Creative Cycling
In a college class on the History of Russian Music, I learned that Stravinsky would spend 6 months of the year conducting, and 6 months composing.
In my head I gave it a name - “creative cycling” - and filed it away as a fun fact.
But the idea of creative cycling came back to me in 2019, this time applied to my own life.
The year before, I’d made a big career move.
After almost 10 years running the company I had co-founded (iCadenza,), I decided to step down as CEO in order to pursue a dream of mine: writing a musical.
I didn’t plan or expect to ramp up a new business, all on my own. But that happened, for a few reasons:
I quickly realized that I couldn’t spend 40 hours a week working on my musical, aside from when I was working towards a deadline.
I had new ideas and strategies I wanted to try out in my coaching, and it was no longer appropriate for me to do that inside of iCadenza since I had just handed over the reins.
I needed to earn more money (I was still getting paid by iCadenza to coach some clients) - especially as I wanted to continue investing in artistic growth.
I decided to launch the 6 Figure Musician Entrepreneur program, which I taught for the first time in the summer of 2019.
During that time, I kept thinking back to Stravinsky and creative cycling.
Rather than attempting to have an even 50/50 split of my time when it came to these two big creative projects in my life - my business and my artist pursuits - could they instead flow in waves, where sometimes one would take precedence while the other was on the back burner, and vice versa?
I am now in my 4th year of this experiment, and I have to say, I love it.
Before I stepped away from iCadenza, I thought, “of course I’d want to spent ALL my time on my artistic work.”
Turns out, I really don’t. I need breaks from it, especially after periods of intensity.
I realized that all of my projects need back burner time, where they are evolving slowly in my subconscious. They benefit from time in the shadows, rather than constantly being under the spotlight of my focus.
I've often said that prioritizing my big dream creative project - writing my musical - was the best thing I ever did for my business.
And it’s true.
I think it was my willingness to take a leap into risky and new territory for myself, aligning my external choices more authentically to my internal desires. Once I made that shift, I attracted more clients who also wanted to do that in their own ways.
But also - running my business has been the best thing I could have done for my musical and my artistic life, for so many reasons.
I’m an introvert and I like the solitariness of writing and composing. That said, it gets a little weird in my brain if I’m not engaging with people. Supporting other creatives and feeling invested in their lives and projects gives me something outside of myself to focus on, which is a great thing.
Coaching is enormously fulfilling work. And of course, working with artists means that so many conversations mirror the challenges I am facing. I often leave calls feeling like I got coaching too!
Business is an incredible creative outlet that requires a person to summon lots of energy and courage from within. You experience what it is like to put something out there and see what happens next. I’m glad that I had done that several times before releasing my album.
On a very practical level, my business has provided me with tremendous foundations that make it so much easier to pursue my artistic goals.
I’ve organized my business financially so that I have intense bursts of momentum, following by long periods of lower intensity work. Over the last 18 months, which were largely dedicated to intense artistic work, I’ve been supported by the cash reserves I built up in 2020. I delivered programs and worked with clients during that time, but didn’t spend much energy on drumming up new business.
(Note that I have over 10 years of experience as a coach and business owner, which plays a big role in my ability and confidence to set and reach significant financial goals.)
Most importantly, my musical and the recording came together in large part because of the relationships that I’ve nurtured over many years in business.
Again and again, colleagues and clients were willing to help me, mentor me, collaborate on my project, and offer essential referrals, because of their regard of me. I was stunned by how many people said yes to participate without asking to hearing my music first. (Or maybe I presumed that performers are pickier than they are? I don’t know.)
Sure, it helped that I initiated this project in early 2021 when many artists were eager to take on projects they could do from home.
Still, the fact that I got to work with my top choice of team and performers on my first project and despite my non-existent artistic resume, still astounds me, and it’s all because of my years in business in this field.
I know that some artists and creatives wish they didn’t have to deal with the “business side” at all. That it’s a total drag to have to make money and to engage with the practicalities of life that detract and distract from the agony and joy of artistic creation.
I get that, but I don’t feel that way at all. I’ve experienced so much synergy between these two dimensions of my life, and I’ve seen similar things happen for my clients.
Giving myself permission to NOT work on both areas with equal intensity at the same time is what makes it work for me.
Check out some drawings to see what my “creative cycling” has looked like over the last few years.
