If You Want To Chase Your Dreams, Set Runways and Boundaries: A Conversation with Todd Henry
Recently, I had the opportunity to interview one of my creative heroes, Todd Henry. Todd is a speaker and author of three books: The Accidental Creative: How to Be Brilliant at a Moment’s Notice, Die Empty and Louder than Words: Harness the Power of Your Authentic Voice. He’s also the founder of The Accidental Creative podcast that has been going strong since 2005.
Before all of this became Todd’s full-time career, he was a creative director at a large non-profit and doing The Accidental Creative on the side. The focus of my interview was to find out a few things about his process to create something on the side while managing a full time career, a family and all of the chaos that comes with it. It was also to figure out how he knew he was ready to make the leap into chasing his passions.
Jason: Back when you first started The Accidental Creative Podcast, you were working as a full-time creative director with a wife and a child, and in the process of adopting a second. How did you carve out the space for the AC podcast on top of everything you were already doing?
Todd: One of the first things I did for myself was to carve out my own physical space by adding a home office. I believe that space is crucial and is a physical manifestation of what’s going on in your head. The second thing was to carve out times in my day that were predictable and I wouldn’t be interrupted. I would work from 5:30am-7:30am every morning on my first book and 9pm-11pm on The Accidental Creative Podcast.
Jason: It seems to me that keeping a schedule like that could lead to burnout. Did you have an end goal in mind while working so intensely?
Todd: We knew we were working towards something and The Accidental Creative podcast was gaining ground and I was speaking more. During that time we were beginning to build a runway. I couldn’t do both my job as a creative director and the AC podcast for long. We had to either stay or make the leap.
Jason: You bring up a great subject. There’s a danger in working on side projects when you are also gainfully employed somewhere else. If your full-time employer feels you aren’t giving 100% and they see you are putting 5-10 hours into something on the side, that side project becomes a liability. What advice would you give those trying to balance keeping a happy boss and putting in work on their passions?
Todd: You have to be very clear with your boundaries and be open with your employer. First, if your side project is in any way competitive with your current employer then it becomes a question of ethics. I think you should immediately take corrective action either in your employment or your side project. Secondly, have open conversations with your employer. Being open and honest is key. Frame your side projects in a way that your employer can see the benefits of what you’re doing and how it may help positively impact your employer. Lastly, your full time career cannot suffer. That has to be your primary focus.
Jason: How did you know you were ready to make that leap from your career as a creative director into full-time speaking, podcasting and writing?
Todd: Every startup needs at least two years of resources to get them through that ‘make or break’ period. We set a financial goal for ourselves to have two years of income saved up. Boundaries are also really important. We made a pact that if after a year we didn’t see an upward trend then I would start looking for another job.
Jason: When people talk about chasing their dreams, financial stability seems to be five steps down in the conversations. Financial planning is a weakness with many creative types. If financial stability is paramount to EVERYTHING in chasing our dreams, how do we make that a priority in our conversations?
Todd: That’s a great question. We (creatives) don’t like to talk about stability. My wife and I spent many years living well below our means. Low overhead means maximum flexibility. Live on less than you bring in. Try to be lean. I drive an 11 year old Honda CRV that’s paid for. Sure, I could drive something nicer, but we make life decisions based on if it will add to or inhibit our freedom.
To hear more from Todd Henry on these subjects and all things creative, check out the following resources: