How to Maintain Your Mental Health as a Freelancer with Ben Akers

Ben Akers on Mental Health and his Freelancing Journey . Ben is a Bristol-based filmmaker who embarked on a mission to create a film inspired by his best friend, Steve.     “Steve” is a 45-minute documentary looking at the effect of modern living has on men today. How the pressures of being the perfect father, the perfect husband, who has the perfect job, providing the perfect house and car, is completely unattainable. And how social media and lack of real-time with our friends is aiding to men taking their own lives almost hourly.   But this film is about solutions. And how we can stop this increasing epidemic.     He also talks about his 20+ years in the advertising industry, creating everything from lamppost stickers to documentaries (and everything in between). A journey that took him all over the world working with iconic brands such as Levis, Virgin and Manchester United to name a few.      He shares valuable insights into what makes him successful and how it's so important to not put too much pressure on yourself.   What will you discover from this episode:     – Ben shares where he gets his inspiration from.   – The power of changing your environment.   – Sharing why you need to give your brain time off   – The value of connecting with people and its importance in freelancing    – Receiving news of Steve’s death and its effect on him   – How mental health inspired him to create a film   – His valuable learnings while making the film and how he applies it to his personal life. – Key qualities that make a successful freelancer – The importance of needing to know 'what success looks like' on every project. – The reason why he buys lots of coffee    – Networking events and what he doesn’t like about it   – Crowdsourcing for his documentary film    – How he tries to 'commute' every day, even when he's working from home.   Resources: https://twitter.com/benakers https://www.gofundme.com/SteveDocumentary https://twitter.com/stevedoco   Youtube: https://youtu.be/u0A8Qq5exbQ   Subscribe to the podcast: https://apple.co/2GOStCH   Follow Thaducation: http://instagram.com/thaducation   Join Thaducation: https://www.facebook.com/groups/Thaducation/ https://www.thaducation.com/