Category: talents

dreams, talents

You Have The Makings of a Cathedral

Christa Avampato

This post is available as a podcast on Cinch and iTunes.

“A rock pile ceases to be a rock pile the moment a single man contemplates it, bearing within him the image of a cathedral.” ~ Antoine de Saint-Exupery

We’ve all got rock piles in our lives – raw material lying around begging for use and purpose. Skills, connections, passions, new and creative ideas that turn reality on its head. Some we’re starting to tap and develop, and some are waiting for their turn in the lime light of our attention.

This raw material takes on a certain kind of magic when we consider how we can bind it all together into something we are proud to take out into the world. It’s that book you’ve wanted to write, that class you’ve wanted to give, that piece of art that lies dormant in a blank canvas longing for color. We have this terrible habit of comparing ourselves to all of the other people in the world with our same talents and interests, wondering how we can possibly carve out a little space where our unique voice can be heard. That habit creates fear, which leaves so much work undone. To quote John Lennon, “too many people die with the music still in them.”

This image of a cathedral builder is an inspirational one. It represents hope and confidence in our ability to do and be something extraordinary, to make a powerful, lasting, and meaningful contribution to the world. All this raw material can be transformed the moment we take a different perspective and begin to see the raw material as a resource to live our best lives.

Tell me, what is the cathedral you hope to build?

The image above depicts the cathedral in Salamanca, Spain. I wish there had been a photo credit with it but I couldn’t find one. Can you believe how much light it holds?

This blog is part of the 2011 WordPress Post Every Day Challenge.

art, community, creativity, talents, technology, TED

Step 291: Collaboration Gives Life to Dreams

Christa Avampato

“Have a collegial, supportive, yeasty, zany, laughter-filled environment where folks support one another, and politics is as absent as it can be in a human (i.e., imperfect) enterprise.” ~ Tom Peters

“If you want to be incrementally better: Be competitive. If you want to be exponentially better: Be cooperative.” ~ Author Unknown, via Daily Good

Here’s the most exciting development in an increasing global marketplace and integrated society: collaboration is no longer an option. To get anything done these days, we must play nice in the sandbox and we must encourage and support the dreams and visions of others. I used to have a refrigerator magnet that read “Be Nice or Leave. Thank You.” I used to post it up at work and people would think “oh, isn’t that funny?” And actually it wasn’t. It was my truth. If people can’t be nice, then I can’t work with them. I’m 100% fine with people who passionately and vocally stand by their convictions and have opinions. I have loads of them, and I love people who have a strong point-of-view. But respecting and accepting that different ideas are possible and viable is critical to the kindness I’m looking for in others and cultivating within myself. We learn a lot from the opinions of others, particularly if they don’t match our own.

My friend, Chris, just spoke at TEDxGotham, whose theme centered on collaboration. (Check out his Twitter feed at http://twitter.com/Chris_Elam.) His dance company, Misnomer, is working on a technology platform that greatly enhances an artist’s ability to connect and collaborate with an audience. Artists are the perfect group to lead this charge for collaboration across the board because their livelihoods are predicated on it. They must work with others to convey their visions, and rely on the opinions and actions of others to spread the message of their work.

We all have that artist spirit within us. We all have visions of the world we’d like to live in. We have dreams and hopes and fears. It’s one of the underlying aspects of being human – our imagination. The tie that binds. And so even if we don’t understand or agree with someone, we can take comfort in the fact that all people, everywhere, have the desire to build the life they imagine.

There’s a tendency for a little voice inside us to get too much air time. “How could you possibly do “x”? or “Are you really qualified to make “y” happen?” We can sometimes feel selfish for getting all that we work for and deserve. Thank that little voice for its efforts and then turn its volume down to zero. You deserve to see your dreams come alive, and then some. When we base our lives on our imaginations, we’re giving others the inspiration and strength to do the same. Living the life you want is actually the most generous gift you can give the world because you’re giving us the very best of you. It’s the very highest ideal of collaboration.

business, entrepreneurship, talents

Step 284: 5 Ways for Entrepreneurs to Bring Together a Rockstar Team

Christa Avampato

“I used to say when I was starting my first company, I was much more of a recruiter than a CEO or founder.” ~ Vinod Khosla

Venture Hacks recently published an interview with Vinod Khosla. Khosla co-founded Sun Microsystems, and then went on to serve as the company’s CEO and Chairman. After leaving Sun, he became a general partner of the venture capital firm Kleiner, Perkins, Caufield & Byers in 1986 and remained there through the early 2000s. In 2004, Khosla founded Khosla Ventures to invest in start-up tech firms, particularly in the cleantech sector. When he talks, entrepreneurs listen, and with good reason: his entrepreneurial success is the stuff of Hollywood dreams.

In the interview, Khosla gives several pieces of advice for anyone starting a business, two of which I found incredibly interesting: stay true to your vision and get a good team. Entrepreneurs are by nature self-starters, non-conformists, people who enjoy going their own way. Taking the advice “find a good team” can be a challenge for independent entrepreneurs. I’ve been chewing on this conundrum all weekend, thinking about ways that entrepreneurs can and should go about finding a good team. There are countless ways to go about this tough, critical task. Here are the 5 that have worked best for me:

1.) Shout your clear, concise vision from the hilltops. If you’re clear on what you want and can articulate it succinctly and with passion, it will make it easier for your pack to find you.

2.) Don’t settle. It’s tempting to take someone who kind of fits what you’re looking for when a pile of work is looming on your desk. One of my favorite quotes from Brian is “you get what you settle for.” Good enough does not equal good, and you’ll regret the choice in the not-so-distant future.

3.) It’s okay to contract. Finding a good team takes time, though that pile of work next to you isn’t slowing down its growth any time soon. These days, contracting is a perfect way to get daily work done while searching for that perfect team. Contracting also gives you a way to test out new team members before bringing them on full-time, and it gives them a chance to check you out, too.

4.) Add only as needed. There’s a great temptation to build a team before you build a business. Get the work first, and then add staff as needed. There’s no law against taking it slow and managing your company’s growth.

5.) Multi-talented multi-taskers wanted. Usually, I’m a fan of focus over multi-tasking, however if you can find someone who has skill sets in multiple areas where you need to recruit, you can roll several positions into one superstar team member and offer extra compensation to that superstar.

What tips have helped you build stellar teams?

business, career, happiness, hope, Marcus Buckingham, Oprah, strengths, talents, work

My Year of Hopefulness – Marcus Buckingham Workshop Session 1: Introduction

Christa Avampato

I’ve previously written about Marcus Buckingham on this blog – his writing has been very influential on the way I live my life and build my career. He is a career guru and has dedicated his life to helping people live their best lives. Oprah recently featured him on one of her shows. He did a three-hour workshop with a group of women who want to improve their lives from a career standpoint. These women felt overwhelmed, anxious, off balance, and sometimes very unhappy with their jobs.


As a gift to viewers who want to live their best lives in 2009, Marcus Buckingham and Oprah filmed the entire three hours session, broke it down into 8 different classes, and put all of them on-line for free with resources and class materials. You can download them to your ipod, watch them, or listen to them on your computer. It’s as if you are sitting in a classroom with one of the most world-renowned thinkers on living a strengths-based life. And it’s incredible. 

I just completed session 1 – The Introduction with two of my friends, John and Ellen. Three basic question for everyone in the class: What is your name? What are you paid to do? Why are you here? As part of this blog, I will detail what I’m thinking, experiencing, and feeling in each one of these classes and John and Ellen have agreed to allow me to share the specifics of their situations on this blog. 

To take the class, please visit the link on Oprah’s website: http://www.oprah.com/package/money/career/pkgmarcus/20080401_orig_marcusbuckingham

Here is my own mini-class that will be featured on this blog:
Name: Christa
Paid to do?: Product Development
Here because?: My day is filled with lots of tasks I don’t want to do

Name: John
Paid to do?: Graphic Design
Here because?: Feels like he is wasting time with a company that has no advancement opportunities. Job is mostly executional, not strategic. Culture is siloed and not collaborative. A lot of in-fighting at his current firm. Many people don’t want the responsibility of making decisions, but want credit when something goes right. 

Name: Ellen
Paid to do?: Nonprofit fundraiser
Here because?: Doesn’t feel that her current company is creative, innovative, or motivated to improve. Decision-making processes in the organization are very slow and misguided. Her opinions are not listened to by her boss. She works with great people, though is not enjoying working for her boss as there is very little mentorship. 

Once a week, I will be sharing our stories as we continue through the remaining sessions of this class with Marcus Buckingham. If you decide to take it and would like to share your thoughts on the classes, I’d love to have you comment on this blog! Here’s to living our best lives in 2009!
business, Marcus Buckingham, strengths, talents, work

Building the Mississippi

Christa Avampato

I’m a big fan of management books and I consider it a personal mission to help people I know do what they’re good at. I also would not deny that I generally advocate for ignoring rules, other than ones that would land you in jail or are necessary to protect people’s happiness and freedom. Wrap all these up and your have two books by Marcus Buckingham, First, Break all the Rules and Now Discover Your Strengths, both of which I love, admire, and hold up as examples of how to conduct my career and my life.


The most powerful statement I’ve heard him make in various speeches is simple, concise, and such good advice that I wish there was a way to telecast it to anyone in the working world. “Find a small stream in which your strengths can flow and then see if you can carve it into the Mississippi.” Incredible. This statement and adherence to it turns the whole notion of job performance, corporate culture, and career planning on its head. It puts the job seeker in total charge and in one short sentence gives you a complete action plan:


1.) Find what you’re good at
2.) Find a company that has a niche, however small, that can be filled well by your strengths
3.) Work like hell to blow out that niche that makes you a rock star


I’ve been continually thinking about Barry Schwartz and The Paradox of Choice almost to a point of obsession in my efforts to simplify anywhere and everywhere I can in my life. The three steps above eliminate all of the guess work and maneuvering that goes on when people try to climb the corporate ladder. Just know what you do well, find a place that wants you to do what you’re good at, and make it your duty to use those strengths to create value. Think of the richness, gratification, and satisfaction we can find at work with this mindset. It’s how people at Google must feel everyday…and entirely accessible to each of us.