“Try not to become a person of success, but rather try to become a person of value.” ~ Albert Einstein
2011 is coming at us fast and furious, and I’m getting nervous. Nervous about ideas and plans that I’m putting into action. I’m starting to teach my own independent yoga classes on Sunday, January 30th. I’m starting a new Taproot Project as a Strategic Consultant for Bottomless Closet. I’m thinking about trips I’d like to take, classes that would help me improve some skills I have and gain others that I’ve never tried before. I’m working on some new writing projects and adding some new features to this blog to broadcast my message and enrich the content.
2011 will be my year to try on a lot of new ideas and see how they shape my life. I’m re-imagining just about every nook and cranny of my life, and then some. I’m adopting the mantra, “I’m going to give it a shot and see what happens.” Exciting, and a little daunting if I think about it too much, which I am likely to do several times a day.
What calms me down and talks me down off the ledge is the idea of focusing on value, not success. I’m done doing things that don’t add value, to my life or someone else’s. And it’s A-OK if it only improves the life of one single being. That will be enough. I’m done feeling like I must do A, B, and C. I’ll do any and all of them if it’s useful, if it makes a difference. If an activity doesn’t help me create a world that I’m proud of, then I’m just not doing it. I’ve paid my dues over and over and over again. Those dues have been settled. Success will be on my terms, and be inextricably linked to value that I can feel in my heart.
The image above can be found here.
Published by Christa Avampato
The short of it:
Writer. Health, education, and art advocate. Theater and film producer. Visual artist. Product geek. Proud alumnae of the University of Pennsylvania (BA) and the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA). Inspired by ancient wisdom & modern tech. Proliferator of goodness. Opener of doors. Friend to animals. Fan of creative work in all its wondrous forms. I use my business skills to create passion projects that build a better world. I’ve been called the happiest New Yorker, and I try hard to live up to that title every day.
The long of it:
My career has stretched across Capitol Hill, Broadway theatre, education, nonprofit fundraising, health and wellness, and Fortune 500 companies in retail, media, entertainment, technology, and financial services. I’ve been a product developer and product manager, theater manager, strategic consultant, marketer, voice over artist, , teacher, and fundraiser. I use my business and storytelling to support and sustain passion projects that build a better world. In every experience, I’ve used my sense of and respect for elegant design to develop meaningful products, services, programs, and events.
While building a business career, I also built a strong portfolio as a journalist, novelist, freelance writer, interviewer, presenter, and public speaker. My writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, PBS.org, Boston.com, Royal Media Partners publications, and The Motley Fool on a wide range of topics including business, technology, science, health, education, culture, and lifestyle. I have also been an invited speaker at SXSW, Teach for America, Avon headquarters, Games for Change, NYU, Columbia University, Hunter College, and the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. The first book in my young adult book series, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters, was acquired by a publisher and launched in November 2017. I’m currently working on the second book in the series.
A recovering multi-tasker, I’m equally at home in front of my Mac, on my yoga mat, walking my rescue dog, Phineas, traveling with a purpose, or practicing the high-art of people watching. I also cut up small bits of paper and put them back together as a collage artist.
My company:
I’m bringing together all of my business and creative career paths as the Founder of Double or Nothing Media:
• I craft products, programs, and projects that make a difference;
• I build the business plans that make what I craft financially sustainable;
• I tell the stories that matter about the people, places, and products that inspire me.
Follow my adventures on Twitter at https://twitter.com/christanyc and Instagram at https://instagram.com/christarosenyc.
View all posts by Christa Avampato
“Try not to become a person of success, but rather try to become a person of value.” ~ Albert Einstein 
Christa Avampato 
Christa –
Based on your “give it a shot” concept, I thought you might like this….
Why the Best Solutions Are Always Temporary
http://blogs.hbr.org/bregman/2010/10/why-the-best-solutions-are-alw.html
Of course, everything is temporary, you just have to use the right timescale. 🙂
You might also like, if you haven’t found it already, some of the philosophies in Brooks Palmer’s Clutter Busting book and blog. It’s only partially about clutter, a lot of it is about change and how you select what’s in your life, including people, activities and thoughts. I really like his approach.
Best,
MJ
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Hi MJ,
I haven’t heard of these resources – thank you so much for passing these along. Can’t wait to check them out!
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Feel I must send these your way also – you might like
Zen Habits (Leo also writes at mnmlst)
and
Tiny Buddha (twitter and site)
the most recent being:
http://tinybuddha.com/blog/overcoming-perfectionism-the-joy-of-just-ok/
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Hi MJ! Thank you so much for these resources. I am going to check them out right away. So appreciate you thinking of me. Cheers!
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