faith, yoga, youth

Step 298: Someone’s Listening

Christa Avampato

“When you have come to the edge of all light that you know and are about to drop off into the darkness of the unknown, faith is knowing one of two things will happen: There will be something solid to stand on or You will be taught to fly.” ~ Patrick Overton

In the past few weeks, the press has continuously covered the recent rash of suicides among young people across the country. To contribute to a solution, I’m reaching out to a number of youth organizations and schools to see if there are yoga classes I can offer that would be helpful and to see if Innovation Station might be used as a tool to not only build creativity, but to also build community and understanding and tolerance.

On Sunday, I met up with my friend, Sara. We we were in the same yoga teacher training class, and Sara is now studying to be a holistic health counselor. We got to talking about her journey over the past year and how she came to realize that she wanted a career in the wellness field. Once she discovered her calling, she found that the world started opening up possibilities for her to live the life she wanted. Every day she’s amazed by the new opportunities coming her way as a result of articulating her dreams. Universal consciousness is a wise and generous listener.

I wish I could gather together every young person today who is struggling, who doesn’t see a light at the end of the tunnel, who truly believes that life cannot and will not get better. I want them to know what Sara and I have experienced. Yes, it can improve, but more importantly I want to tell them something even better – that someone, somewhere is always listening. They may find that hard to believe when everything around them seems so gloomy. I can tell them from my first-hand experience that I have been listened to and that the world’s energy sprang into action when I needed it most. If we have the courage to give words to our greatest fears and our greatest dreams, if we can ask for help and then accept that help, the world will offer up a way forward. Even in our loneliest, darkest hour, we are not alone. And never will be.

learning, yoga

Step 297: Back to Basics

Christa Avampato

The beginning months of the school year make me think about getting back to fundamental pieces of learning. As we move along our path, it’s easy to get caught up in perfecting our advanced skills that we have layered on to our basics. To improve the whole of our abilities it’s important to revisit what started us on our journey.

I’ve been going to a Saturday morning yoga class at New York Sports Club for a few weeks. I’ve heard a lot of people down yoga classes taught at gyms. I first learned yoga through private instruction, but my first regular group classes happened as a gym so for me, a gym setting for yoga is perfectly natural. I kind of like the extra concentration I have to put in to drown out the clank of the weights just outside the group exercise room. Yoga classes are not as popular in New York gyms as they are in New York yoga studios so there’s always plenty of room to spread out at my class. I guess not so great for the gym, but plenty great for me!

Brian, my instructor, offers a comforting, easy-to-follow hatha class. No fancy vinyasa (flow) sequences. Some Sanskrit (the original language of yoga), a bit of meditation, and a focus on the breath. He’s kind and caring, and offers just enough challenge without overwhelming his students with options. He focuses on basic asanas (postures), which gives me the opportunity to remember why the foundation of our learning and our practice, in any discipline, is so important.

Focusing on basics in this yoga class reminds me of one of my favorite quotes: “If you have built castles in the air, your work need not be lost; that is where they should be. Now put the foundations under them.” ~ Henry David Thoreau, American Author. (This inspiration sparked one of my blog posts this summer about why it’s important to step up to a cause that calls us.) It’s fun to imagine wild and far out possibilities, to build ideal dreams. Brian’s class also helps me remember that the basics can be as fun as they are necessary.

career, work, writing

Step 296: 3 Things to Keep in Mind for Your Year-end Performance Review

Christa Avampato

“Let your manners speak, your deeds prove, and your delivery impress.” ~ Yogi Tea

Cue the music! “It’s about that time of, time of the year again…” Nope, not the holidays just yet. Performance reviews, one of my work requirements that I dread the most. I always fantasize about not following the company format but instead writing some pithy essay about why I don’t think performance reviews work. I was completing my self-evaluation on Friday, and in a moment of frustration at how long it was taking, I went to make a cup of tea.

The quote above was on the tag of my teabag. Yoga has taught me that the world often hands us the teaching we need exactly when we need it. I needed to hear this message today. I went back to my computer with a little bit of renewed energy. Maybe I don’t need to see these reviews as arduous and pointless. It is an opportunity to reflect on the year nearly behind us and to look ahead at how I’d like 2011 to take shape.

Given my recent introspective mood, it’s fitting to have this task on my to-do list now. Clearly, if the world is handing it to me, along with a bit of encouragement and advice via my tea, I must need what it has to teach me.

adventure, free, happiness

Step 295: Life’s No Fun Unless You Dance

Christa Avampato

“My violin teacher, the amazing Kato Havas, has a workshop visual that has always stuck with me. She leans on a table, holds it with both hands, and says ‘I am safe – I will not fall – BUT IT’S HARD TO DANCE!’ ” ~ Trish Scott

Through this blog Trish Scott has become a friend and mentor. I reviewed her book about animal communication last week after she gave me some brilliant advice about training Phin, my adorable dachshund who I adopted a month ago from the Humane Society. This week Trish left the comment above on my post about letting go of the need for certainty. I love the comment so much that I had to feature it in a post of its own.

It’s understandable, common, and perfectly normal to seek safety and security. And once we get to a place of comfort, particularly after we’ve been uncomfortable for some time, it can be tough to leave. Adventure makes us feel alive; it can also wear us out. We need to rest and recoup, and then we need to be prepared to dance again. Dancing, in one form another, is what we’re built to do.

Trish’s comment paying tribute to her violin teacher reminds me of the famous quote by John Shedd – “A ship in harbor is safe, but that is not what ships are built for.” Our lives are meant for living, and in the process there will be disappoints and hurt feelings and frustrations. We won’t always get where we want to go when we want to be there. We’ll struggle and strive and work like crazy to achieve and grow and prosper. And once we’ve “made it”, there will be a great temptation to stay right where we are. After all, isn’t this place of security what we’ve been working so hard for?

In the very wise words of Haitian culture, “behind the mountains are more mountains.” There is always more to see and do and learn. That’s one of the things that makes our world such an incredible place. Hang on to the table and regain your balance. Rest a bit, and then get going again. You owe it to yourself, and to the world, to scale that next mountain that’s calling your name. Don’t worry about taking up the challenge – in the distance there’s another mountain, followed by another table and another time for rest. It’s a cycle like any other, so go ahead and dance.

business, community, creativity, entrepreneurship, love

Step 294: Love Connection

Christa Avampato

“You are connected to everything. Love accordingly.” ~ All Day Buffet during The Feast Conference

The Feast Conference happened last week in New York. I didn’t attend this year but plan to attend next year. The Feast Conference is curated by All Day Buffet, a company based in New York City that connects, develops, and launches purpose-driven ventures. I featured my interview Jerri Chou, one of the co-founders of All Day Buffet, in my book Hope in Progress. She is among the most inspirational, dream-pumping innovators out there, as is Co-founder Michael Karnjanaprakorn. I regularly visit the site to keep up with their work. There’s always something good cookin’ over there.

The quote above showed up on All Day Buffet’s Twitter feed last week during The Feast Conference, and it is now the title image on their site. There’s so much emphasis put on connection and collaboration, and it’s an easy thing to do. There is so much knowledge that lies just a few clicks away. It’s found just outside every door and during every interaction we have. We have the opportunity to connect every moment.

Love is a main ingredient to connections. Love for people, ideas, learning, causes. Every time we put negative energy out there, and particularly when we direct it at someone, we are actually hurting ourselves more than we realize. This is a big, big world, despite how small it feels given technology. There is more than enough room for more dreams and ideas and voices. And they don’t threaten our own ideas and voices. When we build others up, we do ourselves a favor by growing our networking and engendering support and faith in return for the support and faith we give to others.

Call it a retro idea to love our neighbors. Think of it as crunch-y and granola-y to believe that we reap what we sow. I love granola and I love love.

Image above from All Day Buffet’s website.

books, clarity, commitment, discovery, dreams, encouragement

Step 293: Call Off the Search for Certainty

Christa Avampato

“We search for certainty but it certainly doesn’t exist.” ~ Kristen Moeller, author of Waiting for Jack: Confessions of a Self-Help Junkie

This recession has caused a lot of us to delay their dreams, or change them altogether. We believe we have to stay at a job that’s safe, where we believe that we can stay for as long as we need to stay until things get better. Kristen’s simple, powerful quote reminded me that we don’t need to delay the life we want, that safety and certainty are things we have made up. It’s understandable to want certainty. I want it all the time, for every decision I make. The lesson of yoga that’s been the most useful to me is that certainty is not coming, but there are so many things that we just can’t know for sure. Nothing is permanent; the only certainty is change, in one form or another.

This can be a frightening revelation. We like the idea of certainty being out there somewhere because it helps us to get from day to day. It keeps us searching and hoping and wishing. But if we can grapple with it for just a moment, recognize that certainty isn’t coming, and embrace that idea, we can find a power within ourselves that is unshakable. There is no need to say some day – the life we want can start today.

Follow Kristen on Twitter and visit her site.

business, creativity, entrepreneurship

Step 292: Leaders Should Establish a Cult of Creativity

Christa Avampato

Start-ups need cults – that’s the assertion of Steve Newcomb, the incredibly successful entrepreneur associated with a variety of start-ups, many with a bent for social change. Ventures Hacks featured his essay on on why it’s critical for start-ups team to be incredibly passionate about their work. If you miss that piece as a founder, it’s akin to throwing in the towel on the whole idea. (Incidentally, Steve started blogging with the platform created by Squarespace, a company I featured in my book Hope in Progress.)

There’s a lot of lip service paid to the saying “our people are our greatest asset”, particularly in big companies. Companies have two choices – really live that statement and get behind it with everything you’ve got or stop using it altogether. Companies, start-ups or otherwise, need to give their people resources and support to shine, or be honest about the fact that the company actually isn’t about the people, but about profit or PR or the CEO’s ego or whatever other asset they really believe is the most important one they have. My suggestion is that leaders should do nothing else except serve their people. That’s their job.

Steve articulately and honestly wrote out his manifesto on teams in this essay. It’s a long one and every word is worth reading. My favorite pieces of his advice include: “Suspend Disbelief, then Think Backwards” (Bill Keating) and “Make Sure Every Single [Job] Candidate is Treated Like Gold” (Steve Newcomb). There are numerous other nuggets of gold for entrepreneurs in his essay – it’s well-worth the time to take them all to heart.

Image above by Steve Newcomb.

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.

happiness

Step 290: The Work of Happiness

Christa Avampato

“Happy people learn that happiness, like sweat, is a by-product of activity.” ~ Frank Pittman III

Happiness doesn’t happen to us. It doesn’t find us by accident. The happiest people I know get out there and work for it – happiness is a priority for them. They actively cultivate relationships and activities that make them smile. Sure they hit rough spots – they have times of sadness and loneliness, times when they’re disappointed or feel sorry for themselves and for others. But their MO when these tough times hit is to take action to turn the situation around. They feel empowered and confident to improve their lot in life, and by extension take their positive outlook out into the world to help others.

As we head into the dark half of the year, I start my ritual of reflection. Thinking about where I was last Fall, where I am now, and where I’d like to go. I take note of all of the good people and events in my life, and count my blessings. I am lucky to have many, and I know it. Lately a few things have been making me especially happy these days and they deserve some recognition:

1.) My dog, Phineas. I got Phineas almost a month ago to the day and he’s become such a good pal that I’m not sure what I did without him. He’s a continuous reminder to me that hurt can heal, that it’s okay to leave the past in the past and move onward and upward.

2.) Love is in the air. Some people think of Spring as the time for love. I always find that Fall is better in that department. I haven’t found that love just yet, but for some reason I feel like he’s right around the corner.

3.) The holidays are here. It’s not yet Halloween and Thanksgiving and Christmas are already abundantly present in stores across the city. I’ve started to think about holiday plans, and am looking forward to more time with family and friends. The holidays are always a joyful time for me, and this year will be especially so as it’s my little niece Aubree’s first year with us.

4.) Opportunities are cropping up everywhere. Once we tell the world exactly what we’d like to do, the world has a way of giving us resources to get those things done. It can be scary to admit, out loud, what we’d like to achieve, but I assure you that it is the best way to get the life you want. Be vocal about your dreams.

5.) A new boss at work. Change can be hard and getting a new boss can some times be a bit nerve-wracking. We don’t know how it’s going to go until we’re there. Lucky for me, my new boss is fantastic and she’s jumped right in to be a wonderful collaborator.

What things have you done to help generate more happiness?

learning, mentor, teaching, writing

Step 289: 5 Ways to Effectively Use Our Windows of Wisdom

Christa Avampato

?What If! Innovation is one of my favorite innovation firms. They have a resource they use to get at key insights called “WOWs”, short for “Windows of Wisdom”. Everyone has them. Pieces of experience, knowledge, and expertise that give us special insights into how things work, or how they should work. They help us build empathy and compassion for specific circumstances. Being a parent, having a pet, living in a certain city, how we commute to work, what we do all day to earn a living, what we read, watch on TV, and hobbies we take up in our free time. It all matters – who we are is largely determined by how and with whom we spend our time.

Never underestimate WOWs, yours or anyone else’s. Insight is an elusive, odd beast that shows up in the strangest ways at the strangest times. Our WOWs are handy little assets to always keep in our back pockets. They help us recognize opportunities, and can be used for the greater good. Be generous with them – share what you know.

Here are 5 ways to put your WOWs to work:

1.) Crowding sourcing databases. A quick Google search will provide a myriad of agencies that now list crowd sourcing as an expertise and they need communities of people to be their experts. Their business depends on it. So get out there, join some of them, get compensated (in a variety of ways), and put your experience to work.

2.) Mentor or teach. Young people need our stories and example, now more than ever. Mentoring and teaching is the ultimate gift we can give because it involves generously sharing our own history. Check out sites like Takepart.com or Volunteermatch.org to find mentoring opportunities near you.

3.) Write. Writing in any form is helpful to connect us to others, to inspire, and to learn. Blog, comment on blogs, write a column or an op-ed, get involved in online communities of people with common interests. Put your thoughts out there generously and you’ll be surprised by the goodness you get in return.

4.) Create partnerships. Think of networking as finding like-minded partners. Write letters to people you admire – that’s how I wrote my column for Examiner that ultimately became my e-book, Hope in Progress. Online communities and Twitter are other great places to find potential partners who are as passionate as you are about your interests.

5.) Start a side business. Your key insights can be leveraged creatively to generate extra income. My interest in yoga led me to pursue my 200-hour RYT training and my creation of Compass Yoga. My interest in the art of writing led to my freelance writing work. Your hobbies can help you do well and do good at the same time when you share them with the world.

How have you put your experience to work for you?