While following in the footsteps of the successful doesn't guarantee success, it provides a pretty good outline when forming your own strategies. The biography of the late Jerry Garcia points to such an outline of how the Grateful Dead approached their work that might serve useful in yours.

The most important thing is playing and creating. Everything else is secondary.

Work is a family affair. It's important to shelter, support and share with a larger community.

Money is second fiddle to living the kind of life you want to live. You can build your own economy.

There are pitfalls to being a renegade but they come with the territory. Accept the hazards and finger-pointing as a small hindrance of living differently.

Push the envelope whenever possible.

Just because these principles were geared towards a music career doesn't mean you can't apply them to the work you do. Creativity can be found in most any job if you make the effort to apply it. Generally speaking, the Grateful Dead's approach was to simply focus on the work first, treat people well, worry about happiness more than money, and don't rest on your laurels. Those are good ideals to live by.


The Grateful Dead School of Business | The 99u