Sustaining Creativity Podcast

Creativity through the lens of the owner of Kim Vargo Co

"Creativity is thinking in a different way or trying out a new process."

Kim Vargo is a systems and operations strategist who helps creative service providers, especially wedding professionals, streamline their client experience from inquiry through offboarding. As a Certified Dubsado Specialist and former high school math teacher, Kim brings a unique blend of structure and strategy to her work, designing thoughtful, automated workflows that save time and reduce mental load. She is passionate about helping business owners create systems that not only support growth but also give them more freedom to spend time on what matters most.

www.kimvargo.com

https://www.instagram.com/kimvargo.co

https://www.facebook.com/kimvargoco

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Before you go: take our 5-question Creativity Archetype Quiz at https://sustainingcreativity.fillout.com/creativityarchetypequiz. It takes under a minute and reveals your dominant creative style, your superpowers, and the #1 bottleneck holding you back.

Thanks for listening!

Creativity through the lens of an artist, creativity coach, creativity hype gal and author

"Creativity looks different to everyone and boils down to curiosity."

Rachael Renae is an artist, play enthusiast, and creativity hype gal based in Detroit, MI. She helps people prioritize play to overcome creative blocks, better connect with themselves and their people, and confidently live big, fulfilling lives. When she’s not facilitating play workshops or co-hosting the Chaotic Creatives podcast, she’s likely gabbing with pals over voice notes and making a papier-mâché project.

https://rachaelrenae.com/
https://www.instagram.com/rachaelrenae

https://www.instagram.com/gcpbalance

X: @gcpbalance 

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Before you go: take our 5-question Creativity Archetype Quiz at https://sustainingcreativity.fillout.com/creativityarchetypequiz. It takes under a minute and reveals your dominant creative style, your superpowers, and the #1 bottleneck holding you back.

Thanks for listening!

Creativity through the lens of a lawyer, online entrepreneur, tech founder

"Finding ways to combine things in original ways" 

Bobby is a Harvard Law Grad turned online entrepreneur—but he’s NOT your typical lawyer. He doesn't do suits, he hates legalese more than you do, and he tends to make bad pop-culture references and dad jokes. With his extensive expertise from a 20+ year legal career, Bobby is now focusing on making the legal stuff simple for online business owners. He and his team developed the Plainly Legal™ software to automate legal protection for coaches, course creators, consultants, service providers, and other online business owners. 

Website: www.plainlylegal.com
LinkedIn: www.linkedin.com/in/robertklinck/

FB: www.facebook.com/robert.klinck.1

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Before you go: take our 5-question Creativity Archetype Quiz at https://sustainingcreativity.fillout.com/creativityarchetypequiz. It takes under a minute and reveals your dominant creative style, your superpowers, and the #1 bottleneck holding you back.

Thanks for listening!

Creativity through the lens of and artist and tax pro

"Creativity: it's like breathing air to me."

Hannah Cole is an artist and tax expert who bridges creativity and finance. Founder of Sunlight Tax and author of Taxes for Humans, she empowers self-employed professionals to build confident, sustainable financial lives. A seasoned artist and columnist for Hyperallergic, Hannah also hosts the top 2% global Sunlight Tax podcast, known for making money talk smart, human, and actually inspiring.

https://www.sunlighttax.com/

https://www.youtube.com/@sunlighttax

https://www.instagram.com/sunlighttax/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/hannah-cole-3775561/

Send us Fan Mail

Before you go: take our 5-question Creativity Archetype Quiz at https://sustainingcreativity.fillout.com/creativityarchetypequiz. It takes under a minute and reveals your dominant creative style, your superpowers, and the #1 bottleneck holding you back.

Thanks for listening!

Creativity through the lens of an architect and author

"Creativity is a fundamental quality of being human."

Talor Stewart is a licensed architect with over 25 years experience. His book Conscious Home Design has hit the #1 best seller list in 7 countries so far. Specializing in single and multi-family homes and intentional communities, he works with clients all over the United States and select places internationally. He also offers a certification program for other designers and architects to learn the CHD method to help their clients apply the life changing principles wherever they are. Find out more by visiting https://ConsciousHomeDesign.com

https://www.facebook.com/ConsciousHomeDesign/

https://www.instagram.com/conscioushomedesign/

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCZiK9c3fBF9ns3NWvlz0sOA

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Before you go: take our 5-question Creativity Archetype Quiz at https://sustainingcreativity.fillout.com/creativityarchetypequiz. It takes under a minute and reveals your dominant creative style, your superpowers, and the #1 bottleneck holding you back.

Thanks for listening!

Creativity through the lens of a musician and songwriter

"Being creative is so lucky"

Robin Batteau’s“Banned in Sparta” is a new collaborative album of songs based on poems by Classical Greek poets and recorded by a number of friends: Tom Paxton, Eric Andersen, Livingston and Kate Taylor, Matt Nakoa, Robin Lane, 2-time Tony winning actor James Naughton and his gifted children Keira and Greg, plus Carolyn Hester.  Robin was inspired by an Ancient Greek History class he took when he returned to Harvard during the Pandemic to finish a degree he started in the 1960s. Robin earned the World Record of taking a 50-year break (between 1970 to 2021) to return to Harvard and finish his degree in 2022.   

“Banned In Sparta” focuses almost entirely on poets from Ancient Greece between 700 and 400 BC.  One poet, Gaius Valerius Catullus (84 – 54 BC), as smitten with the ghost of Sappho as Robin or Alcaeus, is from Rome during Julius Caesar’s reign, for whom Eric Andersen performs “Cross (of Gold),” an ode to interlaced and conflicted feelings, “Odi et Amo"— I hate and I love.

The title “Banned in Sparta” finds its name from Archilochus, the Bob Dylan of the 7th century B.C., a warrior-poet so irreverent he was “Banned in Sparta.”  James Naughton sings the song “Archilochus Re-Deemed (I Am a Servant of the Lord God of War).” Kate Taylor performs “Telesilla’s On the Wall,” from the female poet Telesilla, who led her fellow women warriors to victory against those same renowned Spartans. 

“The Greek Lyric poets performed live, and were the stars of their day,” says Robin. “They were singer/songwriters, they played the lyre (hence "Lyric") and danced around the stage like Tom Paxton and Taylor Swift.”

Robin, who studied Ancient Greece and Integrative Biology at Harvard, found that most of what was left of the poems were fragments and myth, “So I mosaic-ed songs to reflect their expressions and intentions— who they were, and are to me.”  

A range of female poets contributed to the lyrical history of Greece including Corrina, whose “In Her Loving Arms” is sung by Carolyn Hester, and Praxilla’s “The Most Beautiful Thing in the World,” a hymn to Adonis, sung by Keira Naughton.  Sappho’s writing inspires “Terra Cotta Heart,” sung by Robin Lane.  Livingston Taylor sings “My Sappho, Sweetly Smiling” from the smitten neighbor and rival Alcaeus. 

The fun and frolicking “Shake your Hair (You Thracian Filly),” sung by Tom Paxton. Pianist and folk singer Matt Nakoa offers a Bruce Hornsby-like treatment for Simonides of Ceos’s “Theatre of Memory (Man of Gold).”    

Sharing Grammy, Emmy, Clio, and Gold Record Awards and an Oscar nomination, Robin’s recorded over a dozen albums with Pierce Arrow, David Buskin (Buskin & Batteau), and many others.  His jingles feature in long-running, award-sweeping advertising campaigns from "I'm Lovin' It" for McDonalds to “Can’t Beat It” for Coca-Cola to "The Heartbeat of America" for Chevrolet. He’s played his 1898 Scarampella violin with everyone from Yo-Yo Ma to Benny Goodman to Bruce Springsteen and has had his melodies sung by Whitney Houston, Aretha Franklin, Judy Collins, Paul Newman, and more. His songs have supported charities and causes, including World Hunger Year, Ocean Alliance, Bill Clinton's 1992 presidential campaign, and Paul Newman's Hole in the Wall Gang Camp for kids. The Boston Globe defines his music with David Buskin as "Acoustic Heaven."

https://robinbatteau.com/

https://www.facebook.com/robin.batteau

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Before you go: take our 5-question Creativity Archetype Quiz at https://sustainingcreativity.fillout.com/creativityarchetypequiz. It takes under a minute and reveals your dominant creative style, your superpowers, and the #1 bottleneck holding you back.

Thanks for listening!

Creativity through the lens of the Chief Creative Officer at Ratkaj Designes

"Earmarking time. Set aside time to take the pressure off."

Rochelle Ratkaj Moser is the Founder and Chief Creative Officer of Ratkaj Designs, a creative agency that brings together the power of design and the purpose of philanthropy. With a focus on accessibility, inclusion, and mission-aligned visual storytelling, Rochelle has spent her career helping nonprofits and social impact organizations better communicate their values, advocate for change, and connect with the communities they serve.

https://ratkajdesigns.com/

https://www.instagram.com/ratkajdesigns?utm_medium=copy_link

https://www.linkedin.com/in/ratkaj/

Send us Fan Mail

Before you go: take our 5-question Creativity Archetype Quiz at https://sustainingcreativity.fillout.com/creativityarchetypequiz. It takes under a minute and reveals your dominant creative style, your superpowers, and the #1 bottleneck holding you back.

Thanks for listening!

Creativity through the lens of a photographer, authoe, tour guide and social media content creator

"Creativity is about noticing what other people overlook and finding a way to share it with them."

Ronnie Frey is the creative visionary behind the popular Instagram
account @doorwaysofchicago, a visual archive that elevates the mundane into the
magnificent. With a keen eye for detail and a deep love for Chicago’s layered
architectural history, Ronnie captures more than just doors and buildings—he captures atmosphere, memory, and soul. From the gritty to the pretty, nothing is too ordinary to catch his attention. 
What began as a spontaneous photograph of a small, bright blue door in the UK has grown into a full-fledged artistic journey. On his first trip to England, a vivid door in a prison-like stone wall near the Royal Citadel in Plymouth stopped him cold. Despite jet lag and rain, he returned alone, umbrella flipping inside out, determined to capture it.

That photo wasn’t just a moment. It was a calling. 
Back in Chicago, he began seeing the city differently. On lunch breaks, he wandered historic neighborhoods, snapping doorways, cornices, arches, and façades—details many overlook. Within a few months, @doorwaysofchicago was born. 
While doors remain at the heart of his work, the project has evolved. His feed now
highlights architectural gems, neon and ghost signs, murals, sculptures—anything
vintage that tells a story. Planes, trains, and automobiles roll through too (after all, they have doors). 

His background in interior design gives his compositions a layered sensibility. As a
walking tour guide and historic storyteller, he brings that same passion to the streets of Chicago, leading groups through Wicker Park, the Loop, and Old Town. 
Now based in a studio inside the landmark Fine Arts Building, Ronnie draws inspiration from his surroundings—a place where artistry, legacy, and creative energy meet. His work is a meditative practice, an act of urban preservation, and a joyful celebration of the beauty hiding in plain sight.

https://doorwaysofchicago.com/

https://www.instagram.com/doorwaysofchicago/

https://www.facebook.com/doorwaysofchicago/

https://www.tiktok.com/@doorwaysofchicago

https://trope.com/products/doorways-of-chicago

Send us Fan Mail

Before you go: take our 5-question Creativity Archetype Quiz at https://sustainingcreativity.fillout.com/creativityarchetypequiz. It takes under a minute and reveals your dominant creative style, your superpowers, and the #1 bottleneck holding you back.

Thanks for listening!

Creativity through the lens of a storyteller, event specialist, advocate and purpose driven creative

"Self expression is an act of defiance"

Thomas R Wilson is a Writer, Business Owner,  Advocate, Sensory Friendly Events Specialist,  and Community Leader. His work within the Neuro Diverse and Mental Health communities has brought him international acclaim and he work as an advocate has reach government recognition.  While his work is just beginning he has partnered with over 40 businesses and is helping to carve out a specific niche that offers great value to the community.  Finally,  while his work is designed for underserved communities he welcomes all to attend his work and events.

https://www.rhcreativeadvocacyandstorytelling.net/

https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-wilson-42762927b/

https://www.threads.com/@rhstorytelling

https://linktr.ee/ndttrpg

Send us Fan Mail

Before you go: take our 5-question Creativity Archetype Quiz at https://sustainingcreativity.fillout.com/creativityarchetypequiz. It takes under a minute and reveals your dominant creative style, your superpowers, and the #1 bottleneck holding you back.

Thanks for listening!

Creativity through the lens of a former National Geographic and White House photographer, business coach and author

"Creativity: Someone who can see the end results of see the big picture."

Scott Proposki spent 27 years behind the camera, photographing for National Geographic, The White House, HBO, Microsoft, and celebrities like Robin Williams and Miley Cyrus. He built a seven-figure photography business and led teams across North America.

Then he lost it all.

Through the painful rebuilding process, Scott discovered what photographers really need isn’t more talent, it’s the business foundation that turns talent into predictable, sustainable success. That realization led him to create the Camera Focus Method™

Then, in 2019, Scott published a book that would unknowingly change his life: Camera Focus.

Written to help creatives and photographers with ADHD tap into their greatest superpower, their camera, the book showed readers how to focus their energy, use their natural gifts, and build stronger creative businesses.

What Scott didn’t realize was that the book he wrote for others would soon become the book that saved him.

When the world shut down in 2020, his entire photography business collapsed in a single week. Events stopped. Contracts disappeared. Revenue evaporated. Decades of momentum vanished overnight. And Scott, for the first time in his life, went completely silent.

No shoots.
No business.
No social media.
Just three years of darkness, reflection, and rebuilding.

During one of the most challenging and most isolating seasons of his life, Scott found himself returning to the pages of Camera Focus, the very work he had created to help others. Its core principles became his lifeline. Its message became his compass. And slowly, it helped pull him out of depression, doubt, and the question every creative eventually faces:

Who am I without the work I once built my life around?

In that quiet, Scott realized something profound:
He wasn’t meant to return to the business he once had.
He was meant to build something stronger and to help others do the same.

That transformation became the foundation of the Camera Focus Method™, a step-by-step system created to help photographers build businesses that aren’t fragile, but unshakeable — built on clarity, systems, purpose, and confidence.

Scott didn’t disappear because he was defeated.
He disappeared because he was being rebuilt.

And today, he’s back with more clarity, purpose, and fire than ever — committed to helping photographers around the world create businesses (and lives) that can weather any storm.

https://scottproposki.com/
https://www.facebook.com/CameraFocusMethod/#

https://www.instagram.com/photographybusinessmadesimple

https://www.linkedin.com/in/scottproposki/

Send us Fan Mail

Before you go: take our 5-question Creativity Archetype Quiz at https://sustainingcreativity.fillout.com/creativityarchetypequiz. It takes under a minute and reveals your dominant creative style, your superpowers, and the #1 bottleneck holding you back.

Thanks for listening!