“Never mistake motion for action.” ~Ernest Hemingway
It’s important to keep moving forward, no matter how slowly. Sometimes I find I’m moving forward rather aimlessly and that’s when I stop to reassess. Where am I trying to go? And why? And how? And with whom? These kinds of questions ensure that I’m not just in motion but that I’m taking action. Action is motion with purpose. And if I find that I’m moving in a direction or along a path that lack this definition of action, or that the action isn’t authentic to who I am and who I want to be, I change direction. My path is winding, but every step is meaningful.
“Amidst the worldly comings and goings, observe how endings become beginnings.” ~Tao Te Ching
There’s a lot of talk about making endings in beginnings, but how does it actually happen? Here’s what’s worked for me:
I spend some time to consider what actually learned in the goodbye so I can use that knowledge in my next hello.
I take the emotion out of it. I let myself feel all my feelings about the ending, and then I really let them completely pass. I don’t take those emotions into my next beginning.
I trade fear for excitement. There’s a fine line between the two, and I try to focus on the positives of a new journey.
I remember the tough parts that caused me to say goodbye to the old.
I ask for help. I have a small circle of people who really encourage me along my new paths and their belief in my gives me confidence to keep going.
I have faith in myself and in the journey. There’s a Buddhist teaching that says every moment contains exactly the lesson we need exactly when we need it. I’ve embraced that philosophy. The Universe works undercover in ways that I don’t always understand in the outset. But when I look back on my life I’m able to see the purpose for everything. I have faith that this will always be the case. Life makes sense in reverse. I trust the timing of my life unconditionally.
Have you turned an ending into a beginning? How did you do it?
Disneyland will never be complete. It will continue to grow as long as there is imagination left in the world. ~Walt Disney
Disney directly supervised the construction of the original Disneyland in a single year. Handel wrote Messiah, one of the most beloved and popular pieces of holiday music, in 24 days. Whenever I feel crunched for time, I think about these two examples. They remind me that time isn’t my issue; it’s a matter of focus, discipline, and determination. If Disney and Handel can complete these enormous tasks in such a short amount of time, then certainly I have the time to finish whatever projects I have on my plate. I take a couple deep breaths and get back to work knowing that time is on my side.
Welcome to the rise of the slash generation where it’s perfectly okay, and even preferable, to be a baker / neuroscientist / dog walker, or in my case a writer (of many genres) / product developer / business owner / believer that my greatest project has yet to even be imagined. Everything in your career connects in some way at some point so follow that curious nose of yours wherever it leads you. I’ve put aside the boxes and definitions that some people are so desperate to put on themselves and others. The only question now is “What’s your slash?”
Writers live many lives—1 foot in the manufactured world around them & the other in the worlds they design for their stories. I love that finally I live a career and life that doesn’t admonish me for pursuing everything that interests me, whether it connects or not. It’s opened my mind to possibility in wild and wonderful ways, and made me feel truly free.
I always love when someone tells me that something is impossible and will NEVER happen. A little internal smile makes its way to the surface of my face and motivates me to change “impossible” to “I’m possible”. It’s never a question of “who’s going to let me?” It’s more a matter of “who’s going to stop me?” Cue pensive laughter and the tapping of fingers together.
Just thank these impossible-sayers for their time and walk on by. They have no idea what you’re capable of, that you are limitless. Let them use their blinders on their own lives. You live yours out loud and celebrate your goodness. You got this.
Last week I watched the movie Chef. It’s about a restaurant chef who achieved a certain level of success, settled into the mediocrity of popular food, experienced an ugly and public fall from grace, and then dismantled everything in order to rediscover his passion for his craft. There are many lessons embedded in the movie that got my wheels turning:
To launch an arrow, it must first be drawn back. We can choose to make setbacks the guts of a new foundation.
To succeed, our work has to be rooted in love. There is no luster without light, and love is the light.
If we are drones, in work and in life, then a serious shake-up is required. This won’t be comfortable but it’s necessary.
If we say we will never do something, rest assured that is exactly the thing we eventually must do.
Our failures are the basis of some of our very best work if we allow them to be. With a steady mind and a wild spirit, anything is possible.
When you write a book, you have to create a whole world that is rich with future opportunity. My hope is not only that my first novel, Where the Light Enters, gets published, but that I can also make it into a brand in its own right. Such is the way of today’s publishing landscape, and that’s not a bad thing! I’m planning on a game of some sort based on the story that highlights the value of compassion, empathy, and imagination. There are also many other books within the book that I could write that tap into different facets of the story. Among them:
– There’s plenty of room for a sequel to this book and an associated travel guide of Emerson’s quest
– The book that is the crux of the whole story—a guide to having endless and unlimited creativity
– Sketchbook of fantastical inventions (based on Truman’s character)
– Children’s book entitled The Star Lighter (written by Emerson’s mother, Nora)
– Folklore medicine and healing recipe book (based on Irene’s character)
– History of the 9 muses, and a book that tells the story of each one
– Inspirational essay collection from people all over the world who have been helped by the shoots of The Crooked Willow (based on Samuel’s character and the cafe that is one of the main settings in the book)
And the list goes on…With a lot of hard work and a bit of luck, Emerson Page could be a part of my life for a very long time.
We can’t learn to sail from the shore. We can’t learn to fly from the ground. To learn how to build a business of any kind, we must be in business. Business is an art form just like playing the piano or painting a picture. It takes practice, and chances are we will create some really awful work as we learn to make great work. So don’t be so hard on yourself if your first attempts are less than shining stars of success. Honestly, it’s better if they’re not. Go further than you think you can. Give your wildest ideas a whirl. Get crazy. That’s where the learning is, and learning is the best gift you can give to your future self. Don’t be afraid. Just do it. Go have an adventure.
“All the work worth doing is about taking the long way.” ~Seth Godin
I always look for shortcuts, ways to get twice as much done in half the amount of time. I’m ridiculously impatient with myself, and many times that serves me because it forces me to make the most of every opportunity and maximize my creativity. But when I’ve been forced to take the long way, when no other way was possible, I’ve never regretted it. I tried to enjoy the view and stay open to what may happen that I had never planned. The long way, while never preferable for me at the outset, has always ended up being a blessing because it took me in directions I never knew existed. The next time your route feels more circuitous rather than a direct shot, take a beat and look around. Every step along the path has a lesson. Take it and use it.
Christa Avampato 