“Do or do not. There is no try.” ~ Yoda
“You are entitled to your actions, not the results of your actions. You leave the results to the Divine.” ~ Marco Rojas, Yoga Teacher
I went to dinner with my friend, Allan, on Saturday night and he asked me how I managed to teach yoga classes in so many different places this past year since I finished my teacher training at Sonic. Without even thinking about the answer, I said, “Because I cannot be deterred, Allan.” And it’s true. If I really want to do something, I’m going to find a way to make it happen.
Lessons from striking out
This is not to say that I never strike out or fall flat on my face. I strike out plenty, and I’ve fallen on my face so many times that it’s shocking I have a face left at all. The truth is in the past year I’ve sent out so many emails, made so many cold calls, and just flat-out walked in to so many potential teaching spots that I’ve lost count. Most of them never returned my calls, emails, or in-person messages that I left. Most of them didn’t hire me. Sometimes I felt disappointed at all of the rejection, but I just kept showing up. Showing up was the only thing I could really control. And every rejection helped me refine my pitch, and my style, a little bit more.
And that’s the trick to getting over and through disappointment: figure out what you can actually do, and focus on doing more of it. I couldn’t make someone hire me. I couldn’t make someone even look at my resume or give me an informational interview. I could keep searching, and I felt confident that if I knocked on enough doors, one of them, the right one for me, would open, and I’d find the students I was meant to teach.
Ignore the skeptics, or at least learn from them
Everyone will tell you that what you want to do is too difficult, that there are already people who do what you want to do, and that you should just try to do something that’s easier. I’ve got news for them: it’s all difficult. Everything worth doing takes effort, and a lot of it. I wanted to manage Broadway shows. I wanted to learn how to be a fundraiser. I wanted to be a product developer who works with new technology. I wanted to move to New York City, and I really wanted to live on the Upper West Side, which always was my favorite neighborhood in New York (and remains so today). I wanted to adopt a dog. I wanted to travel, teach yoga, and be a writer. None of that is easy; it all takes effort and a lot of people told me that each and every one of those things just wouldn’t happen for me for one reason or another. I took their feedback and kept going.
I did all of those things and then some, and not because I have some kind of extraordinary talent. I did them out of dogged determination. I was stubborn and I just wouldn’t give up. If I could stay focused on the action, then I knew the result would follow. Sometimes it took longer than I thought it would. Sometimes I got what I wanted, and then realized it wasn’t all that it was cracked up to be. Sometimes I had to make trade-offs. But I tried and tried and tried again. No silver bullet. No magic formula. Hard work was enough; it always is. Eventually, even a mountain yields to constant, flowing water.
Christa Avampato 
This is a lesson we all need to follow. Follow our hearts. Its where all the answers are, for who we are, where we are suppose to go, and what we should be doing with our life. We are all here to help one another in some way or another. By finding out who we are and being at home with self, we then can open ourselves to so many opportunities and beeeeeeeeeee……. who we are meant to beeeeeeeeeeeeee…… Our gifts are gifts to share with others……
Frannie
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Hi Frannie – I am continually amazed by just how much wisdom we have already if only we will take the time to stop and really listen. We need to get back to being human beings instead of human doings.
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Ah yes, sometimes being stubborn IS an asset! I’m familiar with that….though I sometimes use “determined” or “persistent” a they” sound better to people . There’s a great quote from Calvin Coolidge: “Nothing in this world can take the place of persistence. Talent will not; nothing is more common than unsuccessful people with talent. Genius will not; unrewarded genius is almost a proverb. Education will not; the world is full of educated derelicts. Persistence and determination alone are omnipotent. The slogan “press on” has solved and always will solve the problems of the human race”
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MJ – this quote is amazing!!! You know all the good ones. What an inspiring p.o.v. Just posted it on my FB page.
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Christa,
Thank You.
Your post reminded me of one of my favorite people, the versatile Hollywood legend, Woody Allen. Allen once famously remarked that: 80 percent of success is just showing up. Your post was timely: it reminded me of Allen’s quote.
Your life has been an inspiration. You remind me of Sylvester Stallone. In Rocky (movie), Balboa never gives in and never gives up. If he falls down, phoenix-like, he rises from the ashes. You are stubborn like him–and that’s why you win.
Even when you fail, it is just a temporary setback. There are options for you just round the bend. Go down an alley and you are sure to find one. Travel by a road less traveled and you are likely to bump into yet another opportunity–that has been the story of your life. I would like for you to keep that spirit alive.
In the end, it is your never-say-die attitude that will see you through so many trials and tribulations. You are going to still face so many challenges in your life. Even after you have your own business, there are going to be plenty of ups and downs–that’s life. So, no matter what happens, pick yourself up from the dust and keep on trying. Then again, you don’t really need me to tell you that.
Cheers.
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Archan – you are too kind. I’m not sure that I live up to the images in your comment but I certainly aspire to. Dust and I are old friends. It knows it will see me again for sure, but I never stay for long 🙂
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