really tell people where I've been, what I've learned, and why this is so important.

Yeah.

To care about your mental health, to care about your experiences. Like, these things matter.

Yeah. I love it, brother. I love it. And, you know, going back to how you and I kind of met and, you know, I was a huge fan of you and what I was seeing on Instagram and your post, man, because it was about mental health. And I'm a huge mental health advocate, I believe, especially as we talk to men, our men, listeners and viewers and ladies who have significant others. You know, guys, we don't always have to be tough, right? We don't always have to fight. You know, I know that that's how we feel a lot of times, and we've got to be strong and we've got to do that. And, yeah, we do. But not 24 7. Right. Like, there are times that you need to take that reset. Right. Well, so that. That reset is always needed. So talk to us a little bit about the reset, and then we'll transition to your podcast, the Sunday Reset.

Nah. Yeah. You know, to me, it's taking that pause, as you said, for all of us, you know, in those heightened moments, in the moments of high stress, high anxiety, I. Or it could be the dark side, the depression side, whatever the case may be. It's taking that pause before you make any decisions, before you go down the rabbit hole. Take a deep breath, take it all in. Allow your brain to realize you've been here before. You can do it again. And even if you haven't been here before, you have a stack of evidence on everything else in your life that you've overcome to prove that you can and are capable of getting to the next phase.

Yeah. Yeah, that's lovely, man. Like, so again, I want the. The viewers and listeners to understand this. So for those that are listening, will, that are watching, that are like, yeah, well, that sounds great, but sometimes I don't know how to pause. Right. Or I don't even know when to pause. Like, what. What are some tips that you can give people? What are some signs People can look for when, hey, probably need to get ready to pause or this is too much, take a break. Like, what are some signs that people can look for?

Well, first, I think it actually has to be. You have to start with yourself and be honest with who you are as a person and how you best operate. Because I think so often we try to fit ourselves into boxes that don't serve us well. And so we're trying. Either we're a person that needs to focus on one thing at a time, but we're trying to do 27 things, or vice versa. Maybe you're best operating a little bit everywhere. That's me. I'm somebody who. I want seven stove tops going at any given time, because focusing on one is the death of me, frankly.

Yeah.

And so that's the first part is being very honest with yourself and knowing how you operate best and leaning into that. So that's before you get into the situation. The pause to me comes into play after the fact, which is that, like, eventually the pot boils over, using my stovetop analogy. Or eventually you feel as though everything can be a bit overwhelming or even potentially underwhelming. That's the. That's an alternative as well, too, is maybe you thought this was going to be up here and turns out it's way down here. That's your expectations playing against you. But as you realize, I think we're all in tune with the shifts that are happening in our minds. We can feel our heart rate raise up. We can feel when our breath gets a little tighter. We're acutely aware of it. We just don't know what it is. So I actually think so much of it draws from the physical. You know, if you realize, like, hey, be in tune with your body to know my. My heart's beating a little bit faster than it normally is. My breath's a little more shallow than it normally is. My mind's racing in a way that I'm not used to seeing it. Be in tune with yourself. And then the more you can understand those things, you'll start to recognize, okay, no, I'm in a place where I'm not operating the way I want to. And that's where it's worth. Just take a quick. I'm not asking for much. Take five seconds, take a step back, Breathe in, breathe out. Allow everything to process. The visual that I've used in speeches is we've all seen, like, on a tv, things, buffer. And it gets to that, like, weird place where it's like, it's like, too far ahead. And it's like everything's not operating from a digital perspective the way it's supposed to. And you can't make heads or tails of anything on the video. But if you pause, if you pause, let it catch up. Everything becomes clear and everything can acutely breathe because you gave it the space to do so. All it needed was that little bit of buffer time. You and your body and your mind are the exact same way.

I love that, dude. I love that. And, you know, going further with your. Your. Your mindset toolbox, right. What are some of the daily habits or strategies that you use today for. For mental health awareness or mental health resiliency?

Yeah, it's a great question. I. The biggest one for me is writing and, you know, taking the time to journal every day for a couple of reasons. One, I think when you get the chance to write it all out gives your brain a chance to really, truly process and think about things more acutely.

Yeah.

Secondly, you can start spotting trends, especially if you're using the same notebook. You're like, hey, I noticed I wrote about a similar feeling a couple days ago, or I experienced heightened anxiety around these people a couple weeks ago. You start spotting those trends because you're taking note, you're taking a catalog of it. You're being mindful with that. So journaling, number one is gotta be like my best and most useful thing. Second one being, I would actually. Breath work has become a really big part of how I operate in managing my anxiety. You know, taking the moments to pause. And there's a few different strategies you can deploy. So I think everyone should find the one that works best for them. But really dive into, like, breath work and the idea of understanding and getting your body better aligned from a breathing perspective, because especially if you're someone who deals with anxiety, that shallowness of breath can be debilitating, and it makes all your decision making that much worse. So those are my two big ones.

I like that, man. So let's go to the journaling. So you have created a journal, right?

I have.

I'm getting a copy of this journal. So talk to us about the journal. What is it designed to help us do? Why does everyone need it? And then we'll talk about how we can get access to this thing.

Yeah, I love it. So the journal for me. So going back to what we talked about with the blogging, all of this has been whether it's writing a blog, making videos, writing a book, writing a journal, all of that has just been starting a podcast all of it has just been amalgamation of the same mission of making people feel less alone in that sense. So the latest edition of that is my journal. And the journal came to me because when I was starting in therapy for the first time, I'll be honest, clearly I have no problem talking. But when I sat down in a therapist's office, I had no idea what to say. I had just lost my girlfriend who died unexpectedly, and I didn't know what the hell to say. And so I would sit there and I'm wondering, how do I even begin to process this? And it was my therapist who actually said, hey, you love writing. How about in between sessions, you just write letters to her? Write letters to, you know, anything that can happen. Write a letter to your future self, whatever the case may be, and gave me prompts. And then I started coming up with stuff on my own. And then that's how I processed my thoughts. And then that way I could come to therapy more prepared to better tackle my demons. And so once I got the hang of it, that I was able to run on my own. But I realized that a lot of people do just need targeted prompts to do that. So the journal is broken into four sections. There's grief, there's healing, there's self discovery, and there's hope. And each one has five to six prompts within it. There's room for writing, there's room for doodling or drawing and sketching, if that's more your style. And then there's room for reflection with each prompt. And so it's set up to go that way so that people can have a moment to kind of reflect. So in, like, the hope section, as an example, write a letter to your future self who has made it through this season in the self discovery section, in the quiet moments when no one is watching, who are you becoming? So those are some of the examples of prompts that we're working with.

I love it. So how can we get access to this journal? Where can we get it?

Yes, it'll be available on Amazon, and it'll be available on July 1st. So depending on when this comes out, it either might already be available or it's about to come out. So be ready there. And it's called the Sunday Reset Journal. A guide to your inner healing. And. Or writing props. Sorry, writing props for your inner healing. And yeah, it's 1099 simple. It's straightforward, it's paperback, but it's very. It's very travel friendly as well too.

I love that, brother. I love that so we talked about who Will was, right? We talked about what Will is doing now. Let's transition to what's the legacy Will wants to leave behind.

I've had to think a lot about that because as you know, as my friend, my wife and I going through that season of, you know, talking about kids, talking about those things. And so the idea of legacy has changed a lot for me and what that means.

Yeah.

And I would say the biggest one that I want to leave for people. I've been very vocal on this, in this talk about, you know, not making people feel less alone. But on an individual level, what my goal for everyone would be is live life with zero regrets. We live in an opportunity right now where very few things are. The barrier to entry is stopping you from doing anything. There was a time if you wanted to write a book, you would have had to get a publisher and get a literary agent or be wealthy enough to print it yourself. Now anybody can make a book and post it on Kindle Direct Publishing. You know, if you want to make music, Spotify will stream your music. You can record an album with GarageBand. You want to make movies, you can do that with an iPhone. There's nothing stopping you but you. But do you really want to look back on your life and wonder, what if I had gone for it? What if I had made the moves? Anybody who sees me where I'm at today is like, thinking to themselves, like, oh, man, what has he been through? This has been seven years in the making, and it's. And I'm just getting started, as far as I'm concerned, on trying to evolve my business, trying to draw, evolve all of this together. So. But all of that's fueled by the fact that I want to look my kid in the eye one day and say, I went for it, I gave it everything I had, and I have no regrets.

That's amazing, man. That's amazing. So for the viewer or listener right now, what's one tip you'd give them to. To focus on their legacy, right? To. To put legacy in action. Because for me, I personally believe everything you do should be towards the legacy. Right. So my thoughts, my decision making is all geared to what I'm. I'm leaving behind, what my name, what my brand is going to represent when I can't speak for myself. Right. So, so what's an action item you'd give to a viewer listener today? Will?

I would say for me, it comes down to this idea, is if someone were to follow my lead, what would I want them to have learned from me. Right. So if I think about legacy and creating the future leaders of tomorrow and what they're going to become, it's not about how I led always. It's what did they learn from me, what were they inspired from, and how I lived my life every single day. I think about it a lot with parents and while I'm not one myself, one thing that has always been acutely aware to me is most of what a kid learns is through osmosis. It's by what they see every single day. Yeah, you told them not to touch the hot stove, but how did you viscerally make them feel when they made a mistake? How did you. You carry a lot of anxiety within you at all times, and they could sense it and feel all the time. Even if you didn't yell at them, even if you didn't lash out at them or anything else, could they feel it internally because you didn't take the time to heal yourself and make yourself in the best place? So I think about that all the time. Is what would I have wanted anyone that I've led to learn from me so that they can carry for themselves moving forward? That's my legacy.

I love it, man. I love it for sure. All right, Will, you ready for your hot five, your quick five?

Let's go. I'm ready.

All right. You were a baller back in the day. So your favorite college basketball program and why is it the University of North Carolina? Go ahead.

You know what's funny about that is you already know. Because when I was a kid, it was the University of North Carolina. My room was Carolina blue and I grew it up. But Purdue Boilermakers are my team. It's where I went. That's where I love. And I love those guys and rooting for them every day. But yeah, North Carolina blue was. Was my room color, for sure.

Well, you know, I said basketball. I don't know why you said Purdue. I said basketball, but. But I'll let that.

Oh, yeah. Wait, wait, wait, wait. Where was North Carolina last year in the tournament?

Excuse me. Go, go look at the history. If we're going to go look at the past, if we're going to talk about the past, let's talk about all the past.

Fair enough. Fair enough. Fair enough.

All right. What's your favorite comfort food?

Fried chicken with mashed potatoes, green beans. All right.

I dig it. I dig it.

That's comfortable.

Is. What's your mood boosting song like when that song is like I gotta feel it right? You're Ready for it. What's that mood boosting song?

Oh, man, I gotta think. For me, it's from an empowerment standpoint. There's actually a song called Inception, by logic of all things, and that's that I listen to it before every recording, before every interview, before anything like that. That song, if you've not listened to it, give it a listen. It is something for everybody that will just make you just want to run through a brick wall.

All right, I'm gonna have to listen to it. All right, number four, what's your favorite way to unplug on a weekend?

Favorite way to unplug is just getting lost in the moment with friends, putting my phone down, putting it away, and just hanging out. Whether it's, you know, grabbing a drink, grabbing dinner, watching a movie, whatever the case may be with my wife, with my friends, with family, whoever. But it's truly a disconnect. My phone is in another place. It's. I am present with those people around me.

I love it. Last one. What's the biggest lesson you've learned so far this year?

To forgive myself and actually mean it.

We all need to do that, man. I had an episode where I. I talked about that with the guest of I had to learn to. To forgive myself. It's tough. It's really tough, man.

Uh, it's. It's easier said than done. It's one of those things. Everyone can say it out loud. Oh, yeah. Forgive yourself. But do you actually mean it? That's the next evolution. I forgave myself a long time ago. But did I actually mean it and did I believe it?

Yep. Good stuff. Well, Will, man, I appreciate who you are as a human. I appreciate your friendship. I appreciate. And ladies and gentlemen, I want everyone to understand this. And this is something as we leave, I want you to do. Because Will does this all the time. Will checks in on me, like, every other day almost, right? Just, how's it going? What's new? What you doing? And I. I know. Will, you know me enough to know how much I appreciate it. And I. I want people to understand, man. Check in on your friends. Like, even when things are going well, check in on them, see how things are going. Because you never know, like, what that means to people when they are going through something. And it's like, man, Will is so consistent. Good days, he's there, the gray days, he's there, but he's always, always there. So I want to appreciate you for that, bro.

I appreciate that too. And by the way, that doesn't mean you have to always ask the question, how are you doing? Sometimes checking in. Like, my version of that with Mick sometimes is just like, hey, I saw this. I thought you'd like it. Something like that. It's just so he knows I'm there. He doesn't have to reply. He's busy. We all get that way. But when you're reaching out to people, just. Just that little bit of connection that you have with them, to say, hey, I saw this and thought of you, that's enough to make them realize that you're still there.

Absolutely, Will. Last thing, where can people find and follow you, man?

So on social media, across the board, it's Sunday. Or, sorry, it's mental health with Will across the board on that. My podcast is Sunday Reset with Will and Friends, available on Spotify, YouTube and Apple Podcasts. My blog is the Battle, you know, not. And across the board, just, you know, reach out to me. I am someone who is DM friendly. I'm somebody who is open to conversations, connections. And as Mick and I talked about in the beginning of this, like, you never know until you try. So just start reaching out to people and you never know what doors could open.

There you go. Appreciate that, brother. And for all the viewers and listeners, remember your. Because is your superpower. Go unleash it.