April 22, 2026 • 10 mins
We've convinced ourselves that being busy is the same as being creative. It's not.
In this episode, Olivier breaks down one of the most misunderstood dynamics in modern work: the difference between true creativity and productivity dressed up to look like it. If your work has started to feel empty, forced, or directionless, this episode explains the reason why.
Reflect on these questions as you listen:
- When was the last time you did something without an objective?
- What would your work look like if it were driven by originality instead of expectation?
Text us! We'd love to hear your thoughts.
Follow on Linkedin: Olivier Egli
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Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker (00:00):
I'm your host Olivier and this is the Do Happy Work
Podcast where we look at work ina different, more natural, and
more peaceful way.
Hello and welcome back to theDo Happy Work Podcast.
I'm Olivier Egli, your voice ofnature in business.
Let's talk about creativity,one of my favorite topics,
(00:20):
because in my former work life Iwas being paid for being
creative.
Yet most of the time I actuallydidn't feel creative at all.
I felt like I traded my timefor money, but my true sense of
originality and self-innovationnever really came to light.
And that wasn't until Idiscovered that there is a
(00:43):
deeper issue at play.
We are busy.
We're always doing something,always moving, always filling
our days with things that feelimportant.
And if we're truly honest, mostof it is driven by one thing
alone.
We want results.
We want to get somewhere.
We want to achieve something.
(01:04):
We want to see progress,growth, what have you.
And then we look back at whatwe've done and we we measure it
against the outcome and callthat creativity.
We think that creativity got usthere.
We call that productivity, wecall that growth, we call that
all the things that we look forin our work.
(01:25):
But what if that's not true orif that's not full picture?
If there's a greater thing atplay that we miss?
Because when you really look atit, what we are doing most of
the time is not creativity, it'sproduction, it's effort, it's
movement, it's energy that wespend in the direction of a
defined outcome.
(01:46):
We try to cross a line ratherthan just being involved in
being creative and sourcing froma place of truth.
Creativity lives somewhereelse.
It doesn't live in the thingsonto which we project
creativity.
And that's the problem that wehave turned creativity into a
(02:06):
thing that is cast into anobject.
But creativity doesn't live inobjects, it doesn't live in
busyness, it doesn't live inconstant motion, and it
certainly doesn't live inchasing results.
As a matter of fact, I came torealize through my own
experiences, but also with allthe businesses that I work with,
that when you attach creativityto an outcome, you actually go
(02:31):
and kill it right away.
All you have now is reactivity,which has nothing to do with
originality sourcing fromwithin.
True creativity is detachedfrom outcome, it is tied to
something deeper, something muchharder to measure.
Originality.
But do we ever allow for suchoriginality to exist?
(03:06):
Do we ever permit ourselves toexist in a space of originality?
Ask yourself that.
Because originality is areal-time process.
It doesn't know about thefuture or deadlines, objectives,
stepping stones, milestones,temples, what have you.
It happens as it happens.
(03:27):
You don't chase it, you don'tforce it, you allow for it.
You allow for it to come to youand to speak through you.
And we know about this from therealm of art.
But art is not only reserved tothe creation of art, it applies
to everything, especially toour work.
(03:48):
And we've not been trained tolive or work in the original
way.
We have been trained out ofthat because that was our
original makeup.
But now we do somethingcompletely else.
We have blurred the linescompletely.
Today, creativity andproductivity are almost
interchangeable in the businessworld.
(04:09):
We think we're being creativewhen we're actually just
producing more.
We think we're being originalwhen we're really just
repackaging what's alreadyproven to work.
Maybe we slap a different logoor sticker on it or wrap a bow
around it to make it look likeit's original and different and
personal.
But the consequences of thisare showing.
(04:30):
Burnout, frustration,disconnection.
We look for purpose becauseobviously our creativity or our
take on creativity is failing usin the quiet sense that
something is missing.
Well, that's the piece.
Most of the businesses I workwith are not lacking skill or
talent or resources, they'rejust focusing on the wrong
(04:51):
thing.
They're submitting this holiestof holy, this inner temple of
originality, of the source toparameters that destroy it, that
make it impossible to access.
They're lacking what's sofundamental, the creative spark.
They're producing, they'reconstantly, efficiently, but
what they produce feels emptyfor this very cause.
(05:13):
And now they'reinterchangeable, replaceable,
they're disconnected, theloyalty fades, and of course
we're not as engaged in what wedo as much as we could.
And creativity has been reducedto a function, a department, a
layer.
Now it's something that happensat the end of a process to make
(05:33):
things look better or sellbetter.
Because we know that in mostbusinesses, the creative part is
the one where marketing,communication, advertising
happens when we present it tothe people.
But creativity needs to be atthe very beginning, it needs to
be at the base layer, it needsto be tied into the why of the
business.
Creativity is not a finishingtouch, it is the source itself.
(05:58):
It's the origin of anythingthat actually matters.
And when you disconnect fromthat source, something important
happens.
You disconnect from yourself.
Your work starts to feelforced, your decisions become
reactive, your direction becomesunclear, and you might still be
productive, but you're nolonger aligned.
So, how do we get here?
(06:19):
It's surprisingly simplebecause we just stopped allowing
ourselves to roam.
We've been conditioned tobelieve that time without a
clear objective is wasted time,that doing something without a
defined outcome is inefficientand insignificant, irresponsible
even.
And so we fill every gap and wethink that's purpose.
(06:42):
We optimize every hour, westructure every effort, we chase
clarity through action, we makeevery connection count towards
goals.
But in doing so, we silencesomething essential, our
creative intuitive nature.
We replace it with a purelyproductive identity, one that is
driven by logic, output, andmeasurable results.
(07:04):
And that identity is only afraction of who we actually are.
Even our relationship withtechnology reflects this.
We idolize tools that areincredibly productive, but
completely uncreative.
But we mistake them for beingcreative, and that's exactly the
issue that shows.
(07:25):
Those tools, they're notinherently superior as what we
make them to be.
They're just a mirror of how wehave chosen to operate.
They reinforce the idea thatoutput is everything and that
output measures creativity.
But here's the truth: creativity is not optional. (07:40):
undefined
It's not a talent reserved fora few people, it's not something
you either have or you don'thave.
It is fundamental.
It is the way nature expressesitself, it's the way it
organizes itself, it's why itis.
And if you look closely, you'llsee it everywhere in
adaptation, collaboration,evolution, even a mutation.
(08:02):
We just call it differentthings, and we just focus on the
doing.
But what is it at the core?
It's always the same thing.
It's a deep connection to theself that is connected to
something bigger.
So the self that sources fromsomething bigger.
That's originality as it shows.
We call it the muse orinspiration.
But where is your muse?
(08:24):
Where's your inspiration inyour work?
Where is the permission thatyou give yourself to allow it
into your life free ofobjectives?
Because she does not likeobjectives.
She does not like therestrictions you impose on her.
So the question is, how do youreconnect with her?
And the answer is not moreeffort.
(08:45):
It's not putting moredeadlines, more objectives, more
goalposts in your way.
It's actually removing them.
It's creating space.
You have to create space again.
Not as a luxury, but as anecessity.
Space without objective, timewithout expectation, a place
where curiosity can existwithout pressure, where you move
(09:08):
not towards goalposts anddeadlines, but you move in
beautiful circles.
You just move to move.
You can call it a lab, aplayground, a private realm,
what have you.
It doesn't matter what form ittakes.
What matters is that it existsand that you allow for it.
It has to be a place where youcan explore, build, break, and
(09:29):
create without judgment, wheredoing for the sake of doing is
not seen as wasteful but asessential.
This is not just about feelingbetter or rebalancing your life
and your work.
This is about restoring yourability to do meaningful work.
Because until you reconnectwith your originality, your work
will remain fragmented anddisconnected, pulled in
(09:51):
different directions by externaldemands.
But once you do, once you doallow yourself to operate from
that place, something shifts andyour eyes open and you begin to
see more clearly.
You start to feel conviction inwhat you do.
Your work gains weight, itgains direction, and you really,
(10:12):
really lean into it.
And most importantly, itbecomes yours.
Because now productivity is nolonger forced, it is connected
to the source, and the sourcegives it meaning and
dimensionality and context.
It is informed by who youactually are, by who you've
always been, and that's wherereal happy work begins.
(10:33):
Thank you so much forlistening.
I'm your host Olivier and this is the Do Happy Work
Podcast where we look at work ina different, more natural, and
more peaceful way.
Hello and welcome back to theDo Happy Work Podcast.
I'm Olivier Egli, your voice ofnature in business.
Let's talk about creativity,one of my favorite topics,
(00:20):
because in my former work life Iwas being paid for being
creative.
Yet most of the time I actuallydidn't feel creative at all.
I felt like I traded my timefor money, but my true sense of
originality and self-innovationnever really came to light.
And that wasn't until Idiscovered that there is a
(00:43):
deeper issue at play.
We are busy.
We're always doing something,always moving, always filling
our days with things that feelimportant.
And if we're truly honest, mostof it is driven by one thing
alone.
We want results.
We want to get somewhere.
We want to achieve something.
(01:04):
We want to see progress,growth, what have you.
And then we look back at whatwe've done and we we measure it
against the outcome and callthat creativity.
We think that creativity got usthere.
We call that productivity, wecall that growth, we call that
all the things that we look forin our work.
(01:25):
But what if that's not true orif that's not full picture?
If there's a greater thing atplay that we miss?
Because when you really look atit, what we are doing most of
the time is not creativity, it'sproduction, it's effort, it's
movement, it's energy that wespend in the direction of a
defined outcome.
(01:46):
We try to cross a line ratherthan just being involved in
being creative and sourcing froma place of truth.
Creativity lives somewhereelse.
It doesn't live in the thingsonto which we project
creativity.
And that's the problem that wehave turned creativity into a
(02:06):
thing that is cast into anobject.
But creativity doesn't live inobjects, it doesn't live in
busyness, it doesn't live inconstant motion, and it
certainly doesn't live inchasing results.
As a matter of fact, I came torealize through my own
experiences, but also with allthe businesses that I work with,
that when you attach creativityto an outcome, you actually go
(02:31):
and kill it right away.
All you have now is reactivity,which has nothing to do with
originality sourcing fromwithin.
True creativity is detachedfrom outcome, it is tied to
something deeper, something muchharder to measure.
Originality.
But do we ever allow for suchoriginality to exist?
(03:06):
Do we ever permit ourselves toexist in a space of originality?
Ask yourself that.
Because originality is areal-time process.
It doesn't know about thefuture or deadlines, objectives,
stepping stones, milestones,temples, what have you.
It happens as it happens.
(03:27):
You don't chase it, you don'tforce it, you allow for it.
You allow for it to come to youand to speak through you.
And we know about this from therealm of art.
But art is not only reserved tothe creation of art, it applies
to everything, especially toour work.
(03:48):
And we've not been trained tolive or work in the original
way.
We have been trained out ofthat because that was our
original makeup.
But now we do somethingcompletely else.
We have blurred the linescompletely.
Today, creativity andproductivity are almost
interchangeable in the businessworld.
(04:09):
We think we're being creativewhen we're actually just
producing more.
We think we're being originalwhen we're really just
repackaging what's alreadyproven to work.
Maybe we slap a different logoor sticker on it or wrap a bow
around it to make it look likeit's original and different and
personal.
But the consequences of thisare showing.
(04:30):
Burnout, frustration,disconnection.
We look for purpose becauseobviously our creativity or our
take on creativity is failing usin the quiet sense that
something is missing.
Well, that's the piece.
Most of the businesses I workwith are not lacking skill or
talent or resources, they'rejust focusing on the wrong
(04:51):
thing.
They're submitting this holiestof holy, this inner temple of
originality, of the source toparameters that destroy it, that
make it impossible to access.
They're lacking what's sofundamental, the creative spark.
They're producing, they'reconstantly, efficiently, but
what they produce feels emptyfor this very cause.
(05:13):
And now they'reinterchangeable, replaceable,
they're disconnected, theloyalty fades, and of course
we're not as engaged in what wedo as much as we could.
And creativity has been reducedto a function, a department, a
layer.
Now it's something that happensat the end of a process to make
(05:33):
things look better or sellbetter.
Because we know that in mostbusinesses, the creative part is
the one where marketing,communication, advertising
happens when we present it tothe people.
But creativity needs to be atthe very beginning, it needs to
be at the base layer, it needsto be tied into the why of the
business.
Creativity is not a finishingtouch, it is the source itself.
(05:58):
It's the origin of anythingthat actually matters.
And when you disconnect fromthat source, something important
happens.
You disconnect from yourself.
Your work starts to feelforced, your decisions become
reactive, your direction becomesunclear, and you might still be
productive, but you're nolonger aligned.
So, how do we get here?
(06:19):
It's surprisingly simplebecause we just stopped allowing
ourselves to roam.
We've been conditioned tobelieve that time without a
clear objective is wasted time,that doing something without a
defined outcome is inefficientand insignificant, irresponsible
even.
And so we fill every gap and wethink that's purpose.
(06:42):
We optimize every hour, westructure every effort, we chase
clarity through action, we makeevery connection count towards
goals.
But in doing so, we silencesomething essential, our
creative intuitive nature.
We replace it with a purelyproductive identity, one that is
driven by logic, output, andmeasurable results.
(07:04):
And that identity is only afraction of who we actually are.
Even our relationship withtechnology reflects this.
We idolize tools that areincredibly productive, but
completely uncreative.
But we mistake them for beingcreative, and that's exactly the
issue that shows.
(07:25):
Those tools, they're notinherently superior as what we
make them to be.
They're just a mirror of how wehave chosen to operate.
They reinforce the idea thatoutput is everything and that
output measures creativity.
But here's the truth: creativity is not optional. (07:40):
undefined
It's not a talent reserved fora few people, it's not something
you either have or you don'thave.
It is fundamental.
It is the way nature expressesitself, it's the way it
organizes itself, it's why itis.
And if you look closely, you'llsee it everywhere in
adaptation, collaboration,evolution, even a mutation.
(08:02):
We just call it differentthings, and we just focus on the
doing.
But what is it at the core?
It's always the same thing.
It's a deep connection to theself that is connected to
something bigger.
So the self that sources fromsomething bigger.
That's originality as it shows.
We call it the muse orinspiration.
But where is your muse?
(08:24):
Where's your inspiration inyour work?
Where is the permission thatyou give yourself to allow it
into your life free ofobjectives?
Because she does not likeobjectives.
She does not like therestrictions you impose on her.
So the question is, how do youreconnect with her?
And the answer is not moreeffort.
(08:45):
It's not putting moredeadlines, more objectives, more
goalposts in your way.
It's actually removing them.
It's creating space.
You have to create space again.
Not as a luxury, but as anecessity.
Space without objective, timewithout expectation, a place
where curiosity can existwithout pressure, where you move
(09:08):
not towards goalposts anddeadlines, but you move in
beautiful circles.
You just move to move.
You can call it a lab, aplayground, a private realm,
what have you.
It doesn't matter what form ittakes.
What matters is that it existsand that you allow for it.
It has to be a place where youcan explore, build, break, and
(09:29):
create without judgment, wheredoing for the sake of doing is
not seen as wasteful but asessential.
This is not just about feelingbetter or rebalancing your life
and your work.
This is about restoring yourability to do meaningful work.
Because until you reconnectwith your originality, your work
will remain fragmented anddisconnected, pulled in
(09:51):
different directions by externaldemands.
But once you do, once you doallow yourself to operate from
that place, something shifts andyour eyes open and you begin to
see more clearly.
You start to feel conviction inwhat you do.
Your work gains weight, itgains direction, and you really,
(10:12):
really lean into it.
And most importantly, itbecomes yours.
Because now productivity is nolonger forced, it is connected
to the source, and the sourcegives it meaning and
dimensionality and context.
It is informed by who youactually are, by who you've
always been, and that's wherereal happy work begins.
(10:33):
Thank you so much forlistening.
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