Lesson 09: Feed Your Soul with a Creative Side Project

“Don’t overthink it and don’t wait for it to be perfect. Making stuff that makes you happy, doing it, getting it out, and moving on is the best way to be happy and creative at the same time. ”

— Kevin Butler

We talk a lot on Creativity School about making things simply because it makes us happy, even if we don’t have a bigger plan for it. Yet we often find ourselves feeling like our creativity needs to be more purposeful than that - if it doesn’t make us money, what’s the point?

In today’s episode, I’m talking to someone who has an extremely demanding day job, and started a creative side project for one reason: purely because it was fun. What happened next was beyond his imagination!

Kevin Butler is an award winning creative director that’s created memorable ad campaigns for clients like Apple, Playstation, Tinder, Airbnb, and Facebook. While he was working at his most demanding job ever (working 6 days a week, 12-14 hours a day), he started his illustration project, Rad Cars with Rad Surfboards. It started out as one personal drawing that quickly grew to 100 illustrations. Now, 10 years later, Rad Cars with Rad Surfboards has had sold out art shows and collaborated with brands like Herschel Supply Co., Igloo Coolers, Vans, and more!

Kevin talks about how Rad Cars with Rad Surfboards is what keeps him sharp and inspired, why money is never the motivation behind his project, and why it's important that he protects the integrity of his work by choosing the right brands to collaborate with.

He also shares how he juggles his side project with such a demanding day job, and why it’s SO IMPORTANT to be selfish in the work you create for yourself.

Mentioned in this episode:

How Kevin creates effective communication that connects with people through his ad campaigns
Why he says you need to be selfish in the work you create
Why other people’s opinions shouldn’t matter
The questions he asks himself when he chooses which creative side projects to work on
How starting Rad Cars with Rad Surfboards was started purely for fun
Why you should value your work and be discerning about what brands and companies to work with
Why money is never his motivation for his Rad Car collaborations
How giving your brain space to rest and breathe allows you to be more creative
How he finds time for creativity with a demanding day job and while being a dad
The Modern Trap of Turning Hobbies into Hustles
Facebook “Friends” brand campaign