A month ago, I began living a life of my own design. I bid a fond farewell to my corporate job in favor of working for myself. I had planned the leap for over a year and once the final puzzle piece fell into place, I fell in line right along with it.
On the first day of my freelance life, I launched my new creative consulting firm, Chasing Down the Muse, which allows me to focus my energy on the three pieces of my career that I love most – product development, freelance writing, and teaching yoga and meditation to creative professionals.
It’s been an incredible gift to wake up every morning to do work that I love. Everywhere I go, I go with my whole heart. I work many more hours now than I did when I worked for someone else. The income is not as stable (yet) and there have been moments of great elation and some moments of disappointment. And still the feeling I get from calling my own shots and relying on my own sense of judgement to move forward on different leads and opportunities is well worth all of the challenges.
I’ve had a few twinges of “Oh God, can I really do this?” but they pass in a few breaths, which is as big a surprise to me as it is to anyone else. There used to be a small voice inside of me that can only be described as the biggest worrier on Earth. That valid voice has been soothed and replaced with a quiet strength, a calm and resonant voice that now says, “Keep going. Don’t worry. Everything will be amazing.” I like this new voice much better.
We wait for signs. We keep our eyes peeled, hoping for a clear and directive sign from the Heavens to tell us what to do.
Here’s the sign: the Heavens have already weighed in.
They gave you all of the gifts you need to make your own opportunities. Pull your dreams down out of the sky and plant them firmly under your own two feet. Don’t let anyone or anything deter you. Stay the course set by your heart, roll up your sleeves, and get to work.
No one else is ever going to live your life as well as you can live it, so don’t let them even try. Everything you’ve ever done has been to prepare you for this moment – it’s yours for the taking.
This weekend I put together my SXSW 2013 speaking proposal. In a few weeks, public voting will open and you’ll be able to see all of the details of my proposal. As part of the application I made a one-minute Youtube video that details my 10 Commandments of Living a Life of Your Own Design.
I was inspired by Steve Jobs’s 10 Commandments which is pinned up at my desk. Months ago I promised you I’d make up my own and here it is. I had a good time making it and I hope to be doing more of these clips soon. Let me know what you think!
“The woman who follows the crowd will usually go no further than the crowd. The woman who walks alone is likely to find herself in places no one has ever been before.” ~ Albert Einstein
That train of thought lasted all of about 60 seconds.
I’ve never been part of the crowd and I never wanted to be. I’ve always pushed boundaries, my own and those of others. I left my last corporate job because the company wanted to do what it’s always done dressed up in a slightly different costume. I realized I needed something different, something more in line with my own philosophy: if we want change, we have to change, and change is the only thing that keeps life exciting. It’s also the only thing we can be certain of.
I packed my bags, headed out toward unbroken ground, and I’ve never looked back. I needed to get to places no one has been before, and so far that’s exactly where I’ve been spending my time. It’s pretty glorious out here under the open sky. There’s more air, more light, and more life.
And as for the pitches that I was afraid were too far out there? They aren’t. They’re going really well. People do get it and want it, so much so that they wonder why it’s never been done before. And that’s just about the greatest piece of encouragement I could ask for at the close of my 3rd week of my freelance life.
Risk has a scary connotation for many people. Maybe that’s due to pop culture references like the movie Risky Business or the board game Risk. Maybe it’s because we have stunning examples of the downside of risk like the latest economic recession which has harmed millions of people to a frightening degree.
The downside of risk paralyzed me for a long time. We have a natural, genetic predisposition to safety and we have been taught that risk is the opposite of safety.
So are we stuck with those natural odds of risk? Absolutely not! There are a number of things we can do to pad our odds in favor of achieving the upside of any risk:
1.) Stash away your cash. I don’t offer investment advice but I feel infinitely confident saying that liquidity in your assets (having cash) is tantamount to giving you the best odds of achieving the upside of a risk. It gives you a cushion to land on if you come crashing down from your leap. How much do you need? That depends on your personality. I tend to hypochondria. I hope for the best and expect the worst. Many financial advisors now suggest having 6-9 months of living expenses stashed away as an emergency fund. I put away double that over 5 years because that’s what I needed to feel secure. You may feel comfortable with less, or you may need more.
2.) Meditate. Seriously? Yes! My yoga and meditation practice is a tool I use whenever I feel the jitters associated with a risk I’m contemplating. It relaxes my body, calms my mind, and helps me to call upon my creativity to drive home new ideas for boosting my odds of achieving the upside of a risk. I teach to share yoga and meditation to share these practices with anyone who wants to give them a whirl and incorporate them into their living. Curious about some meditation techniques you can use yourself? Contact Me.
3.) Stop talking, start writing. We can often talk ourselves round and round into a circle when it comes to our fears. That doesn’t mean we should stop sharing that information. I talk to my friends, my family, my dog, and to all of you about my fears. However, there should be a point where we give ourselves an end to it. I love this exercise from Pam Slim, author ofEscape from Cubicle Nation: write down every fear about a risk you’re contemplating and then stack actions against every one of them to ease or erase that fear.
And when all else fails, remember this tidbit:
– Everything will be alright in the end. If it’s not alright, it’s not the end.
I am so excited to announce the launch my new business, Chasing Down the Muse. I create products for companies on the leading edge of their industries and teach classes that help people build their own creative habit. To learn more about my services, click here.
Thank you so much for all of your support leading up to this big day. If you’re interested in this new business, here are a few ways to be involved with the company:
1.) Be an Inspired Instigator! As I craft products, services, and programs, I will be reaching out to a small group of people to get their feedback and advice prior to launch. I’d love to have you as part of the group! The time commitment is very small (mostly done in short 10-question surveys every other month), entirely optional, and fun. Plus, there will be prizes and plenty o’ recognition. Contact me if you’re interested in learning more.
2.) Keep me in mind for any projects you or your company have that match my experience and pass on the URL of Chasing Down the Muse to anyone you know who would be interested in learning more.
Thanks again for all of your energy and excitement around my leap into a freelance life. I’ll be sharing the journey with you every day right here and I hope you’ll share your journey with all of us, too!
Planning to leap, peering over the edge of the cliff into my dreams, was scary. Leaping was not.
When I walked out my corporate office yesterday and into a freelance life, I knew I was making just the right change at just the right time. All these months, I went through every fear in the book. I teased them out, one by one, and then I stacked a plan against each until the fear was manageable. I kept waiting to have no fear at all, and then realized that day isn’t coming. And it shouldn’t.
Used in the correct way, with the correct perspective, a bit of fear can be a wonderful motivator to act more and act often. Once I saw it as a tool and not a roadblock, a funny thing happened: the fear actually did subside. It reminded me of that saying, “Once I accept who I am, then I can change.” We have to get out of our own way in order to act.
There’s a lot of power in action. I’m a huge fan of planning but only to the extent that it’s used as a gateway to action, and the sooner that gateway opens the better.
“Anyone can be an instructor; what you need to work on is being someone’s teacher.” ~ Mel Brasier, ISHTA Yoga Senior Teacher
“I don’t teach what I own. I own what I teach.”~ Mona Anand, ISHTA Yoga Senior Teacher
Today, I’m halfway through my advanced yoga teacher training program at ISHTA. I’ve been spending a lot of time thinking about what makes a teacher. Anyone can learn material and the words to communicate it to someone else. Anyone can stand at the front of the room and give directions from memory. But that doesn’t make someone a teacher.
A teacher can take what she knows, discover what her students need, and then find a way to dynamically marry the two.
There’s a lot to be said for preparation, for planning out a safe and purposeful class. It requires a tremendous amount of knowledge and practice. But it doesn’t make someone a teacher.
A teacher is someone who is prepared as much as he is aware. He has the courage to take everything he planned to do and throw it away for the sake of serving his students and their needs in the moment. He can bravely change course when he sees that there is a better way forward.
Teaching has very little to do with the teacher and everything to do with the student. Teaching is service. It requires that we show up, tune in, and give freely to those around us.
“Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing.”~ Arundhati Roy via Daily Good
Do you hear that? It’s the sound of change whispering in your ear and it’s not taking no for an answer.
One unexpected consequence of taking a leap into the new future of a career by my own design is that I now want to take everyone I know right along with me. Since giving my notice at work, the overwhelming number of responses have fallen into the following 2 categories:
1.) “I wish I could do that.”
2.) “I want to do that, too. Can you help me figure out how? I need some inspiration.”
My answer to #1 is, you can. My answer to #2 is, yes of course I’ll help you. I’ve also been so pleased to hear that so many others are planning their own leaps and are on the path to launch in the not-too-distant future. I couldn’t be happier for them because I know what awaits and while that carries its own risks and stresses, it’s pretty damn amazing to feel the flood of creativity that follows the leap.
The new world of how to merge our greatest passions with how we earn a living has been around for a long time but she is gaining steam now thanks to technology and our own evolution. She’s heading your way. Be ready. (HINT:Chris Guillebeau‘s new book $100 Startup will help you prepare for this brave new world of work. Review coming soon…)
Once people find out I’ve given notice at my corporate job, the next question is always, “So, now what will you do?” Those who know me as a yoga teacher assume I will plow myself into that career full-time. Those who know me as a writer assume that will be my singular pursuit. And those who have worked with me as a product developer figure I’m heading off to the freelance world. My answer: I’m doing all of it.
My leap from my current job had very little to do with that job and a whole lot to do with the kind of life I’m designing. I want the freedom to work out my passions every single day. My singular passion is to help people live extraordinary lives and I do that in a few ways:
1.) I teach yoga to help people cultivate a sense of well-being that they can take into their lives every day
2.) I write stories that inspire and ignite people’s imaginations
3.) I develop useful products and services that people love
Those are my goals, every day, everywhere I go, in everything I do.
So, now what will I do? Exactly what I’ve always done, but now it always will be on my own terms.
A month ago, I began living a life of my own design. I bid a fond farewell to my corporate job in favor of working for myself. I had planned the leap for over a year and once the final puzzle piece fell into place, I fell in line right along with it.
Christa Avampato 