Category: creativity

creativity, discovery

Beautiful: We Can Always Be More Than We Are

Christa Avampato

From Pinterest“There is nothing in a caterpillar that tells you it’s going to be a butterfly.” ~ Buckminster Fuller

I always think about this quote whenever I find myself saying, “I don’t think I’m qualified to…” or “I don’t have any experience in…” The truth is that if we’re passionate and committed to getting something done, we’ll find a way to do it.

We all start at zero. None of us had any kind of expertise in anything when we were born. We gain experience by living and learning. That doesn’t stop once childhood is over. We’re all in process throughout our entire lives.

Don’t let anyone tell you that you can’t do something. So many of our capabilities lie dormant until we need them. They are just waiting to be discovered and the only way to discover them is to live.

creativity, discovery, dreams, product development, work

Beautiful: Want to Find Your Purpose? Forget Avenue Q and Take a Page from the Product Developer’s Handbook.

Christa Avampato

from Pinterest“Purpose is the place where your deep gladness meets the world’s needs.” ~ Frederick Buechner

Finding Purpose can be a daunting task. Just ask Princeton, the lead puppet in the show Avenue Q. He’s looking for purpose and his life takes a number of twists and turns, some happy and some incredibly unhappy, in his quest.

But finding purpose doesn’t need to be a torturous task. You don’t need to be a Princeton. There’s a better way, and it’s very similar to how companies create products every day: they identify what they do well, then they look at what the market needs, and they build products and services at the overlap between their strengths and the market’s needs.

You can do the same thing, and it won’t take long.

1.) First, figure out what you like to do and what you do well. These areas can be as broad or as narrow as you like. “Writing” is just as good an answer as “writing poetry for children”.

2.) Second, identify a pain point in the market. A pain point is something that causes people to waste time or causes frustration. For example, many people in New York City don’t have cars of their own and it can be difficult to transport a lot of goods from a store to home. For this reason, many stores and service providers have delivery service. This reduces frustration and saves time for consumers. As you go through your day, think about things that cause you to waste time or energy and things that cause you to be frustrated. Ask your friends, family members, and neighbors about their pain points. Observe other people’s behavior on the street, in stores, at work, etc. What pain points are they experiencing? Again, you can make these pain points as broad or as narrow as you’d like.

3.) Now for the fun part. Look at the list of what you like to do and where your strengths lie side-by-side with the pain points you’ve identified. This is where your creativity comes in. What can you build in the places where these lists overlap? That’s purpose, and a profitable purpose to boot!

career, choices, creativity, happiness, work

Beautiful: If Hillary Clinton is Comfortable with a TBD Future, Then So Am I

Christa Avampato

Have you read Hillary Clinton’s Twitter bio?

“Wife, mom, lawyer, women & kids advocate, FLOAR, FLOTUS, US Senator, SecState, author, dog owner, hair icon, pantsuit aficionado, glass ceiling cracker, TBD…”

The part I like best is “TBD…” This especially resonates with me because starting June 26th, my future is completely TBD. I’m heading to Santa Monica for two months to take a break and figure it out. A lot of people I know are surprised, some are shocked, and some are confused. Why go to California? And exactly what is it that I want to figure out?

I need a break from everything
I’ve been go, go, going for years. Maybe from birth. I can’t remember the last time I took a vacation just to rest and relax. I’m always going for a class / some kind of training or a service project or to visit family. I never go on vacation just to, well, go on vacation. So I’ll be doing plenty of relaxing and just having fun. Cali seems like a good place to do that.

Trying out a bi-coastal life
For a long time, I’ve had this dream of a bi-coastal life, using both New York and California as homes from which to live and work. I know New York suits me. I just don’t know if California does so I’m going to try it out. If I come back to NYC missing California, I’ll know I’m on to something.

Figure out my career
I left my corporate job exactly a year ago tomorrow. I forged this career path of my own design and it’s been an incredible learning experience. I got involved in some wonderful projects with wonderful people. I made some huge mistakes. I succeeded and failed in equal amounts, and I’m proud of all of those experiences. A life and career change of this magnitude is worthy of some dedicated reflection so that I can more clearly see the path ahead. This requires me to zone out the noise of everyday life and tune into my sense of purpose and passion. A change of scene will help me do that.

Where will this lead?
I have no idea. Honestly, I’ve put every facet of my career and life on the table for consideration. I have no definitive must-haves and must-gos. Like Hillary, the future is completely TBD for me. If someone of her stature can be okay with total reinvention, then certainly I can, too. Here’s the one thing I know for sure: I’m going to do what makes me happy.

animals, creativity, dogs, grateful, gratitude

Beautiful: Gratitude Walks With Phineas

Christa Avampato
Phineas taking in the sights and sounds on one of our morning gratitude walks.

Every morning, Phin and I take at least an hour-long gratitude walk. On our walks, I think about all of the blessings I have in my life. I worked for and live a magnificent life. I’m grateful for good work, good people, and freedom, for the sunshine and the blue sky and the trees. For the ability to feel such a wide range of emotions so fully and authentically. I’m most grateful for my inability to take any moment for granted; I know too well how swiftly it can all disappear without warning. I’m grateful to see opportunity everywhere and be able to action against those opportunities for my own benefit and the benefit of others.

Every once in a while, I ask Phin what he’s grateful for and he just looks at me and smiles. “Back at ya, buddy,” I tell him. He lives in the moment more than anyone I know. He loves fiercely and freely. I try to follow his example. If anyone knows the value of time and gratitude, it’s Phin. He’s an amazing teacher.

beauty, career, creativity, design, dreams, strengths

Beautiful: Today You are Building Tomorrow’s Destiny

Christa Avampato

“Sometimes, history is destiny.” ~ Adrian Benepe, Senior Vice President and Director of City Park Development at Trust for Public Land

While Mr. Benepe is referring to the development of cities, his quote just as easily applies to our lives. What you do today matters, not only in this moment but in every moment that follows. As someone who spent a lot of time unsure of when I would actually try to create my dream career, I can promise you that time is of the essence. Waiting and talking about what you’re going to do someday gets you nowhere. Action starts the long, winding, sometimes-frustrating but always-interesting road. And that’s what we all need to do – we need to get started. Now.

Traversing this ground toward dreams is going to take time. You’re going to grind along in fits and starts. Some days it all comes so easily and some days you’ll feel like you’re chasing your own tail. This cycle of ups and downs and turnarounds happens to me all the time. Why is it so hard to move forward? And is it even worth trying?

It’s hard because we have to build the foundation, construct the frame, enclose it, smooth out the structure, and then, and only then, do we get to the fun stuff of aesthetics and decoration. But without that underlying organization, without all those incredibly unsexy but totally necessary pieces of infrastructure, the aesthetics don’t matter. Cover it up with spackle and paint all you want. It will crumble without a foundation.  

As someone who is still very much in the foundation building phase, who is mired in unsexy structural details on a daily basis, I can tell you that I still find some small victory every single day. Some days, I’m waiting on that victory until the 11th hour. But it always shows up. I think about throwing in the towel and just then some small sign from the universe breaks through and that sign gives me the strength to keep going, to keep trying, to keep waking up and giving it my best shot.

I am certain there are lots of changes on the horizon. Changes I can’t even imagine, much less plan for. Some of them are going to knock me over. They’re going to overwhelm me and cause me to question everything. Well, almost everything. No matter what happens, I’m going to get right back up. I am certain of that. And I will be stronger for it. Destiny-building is strenuous work, but there is no greater joy that pulling it together bit by beautiful bit.

creativity, writing, yoga

Beautiful: My Interview on Moving With Grace – Writing, Yoga, and the Creative Habit

Christa Avampato

Anna Van FleetAnna Van Fleet is a wonderful and supportive reader of the Christa In New York: Curating a Creative Life community. She was curious about my writing process, yoga teaching practice, and how I use the two of them to support and bolster creativity. Given that this type of discussion is one of my very favorites, I was honored that she asked to interview me on her blog, Moving with Grace.

Below are a couple of the questions and responses. To read the full story, click here.

Q: You are a prolific and talented writer, on many topics.  You have self-published books, and are collaborating with others.  You also have a great blog and a lot going on!  Can you tell me about your practice of writing?

Christa: I do have a daily writing practice. I sit down every day at some point and write. I’ve been doing that for 6 years. I wanted to become a solid writer and I felt the only way that I could do that is to practice every single day. Sometimes it’s for my blog (which has a daily post) and other times it’s for freelance pieces or personal writing projects I’m working on. It’s become such a ritual now that I actually don’t feel right if I don’t write every day. For me, writing is like brushing my teeth. I see and experience the world as a writer and it makes sense of me to get those observations down in some way.

Q: You are interested in yoga and meditation used as tools for creativity.  Have you developed a philosophy on what works in the practice of yoga and meditation specifically with regards to creativity?

Christa: I’ve taught yoga for creativity classes at places such as SXSW (ed. note: The South by Southwest® (SXSW®) Conferences & Festivals (March 8-17, 2013)) and NYU. A number of my students are professionals in creative fields. Yoga is a tremendous support to me as a writer and product developer. My yoga teacher, Douglass Stewart, says that our practice both saves and serves. That’s definitely true for me.

Creativity needs boundaries. A painter’s canvas is only so big. A book can only be so long. A songwriter’s tune can only last so many minutes. It’s these boundaries, these guideposts that hone and focus our creativity. We eliminate the unnecessary so the necessary can speak. Discipline and determination are wonderful, useful tools for artists of all varieties. Without them, our creative muscle just becomes one big blob. Organizing our creativity is what gives it impact and that’s what I try to impart in all of my work and my teaching.

community, creativity, social change, society, technology

Beautiful: Robots Set to Become Important Members of Our Communities

Christa Avampato
Say hello to NAO

Last week I watched the movie Robot & Frank. The movie follows the story of Frank, an aging, slightly-reformed thief who is facing dementia-like symptoms. Divorced with adult children who have busy lives of their own, Frank (portrayed brilliantly and powerfully by actor Frank Langella) fights against being moved to a nursing facility. Though the movie takes place in the not-too-distant future, several significant leaps in technology have been made. One of these leaps involves creating robots who serve as caretakers to the aging. Frank’s son buys him one of these skilled-care robots and so begins Frank’s sweet, bizarre, and tangled friendship with his robot who records Frank’s every move, including his return to crime.

Think it’s far-fetched for robots to play the critical role of senior caretaker? Think again.

Earlier this week, Fast Company ran an article about the NAO humanoid robot. Though invented about 5 years ago, it is now available commercially and helps autistic children in schools. Why has a robot proven effective with autistic children? Interaction with other people is a key challenge for many people, adults and children, who have autism. Because robots have predictable behaviors (after all, we program them and they can only do what we tell them to do) and offer far less stimuli during interactions than humans, people with autism can relate well to them.

The days of personal robots are quickly moving from the dreams of science fiction writers to members of our society. With the collaborative vision and determination of programmers, designers, and product developers, they may well be the  critical component to solving some of the greatest social challenges in our society. To take a peek at videos of the NAO humanoid robot at work, click here.

commitment, community, creativity, philanthropy, yoga

Beautiful: How Compass Yoga Can Spread the Love to People in Need After Natural Disasters

Christa Avampato

photoI’m doing a lot of thinking about Compass Yoga‘s direction these days. I’m proud of what we’ve built. I’m overjoyed that we help over 200 people every week thanks to a band of dedicated and loving teachers. However, I’m never satisfied. I always want to do more. I want to reach more people, provide more healing, and expand our capabilities.

I am deeply affected by the aftermath of the natural disasters our nation has faced in the past few years. I’ve daydreamed about a way for Compass Yoga to help. I’ve toyed with yoga fundraisers and donation-based classes to benefit victims, though that impact seems miniscule compared to the need that these disasters create. Additionally, there are so many other ways to give that are more efficient and have wider reach. The innovation to text a donation via our cell phones is brilliant, and I use it often.

When President Obama gave his remarks just after the Oklahoma tornado last week, a lightbulb went off. He said, “So the people of Moore should know that their country will remain on the ground, there for them, beside them as long as it takes. For there are homes and schools to rebuild, businesses and hospitals to reopen, there are parents to console, first responders to comfort, and, of course, frightened children who will need our continued love and attention.”

His words reignited an idea I had when a deadly tornado hit Joplin, Missouri in 2011. I didn’t want to provide yoga to people in Joplin. That’s not what they immediately needed. They needed the love, care, compassion, and concern that shines in the heart of every yogi everywhere. What we need is a way to harness that love, distill it, and provide it as comfort for people who have lost so much in these disasters. I know that feeling and it is terrifying and isolating.

We have a lot of wonderful organizations that provide basic needs – food, shelter, healthcare. In addition to that work, they also need to be the emotional support for the people they help. This latter responsibility could use assistance from other groups, providing the compassion for these people, giving them someone to talk to, someone whose sole role is to stand with them until they can stand on their own again. Who could do that work? Who could own that mission?

And there it was in President Obama’s quote. We need to do it, to provide comfort to first responders, love, attention, and consolation to those who are frightened. With technology, Compass Yoga could do it. We could live up to our name and guide people along their personal paths to recovery. Yogis are everywhere, in every community. They want to help. Let’s give them a way to put their hearts where the need is. Let’s solve this. 

creativity, decision-making, technology

Beautiful: Computer Programming Teaches Us How to Solve Every Problem

Christa Avampato

“Divide each difficulty into as many parts as is feasible and necessary to resolve it.” ~ Rene Descartes, French mathematician and philosopher

Problems trip us up because they typically have many layers. We get so caught up in their tangled webs that we can’t see our way clear of them. We try to solve the whole thing at once. If we can break a problem down into pieces and then address each piece individually, we gain confidence by removing each roadblock and eventually the light at the end of the tunnel begins to shine through.

Learning to program has taught me this lesson at every turn. In programming, we have a goal – the thing we’re trying to build. To get there, we have to break the problem down into pieces and address each small piece line by line. The collection of all of those lines yield our desired result.

The same is true for any problem in our lives. They’re all made of tiny problems stacked on top of one another. Start where you are, see where you want to go, and chart all of the small steps to get from here to there. It’s a sure path to unraveling any challenge that ails us. And while you’re at it, why not learn to code?

career, creativity, entrepreneurship, philanthropy, product, product development, yoga

Beautiful: One Fine Yogi, My Latest Creation, Is Starting Up to Support Compass Yoga

Christa Avampato

“Yoga is skill in action.” ~ Bhagavad Gita

As a way to build a sustainable revenue source for Compass Yoga, I’m creating a line of yoga-inspired fashions for you and your home as well as personal care products under the brand One Fine Yogi. Proceeds from this line of products will support Compass’s work to get more yoga to more people in more places. If you want to be notified about the launch this summer, please visit http://onefineyogi.com and add your name to the mailing list.

Right now I am in the midst of the design / test phase. The launch timeline is as follows:

Late June: I’ll launch the first t-shirt design. I’m working with Teespring, a start-up based in Rhode Island, to create an exclusive line of original short sale t-shirts. T-shirts will be ladies cut and made from super soft material. Short sale designs are limited editions sold for a limited amount of time. Designs will be available for 3 weeks starting in late June and you place your orders for that design during that window of time. Every 3 weeks a new design will launch. Once each design session closes, the t-shirts ordered during that window will be created as limited editions and sent directly to your mailing address. Pretty cool, eh?

Late Summer: To kick off the home fashion line, I’m creating a line of limited edition yoga-inspired wall decals and prints.

Fall: We encounter a lot of stressors in our lives so we could all use a little more pampering, right? One Fine Yogi has you covered with a line of heavenly scented bath salts and sugar scrubs to ease tension, calm the mind, and lift your spirits. Our therapeutic blends of herbs, spices, and oils infuse the highest quality salts and sugars to help bring out your glow, inside and out. Also, if you have a specific fragrance or benefit you’d like to receive from our bath salts and sugar scrubs, we can create a custom blend just for you.

I’m tremendously excited to create and share my first line of original products and to build out this brand with a mission that takes its inspiration from a practice that has brought me so many gifts. I hope you’ll share in the journey!