Mixing Beats with Business: How to Embrace Lifelong Creativity

Why are business executives who chase personal fitness goals admired, while those who pursue creative goals often questioned? Why are busy professionals who enroll in recreational athletics applauded for making time to exercise, while those who pursue amateur creative projects judged for wasting time? In short, why is lifelong physical exercise laudable for high-flying CEOs, and lifelong creative exercise not?

Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon famously courted controversy for DJ-ing as a creative outlet, a passion he started years before taking the reins of the investment bank. As public backlash in the media and business community mounted, he told Nic Harcourt, host of the podcast The Sound of Success, what he faced: "There were all sorts of people telling me you can't do that, it will hurt your career professionally. I thought about it and I said, 'I enjoy this, I'm not doing anything wrong, I'm not breaking any laws...Why should I stop doing something I'm really enjoying?'”

If Solomon had been running marathons or training for a CrossFit challenge, media coverage would have been minimal, and if anything, congratulatory. The logic of an eminent CEO devoting time to physical exercise would never be questioned today, but because Solomon was pursuing an amateur creative outlet, he had entered a uniquely illogical hornet's nest. Or should I say DJ booth.

Given that creativity is integral to business success, little about our societal approach to cases like David Solomon makes sense. Just because you’re never going to be an Olympian doesn’t mean you shouldn’t hit the gym before starting the work day, and just because you’re not destined to be a professional artist doesn’t mean you shouldn't seek the benefits of creativity.

I believe it’s time we think of creative projects, no matter how amateur, as creative exercise – deserving the legitimacy that the word “exercise" bestows.

In that same podcast, Solomon recounted the positive outcomes he was experiencing from DJ-ing: "To be at this stage of my life doing something new, learning, growing and getting better at it...it keeps you young, it keeps you vibrant. You have to keep your brain moving."

Indeed, just as we should exercise physically throughout life, we should also exercise creatively. Unfortunately, we're taught we aren’t creative beyond our younger years, and it’s true that creative competencies vary widely. But someone who never gravitated to sports is still well-served by getting their heart rate up as an adult, just as someone who doesn’t consider themselves creative is still rewarded by finding a creative project to build new perspectives – both of which will yield benefits in their business life.

Not surprisingly, media scrutiny on Solomon's DJ career eventually became insurmountable, and sadly he announced he would cease public performances of his hobby last year. Tellingly, a spokesman for Goldman Sachs said, “Music was not a distraction from David’s work. The media attention became a distraction.”

The business media, and society at large, should be ashamed for this outcome. Luckily most of us will never face the same scrutiny that Solomon did for moonlighting as a mix master. So if you're ready to buck social pressures and make a commitment to the benefits of lifelong creative exercise, where might you start?

1. Give yourself permission. It sounds hokey, but embarking on creative projects requires that you give yourself permission to commit time. Easier said than done, because here we wrestle with social conditioning around time usage, especially if you're a busy executive. Taking an hour between meetings to hit the treadmill? Great! But if you're taking that same hour to do a drawing class, you may find an inner voice fearful of judgement. We can learn to take our doubts not as an indictment of ourselves, but as an indictment of involuntary social conditioning.

2. Choose an area of interest with potential for cumulative progress. It doesn’t matter where you start and where you end, as long as there’s potential for an unfolding process. Progress doesn’t imply a march towards professionalism, but rather that incremental effort can accumulate into a more meaningful understanding of the creative skill you’re building. You’ll begin a process of self-actualization – creation of any magnitude and competency builds confidence that translates into all areas of life, including your work.

3. Define a specific project within your chosen creative area. Creativity isn’t an inherent characteristic so much as a habit. Therefore, defining a project with an outcome can be helpful for making your commitment to creative exercise tangible. For example, rather than saying you want to learn photography skills broadly, you might start by committing to shoot 10 architectural photos during your next business trip. In establishing this finite project, you’ll have a guidepost for seeing familiar sites from fresh eyes between meetings.

In sum, I believe a healthy societal approach to lifelong creativity isn’t about convincing busy professionals and high-flying CEOs that they're creative – it’s about convincing people that it’s important to practise being creative throughout life, regardless of social judgement. Creativity allows us to unfold into a deeper version of ourselves, which in turn sparks growth in all areas of life, including the boardroom. That’s creative exercise. Just ask DJ D-Sol.

This essay originally appeared in Douglas Magazine.