I tell wonder-filled stories about hope and healing
It takes a lot of courage to give away a piece of yourself to others. In that way, each interaction we have is an adventure. There’s something to lose, something to gain, and something to risk when you wear your heart on your sleeve. Be an adventurer; live your passions out loud. They’ve freed you so take a chance and share them in the hopes that they will inspire others to free themselves.
We spend so much time wishing we were someplace else that often we miss the little miraculous moments and all of the goodness that is in our presence every day. The older I get, the more I try to stand my ground, literally and figuratively. I try to see all the good, and even all the bad, everywhere I am. I try as hard as I can to channel the good to others and help the bad carry itself to higher ground. I’m not always successful though I find that more often than not the result of any situation has much more to do with me, my attitude, and my actions than it does with any external factors. This game of life is ours to lose, and honestly, I’d much prefer to win. And winning, at anything, anywhere, is almost always a choice.
Eventually, the only choice is to leap. You will have to trust, yourself and others, if you want to fulfill your potential. There’s no need to wait or try another alternative. Go for exactly what you want. Take a deep breath and know that you can handle whatever happens next.
Your only job is to grow. From good and bad experiences. Triumphs and failures. Glorious surprises and grave disappointments. As long as you learn, no effort is ever wasted and in the end, you always come out ahead as a stronger, braver, wiser you.
Of course you have doubts. You second-guess yourself. You wonder about the intentions of others. You question your abilities and your choices. You are human, and you are a person of integrity who reflects, considers, and maintains curiosity. You always want to improve upon what you’ve already done. Doubt is going to be there. Work through it and learn. But please, don’t turn back. Don’t give up now. You’ve come too far and worked too hard to throw it all away. Modify, pivot, adjust, change, but don’t quit. Keep going. Doubt is like the rain. It’s necessary and healthy to question ourselves and others, but it doesn’t prevent the sun from having its chance to shine. It’s a cycle. Act accordingly.
Leaping is never a matter of one and done. Every day, we take chances. We lay our cards down the table and say, “This is who I am. This is what I care about. And this is why it matters.” Leaping is like breathing: we must keep leaping to attain the full benefit of each small step. It’s only when we combine them that we learn just how far we can go.
Live out loud. Laugh often. Relish freedom. Make some fireworks. Happy 4th!
John Green, author of The Fault in Our Stars, also runs a web series called Crash Course with his brother, Hank. In a series of 10-15 minute YouTube videos, John teaches humanities and Hank teaches science. My brother-in-law, Kyle, introduced Crash Course to me and I’m addicted. While I’m completely in love with the content and hosts, I’m even crazier about the tagline at the end of each one: “Don’t forget to be awesome” or #DFTBA for those in the know. Write it down and post it up all over your home. This is a mantra we all need to adopt and recite.
Over the past few days, I’ve been thinking a lot about domestic emerging markets—areas of the country that have potential future opportunity but only a small amount of current prosperity. Though Detroit is the primary example used in many discussions on this topic, The Upshot highlighted some of the other lesser known domestic emerging markets when it studied the hardest places in the U.S. to live based on a selection of criteria including unemployment and obesity rates along with median income, education level, disability rate, and average lifespan. They include: Eastern Kentucky along with parts of Mississippi, Louisiana, Georgia, Arkansas, and West Virginia.
When I consider how we could make an almost immediate and sustainable impact in these areas, my mind immediately turns to job creation. People in these areas need to have ways to earn income to get themselves out of their difficult financial situations. Venture for America is an interesting experiment placing young entrepreneurs with startups in areas such as New Orleans and Detroit. The Department of Commerce is also spending a lot of time studying these areas and potential ways to remedy their long struggles with a lack of opportunity.
But what about the middle ground? Startups and government can’t do this alone. These challenges are too complicated, extensive, and pressing. I’d like to see mid-size and large companies also jump in and make investments in these areas. And maybe that’s where some of my future work lies—jumpstarting structured businesses with resources, talent, and tested know-how to set up shop in geographic areas that have potential and need our attention.
I tried for a long time to keep my steady paycheck while also progressing on my writing and other creative projects. With a plan B always at the ready, I could only get so far. To really progress, I needed to let go of the comfy ledge I was teetering on for a long time. The path to progress was straight through the eye of discomfort, and though it wasn’t easy I’m glad I didn’t flinch.
Christa Avampato 