Will Packer: Producing Life’s Blockbusters and Paying It Forward

0:00I helped him to make our first little tiny movie and I helped to distribute it, self-distribute it, get in front of investors, get in front of distributors, get in front of audiences. And ultimately, that was the foundation for me saying, I can do this. I can be a storyteller. I know how to go out, raise a little bit of money, execute a film project and get it out there to the masses. So I didn't wait for my passion to hit me in the face. And I think too many of us do that now. Welcome to Mick Unplugged, the number one podcast for self-improvement, leadership, and relentless growth. No fluff, no filters, just hard-hitting truths, unstoppable strategies, and the mindset shifts that separate the best from the rest.

0:48Ready to break limits? Let's go!

0:55Ladies and gentlemen, welcome to another exciting episode of Mick Unplugged. In this episode, I'm talking to one of my top three favorite people in the world. He doesn't know how much he's inspired me, but we are about to get into it. I'm talking about the best producer in the game. His movies make you think, they make you cry, they make you laugh. But more importantly, he's written a book that I believe is the number one leadership book. And I am talking about none other than the visionary, the compassionate, the leader of leaders, my guy, the man in the hat, Mr. Will Packard. Will, how are you doing today, brother?

1:33The man in the hat. Nick, I'm so appreciative of you having me. Listen, top three. That ain't bad. I don't even want to know who the other two are, OK, because I just know if I'm top three, I'm passing a lot of people. So if I'm top three in your book, I'm doing something right, my friend. I have a mom and wife. I have a mom and a wife. There you go. I'm never going to get that high. You know what I mean? You're a smart man. So you keep them the top two. You know that. Yes, sir. I appreciate it. Thank you. And thank you for having me. Hey, man, I'm the honored one. This is a pinch myself moment.

2:06Definitely top of my bucket list. Man, Will, I'm just going to get into it. So on Mick Unplugged, we like to talk about your because. That thing that's deeper than your why. I probably know your why. Your why is probably your kids, your spouse, your family. But there's a reason they're your why. And I call that your because. So if I were to say, Will Packer, man, like today, what's your because? Why do you keep doing what you do? I feel and that's great. And I love that you separate the because from the why, because I think of it the way that you say it. The because is like the reason you get to the why.

2:45The because is the reason that you keep going beyond the why. The because is the reason you're able to even facilitate whatever it is you're trying to do for the why. Right. So my because is because I feel an obligation in the situation and in the seat that I sit, in the situation I'm in, in the seat that I sit, meaning the privileged seat that I sit in. I've worked very, very hard to be in this position. But because I am here, if I am not paying forward, and that is not just to my immediate nuclear family, my extended family, but also my community family, right? If I am not paying it forward, the ability that I have to touch people and hopefully inspire people, but certainly the ability I have to deploy resources in a certain way, to deploy power in a certain way, to try to be an example, and I hope a positive example of what it looks like when someone like myself gets into a position of power.

3:46If I'm not doing that, I would be remiss. I would be wasting a God-given opportunity to go out and then, I hope, create a positive cycle of success. Your legacy, at the end of the day, we are not the things that we do. We are not the things that we buy. We're not the things that we accomplish. Those can be drivers, right? Those can be things that keep us going. I'm a very ambitious person. There are things that I'm striving to do, things that have to do with quantifiable success metrics in Hollywood, box office streaming numbers, even awards. But ultimately, at the end of the day, when I leave this earth, I won't be the number one box office hits.

4:31I won't be, you know, New York Times bestseller. What I will be is the people that I have influenced and the people that I have touched. What I will be is that legacy that I leave behind. And I'm somebody that believes that if we're always trying to positively manifest impact on others, If we're living a life where we're thinking about the impact that we have on other people, I promise you, you will live an incredibly fulfilled life. What I call a blockbuster life. Take it to the movie analogy. Right. So that's that's my because because I feel like I have to have an obligation and a responsibility to.

5:10Yeah. So I want to go into that, like that obligation, because that's something I talk about with leaders. Right. Like you have an obligation to lead. And for me, that obligation started when I was 10. Right. Like everybody that knows me knows I made my mom a promise that I was going to change her life and the life of my sister and brother. And every day I just fulfill that promise of obligation. That's literally it. I look myself in the mirror. Some days I do. Right. Some days I don't. But like I make sure that I fulfill the obligation more than I don't fulfill the obligation. Right. So for you, growing up in St.

5:45Pete, right, then going to FAMU, when did you know that that was your obligation to do bigger, to do better than maybe the people that were surrounding you? Yeah. You know what? I have been very fortunate in that I had parents that told me you can be anything. and that's so powerful and so important and I like to say that to all my folks out there listening who have kids listen you have a responsibility my kids I like to say they took me to the highest mountaintop they could find St. Petersburg Florida is pretty flat it's not a lot of not a lot of not a lot of elevation bit right they lifted me up and they said they did me like similar.

6:35They said, everything the sun touches is yours. And they literally instilled in me this idea that I had the ability to accomplish and achieve whatever it was that I was willing to set my mind to and I was willing to work hard for. And that there was nobody more deserving than me. And the only barrier to my own success would be me, not external people. And we have a tendency to give our power away to external people, forces, people with titles, people with money. We give them the power. And they say, well, when you tell me I'm ready, or if you tell me that I can be successful, then I'll accept it.

7:15If you tell me I'm not, then I won't accept it. We give that power away. My parents taught me very, very early on, you don't give that power away. So when you ask when I realized that I had the ability to do something special, it definitely would have have been just in terms of like my matriculation sometime around the time that I got to FAMU. I got to Florida A &M University. And I like to say that I really found my voice. I certainly found my passion for storytelling. I was connected with another brother named Rob Hardy. And Rob had a passion for filmmaking. I had a passion for entrepreneurship.

7:50I knew that I wanted to have my own business. I wasn't sure to make exactly what business that would be. But Rob had a passion for filmmaking. I linked up with him. I helped him to make our first little tiny movie and I helped to distribute it, self-distribute it, get in front of investors, get in front of distributors, get in front of audiences. And ultimately that was the foundation for me saying, I can do this. I can be a storyteller. I know how to go out, raise a little bit of money, execute a film project and get it out there to the masses. So I didn't wait for my passion to hit me in the face.

8:26And I think too many of us do that now. I didn't wait until all the boxes were checked in terms of the thing that I wanted to do, was passionate at, was good at, was going to get paid to do. I went and did something that I did well and then I found my passion within it. Yeah. I love that, brother. I love that, man. And, you know, when I told my family and friends that you were coming on the show and, you know, they all are huge fans of you and my audience and and viewers and listeners are as well too. And I always like to tell the difference between like the producer, the director on film sets, because a lot of people assume producer, director are usually as one.

9:06And I'm like, no, the producer is the most important because they have to tell the story. They have to make this thing in paper come to life. How would you describe that difference as well for the viewers and listeners that maybe they're like a lot of people that think director, producer pretty much are the same? Yeah. Yeah. Most people don't know. I get that. I break it down pretty simply. The director is who you most think of as being the behind the scenes person on a movie or television set. They're the person working with the actors that are yelling out action and cut and saying, let's do it again.

9:43Give me more emotion here, more feeling here, more comedy there. Right. That is the director. The way that I analogize producing and the producer responsibility is I take it to the Oscars, Nick. And at the Oscars, throughout the night, you've got all these various categories. You've got your best director. You've got best sound, best actor, best supporting actor, right? Best production design, all these various categories. At the end of the night, the final award goes to best picture and the producer gets the best picture award because the producer was responsible for pulling together all those other categories.

10:22Producer is like being a big project manager. You have to keep your eye on the macro. You have to put people in position to succeed. You're responsible for getting the resources, whatever the money, the budget might be. You're responsible for overseeing the marketing and the distribution. You've got a very macro approach to make sure that the entire project comes together and you put all the various elements in place in order for that project to work. And I'll just take that analogy to life, Mitt, because ultimately we all have to be incredible project managers. You have to make sure that in order to produce your best life, you've got the right elements, right?

11:06You've got to have the right supporting cash. You've got to pay attention to the people around you, right? You've got to make sure you're marketing it correctly. You've got to be able to sell yourself. We're always selling ourselves. You've got to make sure that you're keeping your eye on the narrative, right? You've got to be able to tell your story. All those things, the same things that I do when I'm making a movie or a television show, those are the things that we need to do in our worlds, each of our individual worlds, to make sure that we're creating the best life, producing the best life possible.

11:39But the elements and the responsibility for overseeing those elements and being unflinching when it comes to making sure that you have the best elements and changing those elements when they're not, it's very, very similar to what I do on a day-to-day basis.

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13:06Yes, sir. All right, Will, now I'm going to get personal for me. But, you know, when I started this, I said, Will Packer, someone who's influenced my life more than he knows or will ever know, right? Here's why, Will. So, you know, aside from leadership, I do a ton of keynote speaking. And one of my mentors, the legendary Les Brown, told me this one thing. He said, Mick, speaking is nothing but stories and points. points right never tell a story without a point and never make a point without a story because that's what the audience is going to remember and so he's telling me this i'm like all right great stories and points points and stories stories and points points and stories the best storyteller in the world that i know is will packer so i dissected you brother and and that became my template my framework of how i speak like when i'm on stage this is a secret that I'm letting the world know.

14:01When I'm on stage, I envision that I am Will Packer. I am not lying to you. You can ask my best friends because I tell them when I'm designing my speech, when I'm picking out the stories and points that I want to make, whether I use them in the speech or not, because I'm all about energy, right? Like sometimes your energy will take you places. But I got that from Will Packer because I understood everything doesn't make a movie, right? Like everything that's recorded that's on film doesn't go into the actual movie. So I wanted to personally tell you, man, thank you for being a blueprint because I understood true storytelling from literally dissecting everything from Takers, which is my favorite Will Packer movie, by the way.

14:44Takers to The Girl's Trip to, you know, Ride Along. Like, man, like, understanding how you tell the story and, like, really being a student of you, I just want to tell you thank you because that's made me the speaker that I am. Oh, brother, that is huge. That is, that is, I mean, you made my day. You see this big cheesy grin I got on my face. The reason it's making my day is, is number one, it's amazing to hear, you know, people give you your flowers and to hear that you possibly influence somebody. But the other reason, Mick, is because iron sharpens iron. We know that, right? And there's somebody watching this now who feels the same way about you, who feels like I watch and listen and hang on, Mick's every word, especially when it comes to leadership, when it comes to self-improvement.

15:37And there are times when you may have a podcast, you think maybe it's not as impactful as some others. You don't even feel like doing it. Somebody is gleaning something from that podcast and you now are sharpening them. We have to be sponges and willing to do exactly what you did. I do the same thing. Take elements from those folks that you look at that are aspirational to you. Right. It's not about starting from scratch. It's not about reinventing the wheel. Use things that exist. Use people that exist. Use things that they are doing to then do it your way. Right. So when you stand on the stage, you're not Will Packer.

16:16You're Mick Hunt. But the way you do it, I love that it's inspired by Will Packer. And then you take it, you put something on it that I don't even have, that I don't even know about because it's uniquely you. Somebody listening right now can do that exact same thing. Draw inspiration from other people that are doing things that you want to do. Right? Storytelling. Just to hit on that for a quick second, man. So powerful. powerful yeah one of the things i say in the book is that you are selling yourself and building your brand from the moment you are born into the time that you die to the time you live in this leave this earth and god called you home you are selling yourself we all are i don't care who you are my parents they put me in debate class uh when i was in high school and nick i hated it because it wasn't cool.

17:07Cool kids weren't doing that. They were out and they were playing sports, right? They were playing hooky, whatever they were doing, but they weren't doing debate, right? I'm so thankful because what my parents did was put me in an environment that forced me to learn how to formulize an argument and defend an argument. And what you have to understand is that I don't care what your profession is. I don't care what your desired profession or ambition is. You will always need to be able to present an argument and defend that argument. And sometimes you need to be able to present yourself a certain way, tell your story, and you need to be able to defend your story.

17:48We live in a world where people attribute a value to you based on their perception of your value. And so you don't have to be a Hollywood filmmaker to understand the need and the value of telling your own story. There is power in telling your own story. So when you talk about storytelling, I take it very, very seriously. You don't have to be a content creator, movie producer, writer, director. You don't have to do any of that in order to understand the importance of telling your story because you're telling other people what value to ascribe to you. Yes, sir. Yes, sir. I love that, man. And like I said, I appreciate you more than I could ever tell you.

18:30You are the GOAT. And if I was going to be an understudy of anyone, it was going to be the GOAT. So thank you, brother. I appreciate that, bro. I really appreciate you sharing that, too. I'm humbled and honored. Yes, sir. So perfect segue to the book, man. Like I told you, I ordered copies of myself. Your team sent me copies this weekend. I shared it with family and friends, man. So for those that are listening, the book is titled Who Better Than You? The Art of Healthy Arrogance and Dreaming Big. And so, well, just the title alone. I'm going to get your because of writing the book, but the title, the who better than you, but the subtitle, the art of healthy arrogance and dreaming big, man, like it made me think when I saw the title, because I go back to, you know, some of my other mentors, a Damon John, a Robert Irvine, people that.

19:26that to be successful there's got to be some healthy arrogance maybe a lot of healthy arrogance because as you say in the book if you don't believe in yourself nobody else will right and so you've got to carry that belief outwardly not just inwardly like it doesn't mean you have to be loud it doesn't mean you have to talk a lot we're going to go into that too but you've got to have some healthy arrogance in yourself man so I love that I was instantly relatable to that title alone? Like talk us through just the title and subtitle itself and why the reason of that, but then what it meant to you.

20:06Yeah. I mean, I'll tell you about the title first. That's a question that we have to constantly ask ourselves because typically, especially in a world where we're all connected digitally social media is rampant in all our lives you can begin to doubt how much you deserve success you can begin to doubt your readiness for success you can begin to doubt the skill sets that you have which you need to lead you to success You have to constantly ask yourself that question, right? In the devil and angel on the shoulder analogy, we've always got the negative, you know, the devil always saying, you can't do this.

20:55You're not prepared for this. You don't have what it takes. You're not ready, right? You have to constantly undergird your self-confidence with the who is better than me? Who is more deserving? You literally have to ask yourself that. Confidence is a muscle, and it's like any other muscle. You've got to work it. You don't have to be born with it. You don't have to be born with some big outsized personality saying, I'm confident and I was born this way. No, most people are not. But you do have to build it by constantly reminding yourself of those positive attributes that you have. Ask yourself who better than you and continue to ask yourself that question and realize that the answer is no one.

21:38And that leads to the subtitle, Healthy Arrogance and the Art of Dreaming Big. I've been around some of the most successful people in the world, man. And one thing that the most successful people in the world have in common, that people who I see who are trying to be successful often don't, is that the successful people, when they walk into a room, they do not question whether or not they belong there. They don't have that imposter syndrome. They walk into a room and they realize this room is better because I'm in it. I am something to this room that nobody else has. The unique nature of me and my being is additive to this room.

22:24Now, be clear. It's not about coming in and tearing down the other people in the room. That's toxic arrogance. I work in Hollywood. I deal with a lot of that, right? That's toxic arrogance. Healthy arrogance is a feeling that I can make this room better and bring up the folks in this room. And true leadership is understanding a commonality of goals and getting other people to see the commonality of your goals. Because if you and me and five of the people all in a team, and I've got a particular goal, if I got a goal, you got a goal, four of the people have their own goals, and we are not seeing the commonality, then we're all going to be rowing in different directions.

22:59We will get nowhere. But true leaders are able to get people to galvanize around a shared goal and mission that everybody benefits from. That's a part of that healthy arrogance is understanding that your goal, your mission, your desire is just as important as anybody else's, but you got to get other people to buy into it. That's a true sign of leadership and success. So being around some of these really, really successful people globally, I see that they're not questioning at all their value. They're focused on trying to get other people to see their value, but in a positive way. Again, not about saying I'm good, you're bad.

23:38I'm better than you. No, that's not what it's about. That is not sustainable. It is about I am bringing something to the table that we can all benefit from. That's why I deserve to be in this room, no matter who's in the room, no matter how important and big and the titles and all of that. I am not intimidated because I understand that I have something that none of these other people have and it's just as important and it's going to add value to the book that's where that healthy area comes from yeah i love it man i love it now i want to go into the book a little bit because you scared me with the the title of chapter one i was like will's telling me i'm gonna die tonight man like what's that tonight you're gonna die tonight but but then you open it with what i feel like everyone needs to know moment one because it's something i again i talk to leaders about, which is why I resonate with this book so deeply.

24:31You say success is a bottom line business. And I don't think people understand the brevity of that because when you understand that truly, that should dictate all the moves that you make, right? Success is a bottom line business. So talk to us about that a little bit. Yeah. Well, that first chapter, you're going to die tonight. Obviously, I'm a storyteller. And so I wanted the book to be to be impactful, but I also wanted it to be light. I wanted it to not be heavy reading. I wanted to be something that you can breeze through. And hopefully I've accomplished that. I've heard that from some folks that it's, you know, it's light, it's fun.

25:11It's like me, you know, it doesn't take itself too, too seriously. It's got funny, fun moments. And in the first chapter, I tell the story of dealing with Kevin Hart, our first, both of the biggest movies of our career at that time, which was Ride Along. And Kevin Hart, you have to read the book to get the whole story, but him basically unintentionally sabotaging this shoot, this very important shoot, by sneaking off to try to go and do a comedy show at Madison Square Garden, and me ending up in a nightclub with bottles being popped all around me and Carmelo Anthony telling me, we all dying tonight.

25:48And I'm going, wait a minute, not tonight, not tonight, maybe tomorrow night, maybe next week. I got a movie to shoot. I got to get Kevin back to Atlanta because we're shooting this movie. He was going to come up and do a show and go back. Like, I'm dealing with all of that. The point is you have to expect the unexpected. And not just in relationships, but in business. When people show you who they are, you got to believe it. Right? And I know my good friend Kevin Hart. We've worked together with each other. We're each other's most frequent collaborators. So I know he's the guy that will overbook himself.

26:17Triple and quadruple book himself because he is very ambitious. It's my job, though, to contain that ambition and to hone it and to keep him focused on the bottom line because he oftentimes will not.