Month: December 2013

dreams, encouragement, work, writing

Beautiful: Discover the Hidden Pieces of You

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest
From Pinterest

There is unmapped territory in all of us. This week Facebook is giving you the option to review your biggest moments of the past year. Almost all of mine revolve around writing. I was surprised by this because I didn’t decide to write full-time until the end of the summer. The desire to pursue it was there all along, and I had a lot of support to take it, but it took me most of the year to decide to make the jump. It’s funny how we can so clearly be on a path and not see it until we’re ready.

This reminds me that we don’t always know exactly what our journey is nor where it will lead. Sometimes we can only see what’s immediately in front of us. It takes a while for things to become clear and to increase our visibility down the road to our future. Some of our talents and gifts lie hidden until they’re needed. The only way to find them is to keep living – fully, deeply, and freely. Don’t worry about how you’re going to get somewhere or how you’re going to do something. Just decide to figure it out. You’ll learn what you need to learn to make it happen.

inspiration, letter, writing, youth

Beautiful: CBS This Morning Features Emotional and Inspiring Note to Self by Congressman John Dingell

Christa Avampato
Congressman John Dingel being sworn into office
Congressman John Dingel being sworn into office

CBS This Morning has an incredible feature called Note to Self that asks prominent people in our society to write a letter to their younger selves and share it with the world. Art Garfunkel, Oprah, Dr. Ruth, Tyler Perry, and Maya Angelou comprise a small handful of people who have participated in the project and each brings a unique blend of comfort, wisdom, humor, and profound understanding to their letters. Congressman John Dingell is about to begin his 58th year serving our nation and his letter is the latest addition to this fine collection. I was transfixed as I heard him and watched him read his four and a half-minute letter to his younger self on Monday’s episode of CBS This Morning. As much as we try to live life in the moment, it can only be fully understood and appreciated in hindsight. Thankfully CBS This Morning is capturing these words so that we may all benefit and learn from them at any age.

Video of John Dingell’s letter to his younger self:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RrHGmsEFLdM

dreams, goals, work, writing

Beautiful: Write It Down

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest

“There’s only one corner of the universe you can be certain of improving and that is your own self.” ~ Aldous Huxley

It is an act of strength to stay the course, to focus our energy and efforts keenly during times of feast and famine. There are distractions, temptations, and doubts that try to derail us. Don’t let them. Right down your goal as simply as you can. Don’t worry that it’s too big or too difficult or too unlikely. Write it down and post it. Everywhere. You can’t hit a target if you can’t see it.

childhood, children, creativity, opportunity, Second Step

Beautiful: To Stay Young, Believe in Possibility

Christa Avampato
www.terranomada.com
http://www.terranomada.com

I sat behind a boy on the train as we rolled by empty lots between Newark airport and New York City that are littered with trash, surrounded by graffiti laden buildings, and completely devoid of life.

“They could build an arena here. Make it better,” he said to his father.

Kids see potential in a way that most adults don’t. They see possibility, hope, and the opportunity for reclamation. They remind me that despair is something we create, something we’re taught, not something that we innately know. We are programmed for wonder, to seize opportunity. The trick is to hang on to that even as the world attempts to change us. If we can stay focused on what’s possible rather than what is, we can create what we seek.

love, work

Beautiful: Work from Love

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest
From Pinterest

“Let all that you do, be done in love.” ~ I Corinthians 16:14

My leap into writing full-time grew from one simple wish: to make a living by doing what I love to do more than anything. It’s the best strategy I know. There are a lot of rough patches, hard knocks, and disappointments. However, the bruises are easier to bear because I love the work so much. I’m still excited every day to try again and again and again. When I get knocked over, I never think of staying down. Giving up is never an option I consider. I do the best I can every day. When I figure out how to do better, I do better. When our work grows from love, it’s no longer work at all. It becomes a source of joy, energy, inspiration, hope, and wonder. And once we have that, we have everything we need.

creative, creative process, creativity, fear, product development, work

Beautiful: A Lesson from American Express and The Ellen Show – You Have to Rise Above Fear

Christa Avampato
The Ellen Amex photo gift card
The Ellen Amex photo gift card

When I joined American Express in the summer of 2008, my first project was to develop a photo gift card that would give customers the opportunity to put a personal photo on a gift card. On Thursday, that product was featured on The Ellen Show with the original template design I worked on. My VP at the time said I had a $200K budget and 7 weeks to launch the product from start to finish or I’d be out of a job. He also said he and my director had no time to help me. This happened the same day Lehman Brothers failed, the bottom fell out of the economy, and the company embarked on its first major round of layoffs as the stock price fell to a record low of $9 / share. Panic was everywhere, and for good reason. I put my fear aside and got to work because I needed that job. The project launched on time and under budget, and the product is still going strong today despite intense criticism from many of my then co-workers.

Some day I’ll write about everything I learned during those dark days of our economy. Here’s the biggest lesson: in every circumstance, we have to rise above fear and criticism to do our best work. We have to look way out onto the fringes and trust our creative gut to pull the trigger, even and especially during difficult times. In the short run, this is a tough path though eventually history rewards us with the knowledge that our intuition is one of our most powerful and valuable possessions. It will always guide us in the right direction if we allow it to have its say.

books, grateful, gratitude, inspiration, South Africa

Beautiful: Nelson Mandela, My Hero

Christa Avampato
Nelson Mandela
Nelson Mandela

The summer of 2006 was not my finest hour. There was one light that I kept turning to over and over again during those difficult months – Nelson Mandela’s book Long Walk To Freedom. I bought it as I prepared for a class trip to South Africa with my business school friends the following March and it changed my life. From the moment I started that book, I committed myself to living my life as fully as possible in every single moment. I would never again say that something was impossible. He showed all of us that sheer will and the refusal to give up is enough to accomplish anything. Anything. To this day, that trip to South Africa is my favorite trip of all time. I knew when I left that I’d return there many times over in my life. It’s one of the very few places I’ve considered living if I ever live outside of the U.S. It is a magical country with some of the kindest people I’ve ever met.

When I heard the news of Mr. Mandela’s passing yesterday, I was home writing. My eyes immediately teared up and my heart felt heavy. Tears of gratitude mixed with tears of sadness. His light was so bright that I thought it would go on forever. And in many ways, it will. His light is alive in every person inspired by his actions and words. Against all odds, he shifted the world toward justice, acceptance, and fairness. Through his enlightenment, he enlightened all of us. How lucky we are to have had someone so good with us for so long.

choices, dreams, fear, hope, opportunity

Beautiful: Choose Hope

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest
From Pinterest

“May your choices reflect your hopes, not your fears.” ~ Nelson Mandela.

When faced with a decision, we need to follow the path paved with what we love. It’s the other choice, the “sensible” one, that’s really dangerous because it leads us away from who we really are and what we really care about. The sensible choice doesn’t take advantage of our talents and passions. It traps us by constructing limitations on our capabilities.

So break through and break out of that construction designed by fear. Focus your attention and energy on the possibility, and not on the contingency plans. You’re brave, smart, and resourceful. If things fall apart, you’ll find a way to adjust and adapt. You’ll have the strength to cross that bridge if and when you need to. If you take a chance on a dream, the dream will take a chance on you. And that’s where the magic happens – when we finally stop worrying about invented fears and take action on the opportunities right in front of us.

work, writing

Beautiful: Capture Your Moments

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest
From Pinterest

“Keep a daily diary of your dreams, goals, and accomplishments. If your life is worth living, it’s worth recording.” ~ Marilyn Grey.

For the past couple of days, I’ve been taking my cue from The Big Bang Theory‘s Sheldon Cooper. To get comfortable with my new voice over microphone and recording software, I started creating “Christa’s log”. I spend a couple of minutes recording how I’m doing, what I’m worried about, what I’m excited about, and what’s top of mind for me in any area of my life. I don’t know if these recording will ever hear the light of day, but it’s been a fun way for me to capture what’s happening in my life. I feel like I’m experiencing a lot of change, and am gearing up for even more change in the year ahead. I think these voice logs are a fun way to capture my experiences.

I spend a lot of time on this blog, social media, and on the media outlets I write for in an attempt to capture what’s happening in my life and what’s happening in the world that catches my interest. My hope is that this helps others. It certainly helps me. It’s my anchor and my compass. When everything is in flux, my writing is always there to help me find my way. Each post is its own little stake in the ground to say, “I was here and this is how today unfolded from my vantage point.” Like breadcrumbs, they give me a way to look back to see where I was, how far I’ve come, and appreciate how far I still have yet to go. In my writing, I can always find my way back to my path.

choices, future, happiness

Beautiful: Take It From Snoopy and Look Up for a Better Tomorrow

Christa Avampato

“Keep looking up. That’s the secret of life.” ~ Snoopy

Sometimes things don’t go according to plan. We get disappointed, dismayed, and discouraged by events out of our control. But here’s what’s within our control: how we use today to help us tomorrow.

Every circumstance, and especially difficult ones, teaches us about the world and our place in it. We can use that learning to make better choices and take better actions. They teach us that we’re strong, capable, and adaptable. We fear less because we trust more. We’re secure in the knowledge that no matter what situation arises, we can handle it. No matter where we are today, we have to believe that tomorrow will be better because we will make it so.