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In a PBS interview back many years ago, the interviewer asked me to give one of my top tips for creativity and success.

My response?

Create a soundtrack for your life and business.
Here’s my absolute favorite:

I have been listening to this since it was first released, and it STILL inspires the creative juices to flow.

The key?

It’s melodic. It changes pace. And my favorite part is in 9:8 time (my most moving time signature).

Think on this. You have a favorite song, rhythm, melody… you may find that it is actually a catalyst for much of your creative thinking.

It’s almost a Zen state that the right rhythm produces.

I played high-school state tennis in Oregon during the late ’70’s. When we won the district finals, our competitors asked “how we did it” (I was only a sophomore at the time).

The answer? 9:8 time.

I had a Yes song going through my head in that funky time signature. Tennis is a game of creating and breaking rhythm. Most of my contemporaries listened to standard rock and disco (2:4, 3:4 and 4:4 time signatures). Easy to track, easy to feel, easy to copy.

9:8 time? Not so much.

So… what is your creative rhythm? Find it, and I assure you, ideas, innovations and breakthroughs will immediately follow.

To your own beat,
Mark Alan Effinger

P.S. I took my eldest daughter Kaleigh (14 years old) to see Jon Anderson (lead singer of Yes) a year ago. With no prompting from me, she got out of her seat and sang nearly every one of the Yes songs. Some things are truly timeless: