Chat with Just Rest

What happens when two restless creatives sit down to talk about big leaps, burnout, and why rest might be the fiercest protest of all?

In this episode, I'm sharing my very first Substack Live, a conversation with my friend and fellow podcaster Kevin Chung of Standout Creatives. It's a little unpolished (it was my first live, and only Kevin's second), but it's full of honest, energizing talk about creative burnout and how rest and resistance feed your creativity.

Kevin and his wife recently left Miami for San Juan, Costa Rica, chasing a life more aligned with nature and creativity. Our conversation ranges from downsizing to improv, from the myth of the starving artist to Theater of the Oppressed, and from capitalism's obsession with hustle to the radical idea that rest is what fuels resistance.

And around the 5-minute mark, I blurted out my own scary, thrilling dream for the year ahead: living nomadically. It was the first time I'd said it publicly. (Spoiler: I'm doing it now!)

In this episode, we talk about:

• What creative burnout looks like and how to recover from it
• The myth of the starving artist, and why it keeps creatives depleted
• Art and rest as resistance
• How listening to your body protects your creativity
• Improv and Theater of the Oppressed as creative and liberatory practices
• Downsizing, big moves, and building a more intentional life
• Kevin's move from Miami to Costa Rica, and my plan to live nomadically

Links from the show:

Was it Chance? Podcast with Alan Seales and Healther Vickery featuring Historian Tad Stormer.

Theater of the Oppressed by Augusto Boal

Make Art Make Money: Lessons from Jim Henson for Fueling Your Creative Life by Elizabeth Hyde Stevens

Rest is Resistance by Tricia Hersey

About my conversation partner

Kevin Chung helps creative people finish what matters: the book, the business, or the life they actually want, through creative thinking, mindset shifts, and marketing advice. He hosts The Standout Creatives, Standout Reinventions, and Standout Authors, and he recently left the United States to live out his creative dreams in Costa Rica.

Connect with Kevin: The Standout Creatives newsletter and podcast

Rest with me

If you want a place to rest so your creative juices can flow again, become a paid Substack subscriber to Just Rest. You'll get my full reflections on living nomadically, tips for preventing and recovering from burnout, and more opportunities to rest.

You are worthy of rest!

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