Be among trailblazing marketing pros at Brandweek this September 23–26 in Phoenix, Arizona. Experience incredible networking, insightful sessions and a boost of inspiration at ADWEEK’s ultimate brand event. Register by May 13 to save 35%.
At 17, I made a vow to “never work a desk job a day in my life,” and clearly, I’ve walked down a completely different path as a digital executive for a global retail company.
However, the monetary realities of being a struggling artist were beyond daunting. When your heart is driving 100% of your work, it’s a potential cocktail for disaster. Living is expensive, and spending time in everlasting financial limbo is a prerequisite to living the artistic life.
The cruel fate of being an existential artist is that you will continually need to rediscover your artistry in different forums. Like many creatives who had maintained naive optimism before me, I recognized my craving for some form of stability and set out to discover what options could open up creative potential and a 401k.
The unfortunate and real truth about becoming an executive is that management and support rise to the top of your priority list. If you’re hiring amazing people you trust to get the job done, it’s more likely you’ll spend a good amount of time focused on their development and needs versus your own artistic interpretations.
Here are a few key tips to keep in mind as you balance your artistic soul and professional life.
Find the right environmental fit
Working at an agency opened up a real understanding of a job rooted in creative strategy. Sometimes it’s less about what industry you’re working in and more about what impact for change and creativity you can make.
Find an outlet that lets your heart dream and feel free. The rest will fall into place.
Time is the No. 1 commodity
The most valuable commodity we have in this life is time—time to reflect, time to heal and time to act on those curiosities and areas of interest. Time to produce, fail or succeed.
Don’t waste time in fear. Show up how you want to show up, but bring people respectfully along for the journey.
Time is the only thing on Earth we cannot get back. Don’t waste it looking at the past, and always show up authentically you.
Taste is everything
Artists are a barometer of taste. Having good taste to know when to push boundaries and when to stay within range is genuinely an art form.
Leverage your fine-tuned tastes to help you develop and create thoughts in whatever outlet feels best. Good taste never gets old.
Don’t forget your roots
Artists and creatives have much more in common with executives than the surface may lead you to believe. Both face high-pressure situations and need to deliver flawlessly. Both know the power of agility and letting go of expectations.
When you’re rooted in the things that drive you as an artist, you can apply those skills and motivations to other realms.
Pitching is performing
Look at challenges and think about how to overcome them: What’s the most creative way to do this? What’s the best strategy?
Once you lay out your ironclad plan, write the script for the plan. Rehearse it. Present it. Repeat it 200 times more this year.
The pitch is your audition. Lean in.
Create like a child (in your spare time)
Do it for fun, as often as possible. Fail 100 times, then get up and create again.
No one can compromise your private joy, and sometimes, decreasing the pressure of performance allows us to unlock the inner child that fizzles out with the mundane weight of regular life. Be proud of your attempts and wins—it will always make you a better and more empathetic leader.
Value your good energy days
Not all energy is good, and we don’t always have a reserve full of that “good energy” to pull from on demand. We all know that distinct feeling of clarity that envelops you when your mind and heart are aligned and you’re open to creativity.
When you’re feeling that, stop everything. Honor it fully and invest it in projects you’ve been working on, in sorting strategy or in “getting weird” and esoteric.
Too often, as we work our way up the ranks, we forget how important it is to stay weird, free and curious. When the energy is there, carpe diem!
Learn from Gen Z’s new attitude toward making money
Many traditional views of workplaces have been shattered in the past five years due to the rise of the gig and creator economies as well as the unforeseen byproduct of the pandemic, remote work. Often, older generations will look at Gen Z’s approach to monetization and brand building as shortsighted, risky and unconventional.
As creatives, we should embrace and leverage this new style of working, as it opens possibilities that were once inconceivable and fosters actual artistic freedom. There is more than one way to make a dollar, and we are now in control of that fate.
The truth is, as an artist, you are never really satisfied. This comes in handy as a marketing executive because phoning it in, or meeting the status quo and staying there, is not an option.
To be great, you need to be a little mad and hungry. We’re used to hearing the word “no” very frequently and working past it. If you take those principles and speed forward with the momentum of your heart, you’ll be surprised to find out that rawness will cement your reputation with unmistakable respect and authenticity.
