I tell wonder-filled stories about hope and healing
Meet Mo Bridges, the 15-year-old fashion designer from Memphis who started Mo’s Bows, a bow tie company. His mom is his business manager and together they are defying the odds and stereotypes in the fashion world. Mo plans to attend Parsons in NYC and create his own fashion line by age 20. Further proof that belief in yourself and following your passion with action yields incredible results.
Sometimes the best we can do is just show up. For our friends and for ourselves. People go through tough times. They need support and help. And we do, too. I’ve been talking to quite a few people lately who are dealing with a lot of difficulty. I wish I had answers for them. Actually, I wish I could just make the difficulties disappear. I try. I listen, and I try to come up with creative solutions. Sometimes that works, and sometimes it doesn’t. But I’m learning that the solutions aren’t the important part. What matters is that I show up, that I keep showing up. And if that’s all you do, too, that’s enough. It’s so much more than enough.
A month ago today I packed my rental car and moved back to New York City. Yesterday while I walked Phin in Central Park, a man I didn’t know stopped me and said, “You’re the happiest person I’ve ever seen in New York.” I think he’s right; I was smiling wide for no reason at all.
Being away from New York for almost three years made me even more grateful for what this city has to offer. Every day I wake up and think anything can happen. Possibility is everywhere. Part of making things happen has to do with my energy and efforts and part of it has to do with the energy of this city. Put them together and something is bound to happen. It always does.
“I like nonsense, it wakes up the brain cells. Fantasy is a necessary ingredient in living; it’s a way of looking at life through the wrong end of a telescope. Which is what I do, and that enables you to laugh at life’s realities.” ~Dr. Seuss
Escaping through books is a valuable exercise whether you’re a writer, a reader, or both. When we let go of the world we know and enter into another world, that distance gives us greater perspective. We breathe a little easier. Our muscles relax. A little distance, a short escape, can help us see more clearly and act with more purpose.
If you’re wrestling through a challenge right now—personal or professional—take a break. Read a book, preferably one that has absolute nothing to do with the challenge you’re trying to manage. Let the dust settle and let your mind go somewhere else for a while. You’ll be surprised by what appears.
Sometimes, a tree is a door. This is a picture of the tree outside my apartment building. It has a doorknob attached to it. Naturally my writer brain wondered what would happen if I turned it and what secret world it concealed. So obviously, that’s somehow going in the second book in the Emerson Page series. Inspiration is everywhere. It’s our job to use it.
The power of light—literally and metaphorically—is a main theme in my book, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters. I’ve been thinking of unique ways to celebrate the launch of the book in November and December that inspire and comfort people during the holidays. (The book launched on November 1st.) In true Emerson fashion, I’ll be leaving hidden messages of hope and light, resilience and love, all over New York City to celebrate the season. Think of them as something like little Easter eggs that could show up anywhere, because magic and messages are everywhere. We all need a little encouragement, right? Emerson’s the perfect person to provide it. More information soon…
“You made a misstep, but you were walking in the right direction.” ~Frank Reagan, Blue Bloods
Sometimes the best intentions and efforts don’t get us exactly what we want or exactly where we’d like to go. Life isn’t always a linear path. (My life is never a linear path!) I used to bemoan my missteps and chastise myself for making them. On occasion, I still do. Maybe you do, too. This quote above gave me a different way of thinking about my missteps.
I’ve always put my best foot forward in everything I’ve done and because of that, I’ve started to look at my efforts over time rather than only as individual events. Over time, the missteps in the right direction added up to something larger than the sum of its parts. They added up to a life and career that has been anything but dull and something far more exciting than I ever imagined they would be. So what’s next? Who knows? But I know it’s going to be in the direction of building a better world.
Chapter 2 of the free prequel to my novel, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters, is flying into the inboxes of the people on my mailing list right now. It’s a page from the private diary of Oliver Page, Emerson’s father, as he takes a stand to protect Emerson. Would you like to receive it? Just send me your email address and I’ll send it over to you!
Whenever we start a job search, we often dive in looking at titles, areas of expertise, or industry. If like me you have worked in multiple industries with a wide variety of roles and responsibilities, then this method can take you in circles. Titles and job responsibilities are so different across companies. In my case, product management, product development, product marketing, operations, and communications don’t have clear and consistent definitions in the world of work and often roles have some responsibilities in a few of these categories.
So I’m trying something new. Because culture and mission are so important to me, I’ve decided to seek out companies that are interesting to me first and then dive into the different roles at those companies. My ideal is to find a place where I can learn and grow, meaning I would hold a number of different roles at the same company or organization over time. In this case, what really matters is the culture and environment. Roles and responsibilities can change on a dime; culture and mission are ideally consistent.
The job search can be a long and winding road. I’m hopeful that this new approach will make the destination a perfect fit.
“Wherever life plants you, bloom with grace.” ~French proverb
We don’t always end up in the place we want to be. No matter where we find ourselves, even if it’s less than ideal, there’s something to learn. If you’re in a place like that right now, look around. What can you do with what you’ve got right now? Can you gain a new skill, meet a new person, or help someone? Where you are now isn’t an accident. There’s a reason for it. Learn the lesson, and then gracefully move on to pay it forward.
Christa Avampato 