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“It takes twenty years to become an overnight success.” ~ Eddie Cantor
“All of the effort you’ve put in could be wasted by giving up just a moment too soon.” ~ Seth Simonds
On Friday I met with Brian after a few weeks off due to the holidays. I told him about starting my own weekly yoga classes on January 30th and asked him how he managed having an independent counseling and coaching practice. Brian spent many years working for other people and eventually had a job that encouraged him to step out on his own. His business has grown by word-of-mouth to the point that he can’t take any more clients now. His calendar is full.
Brian is thrilled that I’ve chosen to try to make a-go of Compass Yoga on my own. This is exactly the type of new beginning that he and I have been working toward in my coaching – the confidence to help me realize that going my own way is the best path for me. It’s the path I was meant for, where I can give the very best of myself, where I can do the most good. And his most important piece of advice on this path: “Have patience. It takes time. Don’t give up.”
Patience is a hard one for me. I want to get where I want to be now – I’m the box in the middle of the cartoon above. So the quote above by Eddie Cantor helped. In our society, we witness an enormous number of overnight success stories thanks to YouTube and a variety of televised talent shows, or at least that’s how they’re portrayed. Dig a little deeper and we find that any lasting overnight success really was preceded by many, many years of very hard work that wasn’t always recognized or appreciated. They persevered because they got energy from the journey. Even if success never comes, they still feel fulfilled because they provided something of real value. Success is just the by-product of doing what they were meant to do, of the help they were able to provide.
When I keep that idea in mind, the fear of going my own way subsides a bit, or at least long enough to help me get through the next step of setting up my class. And when the fear finds me again, I remember to breath, and smile, and keep moving. For more information my group yoga classes starting at 6pm on January 30th, check out the Meetup page for the class.
How do you grapple with fear when you’re working on something that you care about? How do you keep going in spite of the fear?
This blog is part of the 2011 WordPress Post Every Day Challenge.
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.
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This post is available as a podcast on Cinch. 
Christa Avampato 