Encore Careers & Creative Integrity

In an earlier post (Snapshot of a Journey to the Highway to Yeah), I mentioned that part of this blog would explore pursuing an encore career through something I call Creative Integrity.

This feels like a good time to unpack that a bit.

First—what do I mean by an encore career?

Honestly, I don’t love the term.

It often sounds heavy… like you’re supposed to go do something noble and serious in education, healthcare, or nonprofit work after your “real” career ends.

And look—that’s great work. Needed work.

But that’s not what I’m pointing at.

I think of it more as having “Fun in the Sun.”

Or, if we’re using FIRE language: Financially Independent, Recreationally Employed.

In other words—what would you do if you didn’t have to work for a paycheck?

What kind of work would you choose?

For me, that opens the door to something closer to a lifestyle career.

Work that fits your life… not the other way around.

Work that’s interesting, engaging, maybe even a little adventurous.

And yes—still meaningful.

That’s where Creative Integrity comes in.

There are a few ways to circle this idea.

The existentialists talked about authenticity.

Carl Jung talked about individuation.

Maslow pointed toward self-actualization—and noted that highly self-actualized people tend to be deeply creative.

All of that is in the neighborhood.

But I wanted to understand it more directly.

So I actually studied it.

Using a phenomenological approach (under Amedeo Giorgi), I asked people to describe experiences where they felt they were operating with what I came to call creative integrity.

What emerged was something like this:

“The experience of creative integrity occurs when a creative outcome or product accurately and effectively reflects who we are. It is an example of the creative process closely tied to our identity and what we intend to accomplish in our lives and in the world. It is strongly associated with the most important and meaningful roles we play in our lives. The completed experience of creative integrity entails the extensive use of imagination and innovative practices, and can produce an outcome or product with a powerful impact on ourselves and others. The experience of creative integrity generates long-lasting effects of meaning and fulfillment in our lives, which we also assign to the product or outcome. Feelings of anxiety, delight, and enjoyment are associated with the events connected with the unfolding of the experience.”

That’s a bit academic… but the essence is simple:

It’s when what you create feels like you.

Not forced. Not performative.

Aligned.

And when that happens?

Yeah… Highway to YEAH!

A couple things to think about:

What kind of work would you choose if money wasn’t the driver?

And when have you experienced something like creative integrity?

That might be your clue.