048 - Guarding Your Creative Life w/ Kate Thompson

This week Brad is sitting down with Kate Thompson for a conversation about creativity, parenthood, burnout, ambition, and the discipline of protecting the parts of yourself that make meaningful work possible in the first place.Over the last several years, we’ve watched Kate intentionally refine her work and her business, but what surprised us most in this conversation wasn’t hearing about “leveling up” or entering the "luxury market"... it was hearing what happened underneath all of it.Kate shares openly about navigating postpartum depression during the pandemic, learning to detach her self-worth from success, and the tiny daily habits that slowly helped her rebuild her creativity, confidence, and joy.We also explore:her background in speech pathology and linguisticsworking alongside her sister at Palindrome Creative Co.creating personal work in seasons of limitationsimplifying her business and refining her editing processwhy curation mattersand how learning to quiet outside noise helped her trust her own artistic voice againThis episode was so special and is a refreshing and honest look at what it takes to sustain a creative life over the long haul.In This EpisodeProtecting your creativity in a noisy industryTiny habits, self-care, and rebuilding after burnoutMotherhood, surrender, and creative ambitionDetaching self-worth from successThe role of personal work and bookmakingLearning to trust your artistic intuitionSimplifying your business and editing processWorking in both weddings and commercial photographyCreating meaningful work in real-life seasonsQuote Worth Remembering“I had to create this fortress to protect my internal fire of inspiration. I had to redefine what success looked like for me. And for a while, success just meant staying inspired.”  Books MentionedNorth Woods — Daniel MasonI Cheerfully Refuse — Leif EngerConnect with KateKate Thompson WeddingsPalindrome Creative Co.Connect with Brad & JenJoin Purpose & Profit – A Roadmap to 10k WeddingsApply for the Mastermind ProgramInstagram: @bradandjeneducation @bradandjen