Someone recently sent me an email and asked, “You clearly spend a lot of your time reading. Could you cut through all the chatter of the news and just send me links to the things you think are most interesting?”
Yes. Yes, I can.
I’ve been overwhelmed and honored by the number of people, some whom I know and some whom I don’t know, who have reached out to me in one form or another to say how excited they are about my leap into my own business. They ask me to explain how I made the leap and the planning that went into it. They want to know how they can apply it to their own lives and ideas.
I noodled on how to efficiently get this information to anyone who wants it and decided that the oldie but goodie mechanism of a monthly e-newsletter was the best way to go. After 5 years of daily blogging about living a creative life, I’m putting together the e-newsletter to highlight great books I’m reading, intriguing people I’m meeting, links to interesting articles on creativity, and helpful advice for entrepreneurs and people who are thinking of becoming entrepreneurs.
Get this goodness delivered to your in-box every month by clicking here or following the link at the top of this page.
As I reflect today on the meaning behind the 4th of July, I’m thinking of independence from a new vantage point – freedom and liberation in my work life.
Today I’m inspired by the people who took the Greatest Risk for all of us and founded our nation. When the time to rise up arrived, they didn’t shrink back from their chance at freedom. They risked a sentence of treason and death for the sake of liberty. The risks were high but so were the potential rewards.
In comparison, any leap we take isn’t even close to that scary! They took a chance, a planned and passionate chance, and they worked like hell through tremendously difficult circumstances to create the nation we have today. We are blessed by their courage and taking our own leaps, however large or small, is our way of saying thanks for all that they sacrificed for us.
Now that I’m out on my own, I’m realizing the triumphs and challenges of a freelance life. I wouldn’t have it any other way. Every morning I wake up and pinch myself – I am so fortunate to have this time and space to work on projects with my whole heart. And after a moment set aside for pure gratitude, I get to work.
The same is true for anyone who takes a risk and goes out on a limb to tear a dream right out of the sky. It’s scary and thrilling, and both of those feelings motivate in equal measure. Sure, you can absolutely be bogged down by the idea of, “What if it doesn’t work out?” But you can be equally raised up by the idea of, “And what if it does?” Rise up out of the bog. Life is so damn short. Do work that matters.
This road ain’t easy but good God it is worth it – today we’re all living proof of that. Happy 4th!
Yesterday someone asked me how I was enjoying my life of leisure. Someone else asked me how it feels to have all this free time now that I am unemployed. I was equally confused by both of them and set them straight (quickly):
A.) I am hardly living a life of leisure. I’m working a lot more now for myself than I was a few weeks ago when I was working for someone else. The difference is that now I work on projects that light me up and that I decided were worth my time rather than having someone else dictate work that I felt was largely pointless given its lack of usefulness to just about anyone.
B.) I’m not unemployed; I work for myself and not out of necessity. I chose this path.
Here’s the lay of the land in my new world of work:
When you work for someone else, you set aside a (big) portion of your day in exchange for a stable salary. Usually that time is blocked off on a regular schedule and you get into a routine: getting ready for work, the rhythm of the work day, and then traveling back from work into your personal life. When you work for yourself, the boundaries are a lot less clear. You need to set up your schedule with discipline and you work far more hours for yourself than you do when you work for someone else. Luckily, your passion for the work makes the longer hours worthwhile.
Working for yourself is a huge time commitment. Remember, you’re doing everything yourself – from the mundane administrative work to the big picture strategic thinking. It’s rewarding, but it’s not leisure. It’s work and it takes time.
You keep your current clients happy, you pitch new business, and you research for new leads. That cycle of work has to be maintained to keep the business going. The freedom and the passion you feel for your work provides a tremendous amount of satisfaction with opportunities to constantly learn and grow. It’s a ball and a half but it needs near-constant attention, especially at the start.
This life isn’t for everyone, but it is most certainly for me. I’ve never felt better about my career and life, present and future. There’s so much opportunity all around us and I’m grateful for the time to make the most of it. We only get one crack at this life in this form; every second counts!
Would you run out into the street, open your wallet, and hand out money to anyone and everyone you saw? Probably not. So why would you do that with your time?
Escape from Cubicle Nation by Pam Slim and The $100 Startup by Chris Guillebeau are must-reads for anyone who has taken, is taking, or is contemplating taking a big leap into a freelance life. They are both loaded with inspiring and practical information.
Of all the tidbits of wisdom and tools that they offer, the one that truly stands out like a shining beacon of reason has to do with valuing time. Nothing will get you to understand the worth of your time more than working for yourself. Pam Slim goes so far as to say that entrepreneurs, and particularly those just starting out, need to “be ruthless with their time.”
Pam and Chris are right on: your time is now at a premium. And not just the hours you may set aside for work, but all of your time. Working for yourself you become acutely aware that your time is your most valuable asset because it is at the core of every decision you make in your business. Don’t just give it away to to everyone who requests it. Treat it like the greatest treasure you could hold because it is.
“It’s okay to have emotions. Just make sure they don’t have you.” ~ Sarah Platt-Finger, ISHTA Yoga Senior Teacher
So, it happened. Over the past month since I gave notice at my corporate job and took the leap into working for myself, I have been amazed by how little fear has risen to the surface. Actually, it hasn’t risen up at all. Yesterday while in my meditation in my training class, it surprised me as it rose up and expressed itself with a sound akin to “Ah!”And then it passed away just as quickly, and as surprisingly, as it rose up.
The moment and its lessons were not lost on me. In that one second, I learned a lot about fear and perseverance:
1.) Fear is like an air bubble. It wants to be recognized and have a chance to express itself. The more we resist it and deny it, the larger that bubble becomes. If we can get ourselves into a neutral state (I recommend meditation to help with this), then the bubble can rise up to the surface and dissipate. Let fear come, but then let it go.
2.) Fear is like quicksand. If we begin to flail around in quicksand, it will swallow us whole. Remain still and we float to shore. The same is true for fear. When it comes upon us, we may feel the need “to do.” And by that I mean we may feel the need to do anything because we feel that doing anything is much better than doing nothing. It’s hard to be afraid and stay still, but that’s exactly what is needed if we want to find our way to the other side of fear, which is freedom.
3.) We have all the tools we need to banish fear. This is the most amazing insight that came from my panic moment. My meditation allowed the fear to surface and ask me, “Hey, are you sure you know what you’re doing?” In the stillness that the meditation induced in my mind and body, the answer clearly and quickly rose up – “Yes.” And in an instant the fear faded. It got the answer it needed.
This is the brilliance of meditation: it lets us face our fears but also gives us the tools to effectively and efficiently release them. We let go of fear (and every other thing that no longer serves us) because we ourselves let go. For a few moments every day, we stop doing and in those moments we feel the deep strength and wisdom that we always carry within us. Tap into that, and we find that we already have every answer to every challenge we will ever face. Go in and we find that it is this inner strength that allows us to rise.
Have you noticed how much energy you expend on fear? Now think about how much energy you put toward your dreams.
No one can tell you to stop being afraid. But there is a lot to be gained from evening out the equation between fear and dreams. Dreams will make you bolder, stronger, and more creative. They’ll light you up in a way that the whole world can see, drawing good fortune in your direction.
And here’s the real magic trick: the more you dream, the less you fear because dreams teach you what’s possible.
Earlier this week, Phin and I took our morning walk along the Hudson. The sun was shining, the boats were sailing, the birds were singing, and the wind was blowing. It took my breath away. I turned my face up to the sky, took a big full breath, and said a prayer of thanks. Thanks for this life, this day, and the opportunity to be exactly where I am right now. I’ve been carrying that feeling around with me for days and it feels amazing. Give it a try. See where it takes you and what gifts it reveals.
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.
A classical example of a Yoga Nidra class. Image from Pinterest.
On Monday night I taught a class on Yoga and Creative Focus to creative professionals in residence at the NYU Tisch School’s ITP Camp. I have been a long-time fan of the program and was honored to be able to teach there. This session was similar to the class I’ve taught at SXSW but with an added bonus – a guided Yoga Nidra meditation.
Yoga Nidra is a technique that takes people into a “dreamless sleep” meaning that it is an incredibly replenishing practice that allows people to sink into a deeply relaxing state defined by delta wave activity in the brain. I used it as a pathway to help students clear their minds so that their best creative ideas could rise into consciousness.
15 incredibly talented professionals took the class and it was a beautiful thing to witness. By the end of the class their faces softened, their postures were more open, and their gaze was relaxed. The response to the class was overwhelming. This technique can be used as occasional sleep replacement when needed and it can be used just as effectively to reduce anxiety and stress and induce sleep.
What’s next
In the coming months I will put together a set of classes to spread this practice to a wider group of people so that they can take this technique into their lives and into their work. I’ll make sure to announce these classes and workshops where I’ll be offering Yoga Nidra and other meditation techniques that are especially helpful for creative professionals. In addition, I will also be putting together some podcasts of these techniques so that people can give them a try in the comfort of their own homes.
Over the past few weeks, a lot of people have asked me why I left my stable corporate job in favor of a freelance life. “You must be terrified,” some say. “You must be worried about how you’re going to survive,” others say. And still others tell me I have a lot of guts, balls, and courage to make that kind of leap.
I don’t think of it that way at all. I went my own way for a lot of other reasons, and one of them is because I wanted to say “Yes”, or rather “Hell yes”, to requests that come my way to do things in life that light me up.
Yesterday I spent most of the day with my friend, Alex, who is one of my very best friends from business school. She’s in town for a conference and because my time is now my own I could meet her on a Monday afternoon without worrying about a jumbled work schedule that would cut our time short. I pushed a few things aside to later this week and did a more work than usual on Sunday evening so I could be available at the time when Alex was free.
On Wednesday afternoon I’m going to the beautiful studio Bija Yoga because the Ananda Ashram invited me to attend an intimate afternoon tea exploring yoga-based meditation with David Michael Hollander and to interview him afterwards. Two weeks ago, I would have had to send my regrets and decline this invitation. Now, I can accept it with gratitude.
The fear monster has yet to find me as I make my way in this new way to work. I’m sure it’s out there, but I firmly believe that as long as I follow my true calling, as long as I keep pursuing work I love and saying yes to opportunities that bring me joy, I will be fine. I will actually be far more than fine. I will begin to deeply understand what it means to truly live, to be present in each moment. And that is its own gift, its own reward.
Someone recently sent me an email and asked, “You clearly spend a lot of your time reading. Could you cut through all the chatter of the news and just send me links to the things you think are most interesting?” 
Christa Avampato 