Month: November 2010

goals, meditation, writing, yoga

Step 324: Find New Pathways

Christa Avampato

“I like to think of meditation methods as portals, entry points into the spaciousness that underlies the mind.” ~ Swami Durgananda (Sally Kempton)

As I prepare my plans for 2011, I’m focusing a lot of my energy on the how, or in other words, the doors to my dreams as opposed to the dreams themselves. This passage by Swami Durgananda made me look at my goals in a new way. There are a lot of paths to a dream, and I’m not sure that the path is as critical as I’ve made it out to be.

The analogy of meditation is helpful to me. When I first started meditating as part of my yoga teacher training, I was so focused on the process. Do I leave my eyes open or do I close them? Do I sit, lie down, or walk? Can I listen to music? Should I do pranayama first? After a few months, I found what worked for me – I sit in a comfortable seat, I close my eyes, bring my hands to heart center, and count my breaths. I stopped trying to memorize complex processes because I realized my focus was just to relax and release.

My goal with my yoga classes isn’t to pack the house and make money; it’s to show people what an incredible effect yoga can have on their lives. I don’t write for money or to get tons of clicks, page views, and comments. I write to share my experiences and inspire other people to live fully, and even if I do that for just one person, that’s enough for me. My life isn’t about doing more good in this world than everyone else; it’s about doing as much good as I can possibly do with the resources I have.

When we’re facing roadblocks along our path, it’s easy to get hung up on breaking through. Swami Durgananda has some advice for us on this front: “In approaching the Self, it helps to have a doorway we can comfortably walk through, rather than having to break through the wall of thoughts separating us from our inner space.” It’s not the goal that’s the problem; it’s the approach. Where we begin has very little do with where we end up; what matters more is that we keep trying. So when one road to a dream seems too difficult, there’s no need to let it die on the vine. Just look for another way forward.

The image above can be found here.

career, celebration, choices, decision-making, opportunity

Step 323: Let Go and Swim

Christa Avampato

This past weekend I was flipping through my yoga teacher training manual from Sonic Yoga. Though we got through a good deal of it, there’s still so much to learn. With 6,000 years of yoga history prior to my first hearing of it, I feel like I’ll always be a beginner in my yoga practice. There will always be much more to learn when it come to the infinite knowledge of the subtle body.

In the back of my teacher’s manual there are a collection of poems and quotes that are especially significant to my teachers at Sonic. One of them is from the Hopi Nation and it addresses the idea of letting go in order to survive. I’ve been thinking a lot about this idea. It’s so tempting to believe that if we can just dig our nails into the shore and hold on for dear life, then we will be safe. In the poem, a Hopi Elder explains his philosophy on why it’s so much safer, and ultimately more beneficial to our personal development to let go.

When I was in Greece this past summer, I got over my fear of the open water. I let go of the shore and felt lighter for it. I didn’t learn to swim until I was 30 so the while I love the water, I certainly have never seen it as my friend. Now rather than seeing the water as an enemy and something to be feared, I see it as an amazing, immense teacher, just like my yoga practice.

Out on the open waters of Greece, I found that it wasn’t the open water itself that scared me; it was the actual act of letting go that was compounded with so much fear. What would happen to me if I couldn’t latch on to the shore? It was a lack of confidence on my part. And then as the sea crashed against the shore a bit harder, I found that yes, it was easier once I let go. I could roll with the open water instead of being thrashed by it.

Sometimes, we get too attached to dreams and plans and ideas. When life doesn’t seem to be supporting our direction, the instinct may kick up to fight, fight, fight until we get what we want. And sometimes that instinct is dead-on, and other times, it’s the universe’s way of telling us that there is another way we need to go.

So how do we know the difference? How do we know when to let go and when to hang on? This little test works for me: am I using so much energy to just hang on that I have no more energy to accomplish anything else? Is hanging on becoming the battle of my life, and if so, is that battle worth sacrificing every other dream I have? Again, as always, it comes down to priorities.

“To my fellow swimmers:
There is a river flowing now very fast.
It is so great and swift,
that there are those who will be afraid.
They will try to hold on to the shore,
they are being torn apart and will suffer greatly.
Know that the river has its destination.
The elders say we must let go of the shore,
push off into the middle of the river,
keep our heads above water.
And I say see who is there with you and celebrate.
At this time in history,
we are to take nothing personally,
least of all ourselves,
for the moment that we do,
our spiritual growth and journey come to a halt.
The time of the lone wolf is over.
Gather yourselves.
Banish the word struggle from your attitude and vocabulary.
All that we do now must be done
in a sacred manner and in celebration.
WE ARE THE ONES WE HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR.”

choices, creative process, decision-making

Step 322: 5 Ways to Make Complaints Useful

Christa Avampato

“When we complain we are tearing down an undesirable structure in order to make room for something new.” ~ Daily OM

We all complain. You can be the sunniest, most happy-go-lucky type of person, and every once in a while even you will utter a complaint. And you should. Whenever someone is always upbeat, never sad or angry, and never complains, I am immediately suspicious. Pent up anger and frustration is harmful. If you don’t let it out, your body is going to find a way to internalize it. And that can only mean a lot of trouble down the line.

There’s a balance that needs to be struck when it comes to complaining. It has to go somewhere; it has to be of value; it has to lead to a better way forward. I’m all for any and every complaint that accomplishes that. Here are 5 ways to make that happen:

1.) Find a trusted, creative, honest sounding board
This is the first step to a good complaint. We all need someone who can listen to us and help us find our way. The finding our way part is the one that’s tricky. Honest sounding boards, ones who can see us through our complaints, don’t always tell us what we want to hear, but they do tell us what we need to hear. Those are two very different things. A friend or relative who can be both supportive and honest is critical to helping us turn our complaints into assets.

2.) Work it out, literally
I spend a lot of time working out my complaints when I walk Phineas. My yoga practice helps, too. Any kind of activity that stretches your body helps to stretch your mind to imagine new solutions and options – exactly what we need to turn our complaints into actions.

3.) Get quiet
Once we air our complaints, we need to spend some time actively forgetting them. When we twist something over and over in our minds, it becomes difficult to see our way past it. If we can get quiet and look past it, it’s easier for a solution to bubble up. I have a meditation practice that helps me separate myself from my complaints and worries. Getting quiet doesn’t have to be a complicated practice. For 5 minutes every day, close your eyes, sit in a comfortable position, inhale for 4 counts, and exhale for 4 counts. It’s amazing how much creativity shows up when we just remind ourselves to breath.

4.) Find others who share your frustration
I’m not suggesting that you find other people with the same frustration you have so that you can all sit around and wallow. If we can find people who share our concerns, then we can support one another by finding a way to solve the source of the complaint. We’ll also be able to see the source of the complaint from different angles, a key necessity for improving the situation. In the case of resolving complaints, two heads are better than one.

5.) Write it down
Writing out complaints is another way to get them out without saying or doing something we’ll later wish we could take back. I write about frustrations on this blog, but most of my complaints are confined to a little green notebook I have. It holds my pro con lists, my decision tress, and my brainstorms. Most of the material is throw-away, but just the act of writing out my problems really does make them feel less daunting.

What did I miss? What methods help you deal with complaints and frustrations?

books, career, job

Step 321: Some Serious Job Search Advice

Christa Avampato

As the end of the year draws closer, people think about new beginnings. And sometimes those new beginnings involve looking for a new job. I’ve done plenty of job searching and interviewing in my day – both internally with a company and externally when I want to switch companies. I like movement and progress; I like a challenge and am most comfortable on a vertical learning curve.

Because of where I work now and the nature of my work as a product developer, I get a lot of emails and phone calls asking for job search advice. I try to be as helpful as I possibly can and thought I could bundle up my advice into a post that explains a bit about my job search process. The information below is very biased – it’s just what’s worked for me and I hope parts of it are really useful to you or someone you know who’s currently on the look out for a new role.

Buy The Right Job, Right Now
This is the first piece of advice I give anyone whenever they’re looking for a job. My friend, Susan, wrote this amazing job search book. I use it every single time that I even think of looking for any new opportunity. She’s brilliant and wise and articulate. She’s also a barrel of laughs so you’ll read this book, and actually have a good time while developing a solid job search plan. I keep the kaleidoscope I created as a result of the book tacked up at my desk at work. It’s that good.

Networking in the right way is critical
You know you should it but the thought of it makes your stomach turn. You’re not alone. I used to be like that, too. And then I began to realize that networking is just a conversation to learn more about someone you’re just getting to know. Think about it more from the angle of what you can give rather than what you can get. Ask questions about their experience; don’t ask for access to their network right off the bat. If their network is worth having, they aren’t going to hand it over to a complete stranger any more than they’re going to hand you a $100 bill. Remember that their network is their most important asset, and just asking to be welcomed into it and not be asked to use it is like inviting yourself to dinner at their house. By giving access to their network, you’re asking to be let into their life and introduced to their inner circle. Tread lightly. Prove yourself, and the door to those networks you covet will open in due time. Be patient and respectfully persistent.

You’re always looking for a job
Look before you actually need a job. Always be looking. At every party and every time you walk down the street. Opportunity is EVERYWHERE. And you don’t need to be obnoxious in your networking; just remain aware and make a mental note about interesting ideas that you hear and see. You’d be surprised by how many people in this world are terrible listeners. Make yourself an expert listener, follow-up with someone on an interesting idea you learned, and you’ll reap the rewards.

Set a time line
When I wanted to leave my first job out of business school, I told a friend of mine that I was giving myself a two month time line. She laughed at me out loud and said, “Well, Christa, that’s too soon and there’s no way in this economy (summer 2008) that you can make that happen. If you do, I’ll need to find out your secret.” I was a little hurt, honestly, but now I was really fired up. I had an offer for a new job (in financial services, no less) 5 weeks later. I got a 10% pay increase and a far shorter commute that allowed me to sell my car and take the subway instead, plus it was still in my field of innovation. It took my doubting friend a year and a half to find a new job – she never set a time line for herself. Give yourself a time line – it helps.

If someone asks you for your ideal job, have an answer
When I was in business school, I did an off-grounds job search, meaning I didn’t want a job with any firms recruiting at the school. I got a contact name for a recruiter at a company that was interesting to me. They didn’t have an job posting that were interesting to me so I cold-called him, and he picked up. His first and only question was, “what’s your ideal job?” I made up an answer on the fly, and laid out exactly what I wanted. My pie-in-the-sky job. And as if by some miracle of divine intervention it was available with an amazing boss at a good salary. Yes, there was a serious dose of luck there. But I was also ready to be lucky – all my job searching and interviewing for almost a year had prepared me for that one moment when someone said, “tell me what you want.”

Show that you can deliver
I hear from soon-to-be MBAs all the time, and when I ask them about their job search focus, 9 times out of 10 I hear “Well, I’d really like to do strategy work.” And I clunk my head on my desk. Of course they to do strategy work – everyone does. But what’s just as important, if not more so, is to be able to deliver on the strategy. Strategy doesn’t get a budget line, products and services that make money do. Make sure you get your name attached to the money. I was ridiculously lucky in all of my jobs to have a strategy component, and believe it or not I had to fight for the execution side. And here’s why I did fight for it – you can construct the most thoughtful, elegant strategy on the planet, but if you can’t bring it to life so people can use it, your work doesn’t matter. Mediocre strategy, well-executed, can move mountains – I’ve seen it and lived it. Lovely powerpoints are just that – pieces of paper with colorful shapes and graphs that will eventually end up in the recycle bin. It’s what comes from the strategy and makes it out into the world that makes a difference. And it gets you paid.

Be a thought leader
My blog has gotten me the three roles I have since b-school more than any of my experience and education. I’m not kidding. It’s the first thing that every interviewer who sees my resume asks about. And they read it and follow it. I’ve had people recruit me because they came across my blog. Because I write regularly, it also shows determination and commitment – two traits that are attractive to companies. And they get to know me as a person as well as a professional. If you’re passionate about your work, write about it consistently. You’ll be amazed by how many people care about what you think.

Have follow-through
When I was a very young theatre manager I worked for a woman named Charlotte Wilcox. She’s still a very strong voice in the Broadway theatre community, and has had a very impressive career. She’s also tough as nails and hands-down the most demanding boss I ever had. And as many tears as I cried working for her, she was one of my very wisest teachers. I wouldn’t trade the experience for anything. She taught me to survive, in great environments and in crummy ones, too. She gave me two very concrete pieces of advice. I need to have them drafted up and framed to hang in my workspace:

1.) “Don’t ever ask anyone who works for you to do anything you’re not willing to do yourself.” (a.k.a., don’t give people crappy work that you think is beneath you)

2.) “Always follow through”

Now, she delivered those messages to me under very harsh conditions that literally left me feeling like a rag doll, but the power of those words is well-worth the energy it took out of me to learn those lessons. I left Charlotte’s office 9 years ago, and those lessons still stick with me.

Bad design haunts you forever, and that includes how you design your job search
That quote is part of Bob G.’s lexicon. I worked for Bob in my first job after b-school and it was like getting another master’s degree in innovation and product development. As much as Charlotte taught me how to survive, Bob taught me how to thrive, and I needed both lessons. Some days, you’re just trying to get through and some days you’re surging up the mountain at lightning speed. That’s the nature of the job search and the nature of work. You think you’re spinning your wheels, but that muscle you’re building in the process is really valuable. Stick to your job search design and embellish it with the lessons you learn as you go along. A bad plan leads to a bad search. See Susan’s book for more details on how to build that plan!

That’s my 2+ cents on the job search process. What’s worked for you? How’s your search going? How can I help?

failure, future, learning, mistakes, risk

Step 320: The Joy of Big Mistakes

Christa Avampato

“Mistakes are not the “spice” of life. Mistakes are life. Mistakes are not to be tolerated. They are to be encouraged. (And, mostly, the bigger the better.)” ~ Tom Peters

How many adventures have been stopped in their tracks by the question, “What if I make a mistake?” How many dreams have died an untimely death? How many brilliant plans were left behind on the drawing board, never even getting a shot at the light of day? We hear so often that mistakes are our best teachers, that we learn more from failures than successes. So why don’t we celebrate mistakes? Why are we bent on telling people to always do what appears on the surface to be safe? Why does risk, any risk to any degree, have a negative connotation?

Here’s my advice on mistakes: start small with the aspiration to go big. I’d love to chuck caution to the wind, quit my job and do nothing but write and teach yoga. Truly, I’d wake up glowing every day, at least for the first week. And then I’d get nervous about money and I’d probably make some choices that compromise the work I really want to do with my yoga and my writing just to make ends meet. I’d likely save less, inhibiting my financial goals, and I wouldn’t be able to pay down my students loans as aggressively as I’d like to.

So my plan is to rent a small studio space once a week. The cash outlay isn’t much and I can rent week to week. I’m stepping up and out, taking some risk (mostly the potential of a very bruised ego if no one shows up to my class, which I can live with), and trying to strike out on my own in an authentic, meaningful way. I’m learning how to fly before jumping off the cliff. But don’t worry – I’m making my way to that cliff, and the moment I get a bit more confidence in my wings nothing will keep me from taking a running start right toward the edge.

Getting comfortable with risk, mistakes, and failure takes some time. Don’t beat yourself up for needing to take things slow. Inch your way to your edge. It’s a step-wise process. Go slowly, but earnestly. Rather than aiming higher for the sake of bigger successes, I’m going to focus on upping the anty and aiming for bigger mistakes. Thanks to Tom Peters for always encouraging us to jump right into the fray – it’s more fun in the fray than out of the fringe.

adventure, choices, decision-making, dreams

Step 319: 2011 Planning

Christa Avampato

“Life’s like a movie, write your own ending. Keep believing, keep pretending.” ~ Jim Henson, American puppeteer

Many companies and organizations are currently reviewing their plans for 2011. They’re asking themselves about low hanging fruit and bit bets, where to place their energy, time, and money. Just as organizations go through this structured planning process, it’s helpful for us to personally review our own plan for 2011. On December 31st, 2011, what do we want to reflect on? What do we want to learn? Where do we want to be and what will we have accomplished? Tell me your ending and let’s figure out how to get there.

Here’s a quick exercise I did recently that really helped me fill in some of the blanks. I’ll keep working on it through December. I hope it helps you, too, as you start to create your dream ending for 2011:

1.) What are your big areas of focus? These can be project-based or topical (personal finance, career, relationships). Mine are all project-based because I work better when my energy is focused by project.

Mine:
a.) Compass Yoga classes
b.) Yoga and personal finance book
c.) This blog (of course) / my writing in general
d.) Innovation Station

2.) What are specific goals under each project or topic that you want to work on? Give each one its own line and feel free to list as many as you’d like. We’ll get to editing later.

Mine:
a.) Compass Yoga classes
– regular weekly yoga class
– give a workshop of some kind
– secure one additional regular teaching gig

b.) Yoga and personal finance book
– get all of the content written and organized
– work with a designer (hopefully my brother-in-law) on an illustration style and cover design
– decide if I want to self-publish or shop it around
– if I want to shop it around, ask for some advice from writer friends on the best way to do that (I know nothing about the traditional
publishing world)
– give a workshop based on the book

c.) This blog (of course) / my writing in general
– choose a blogging topic for the coming year. 2009 was about hope, 2010 has been about living an extraordinary life. What should
2011 be about?
– secure another regular writing gig, similar to my time with Examiner.com
– syndicate the content into a series of smaller e-books by topic
– continue marketing my e-book Hope in Progress

d.) Innovation Station
– compile all of the materials needed for a pilot
– secure a pilot in a public school

3.) Now we have to prioritize! First the big areas you want to focus on, and then the goals underneath each one. If you’re like me, you have a huge list that might just make you a little sleepy just looking at it. I’m not asking you to edit or cross out any of your dreams. Who knows? Maybe you’ll find a way to clone yourself and get it all done, or many some of your to-do’s will take a lot less time and effort than you think they will.

This prioritization will take some time because you have to spend some time thinking about your values. Take the time you need for this portion. This is a year of your life we’re talking about here, so give it the attention it deserves! I’m still in the prioritization phase myself. I’ll get back to you in a later post on how my planning is going.

4.) Once the prioritization phase is done, pour yourself a cocktail of choice and celebrate! You did a good piece of work setting up this plan.

5.) Now, after a celebration, get going. Post your goals on your fridge, on your front door, in your car, at your desk. Anywhere that you will see every day. And remember to celebrate every win, big and small.

Let me know if this process is helpful and what you’re planning for a happy and bright 2011. I’d love to give you a helping hand for an amazing year ahead!

Uncategorized

Step 318: The High Price of Lazy Leadership

Christa Avampato

I’m not sure how or why the term “people leader” became synonymous with “delegator”. I find it disturbing. I’m witnessing a rather ugly and rapid example of this transformation right now. Thankfully I am not directly involved with it. I’ve certainly experienced the end-result first hand, and it’s interesting to be on the outside looking in to how the process of a promotion actually changes someone. Granted, I am witnessing a worst-case scenario. There are people who get promotions and continue to do the exceptional work that got them promoted in the first place. I love those people. I’m not talking about them in this post. I’m talking about the ones who think their new title actually entitles them to something when really a title (degree, experience, famous contact, etc.) doesn’t entitle them to anything.

All of a sudden someone gets a promotion and they can’t be expected to read a presentation, get to meetings on time, or to actually have any capacity for detail. And they’re no longer doing actual work. They’re “supervising” the work of others. With the onset of a promotion, they emerge from their hard-working cocoon and blossom into the role of “idea people”. Gross. Whenever someone tells me he or she is an “idea person”, I immediately re-label them as “someone who can’t get anything done”. Everyone has ideas, and should work to bring those ideas to life. My problem with the self-proclaimed idea people is that they can’t actually execute anything. They need whole teams of talented people to get their ideas into the world. And somewhere along the line, corporations decided that idea people would get promoted and people who actually work would be the drones. What an ugly, backwards paradigm.

The consequences of such a system are equally ugly: 55% of Americans are not satisfied with their jobs and over 50% of Americans say their standard of living is not getting better. And here’s another interesting tidbit – 70 – 80% of job satisfaction has to do with how much an employee respects his or her boss. It has almost nothing to do with the actual work. And yet, what do corporations focus on during performance reviews and promotions? The work, not relationships. It’s all about results and not how those results were achieved, completely going against the grain of effective leadership.

The old adage of “it’s not what you say, but how you say it that counts” is not that far afield from “it’s not what you achieve, but how you achieve it that matters most”. If leaders want that title of leader, then they need to live up to their end of the bargain. They need to stop thinking of themselves as delegators and start thinking of themselves as motivators whose main purpose is to service their teams.

If 80% of job satisfaction has to do with leadership, then leaders should be putting at least that percentage of their working hours into actually supporting the people who work for them. If we can do that, then imagine the jumps we’d see in productivity, creativity, and happiness. And my money’s on the idea that a happy, productive, and creative workforce also leads to bigger profits.

adventure, happiness, luck

Step 317: Waking Up Ecstatic

Christa Avampato

“Joy is not in things; it is in us.” ~ Richard Wagner

I take Phineas outside for his walk early in the morning. Thankfully with the end of Daylight Savings Time, the sun is now up before we are. This week we stepped out of our building to meeting a friendly, gorgeous yellow lab. He that characteristic big head that he just nuzzled right into my side and Phinny just loved him. When Phineas really likes someone he doesn’t just wag his tail; he wags the whole back-end of his body.

The lab’s owner, and I’m embarrassed to say I didn’t ask her name, said “wow, he is just ecstatic!”

“He wakes up that way every morning,” I said.

“Isn’t it inspiring (and exhausting),” she laughed.

I laughed, too. Up to that point, I hadn’t thought of how inspiring it is to be around a constantly ecstatic little being like Phin, but every morning since we met our friend, the lab, it’s the first thing that pops into my head. Phinny wakes up every morning, happy to get another day and he goes for it with everything he’s got in his little 15 pound body. He doesn’t hold back his energy or enthusiasm, he says hello to everyone, and he always approaches even our most routine routes as if they’re brand new experiences. It’s truly awesome, and yes, inspiring. We should all feel so lucky to get another day.

home, luck, politics, war

Step 316: I’m Lucky to Be Home

Christa Avampato

On Wednesday night I went to a debate series run by Intelligence Squared, an organization that brings together experts and thought leaders on a specific topic who debate from two polar opposite angles. The audience votes prior to the debate and then just after. The side who convinces the greatest percentage of people to change their minds wins the debate. the topic on Wednesday night, “Afghanistan is a lost cause.” A very loaded statement.

Afghanistan is a multi-layered, hugely complicated issue that I would argue most experts don’t even fully understand. Our U.S. presence there is hotly debated – it’s not clear if we’re helping or harming the situation, nor if we’re helping or harming our own national security by being in Afghanistan. We’ve spent tens of billions of dollars over many years to make a modicum of improvement. Some argue that improvement is worth it. Others have called it a colossal failure.

I went into the debate confused, and left with a clearer opinions. Yes, I support our troops. No, I don’t think we should be in Afghanistan with any more military than required to get much-needed humanitarian aid to the area. Getting more education, food, electricity, and basic housing to more people would do much more good than more weapons. I’d like to see someone like Gregg Mortensen deciding the US policy in Afghanistan. I hope President Obama calls him.

One statement at the end of the debate really struck a chord in me. Matthew Hoh, who has a wealth of on-the-ground experience in Afghanistan though is a lousy debater, said, “I don’t care who wins this debate. I just want you to go home tonight and think about all of the troops there who aren’t going home tonight, who will never go home again.”

And I did. And I thought about it this morning when I woke up, too. I spent a few minutes snuggled under my covers, counting my blessings that I live in a safe, warm home, that I have friends and family whom I love and who love me, that I’m about to take my adorable dog for a walk, that I live a free life whose limits are only set by the limits I place on myself.

Who’s luckier than me? No one, and I’m grateful for that luck every day.

adventure, career, change, choices, decision-making, risk

Step 315: Risks Are Less Scary Than They First Appear

Christa Avampato

I’m a fan of the daily newsletter from Psychology Today. Every day they send over 4 stories that are loosely connected, and try to make their readers better people. A few weeks ago they sent over a set of article about fear and how the mind interprets different fears. My big take-away: we have a warped view of risk, real and perceived.

I think about risk a lot for several specific reasons:

1.) At the moment I work in financial services – an industry built around the ability to manage risk
2.) I’m working on starting a small business – a challenging proposition even when the economy is at its best
3.) I live in New York City, a city built and run by people who take their dreams, and all the risk that those dreams carry, very seriously

One of Psychology Today’s articles talks about the 10 ways we screw up our perception of a risk. The good news: we’re actually much more capable than we give ourselves credit for. I understand that the economy’s in the hole because we got way too confident, that for years we were living way out of the ballpark of our means. I’m not suggesting we get back to that place of too-risky living.

What I am suggesting is that we’ve gone too far in the other direction. We tell ourselves that we can’t take any risk now. Better to stay in the job, relationship, city where we are. New is scary. New is uncertain. New is overrated. I hate that we’ve painted ourselves into a corner. It’s true that we need to make smart choices, but it’s also true that we need to live, really live. We’re creatures of dreams and aspirations and joy. We won’t thrive if we don’t strive.

I’m not telling you to run out into the world, full tilt, throwing any and every caution to the wind. (Well, actually, I think it’s good to do that once in a while.) What I am asking you to do is keep in mind that we only get one crack at this go-around in the world and that this world needs you to live the best life you can imagine. We need you at your very best. It’s my firm belief that we’re at our best when we’re happiest, and we’re happiest when we’re out there in the world living the way we want.

So take a little tip-toe outside of that box you put yourself in. Try something new and different that does nothing but lift your spirits. If we all take some small steps, together we can leap.