Being my own boss has many benefits. I get to work from home, make my own schedule, choose my clients, and I can make room and time to pursue other dreams such as flying. As freeing and enjoyable as all the perks of small business ownership are, the truth is that any kind of creative work is mentally taxing. I can sit at my desk editing for about 3 hours max before my brain is toast, and only about 2 hours on branding. Working 8 hours straight on creative work would probably lead me to taking the following day off. In short, creative work, no matter how much you love it, is mentally exhausting. Enter: aviation.
First time in a small plane with Hap’s Air Service.
THE BACKSTORY
The first time I flew was in 1990. I enjoyed it, from what I can remember. Somewhere over the years I developed a rabid fear of flying. You wouldn’t have been able to get me on a plane without some Xanax and a stiff drink (yes, I’m aware that would kill you. My point stands). In 2017, I was in Mississippi for my best friend’s wedding festivities when I had a series of massive panic attacks. My dad had to buy me a plane ticket home. The anxiety was so bad that I wanted to get on the plane. The flight out was rough, but once we got up to cruising altitude, I was in awe. I fell in love with being in the air.
As things progressed, I began reading about what makes flying safe. The readings became more and more technical, and before I knew it, I had developed a love of aviation deep enough to compel me to go to flight school. I started pursuing my Private Pilot’s license in 2019. My first flight in my training offered me a deep sense of affirmation. As I climbed in to the cockpit of that Cessna 172, I felt like I was coming home to somewhere I’d belonged for a long time. Life hasn’t been the same since.
THE GREAT ESCAPE
Aviation is my brain’s great escape. When I become mentally fatigued from creating, I can switch gears and study my ground school materials. Because aviation uses a different part of the brain than creative work, my creative side gets a break. It’s like recess for the mind except instead of playing on swings, it’s a calming drift off into the joy I feel when I fly, a daydream as I visualize what I’m studying. Practicing using the more analytical side of my brain allows me to approach client work with objective consideration of all aspects of the work such as metrics, audience, and message, as well as the creative side. As a result, I get to have some fun either flying or thinking about flying, and my clients get well-targeted work.
THE GREAT ADVENTURE
I have always been the adventurous type. From my four-year-old self playing with garter snakes in the backyard to my love of climbing and backpacking, I have always had a curiosity that has driven me to explore. This part of me has long been a source of fuel for my creative work. I pull color schemes from mountain scenes, stylistic inspiration from old road signs in rural desert towns, and capture the raw emotion of an experience and breathe it all back into my work.
Flying is another adventure. It’s a fascinating experience to be “driving” by clouds 30,000 ft in the air, but to go up in a small plane, and observe the dimensions of a cloud at eye level, and see how a cloud actually holds space in the sky is pretty incredible. You see the clouds from a completely different perspective than you would on an airliner or on the ground. More generally speaking I learn how to look at what I’m working on from different points of view. Being able to see things from new perspectives is one of the most fascinating things about flying, and it’s one of the most important things that comes back to my creative work. The practice of seeking out new ways to see things has become a key element of any creative work that I do.
THE GREAT EXPERIENCE
Experience is a key influencer in my work for two reasons: 1. I want to serve those in aviation, and knowing the industry as a customer makes me the target audience. 2. Having a wide diversity of experiences positions me as being a potential target audience for clients. If it doesn’t position me as the target audience, it at least gives me the useful experience that is necessary to relate. Bringing my own experiences in can offer clients a different perspective, and helps me empathize with both the client and the goal. Flying is just one more amazing experience that I can connect with to serve my clients.
THE GREAT NECESSITY
Just like I need to create, I need to fly. The experience, adventure and respite that aviation provides has shown me that it is an invaluable part of my creative life and my personal life. My work life and personal life are separate in terms of boundaries, but not in terms of the need for flight. Aviation and creativity have a symbiotic relationship. They fuel one another, they sharpen each other as iron sharpens Iron. Without one, the other struggles. When I am able to create for aviation, the final product ends up being some of my best work.
The relationship between my creative work and aviation is like a good marriage. They support each other, fuel each other, and make each other better. Because of aviation, I have learned how to improve the way I run my company, and fallen even more in love with what I do. The more aviation fuels my work, the more my love for what I do will show in what I offer to clients. While I benefit all around, the people it really pays off for are the ones who matter most: my clients.