Meet Joshua Zatarain

Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Joshua Zatarain. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Joshua, appreciate you making time for us and sharing your wisdom with the community. So many of us go through similar pain points throughout our journeys and so hearing about how others overcame obstacles can be helpful. One of those struggles is keeping creativity alive despite all the stresses, challenges and problems we might be dealing with. How do you keep your creativity alive?
A near-constant reinvention of my creative process and purpose proves instrumental in maintaining a healthy interest in what I do. i.e., reimagining and reapproaching my music and writing in a different way allows me to keep my creativity alive.

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?
For the better part of thirty-two years, I’ve operated as an artist in various contexts ranging from rock bands to solo electronic music performances, spoken-word recitation, and videography.

There exists a certain fluidity to all I do, contrarily grounded in my love of language.

The ability or joy to communicate an idea or feeling through verbal or non-verbal means has been the obsession at the center of my artistic practice ever since I can remember.

Likewise, and running the risk of sounding redundant, I would like to say that understanding and being understood may be the ultimate goal of self-expression.

For this reason, lately, I have been further parsing my chops as a singer/songwriter, leaning deeply into traditional music-making practices while remaining true to my postmodern sensibility.

You can find my music and writing on the world wide web, Google Search: Joshua Zatarain.

Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
Perseverance –

I would be remiss not going to bat for Team Resilience.

I think Henry Ford said it best, but in short, you must keep your head down and work hard, in silence, against all odds. Cutting out for yourself and deciding to be excellent can be a lonely, rocky road.

Realistic Expectations –

I am wholly not against dreaming big, but I believe there is a veritable disease in how we perceive success. More and more, there seems to be a look-at-me-culture that exists solely for appearances.

For many, self-validation and self-worth have been replaced by likes and backend analytics of social impressions.

Autodidacticism –

Tantamount to successfully navigating the creative/entrepreneurial sphere is the ability to learn and the virtue of seeking knowledge relevant to your experience.

The minute you stop learning or being curious is the minute you shut yourself off from the richness of life.

Any advice for folks feeling overwhelmed?
Call it what you may, burn-out does exist. It is too easy to feel fatigue and anxiety today when surrounded by the continual push for productivity and output. Yet, answering this siren can come at the cost of your mental health, without which you cannot function properly.

In my mind, the best thing to do is take a step back and remind yourself why you began your bold journey in the first place.

We feel overwhelmed when we lose sight of our ultimate aim and begin to doubt our ability as creators.

Ask yourself: What’s your intention? Does it benefit those around you? Are you enjoying your journey?

After all, the best hiker on the mountain is the one who is having the most fun.

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