Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Jake Yablonski. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Jake, we are so appreciative of you taking the time to open up about the extremely important, albeit personal, topic of mental health. Can you talk to us about your journey and how you were able to overcome the challenges related to mental issues? For readers, please note this is not medical advice, we are not doctors, you should always consult professionals for advice and that this is merely one person sharing their story and experience.
For quite a while, I’ve struggled with persistent anxiety and occasional bouts of depression. I started my business at only 19 years old, and truthfully, I don’t think I was ready for that type of responsibility back then. My mental health needed to be addressed, but it wasn’t something I was paying enough attention to at the time. Instead, I was busy pouring all my energy into building a business, and largely for the wrong reasons.
In the summer of 2019, however, I hit a low point and decided to step away from my business in Philadelphia. Later that year, I moved in with my best friend in Los Angeles, and while I was still taking on a few consulting projects, I continued to struggle with my mental health which made it difficult to find direction or make any meaningful progress in my career. Eventually, however, I found an amazing therapist and started doing EMDR, which was a highly effective modality for me.
Things got a lot worse before they got better. About a month after starting therapy, I experienced a series of panic attacks. For a few weeks, I struggled to eat, sleep, or pretty much do anything. After a while, however, the panic attacks subsided and I was able to begin working through many of the silent battles I was fighting. Over the course of about a year, my anxiety decreased dramatically and I began developing a much deeper level of self-awareness and inner clarity.
It would be hard to list all the benefits I’ve received from therapy in one interview, but all I can say is that things have gotten much better. Like anyone else, I still face struggles now and then, but I can confidently say I’ve done a lot of healing over the past year, and perhaps most importantly, I now have the tools I need to better deal with challenges as they arise. Now, it kind of feels like I’m picking up where I left off in Philadelphia back in 2019, but doing so in a way that’s more aligned with who I am at my core.
Let’s take a small detour – maybe you can share a bit about yourself before we dive back into some of the other questions we had for you?
In 2016, I started a marketing agency in Philadelphia. I was only 19 at the time, but I was lucky to find a fair deal of success early on. During the time I lived there, I worked with many mid-market brands including banks, law firms, and nonprofits, providing services such as social media management and public relations. Over the course of a few years, I scaled the business to a team of 6 people between full-time employees and interns. We also had a nice office in the heart of Center City, which I loved.
In the summer of 2019, however, I was really struggling with my mental health and decided to step away from the business for a while. In December of that year, I moved to Los Angeles to explore other interests (music and the arts) while still taking on a few consulting projects to support myself. After starting therapy in 2022, I began to develop more inner clarity and decided to rebuild. Since then, I’ve been slowly scaling the business back up at a pace that feels comfortable for me while still making time for other interests.
In addition to running my existing business, 96ANDX (which is a creative agency offering branding, advertising, and design services), I’m launching a new PR firm in July, which already has its own dedicated team and operations. Out of all the various marketing communications disciplines, I’ve always been best at PR, so this is an exciting next step that I greatly look forward to.
There is so much advice out there about all the different skills and qualities folks need to develop in order to succeed in today’s highly competitive environment and often it can feel overwhelming. So, if we had to break it down to just the three that matter most, which three skills or qualities would you focus on?
First, perseverance. I’ve always been an extremely driven (and sometimes stubborn) person, so if I believe I can do something, nobody can tell me otherwise. If doubt ever creeps in, just remember that someone else has probably done exactly what you’re trying to accomplish, so why can’t you? There will always be challenges and roadblocks, but if you keep going, eventually things will work out (but often in ways you don’t expect).
Second, resilience. Life will throw you curveballs, but that’s ok. On our journey, we’re sometimes redirected in ways that might seem like setbacks at the time, but this process is almost always beneficial for us in the long run. It’s great to have a plan, but accepting that things don’t always go the way you want them to is important. When you learn to embrace this, you’ll open yourself up to new opportunities or perspectives you may have never imagined.
Finally, humility. This is something I wish I learned earlier in my journey. When I got my first marketing retainer for a few thousand dollars a month, I thought I was an industry titan! Granted, I was only 19, but it’s funny looking back on that. Just remember that having too big of an ego can hold you back in so many ways. I think this is something most people just have to learn from experience, but humility is a very important component to achieving success, especially as you climb higher and higher.
Before we go, any advice you can share with people who are feeling overwhelmed?
In the past, I didn’t have a very good relationship with these types of feelings, but through therapy and life experience, I’ve learned to handle them much better. I’ll explain how I personally deal with feeling overwhelmed (or anxious), and you can take what’s helpful for you and leave what isn’t.
When these feelings start to manifest as physical anxiety, I’ve learned to get out of my head and go into my body. As a person who is prone to overthinking, I’m always in my head. But when you’re feeling anxious, the more you try to push it away or talk yourself out of it, the worse it becomes. So instead of fighting that feeling, try saying to yourself, “I’m feeling overwhelmed (or anxious) right now, and that’s okay.” Then, isolate where that feeling lives in your body. Accept that the feeling is present, acknowledge it, and thank your body for trying to protect you. After that, it can be helpful to shake off the anxiety (literally, try shaking your arms around), do some physical movement or grounding exercises, and recenter yourself. You can return to the challenge at hand when you’re feeling better. In most instances, it can wait.
Another thing that helps me when feeling overwhelmed is taking a moment to look at things from a wider perspective. We have been conditioned to believe that everything we do at work is a matter of survival. If we don’t meet that deadline, make that sale, or reach that benchmark, it can feel like our whole world is going to crumble. But here’s the thing — it’s not. The work most of us are doing isn’t a matter of life or death (and for those working in high-pressure careers like healthcare, kudos to you, that takes a lot of emotional strength and resilience). Try remembering that there are more important things in life than whatever is stressing you out at that moment. Stress can make us very irrational, so try to take some time to separate yourself from the situation at hand and return to it when you’re feeling more grounded.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://96andx.com/
- Instagram: @jakeyablo
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jakeyablo/
