Month: August 2014

dreams, future, time

Inspired: How to value dreams

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest
From Pinterest

“You cannot value dreams according to the odds of their coming true.” ~ Justice Sonia Sotomayor

All dreams are difficult. If they were easy, we’d be able to check an unlimited number of them off our to-do list every day. They take time and heart. Sometimes they cause a great deal of difficulty. If working toward them makes us feel alive, if we the time we spend on them feels like time well spent, and if we learn something in the process no matter what the outcome, then they are worth every ounce of effort we put into them. Dreams are tricky like that. Their real value is not in their achievement but in how they help us evolve toward our best selves. 

books, child, children, writing

Inspired: Free your writing and write for children

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest
From Pinterest

I’m outlining the draft of my first novel that I’ll write in November during National Novel Writing Month. It’s for a young adult audience and at one point last week I worried that the story was getting too complicated for that age range. Then I saw this quote by Madeleine L’Engle, author of A Wrinkle in Time: “You have to write the book that wants to be written. And if that book will be too difficult for grown-ups, then you write it for children.” Children understand so much that adults have forgotten. Once I really understood this, the story opened back up to all these wonderful possibilities that my adult mind had closed off. Writing’s funny that way. It makes us wonder. It makes us young again.  

adventure, books, determination, dreams

Inspired: Mind the gap between where you are and where you want to be

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest
From Pinterest

Big dreams inspire and terrify, usually at the same time. I often look at where I want to go from where I am, and all that runs through my mind is, “Well how the hell am I going to get up there?” I search around the base of the vertical mountain and eventually I find a foothold. It’s small, but solid, so there’s my first step. From that slightly elevated view, I find another small place to grip and pull myself one inch higher. This is how the journey of every big dream goes: many small bits of progress taken one at a time. The key is to get started right now and not give up. Concentrate on each small win and the greater journey will take shape in its own way and in its own time. In the words of Dr. Seuss, “Your mountain is waiting, so get on your way.” 

fear, future, sleep

Inspired: Don’t believe everything you tell yourself late at night

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest
From Pinterest

3am can be a tough hour for me. That’s when some of my greatest fears surface. “What are you doing?” “That’s a terrible idea!” “You’ll be all alone!” And on they go. To exercise those little gremlins, I write them down in the notebook I keep next to my bed and then put an “X” through them. Then I lay down, focus on my breath, and silently say “I am okay” until I fall asleep again. Don’t believe everything you tell yourself late at night. At night, the good and bad rise up in our minds. We can’t control that. All we can do is get it all down, throw out what harms, keep what helps, and get some more sleep. Tomorrow needs us at our best.

career, choices, commitment, determination, dreams, work

Inspired: They only work we have to do

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest
From Pinterest

Yesterday I was offered the largest consulting contract of my career. I turned it down because it’s not the work I want to do anymore. Was that the right choice? Definitely. Did it hurt to let it go? Absolutely. I was referred by a former client to organize the annual meeting of a private equity firm. I could have played that role and done the work with no problem, but I’m committed to writing full-time and that gig would take me away from my dream. This is the tough work of commitment, the work no one tells us about. Focus and commitment are not a one and done deal. They requirement constant vigilance; temptation to veer off-course is everywhere. The opportunities you don’t take will be scooped up by other people who want and need them. Do your work. Walk your road.

art, business, work, writer, writing

Inspired: The difference between business and art

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest
From Pinterest

As someone who moves between the worlds of business and art, a business woman with an MBA and a full-time writer, I see them both as creative acts. Both require inspiration and perspiration to build something of value. The difference is where each begins. In business, we assess the market early on in the process. It is largely an act of educated calculation and we try to mitigate risk. In art, market assessment is messy, if not impossible. We have to create art before we know if there’s an audience for it. Art is an act of faith. And the more we risk in art, the better. To have impact, business and art need an audience. They just go about finding their audiences is very different (and wonderful) ways. I do know this: I love them and need them both because together, they make my life richer. In this next chapter of my career, my art, my writing, is also the center my business.

art, books, writer, writing

Inspired: When the reader is ready, the writer will appear

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest
From Pinterest

I love bookstores though sometimes when wandering through them I catch myself thinking, “What else could I possibly have to say that’s interesting and worthwhile?” A split second later I’m reminded that with 6 billion people in the world, there’s a lot of people doing almost the same thing: doctors, lawyers, engineers, architects, painters, teachers, chefs, scientists, and yes, writers. But not one single person practices his or her craft in exactly the same way. No one exactly like you has ever existed before or will ever exist again. We are each a unique makeup of circumstances, skills, beliefs, experiences, and ways of seeing, hearing, doing, and being. When the reader is ready, the writer will appear. And we never know when that will be. All we can do is get the story down, put it out into the world in as big a way as possible, and the people who need our story will eventually find it.

action, dreams, fear

Inspired: You can handle obstacles

Christa Avampato

When we think about pursuing a dream, we often worry about the obstacles, challenges, and difficulties that may lie ahead. I wonder how many dreams never got a shot because the anticipation of those obstacles stopped us from trying before we even started. This quote helps me. I hope it helps you, too: “When the root is deep there is no reason to fear the wind.” Of course there will be obstacles. Don’t let them make you discount your capabilities; those are your roots. You got this.

creativity, simplicity, writing

Inspired: A carpenter’s approach to writing

Christa Avampato

A few weeks ago Seth Godin wrote a blog post about the two questions we should ask before we build anything. I also think they’re worth asking before we begin any creative project and before we start any piece of writing.

What’s it for and how will we know if it worked?

Think of a carpenter. He or she builds a house to provide shelter from the elements. If it keeps out the rain, sleet, or snow, it works. Simple. Elegant. Understandable.

Imagine if we began everything we do with these two questions. Everything we create would have a reason for being and a usefulness that’s clear. Don’t make it any more complicated than that.

choices, courage, creative process, decision-making

Inspired: Just go for it

Christa Avampato

My beautiful and intensely wise yogi friend, Sara Kleinsmith, sent this to me as I was telling her about my decision to write full-time and to make whatever life adjustments I need to make the writing life a reality. In response, she sent me this quote. And I just love it. And her. And all the people who don’t give a damn about the odds but instead care deeply about happiness and the courage to create. Just go for it with everything you’ve got. We make our own odds. (And if you find yourself in Austin, Texas, then you must go to Sara’s yoga classes. She’s magical.)