Behind the Curtain: Mental Health and the Entrepreneur

🔥 Excerpt

"Punishing yourself doesn’t get you to the goal faster. It’s not a strategy. It’s self-sabotage disguised as discipline."

 

⚡ TL;DR

Mental health isn’t just a subplot in entrepreneurship—it’s part of the main storyline. In this episode, I sit down with Bradley Rausch, consultant and mental health advocate, to talk about navigating anxiety, panic, and self-doubt while building a business. We unpack his “CRAFT” method for building confidence without proof, how to tolerate discomfort without spiraling, and why therapy should be considered a baseline resource for founders, not a luxury. If you’ve ever found yourself stuck between burnout and drive, this episode is your invitation to recalibrate.

 

📄 Show Notes

Let’s be real—entrepreneurship will push you to your emotional edge. It’s not a question of if; it’s a question of when. In this raw, deeply personal episode of The Relentless Pursuit of Winning, I talk with Bradley Rausch, a founder who built a business not in spite of his mental health challenges—but alongside them.

Bradley walks us through his early struggles with panic disorder, his breakthrough moments in therapy, and why he believes every founder should have access to mental health support as part of their business toolkit. He shares how frameworks like neuroplasticity and his own CRAFT method helped him move from paralysis to purposeful action—and why personal excellence requires more than hustle.

We also get into the mechanics of burnout, rebuilding self-trust after setbacks, and the difference between punishment and respect when you miss your mark. If you’ve ever felt like mental health was the part of your business plan nobody warned you about, this is the episode you didn’t know you needed.

 

✅ Key Takeaways

• Pain is part of life. Suffering is optional—and often self-inflicted.
• Neuroplasticity isn’t woo-woo—it’s how we rewrite mental patterns and beliefs.
• CRAFT Method: Commit to a time horizon, Reveal your action steps, Act with curiosity, Frame if/then plans, Tolerate short-term discomfort.
• Burnout happens when either your goal or your method is misaligned—not just when you’re “tired.”
• Your ability to trust yourself when there is no plan is more important than any strategy.
• Therapy isn’t a last resort—it’s leadership hygiene.

 

🧭 Chapte