Category: adventure

adventure, courage, creativity, entrepreneurship

Leap: How Did You Celebrate Leap Day? I Started The Geronimo Project and I Want You to Join Me!

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest member http://pinterest.com/sdl/hell-yes-and-amen/

My house is full of lists – things to do, places to go – far and near, people to contact, things to buy, things to look into. You name the task, and I bet I have a list for it.

Over the past few months as I’ve started my journey to make The Leap into entrepreneurship and a new way to live my working life, I’ve been kicking around an idea that began to take root yesterday, appropriately enough on Leap Day. The timing couldn’t have been more synchronous. Introducing The Geronimo Project, a community of people who took The Leap and share their stories to inspire others.

Back in 2009, I started a column on entrepreneurship for Examiner.com to showcase inspiring entrepreneurs. The column did very well and I wrote a free e-book (please download and share!) to highlight the interviews that were most meaningful to me in my quest to get inside the entrepreneurial mindset. I’ve missed conducting and writing those interviews and since closing out the column in 2010 I’ve wanted to find a way to continue that journey to celebrate the brave people who took a chance to realize their dreams. Also, I’ve become increasingly interested in finding a way to begin doing more video and podcast work. Wrap all that up with my love of teaching (yoga, meditation, personal finance, personal action plans) and it becomes The Geronimo Project.

The site and Twitter feed are incredibly bare bones as I work behind the scenes to bring it all to life. And here’s where I can use your help!

Have you taken The Leap from a stale day job into a career that you love? Do you know someone who did? Did you read an interesting article or see a news clip that highlighted someone who took The Leap? Have you got links to resources, ideas, and advice that you think would be valuable to someone considering the Leap? Do you know someone I should connect with? Send all your ideas on over via email or Twitter – your choice. The more the merrier.

Let’s see what we can build together!

adventure, change, nature

Leap: Stop Seeking Stillness

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest member http://pinterest.com/dotsc/

“There is nothing still. Life is never still. No plant, no animal, no river. Can we think of Nature as a metaphor and keep ourselves constantly evolving?” ~ Anil Gupta

Over the past few stressful weeks, I’ve found myself seeking stillness, seeking an end to all whirring in my mind. It’s been hard to make it work, and I began to doubt whether or not I have really embodied all these lessons from my yoga and meditation practices, and from the intense personal development work I’ve undergone in the past two years with Brian. “Maybe I haven’t learned a damn thing,” I wondered.

And then I came across this quote on Daily Good, which is just about the best inspirational site anyone could possibly build. It serves up just the right message at just the right time. My pursuit of stillness feels frustrating because stillness is just not possible. I shouldn’t have been seeking stillness; I should have been seeking quiet. Those are two very different things.

Looking for the quiet spaces in our lives allows us to tune in to the flow and buzz of life. And not the lives we invent, but the underlying lifeblood that serves as the root of every living thing. That’s where the greater intelligence lies. That’s where our gut instincts and intuition mix and mingle, waiting for us to notice them, to stop by, and to listen. That flow is moving, moving all the time, taking in new information, new insights, and building never-before-seen connections.

Change never lets up, and we must move with it, not against it. Even when we’re scared. Especially when we’re scared. That’s the time to get quiet, to tap in, and to recognize that we are part of the great dance. There will come a time for stillness, but I hope it’s a long way off for you and me. We still have so much to do.

This post is also available as a podcast.

adventure, career, work

Leap: Go Against the Tide of Bland

Christa Avampato
Photo by Alice Lily

“Why not go out on a limb? Isn’t that where the fruit is?” ~ Mark Twain

Brian has been counseling me now for several years about my confusion around people who phone it in, people who just take what life gives them, shrug their shoulders, and deal with it. Life happens to these people. I meet them, talk to them, and try to understand how they can get through life without ever really figuring out what this life is meant to be for them. Bland is a flavor that’s just fine for them. I think they’re missing out, and that we’re missing out on the benefit of their special gift. They think I try to hard, care too much, and set myself up for constant disappointment with my high standards.

I wouldn’t have it any other way.

When I get to the end of my days, I want to look back and enjoy all of the interests I got to explore all over again. I want to appreciate the value that I brought to the world and feel the warm glow of knowing that many lives were made better because I was able to help them. That’s a tall order, and it’s not something that happens through low expectations. It happens for people who are willing to go out on a limb, push toward the edge, and do the work that lights them up with a sense of passion and purpose.

Life hands us a lot of garbage, a lot of opportunities to do things that just don’t matter. Put those aside. That’s not your work to do. Demand excellence. With a bit of creativity and a lot of courage to follow our convictions, there is so much good work to do in this world. And we have the ability to do get it done. Don’t settle.

adventure, choices, decision-making

Leap: Your Path is Up to You

Christa Avampato

“Travelers, there is no path, paths are made by walking.” ~ Antonio Machado

A path is a nice idea. We see it laid out before us, unfolding one glorious step at a time, and all we have to do is go along for the ride. Paths I’ve found are rarely given. They’re made. We make them so by paving them ourselves.

This can feel paralyzing at first. If everything is up to me, then where do I begin? How do I know what to do first, second, and third? What happens if I get lost or run out of energy? What if the way I’m heading is not the way I want to go?

And here’s an unappreciated truth about way-finding in life: we all start at zero. No one in this world was ever born walking. We spent time learning to roll over, pushing ourselves up, scooting, crawling, walking, and running. No one knows what you should do. There are examples and models that you can learn from, maybe even borrow from. But no one has ever lived your exact circumstances at this moment in time. You get to choose where, how, and with whom you spend your time.

You are an original by design, and so is your path. Create it.

adventure, art, career, faith, work

Leap: Shelter from the Storm Found at a Voice Over Class at Simple Studios

Christa Avampato

Wait a minute! Did I go to bed and wake up in September 2008?

This is the question I found myself thinking while at work yesterday. September 2008, 5 weeks after I joined my company, Lehman Brothers failed and the market went to hell. Several months later I was the only filled desk in an island of empty cubes. It was horrendous. I got through it, but it was no picnic and I’ve still got a few scars to prove I was there. You can’t see them, but pull up a chair any time and I’ll gladly tell you the story. (Not now, of course. But eventually.)

This week, I found myself in that same beat up situation. Fire drills from every direction. Some colleagues who have somehow forgotten that the first five letters of the phrase “humane treatment” are “human”, as in don’t pretend we have to chin up because that’s just how it goes. Some “leaders” telling us that we are the ones responsible for making this reorg work and not them. (Not my leader, mind you, who has been incredibly awesome in this whole ordeal!) It’s enough to make anyone go running after her sanity right out the front door.

And then last night I started my first voice over class. I left the office and thought to myself, “Really – now I need to go to class? I just want to go home and crawl under my bed.” I didn’t want to talk to anyone, see anyone, or smile at anyone. So, I got moving. I hopped out of the subway at 14th street and walked 15 blocks to Simple Studios, the class location.

As I approached I remembered that I had some of my yoga teacher training classes on the same floor of this building in 2010. When I began that training, I was also at a crossroads. I was also a bit blue and lost and confused. It turned out alright then. I channeled my energy into the training and Compass was born 5 months later. Maybe this history, just like my earlier feelings about September 2008, repeats itself, too.

The class was incredible. Sponsored by the PIT (People’s Improv Theater) and taught by the entertaining, honest, and incredibly smart Ed Lewis was a joy. The moment I walked into the building and headed for the elevator I felt a release, like I was exactly where I was supposed to be. I left feeling lighter, happier, and more capable. I also think voice over work is going to be a blast!

My very dear pal, Jeff, is taking the adventure in voice right along with me. So here we go, folks! Another new adventure begins as I believe the curtain may come down on an adventure that’s gone on a tad too long. I’m not one to believe that when one door closes, a window opens. I believe that when a door closes, we have the ability, the choice, and the responsibility to rise up and carve our own way toward a brighter tomorrow.

I’m ready. As George Michael said, “I gotta have faith…”

adventure, career, choices, future, work

Leap: Sometimes Your Future Chooses You

Christa Avampato
Photo by Soller

Next week is going to prove to be an interesting week around the office. There are rumors flying about changes in staff, strategy, and priorities. I’ve heard so many at this point that they’ve all cancelled one another out. Only one thing is for certain – the way it is now is not the way it will be going forward. But isn’t that always true? Change is part of life, every piece of it.

Not even a year into this work toward my new year’s resolution, and it may come to be bear without me doing much of anything. We don’t always get to choose what happens to us, but we always have the opportunity to choose what we do about it. Sometimes we leap on our own, and sometimes we’re pushed into taking the leap. We don’t always see the push coming, and many times there’s little we can do to stop it. The question is will be commit to this new trajectory being laid out for us or will we try to cling to the ledge of a cliff we don’t really want but feels familiar?

My answer in one word: Geronimo!

adventure, business, career, creativity, New Years Eve, New York, New York City, wishes, writing, yoga

Leap: My 2012 Resolution, Four and a Half Years in the Making

Christa Avampato

In 2007, I graduated from business school, where I wrote a few feature columns for my school’s newspaper thanks to my friend, Alice, who was the Editor-in-Chief. I had always wanted to be a writer but was never sure I was talented enough to make a go of it. I really enjoyed the writing and a lot of my classmates complimented the columns. At graduation, my friend, Stephen, asked me if I intended to keep writing. I smiled, looked down at the ground, and said I wasn’t sure. “You should start a blog,” he said. I laughed. “Who would read it?” I asked. “I would read it,” he said. One reader was enough for me. It was a start, a beginning, and that was really all I needed.

The week after graduation, I sat on the couch in my living room in Charlottesville surrounded by moving boxes, opened Google, and typed in “free blogging software.” Blogger came up. I had an account from when I started my first blog, Eyes and Ears Wide Open, way back in 2004. It was private because I wasn’t sure at that time that I wanted strangers reading about my life. (How funny that seems now that I live much of my life online!) I reactivated my account and started the blog Christa In New York as a way of unleashing a writer who had been kicking around in me for many, many years.

How I learned to write
After a year and a half of bumbling around learning how to write, I decided I wanted to become a really good writer and the only way I knew how to make that happen was to practice every day. And the sure-fire way to make that happen would be to publicly promise as my 2009 resolution that I would write and publish every day. I kept my resolution and in 2009, I wrote every day about hope. My greatest lesson from that writing journey was that the more often we look for hope, the more likely we are to find it.

In 2010, I bundled up all of that hope and put my daily efforts toward crafting an extraordinary life. I discovered the truth that we build an extraordinary life by finding something extraordinary in ordinary moments.

To amp up my extraordinary living, I used 2011 as a year of new beginnings so that I could get into a beginner’s mindset – exploring, experimenting, and tinkering. As 2011 drew to a close, I wondered for a long time about how I could best make use of this beginner’s mindset. Where would I go from here?

Was there an ending in all this beginning?
I wondered if this would be the end of this blog altogether. I wondered if all this beginning was leading me toward an ending of this chapter. To experiment with that idea, I gave up writing on the weekends for a couple of weeks. I missed posting every day so much that I quickly reversed that decision. Four and a half years later, writing has become an integral part of who I am and how I spent my time. It brings me a lot of joy – and that’s the #1 reason I keep at it.

Perhaps another ending was in order. I briefly considered leaving New York and relocating to the west coast. That caused me to look differently at my city. Was I really ready to move? Could I really leave behind 4+ years worth of effort building a life I love? In about a month’s time, I reversed that decision, too. New York is my home, as crazy and unpredictable as it is. It’s where I belong and that’s a joyful thing to feel.

To solve this riddle, I began to look around at the other areas of my life assessing what brings me joy and what doesn’t. I love my yoga teaching and the healthcare field fascinates me. I adore stories – written, spoken, acted, and sung. I’m passionate about doing good work for people who need help and don’t know where or to whom to turn. I’m happiest when I’m making my own choices.

An ending found
The area of my life that seems to deplete me the most is the place where I spend 40+ hours / week. Though I’m incredibly grateful for the financial stability and experience I’ve gained as part of a large company, the work doesn’t inspire me and it’s not the best use of my skills. I’ve made a number of very good friends there whom I’m sure I will know all of my life. I’ve learned so much there, about the economy, the world, and myself. As 2011 drew to a close, I became acutely aware that I have learned all that I want to learn there. It’s time to move on.

I began to look around, applying to jobs that seemed mildly interesting. I interviewed and received a few offers, though in the end they all seemed to be variations on a theme, a theme I already had in my current job. After a few months, I could see myself in those new roles, unhappy with the circumstances and no better off than I am at my current job. If I wanted the job of my dreams, I would have to build it.

A beginning that was here all along
And so I realized that Compass Yoga could provide me with everything I wanted in a job – I could teach, write, be part of the healthcare field, and help people who really needed the help. I had the job I wanted all along. The trick is now to turn how I make a life into making a living.

So there it is, my 2012 resolution: to make the leap from my job into Compass Yoga full-time. It’s going to be a long and winding road, with many different twists, turns, stops, and starts along the way. I’ll be securing my footing along the path that I know I’m supposed to walk even though I’m not yet sure of all the steps I’ll need to take. Every day in 2012, I’ll be writing about this journey and I hope you’ll join me as this path is paved. Welcome to the beginning of a transformation a long time in the making. And happy new year!

adventure, art, choices, courage, creativity, justice

Beginning: Satyagraha at the Metropolitan Opera and What Gandhi Teaches Us About Being a Beginner

Christa Avampato
Scene from Satyagraha at the Metropolitan Opera

Upon the very strong advice of my friend and mentor, Richard, I bought a ticket to see the Metropolitan Opera’s final performance of Satyagraha (“truth force” in Sanskrit), an opera by Philip Glass that tells the story of Gandhi’s life in South Africa through the ancient Hindu text of the Bhagavad Gita. The Gita is also one of the primary teaching tools in yoga classes and in yoga teacher trainings. Yogis live by its lessons.

The visual representation and innovative use of puppetry in Satyagraha was stunning. The lighting and sound of Sanskrit (rarely heard today in this country, save for the occasional phrase in a yoga studio) set to music lit up all of my senses while also giving me a true sense of peace and resolve. I was in a very meditative state during the entire production. In the program, I learned that it took over 10 years of tireless effort by Philip Glass and his collaborators to complete.

The Gandhi we know who changed the world with his campaigns of nonviolent resistance against social injustice  spent over 2 decades testing and refining his methods in South Africa after facing fierce personal discrimination. His movement began on an incredibly small-scale and remained small for years. It was his persistence and absolute confidence in his mission that brought him to prominence and influence.

Satyagraha was a particularly personal performance for me on a number of levels:

Yoga
I went on December 1st, the 19th anniversary of my father’s passing. The circumstances of his life and death have fueled my own yoga journey and the healing found along that journey spurred my desire to teach and to form Compass Yoga.

South Africa
While I was a graduate student at the Darden School, I went to South Africa as part of a cultural exchange class. For many years, I dreamed of going to Africa. As an elementary school student, I was fascinated by learning about the cultures there and somehow felt as though I oddly belonged in Africa even though I was very young and had never even left the East Coast of the US, much less traveled to Africa. For me, South Africa was a dream and I hope to return someday. Perhaps to even live there for some time.

India
In May, my friend, Rob, and I will be traveling to India on another long-overdue trip of a lifetime. India is the seat of so much philosophical history and the root of yoga. I expect it to be one of those places that changes me forever, how I see the world and how I see myself in this world.

Gandhi’s Lesson: Do or Don’t
Choosing to begin and undertake an auspicious project – whether it is a mission of social justice or an opera that chronicles the life of a towering historical figure through an ancient text in a language that few people understand – takes courage and faith. There are moments of grave doubt, fear, and anxiety for all people who choose to live a life of meaning and service to the greater good. What separates those from those who do and those who don’t is that those who do see something that bothers them, really bothers them, and decide that they have within themselves the ability, endurance, and dedication to generate great change.

It really is that simple – either we do or we don’t. We get the lives that we have the guts to begin and create. 

adventure, career, celebration, change, creative process, creativity, yoga

Beginning: Move Toward the Obstacles

Christa Avampato
Ganesha - our great friend and the keeper of obstacles

“The obstacle is the path.” ~  Zen proverb

On Sunday I was thumbing through the new prAna catalog and found this proverb. Obstacles tend to be things we want to jump over, crawl through, duck under, go around, or blow up into miniscule pieces. And with good reason – they prevent us from doing exactly what we want to do exactly when we want to do it.

Or do they?

What if we could find a way to weave our obstacles together like cobblestones that form a path up and away from where we are right now and on to the path we’re meant to take? Obstacles, just like triumphs, are teachers. And they are generous. They force creativity, give us grit, and usually necessitate the formation of partnerships and relationships to overcome.

My path has been loaded with obstacles of all shapes and sizes. They have made it difficult to navigate, and yet I am now a better navigator for having them on my course. I wouldn’t trade them; I needed their presence so that I could work with my yoga students with compassion, authenticity, and empathy. To make the decision to pursue Compass Yoga full-time, I had to face obstacles in the other areas of my professional life. If that other way had been free of challenges, I may have never found the courage to leap.

This is how life goes – in the moment, we don’t understand all of the change swirling around us. In hindsight, the pieces settle and we understand why the exact path we took was exactly the path we had to take. Those obstacles are the inflection points that caused us to take a necessary turn so that we could live up to our potential.

May your road and mine be littered with obstacles of real value!

adventure, choices, creativity, imagination

Beginning: Wander With a Purpose

Christa Avampato
Image by Pam Hough

“Not all who wander are lost.” ~J. R. R. Tolkien

Yesterday I wrote about the need to begin over and over again, to never give up, to take our punches and then try again. It’s also important to understand that it’s okay to try a lot of different avenues. You don’t need to beat your head against the wall trying the same idea over and over again until you get it to work. Give your idea a fair shake, but if it feels like the battle of your life and the fun’s drifted out of it, there’s nothing wrong with cutting your losses and going in another direction.

A friend recently told me that some members of her family don’t think highly of her because she’s not focused enough, because she’s taken her life in so many different directions. But they’ve been purposeful. She’s taken up new ideas with enthusiasm and the desire to learn something new. It takes courage to have curiosity, and it makes for a rewarding life. She wouldn’t have it any other way, and neither would I!

There’s no universal rule that says we need to be one-dimensional, that says if we get this degree or have that job then this has to be our sole purpose. I always love to meet people who mix it up – dancers who are passionate about zoology, physicists who love to cook, corporate attorneys who design clothing. It’s a healthy thing to follow our interests wherever they lead. It’s important to explore and grow. That’s what this life is all about – taking in all the wonder that the world has to offer and then finding a way to give it meaning in the pursuit of a worthwhile way to spend our time.

So you go right ahead and wander. Travel with conviction, and make it valuable for you and for others. Keep your head up, your eyes open, and your ears attuned to your surroundings. You’ll be amazed by all you find on your journey.