career, change, work

Step 124: Biding Time Wisely

Christa Avampato

I’ve recently had some conversations with friends who are considering making career jumps. Some to a new industry, some to a new company, and some into their own ventures. A few are actively out there looking and some are wondering if they should hang around where they are until they see some more improvement in the economy.

One of my friends has taken a new position within her company that is going to help her transition out to another company when the time is right. She’s interested in tech venture capital. Her former role was tech heavy, and her new role is in business development. While getting this second piece of the puzzle in place, she’s also started a tech venture capital club as part of her business school’s alumni network. She’s biding her time while gaining incredibly valuable experience in segments and making contacts that will serve her well in her career.

This is what it’s all about – gathering the bits and pieces we can find to help us build a brighter future. Even if we’re in jobs that aren’t perfect, there are activities, role, and projects we can take on inside and outside of the office that will keep us moving forward, even while we look before we leap. I’m all for taking the plunge, but while I’m up here on the cliff, I’m also a fan of making sure I’ve squeezed every last drop of value from my current view.

I’d love to hear about how you’re biding your time in support of your long-term goals!

The image above is not my own. It can be found here.

blog, writing

Step 123: Blogathon 2010

Christa Avampato

Thanks to a post by my friend, Amanda, author of the fantastically creative blog Tastee Pudding, I learned about the WordCount 2010 blogathon. Started by Michelle Rafter, this year’s edition is a commitment by 111 bloggers to write every day for the month of May. The blogs span a wide variety of subjects, from skincare to gardening to travel to life as a teenager. In a single year, the number of participants has more than doubled.

From Michelle’s site:

“In spring 2008, I was a still a blogging newbie and looking for motivation to post more consistently. I challenged myself to blog every day during the month of May. Since misery loves company, I invited other writers to join me. The WordCount Blogathon was born. Some two dozen of us posted about work, life, love, food, travel, kids and a lot of other things. We wrote a lot, learned a lot, and a good time was had by all.

Flash forward to 2009. Magazines are folding. Newspapers are getting skinnier by the week. Freelancers who once made their living writing for print publications are looking to expand their repertoire to include podcasting, multimedia reporting – and blogging.

So once again, we challenged ourselves to blog every day. We also held a guest post exchange day where we spent one day writing on someone else’s blog, and vice versa. We also tracked our activity on Twitter, using the hashtag #MayBlog2.

We wound things up on June 1 with a Blogathon wrap party, chatting about what worked, what didn’t, what we learned and what we’d do differently next time.”

Michelle’s efforts to increase her own writing motivation, and take others with her, is a cause I support and admire. Have a look at everything that’s cookin’ for the 2010 WordCount Blogathon and discover some kindred writing spirits.

courage, fear, yoga

Step 122: Facing Fears

Christa Avampato

Since my fire in September, I haven’t been able to walk down the street where it occurred. I’ve taken a few steps, and then I quickly cross the street, averting my gaze and avoiding any chance of looking through that door. To look at the building now, you’d never know that a fire happened there. It’s been reconstructed with new brick, repainted, doors and windows replaced. Everything covered over. For me, that street has a smoky covering, an eerie, uncomfortable feeling. Yesterday, I finally needed to stare it in the face.

I got out of the subway and made the turn I’ve been avoiding for almost 8 months. Since it was the Beltane yesterday, a day that celebrates life in all its glory, it felt like an appropriate time to face fear. It wasn’t as hard as I thought it would be. I didn’t cry. I didn’t really feel anything until I got right up to the building, and saw to my right a giant statue of Ganesha above a psychic reading place. Ganesha is the Hindu deity who removes obstacles to our spiritual development. On occasion, he will place obstacles in our path for us to deal with so that we grow and evolve. He gives us what we need, even when we don’t know exactly what we need at the time.

In that moment, seeing Ganesha juxtaposed to that building where the fire happened, I realized how much I needed that fire. In the three years that I’ve lived in this neighborhood, I’ve passed that statue many times. I just didn’t know who he was until my yoga teacher training. Now, it has a special significance to me. Now, I understand what I’d been seeing all along. I guess life is like that: we look and we look and we look, and then one day, the clarity that has been staring at us all along finally comes in to focus. I wish it didn’t take us so long to really understand what’s in our line of our vision, but then again, if we understood everything on Day 1, what would we have to look forward to? Here’s to seeing more clearly and facing more fears in the days ahead.

The photo above is of the Ganesha statue next to my old apartment building.

celebration, holiday, yoga

Step 121: Celebrating Workers Everywhere

Christa Avampato

May 1st – May Day. Honestly, I had no idea what May Day stood for, a day to celebrate workers, until this year. It is also the Beltane, the halfway point between the spring equinox and the summer solstice, a time for celebrating re-birth and burgeoning life. In honor of both holidays, I took the afternoon off. Way off.

This morning I took two difficult yoga classes back to back, and I struggled through the second one. My mind is tired. As my yoga teacher training is rapidly coming to a close and there is increasing ambiguity at work to navigate, I find that I am much more tired than usual. I can push myself to work hard just so far and then my mind and body need a break. I am literally forced me to surrender and take some downtime. I had a very long to-do list after yoga class today, and most of the items remain unchecked. My body and mind needed to rest today, and so I let them. I spent the day dreaming.

This week I had an intense conversation with someone about the need to celebrate in life, failures and successes. The person disagreed with me that we don’t celebrate enough, particularly when it comes to accomplishments in the workplace. It’s been my experience that there is such a desire to keep moving that companies often don’t take the time to genuinely congratulate and thank people for their efforts. We’re so worried about what’s next that we don’t pat ourselves on the back for all of the work we’re doing. Some companies, and some people, are much better at regular celebration than others. Where we find celebration, we find happy companies, happy people, and not surprisingly, a higher quality of life.

My friend, Amanda, got me interested in a blog called Hip Tranquil Chick, written by yoga teacher Kimberly Wilson, whom Amanda used to take class with. Kimberly’s post today talks about her dreams for May and her progress on her April dreams. She’s a celebrator. I like this idea and am adopting it, in honor of workers everywhere and their dreams. At the first of each month, I’ll share my up coming dreams and plans for the month, and provide progress on my previous month’s dreams and plans. It’s a positive way to stay connected in the here and now, while also celebrating past accomplishments and looking forward to new ones.

My May goals:
1.) Complete my 200 hour yoga teacher training and testing, and celebrate it.
2.) May is a stressful month for me with visitors, a heavy work load, travel, and the general feeling that I need a serious vacation. I’m going to make the effort to build in some much-needed downtime, letting myself rest and relax between the burst of energy needed. This is interval training to the max.
3.) Complete my travel plans for my Radical Relaxation yoga retreat.
4.) Maintain my meditation practice.
5.) Continue building my plans for my own business.
6.) Setting up some new writing goals for the second half of 2010.
7.) Stay present and in the moment during each task at-hand.

April accomplishments:
1.) Gave up any fear of teaching.
2.) Recognized that my fear in starting my own business was related to the dips that are inevitable for every business.
3.) Established a regular meditation practice after many years of not being able to do this.
4.) Started planning a much-needed vacation after I realized I have not taken any break since Christmas.
5.) Made progress on my writing goals and booked two more regular freelance columns – details forth coming as the new sites launch.
6.) Got up the courage to talk down the street where my apartment building fire happened and decorate my apartment again. (Blog posts on the way)
7.) Stood up for myself in my personal life, setting boundaries and striking a balance between being authentic and being tactful.

If you have short-term goals you’re working on this month, I’d love to hear them! Happy May Day!

The image above is not my own. It can be found here.

choices, decision-making, dreams, history, television

Step 120: Forget the Odds

Christa Avampato

“All quests worth undertaking … require audacity. And willpower. (Of course.) And persistence. (Of course.) But frankly, a persistent misreading of the odds.” ~ Tom Peters

The History Channel is running a series called America: The Story of Us. In each episode, the series talks about a specific chapter of American History. VSL highlighted it last week in their daily listing and I added it to my calendar. I could always use a little more history in my life.

I saw the series premiere and thought about how unlikely it was that we’d ever become a nation. The odds of success at the beginning of the Revolution had to be near zero. We are the most unlikely story ever told, and lived. This week I’ve been thinking about that episode in the context of pursuing my most unlikely dreams. The quote above by Tom Peters showed up in my inbox, and it reminded me how much courage comes from consistently misreading the odds, or seeing them and paying them no mind. If the people who fought for our early nation got out some paper, drew up a business plan, and calculated the NPV of America, risk factors and all, we’d have British accents.

I’m not suggesting that we throw every caution and hesitation to the wind. I’m suggesting that we have this one life, this one opportunity to do something extraordinary. People may not understand where we’re going. They may not understand why we’re making certain choices or taking a chance on a dream. That’s okay. They don’t need to understand. They’re crunching numbers and drawing up pro-cons lists and calculating odds. You’re out there living the life that you want to live, the way you want to live it. And in that scenario, there’s so such things as odds. You either live fully, or you don’t.

nature, yoga

Step 119: Finding Beauty

Christa Avampato

“Real beauty isn’t about symmetry or weight or makeup; it’s about looking life right in the face and seeing all its magnificence reflected in your own.” ~ Valerie Monroe

The beauty industry is a funny one. We spend gobs of money on creams, gels, cleansers, toners, and coloring to cover, extract, fill-in, pluck, nip, and fade every trace of experience from our physical appearance. I’m as guilty of it as anyone. I have a stash of products that I love and use every day. But I don’t feel my most beautiful with a face full of make-up and my hair done up. I find the most beauty on my yoga mat where I can see and feel the strength of my body, the clarity of my mind, and the joy of my smile. The rest is just a nice cover-up.

My yoga teacher, Jo, talks about aging in our teacher training. We’d all like to reverse the lines that time is leaving on our faces, and yet, those lines make us who we are. The experience they reflect allows us to connect to one another. And it is amazing to look at people who are truly joyful – they literally glow. Jo is one of those people. All of my yoga teachers are. Their beauty comes from being on the path.

Part of being on the path involves recognizing that we are a reflection of the world we live in, and that the world we live in is a reflection of who we are. There is no separation. It’s a gentle, continuous give and take. Real beauty isn’t in a jar, bottle, or tube. It’s out there, living, moving, and breathing through the world. You want to find real beauty? Go into the heart to see what lies there, and then get out into the world and share it.

The image above is not my own. It can be found here.

learning, yoga

Step 118: Getting What We Need

Christa Avampato

“Some people say, ‘I’m really inflexible so I don’t do yoga.’ That’s like saying, ‘I’m really hungry so I don’t eat.’ Silly.” ~ Will, my yoga teacher

Will told us this quote as we were talking about the importance of a regular practice, whatever it is we’re practicing. Regularity breeds mastery. To shy away from developing a practice because of something we lack isn’t logical. We practice so we can learn something. There’s no point in practicing something we already do perfectly. There’s no such thing as more perfect.

As we consider taking up a practice of any kind, what if we turned our attention toward something we want to improve or learn from scratch? I wanted to be a better writer, so I decided to write every day. Some of the pieces I wrote were terrible, and after a while I really started to see progress. By continually working on my craft, I did get better. Same is true for my yoga, and most recently for my meditation.

We all have to start somewhere; sometimes we start at zero. My friend, Brooke, has a great line about learning: ‘At birth, we all started at zero.’ Everything we can do now at one point didn’t exist at all. Go get what you need in order to achieve what you want to achieve. Don’t worry if you’re not any good at it now. You’ll get better.

The image above is not my own. It can be found here.

family, story, yoga

Step 117: Storytime and Yoga

Christa Avampato

When I was a kid, I loved story time. My mom would make up little characters and stories for my brother, sister, and I to hear before bedtime. One particular string of stories involved little fictional characters called the hoochie goochies who would run around in the forest and have all kinds of adventures. She’s make them up on the spot, and we could add in little details along the way. We’d read books like Superfudge, Tales of a Fourth Grace Nothing, and Dr. Seuss. Now when I go back and read those books, I can still hear my mom reading them and my siblings and I cracking up. This is the great thing about storytelling, particularly when it’s done out loud – the memories last a lifetime.

Storytelling has found its way into every area of my life – as a product developer, managing theatre shows, as a freelance writer. And now as a yoga teacher. Yoga, I am learning, is largely about stories, particularly when studying its philosophy and Eastern heritage. Even in my own teaching when I describe the energetics of an asana (pose), I give illustrations from stories. And in that way, my yoga comes from my life. Just like this blog. Just like the products I develop. Their commonality is story.

With this lens, yoga teaching isn’t scary at all. It’s just service – I offer stories and lessons I have by providing a physical expression of those stories. In Ujjayi breath, I hear the calling of lions that we tracked in South Africa. In asanas like Anjaneyasana, I see the excitement that my niece, Lorelei, gets from every day experiences like taking a walk outside and checking the mail. During Adho Mukha Vrksasana, I think of the simultaneous strength and freedom I needed to hang glide across the Tennessee mountains. My mom’s storytelling effected my life forever; it shaped who I am, what I do, where I go, and who I spend time with. And now every time I practice or teach yoga, I take her gift with me and pass it on.

The image above is not my own. I can be found here.

business, happiness, media, school

Step 116: Where the Hell is Matt Meets Darden

Christa Avampato

Inspired by the videos “Where the Hell is Matt”, a Darden student, David Shepro, made his own version, C’ville style. I went to business school at Darden so this video has very special meaning for me, but it’s got so much joy that it would bring a smile to anyone’s face, Darden grad or not. There’s something really unifying about a bunch of people dancing around with wild abandon in unexpected places. I don’t know why. There just is. We love the unexpected.

Welcome to the lighter, more joyful side of life at one of the world’s very best schools with one of the very best communities I’ve ever been a part of. For four and a half minutes, David showcases Darden’s amazing characters. I’m keeping this one in my archives to pull up whenever I need a great big smile. I’m so inspired, I think I’m going to do a little boogie break in my office right now. We could all use a little more dance in our day. Here’s to hoping this video makes you smile today, too. Enjoy!

Click here for David’s YouTube video.

Many thanks to my friend, Abhilekh, for passing this link to me.

commitment, meditation, yoga

Step 115: Making Time

Christa Avampato

“I have so much to do that I shall spend the first three hours in prayer.” ~ Martin Luther

I have so many ideas for blog posts from this weekend of yoga teacher training. Most of our work this weekend was about Eastern philosophy. Some of it I agree with. Some of it I don’t agree with. Some of it I’ll keep with me, and I’ll let go of the pieces that don’t serve. I find all of it useful to stimulate conversation and consideration.

Will, our philosophy teacher, gave us this quote by Martin Luther when we talked about how to balance our practice with the rest of our lives. It helped me. In the past, I have said to myself that I don’t have time to meditate or to do yoga on some days. Tonight was one of those nights. I wanted to get a lot of writing done, to catch up with friends on the phone, to clean my apartment, to make dinner, to get myself organized for the week. Every minute of teacher training that ticked by gave me another item for my after-yoga to-do list.

When I went to the store Scent Elate to get my little statues of Nataraj and Ganesha for my home altar, Mo, the owner gave me some sage and incense matches, without me even asking. “Make sure to burn some sage first before placing these on your altar.” This small gesture stopped me in my tracks, asking me to see my “gallopy” nature, recognize it, and tell it to be quiet down. ” Despite all of my to-do’s, I have time for practice,” I said to myself. “All I have is time.” Maybe Mo was channeling Martin Luther. Maybe the Universe needed me to hear the message a bit more loudly, and so it used Mo’s voice to give me exactly the learning I needed exactly when I needed it. Maybe it was just coincidence. Regardless, the message was heard loud and clear. “This practice is important. Make time for it.”

So I came home, burned a little sage, placed the statues, and did my 18 minutes of meditation. And you know what? The pathway to my writing opened. I made a delicious, simple meal, I got myself ready for my week. I caught up with some friends. There was time for all of it. But first, I had to take care of my own spirit, my own heart, through my meditation. Now, I can see. Really see. Now, I can do. Really do.

The image above is not my own. It can be found here.