I feel like I can't talk about this, but...

Summary

In this candid discussion, John Green reflects on the counterintuitive ease of honesty during personal struggles versus success. He challenges the notion that enjoying work, especially when busy, is wrong or unhealthy. Green shares his upcoming events, including opening for Rich Hall and Boseman, participating in comedy festivals, and his involvement in education and political campaigns. He also expresses excitement and apprehension about a potential collaboration with David Silva for scientifically accurate dinosaur figures and the launch of 'Crash Course Religions.' Green acknowledges the stress of managing multiple projects but embraces the 'storm' as part of a fulfilling life, encouraging others to explore their true feelings without judgment.

Takeaways

• 🌪️ The speaker finds it easier to be honest when struggling rather than thriving, which feels counterintuitive.
• 🎭 Creators are often open about their struggles, but it's less common to admit enjoying work and productivity.
• 🌬️ Stress can be both a hurricane and a breeze; the speaker enjoys the stimulation of stress to some extent.
• 🚀 The speaker's life is full of various projects and engagements, including comedy shows and educational summits.
• 🦣 There's an exciting project involving scientifically accurate dinosaur figures, potentially in collaboration with PBS.
• 📈 A crowdfunding campaign for woolly mammoth figurines is underway, with stretch goals that the speaker is eager to see realized.
• 🏛️ The speaker is involved in political campaign events, reflecting the importance they place on civic engagement.
• ☕️ The rebranding of Awesome Coffee Club to Keats and Co. is underway, with a focus on both coffee and tea.
• 🎬 The speaker is actively involved in content creation, uploading videos to Hank's channel and enjoying the process.
• 🌐 Complexly's Learnon is ending, and the speaker encourages support for the team's hard work and the educational platform.
• 🤔 The speaker is reflecting on what they enjoy in life, including the excitement of being in the 'storm' and the community it fosters.

Q & A

Why does the speaker find it easier to be honest when struggling than when thriving?

The speaker finds it easier to be honest when struggling because it feels more relatable and expected, whereas admitting to thriving and enjoying work, especially under stress, goes against the common narrative that such a situation is unsustainable or unhealthy.

What does the speaker perceive as 'the hurricane' and 'the breeze' in relation to stress?

The 'hurricane' represents overwhelming stress that feels destructive, while 'the breeze' symbolizes a manageable level of stress that the speaker finds invigorating and necessary for growth and preventing stagnation.

What significant event is the speaker opening for next week?

The speaker is opening for Rich Hall and Boseman, which is a significant event for them.

What is the name of the comedy festival the speaker is participating in?

The speaker is participating in the 'Last Best Comedy Fest'.

What educational summit is the speaker attending on October 5th?

The speaker is attending 'Project Lead the Way', an education summit, on October 5th.

What project is the speaker excited about that involves David Silva's dinosaur figures?

The speaker is excited about a potential collaboration with David Silva, who creates scientifically accurate dinosaur figures, for a figurine that could be part of a prehistoric life show produced by the speaker's team.

What crowdfunding campaign is the speaker promoting for woolly mammoth figurines?

The speaker is promoting a campaign on Backer Kit to fund the creation of scientifically accurate woolly mammoth figurines, with stretch goals for other prehistoric animals.

What is the rebranding of 'Awesome Coffee Club' mentioned in the script?

The 'Awesome Coffee Club' is being rebranded as 'Keats and Co', which is a coffee and tea brand that the speaker is enthusiastic about.

What is the speaker's role in hosting 'Saow and Tang'?

The speaker enjoys hosting 'Saow and Tang' and has uploaded several videos to Hank's Channel, indicating an active role in content creation for the show.

What is 'Complexly Learnon' and why does it end today according to the script?

Complexly Learnon is an educational initiative that the speaker is involved with. It ends today, and the speaker encourages support for the work done by the team behind it.

How does the speaker feel about the amount of work and stress they are currently handling?

The speaker acknowledges the stress but also enjoys the excitement, interest, curiosity, and community that come with it, despite the potential for it to become overwhelming if multiple things go wrong at once.

Outlines

00:00

🌪️ Embracing the Storm: Thriving Amidst Chaos

The speaker, John, discusses the counterintuitive nature of finding it easier to be honest during personal struggles rather than when thriving. He notes a tendency among creators to openly discuss burnout and mental health but a reluctance to admit enjoyment in working hard. John shares his own experiences, emphasizing that stress can be both a destructive hurricane and a revitalizing breeze. He acknowledges the impossibility of a life devoid of challenges and expresses a personal inclination towards embracing the 'stronger breeze.' John also outlines his upcoming events, including an opening act for Rich Hall and Boseman, appearances at comedy festivals, and educational summits. He mentions his involvement in a Kickstarter campaign for scientifically accurate woolly mammoth figurines and the launch of 'Crash Course Religions.' John also discusses the rebranding of 'Awesome Coffee Club' to 'Keats and Co.', his enjoyment in hosting various shows, and the end of the 'Complexly Learnon,' urging support for the educational platform.

Keywords

💡Honesty

Honesty refers to the quality of being truthful and sincere. In the video, the speaker reflects on how it's easier to be honest about struggles than about thriving, suggesting that society often expects creators to be open about their difficulties but less so about their successes. This honesty is a central theme as the speaker discusses their personal experiences and feelings about their work and life.

💡Struggle

Struggle indicates a difficult fight or contest, often against adversity. The script mentions that creators are typically candid about their struggles, such as burnout and mental health issues, which is a common narrative in creative spaces. The speaker contrasts this with their own experience, feeling more comfortable being honest when facing challenges rather than when they are thriving.

💡Thriving

Thriving means to grow or develop successfully or vigorously. The speaker notes that it feels counterintuitive to be more honest about struggles than about thriving. They express that enjoying work, especially when there is a lot to do, can be met with skepticism, suggesting that thriving in one's career is often viewed with suspicion rather than as a positive state.

💡Stress

Stress is a state of mental or emotional strain or tension resulting from adverse or demanding circumstances. The speaker describes stress as both a hurricane and a breeze, indicating that while stress can be overwhelming, it can also be a motivating force that brings freshness and movement. This duality is central to the speaker's perspective on their work and life balance.

💡Creativity

Creativity is the use of imagination or original ideas to create something. The video script implies that the speaker is involved in creative work, as they discuss the honesty of creators and their experiences. The speaker's own creativity is evident in their various projects and initiatives, such as the collaboration with David Silva on scientifically accurate dinosaur figures.

💡Countercultural

Countercultural refers to attitudes, behaviors, and lifestyles that are opposed to or different from those of the mainstream society. The speaker uses this term to describe their enjoyment of work, which they feel is at odds with the mainstream narrative that work should be a source of struggle rather than enjoyment.

💡Campaign Events

Campaign events are activities organized to promote a political candidate or cause. The speaker mentions participating in campaign events, indicating their involvement in political and social activism. This shows the speaker's engagement with issues beyond their creative work, highlighting their commitment to social change.

💡Education Summit

An education summit is a gathering of educators, policymakers, and other stakeholders to discuss and address educational issues. The speaker mentions attending an education summit, indicating their interest and involvement in educational initiatives, which is a part of their broader commitment to community and social engagement.

💡Kickstarter

Kickstarter is a crowdfunding platform designed to help artists, creators, and designers fund their projects. The speaker discusses a Kickstarter campaign for scientifically accurate woolly mammoth figurines, illustrating their involvement in creative projects that require community support to become a reality.

💡Complexly

Complexly is a media company founded by the speaker, which produces educational content. The script mentions the end of a 'complexly learnon,' suggesting a learning initiative or event organized by the company. This keyword shows the speaker's dedication to education and their role in creating and supporting educational content.

💡Regret

Regret is a feeling of sadness or disappointment over something that has happened or been done, often accompanied by a strong desire that it had never happened or that it could be undone. The speaker reflects on times when they have regretted decisions, particularly when multiple things go wrong simultaneously. This keyword underscores the human aspect of the speaker's narrative, showing that they are not immune to the emotional challenges that come with their work.

Highlights

Easier to be honest when struggling than when thriving

Creators are often honest about struggles but not about enjoying work

Enjoying work and high productivity can be perceived as wrong or unhealthy

Struggle and stress can sometimes be signs of thriving

Stress can be both a hurricane and a breeze,象征着挑战与机遇

It's impossible to avoid all stress, but it's necessary for some

Upcoming performance opening for Rich Hall and Boseman

Participation in the Last Best Comedy Fest and other events

Involvement in education and campaign events

Collaboration with David Silva on scientifically accurate dinosaur figures

BackerKit campaign for woolly mammoth figurines

Launch of Crash Course Religions and rebranding of Awesome Coffee Club

Enjoyment in hosting shows and the community aspect of work

Complexly Learnon's end and the importance of supporting the team

Managing multiple projects and the stress that comes with it

Accepting the reality of enjoying stress and the importance of self-awareness

The necessity of understanding personal feelings towards stress and work

Transcripts

good morning John I want to talk today

about something that feels a little bit

counterintuitive because I have found

that it is easier to be honest when I'm

struggling than when I'm thriving and

that feels like the opposite of how

things used to be like I think a lot of

creators are are pretty honest about

their struggles with burnout and mental

health but it seems a little bit

countercultural in the spaces I inhabit

just to be like working a lot and

enjoying it If Ever I talk about like

enjoying work especially when I have a

lot of work to do I can expect to be

told by other people that I'm like wrong

or if it's just a voice in my head you

know saying that this is unsustainable

or it's unhealthy or whatever I've been

doing this for a long time and I have

done it in ways that are unhealthy and

unsustainable and I've done it in ways

that I don't enjoy but I also know that

I've never really felt like I was

thriving if there was no stress in my

life sometimes to me stress feels like a

hurricane that will tear me out by the

roots but other times stress feels like

a breeze that stretches me and brings me

fresh air and if I didn't have it things

would feel really stagnant now here's

another thing I've learned I cannot set

my life up so perfectly that I only ever

have the breeze and never the hurricane

but I do think that I was a little bit

born to sometimes enjoy like a stronger

Breeze there's a lot going on in my life

right now next week I'm opening for Rich

Hall and Boseman which is kind of a big

deal for me then I'm going to be doing a

few other things at the last best Comedy

Fest you should come if you can on the

26th I'm going to be in Youngstown Ohio

which is kind of near Pittsburgh and

kind of near Cleveland and not really

near anywhere else on October 5th both

of us are going to be in San Diego for

Project Lead the Way which is an

education Summit also Pizza Miss starts

on the 23rd and I'm going to be filming

a new show in Los Angeles in October as

well it's also the election time which

just takes up a lot of my brain and also

I've been doing some campaign events

with Montana folks who are running for

office here because it all matters I

hate how much it matters also John like

a year ago I started following this guy

named David Silva who used to work in

the toy industry but then quit to make

scientifically accurate dinosaur figures

his work is absolutely gorgeous and I

was like you know who has a prehistoric

life show that they produce with PBS me

not me complexly so I told the eon's

team that it would be amazing if they

collaborated with David on a figurine

and then I ran away because that's

wasn't my job and now it's maybe going

to be real there's a campaign on backer

kit right now to make these beautiful

woolly mammoths and hopefully also maybe

some other pridans they are huge and

there are stretch goals that I

desperately want to be real but we can't

make any of this unless we reach the

goal like as a legit Kickstarter where

the molds are too expensive to make if

we don't sell a certain number of them I

think this is very exciting and also

kind of scary so if you think a

scientifically accurate woolly mammoth

might be up your alley also crash course

religions is coming out which is a youth

thing not a me thing but I'm still

thinking about it a lot we're rebranding

awesome coffee Club as Keats and Co a

coffee and tea brand and the tea is so

freaking good and the reviews are

starting to roll in that's exciting and

scary meanwhile I still love hosting

saow and Tang I've uploaded like three

videos to Hank's Channel this week and

this seems like a lot but honestly I am

having a lot of fun also the complexly

learnon ends today complexly is an

exciting and stressful thing in my life

we are not launching a streaming service

but if you want to pretend like we are

and give us $60 for a year of complexly

you can do that because everybody works

so hard at complexly to try and make it

work and it's always happening on razor

thin margins and that's stressful but at

the moment like it's a good stressful if

I try to hold it all in my head it does

scare me and if I look at it from

outside of myself that seems like

something a person shouldn't be doing

but I am 44 years old and what I know is

that this behavior isn't a problem for

me if things are going okay it only

becomes a problem when two or three of

the things start to go wrong at the same

time and I simply can't fix things

faster than they are breaking that is

when the roots start to get tugged up

and I regret every decision I've ever

made have you ever regretted every

decision you've ever made cuz it's

happened to me like a few times and I

know that that could happen like at any

time which does keep me you know

worrying I think an appropriate amount

but here's what's up I'm trying to

figure out what I like about life

because I only get so much of it to live

and I do like being out in the storm a

certain amount I like to walk out onto

the sidewalk and let it push me around

until trees start to fall down and then

I want to go inside and I want to

understand that because I don't want to

let my expectations of how I should feel

feel limit my ability to feel how I

actually feel especially if how I

actually feel is like excited and

interested and curious and passionate

and in community with others even if

that also comes along with being you

know pretty stressed sometimes and again

the learnon ends today please support

the work these wonderful people do John

I will see you on Tuesday I bet they'll

run it through the weekend just saying

if you didn't watch it on Friday if it's

Saturday I bet they'll still take your

money complex.com learon