books, child, childhood, children

My Year of Hopefulness – Dr. Seuss’s Birthday

Christa Avampato

Today 105 years ago, the world received the gift of Dr. Seuss. His work has been a part of nearly every American childhood since World War II. Through his furry, colorful creatures and rhyming prose, he has inspired us, taught us, and given us clarity during the hazy, difficult transitions of childhood. I have several Dr. Seuss books and every once in a while when I have had a really tough day, I take them down from my bookshelves and flip through the pages.

His creativity and ability to be poignant without being preachy or intimidating has won him fans the world over. How the Grinch Stole Christmas is a holiday tradition in my family. We can recite the entire movie, sing the songs, and even do impressions of the characters. Though I never met Dr. Seuss, he was an influential part of my childhood and continues to be an influential part of my adult years. A copy of Oh, The Places You’ll Go! was my favorite graduation gift and I’m not ashamed to admit that there are times when I have gone back and re-read it because I felt disappointed by some part of my life. Dr. Seuss helped me keep my head up, even when my morale was down.

So dear Dr. Seuss, happy, happy 105th birthday and thank you for creating timeless tales that have kept us feeling hopeful even during bleak and uncertain times. We need you now more than ever.

The image above appears courtesy of Google and Dr. Seuss Enterprises.

books

Drood by Dan Simmons

Christa Avampato

It’s hard to get historic fiction right, keep it believable, and be entertaining. Dan Simmons gets it right in his latest novel, Drood, while also bringing in an element of the fantastic. What I love about London is its magic – around every corner you think there might be some sort of wizardry happening. Call it the Harry Potter effect. Simmons uses that sense of magic to finish the tale of Charles Dickens and his last piece, The Mystery of Edwin Drood, a book he never completed.

Not knowing a good deal about Charles Dickens life, I wasn’t able to discern which events in the book are factual and which are created by Simmons. For me, that is part of his genius. In much of the historical fiction I’ve read, you can clearly see the line between what we know happened from a historical perspective and what is invented by the author. Even when something in Dan Simmons takes us down into the underground world of London and I was certain that these events could not have happened given their magical component, I found myself being pulled even deeper into the story, able to completely put aside reality so I could follow Charles Dickens, and his friend, Wilkie Collins (the narrator of the book), on their dark adventure.

On occasion, I find English literature a bit difficult to trudge through. The language and turn of phrase can be difficult to follow. I didn’t find that at all with Drood. Though it is certainly written in the English style, I found that it was very easy for me to visualize the action of the book.

To be sure, Drood is a commitment. At 771 pages it is not a quick read. I also found that the language was so beautiful that I wanted to enjoy it. It was one of those books that I enjoyed so much that I was a little reluctant to get to the end, perhaps because I know how the ending goes. I know Charles Dickens, and Wilkie Collins, are no longer with us. And after following them on their wild ride, albeit one that ends tragically, I was sad to see both of them reach their end.

Drood is masterfully written. Just by reading his work, I was made into a better writer. His construction and ability to use history without letting it overtake the narrative are impressive and to be applauded.

entrepreneurship, Examiner

NY Business Strategies Examiner.com: Are You Ready For the Start-up Life?

Christa Avampato

The Wall Street Journal ran a special entrepreneurship section that serves as a guide to help us determine if the start-up lifestyle is the right one for us. I enjoyed reading the article that asks us a set of questions to help us get our arms around what it means to be an entrepreneur. The article is a little bit negative so I wanted to highlight the questions below and add some commentary on them that shines a more positive light on the opportunity to be an entrepreneur.

To view the full article, please visit: http://www.examiner.com/x-2901-NY-Business-Strategies-Examiner~y2009m3d1-The-WSJ-puts-you-to-the-test-are-you-cut-out-to-be-an-entrepreneur

Fast Company, happiness

My Year of Hopefulness – Creative Confidence

Christa Avampato

“I really do believe I was put on the planet to help people have creative confidence. I don’t have 27 agendas. I’m not the sustainability guy, or the developing-world guy. My contribution is to teach as many people as I can to use both sides of their brain, so that for every problem, every decision in their lives, they consider creative as well as analytical solutions.”
~ David Kelley, founder of IDEO

David Kelley is one of my creative idols. He forges ahead so confidently not only with faith in his own creativity; he also has great faith in the creativity of others. There are a lot of people out in the world who think of themselves as “idea people” or “great strategic thinkers”. What’s so inspiring about David Kelley is that he believes all people are creative, that we are all strategic thinkers. His goal is to help us make the most of the creativity that we have, and integrate our creativity with out others skills and interests.

There was a great profile of him in Fast Company in January. He could have toiled away as a mildly successful corporate cubicle worker. For some people, that’s the life they want because it helps them live a good life with plenty of energy left for their families, hobbies, outside interests. Their work isn’t their life and they found a way to make that lifestyle work for them. David wasn’t happy in that role and he wanted to create a career that was different than the typical path of many people who work in large corporations.

My point is that we must consider what’s most important to us in order to figure out how best to construct our lives. Is it our work? Our families, friends, hobbies. Do we just want to have time to take advantage of opportunities that come our way. And all of these answers, any of these answers, are correct. The meaning we imbue on our lives, and the priorities we set are our business, not anyone else’s.

I appreciate that David says he doesn’t have 27 agendas – he just has one, clear concise agenda. He might have a number of ways to push it forward, though he really just has one goal: “teach as many people as I can to use both sides of their brain.” What if we could all figure out exactly what our lives are about, state it in one clean sentence, and then relate everything we do back to that focus? Would that lead us to greater happiness and fulfillment? It’s worth a shot.

charity, nonprofit, philanthropy, volunteer

My Year of Hopefulness – Live United

Christa Avampato

Today I completed the Linkages Program, a training and placement program for future board of directors hosted by the United Way of New York. I’ve worked in the nonprofit sector off and on in my career, and I’ve been a volunteer at a variety of nonprofits my whole life. I went to the training thinking I knew everything there was to know about how nonprofits operate. I was wrong – from the moment I cracked open my training manual, I discovered that I had a lot to learn when it comes to nonprofit boards.

It’s a testament to the United Way, and to my employer who paid for my attendance in the training program, that they recognize that most people, no matter how deeply involved they are in nonprofit work, don’t really understand the ins and out of board operations. A weak board makes for a weak organization, and the United Way has stepped in to change that. In 2004, they conducted a study and of the surveyed Executive Directors: 45% planned to retire within 5 years, 57% had no professional development program within their organizations, and 68% ran organizations with no succession plans. New York City’s nonprofits, and all of the vital services they provide to so many in this city, were in trouble.

In just 5 short years, the United Way is turning the tide. I was thoroughly impressed with the incredibly high caliber of the people in my class. Passionate, concerned, committed. We are willing to put our resources of time and money on the line to improve New York’s nonprofits and the United Way is helping us succeed. We are ready, willing, and able to stand up and be counted.

Call it the Obama effect. Call it people wanting to find fulfillment in a time when so many feel down-trodden by the state of the economy. Call it the responsibility that comes with being extremely fortunate in a time when so many others face misfortune. I call it hope.

Seth Godin, social media, volunteer

My Year of Hopefulness – Do Something with Squidoo

Christa Avampato

There is a statistic in the news that has been bothering me so much that I am telling everyone I know about it. In January, the number of suicides committed by the US soldiers was higher than the number of US soldiers who died in Afghanistan and Iraq combined. I can’t get over that fact. It’s haunting me – what could be causing this and why did it have to get to this level to get national attention?

So how does a story like this make me hopeful? I feel hopeful because I feel empowered to do something about it. I was talking to my friend, Richard, about it this week and he helped me to realize that if someone, anyone, can find a way to help in this situation that the implications for our country and for the many people who serve this country would be immense.

If ever I wanted a cause that would have impact this would be it. Consider how much energy, time, and funding goes in to training a soldier what to do in a war-torn region. And now consider how much energy, time, and funding goes in to helping that transition back into normal civilian life. The discrepancy is criminal.

So what can I do? Could I start a movement? Could I reach out and offer my help? And to whom? I started tonight be creating a lens on Squidoo. I’ve followed Seth Godin for a long time – his is one of the blogs I read every day. I have to admit it took me a while to figure how or why to use Squidoo. Now I get it – when you want to provide detail on a specific topic, event, or cause, Squidoo is your tool.

Feeling passionate about wanting to help these US soldiers transition back to civilian life and wanting to get a dialogue going about the topic, I started the lens. To see the lens and offer your ideas and support, visit http://www.squidoo.com/helpUSsoldiers

Photo above taken by Rafiq Maqbool, AP.

entrepreneurship, Examiner

NY Business Strategies Examiner.com: Entrepreneurs Find the Silver Lining

Christa Avampato

There is very little to cheer about these day in the world of business. At least until yesterday. An article ran in Crain’s that shows that entrepreneurs who were initially shell-shocked by the rapidly declining economic environment may be picking their heads up and finding the gold nuggets hidden in the rubble.

To read the full article, please visit http://www.examiner.com/x-2901-NY-Business-Strategies-Examiner~y2009m2d27-According-to-Crains-entrepreneurs-are-finding-the-silver-lining-in-this-economy

books, entrepreneurship, Examiner, New York City, restaurants

NY Business Strategies Examiner.com: an interview with the owners of Baked, a bakery in Red Hook and Charleston

Christa Avampato

Matt Lewis and Renato Poliafito are cooking up something special at Baked. a bakery with locations in Red Hook, Brooklyn, and Charleston, South Carolina. The duo have an extensive baking repertoire, serving up sweets that run the gammet: classics like chocolate chip cookies and carrot cake, new takes on old favorites like their apple pie with a splash of bourbon and vanilla bean, and wholly original offerings like homemade marshmallows and granola. Oprah named their brownies one of her Favorite Things.

To read the full article, please visit: http://www.examiner.com/x-2901-NY-Business-Strategies-Examiner~y2009m2d25-The-duo-behind-Baked-an-interview-with-Matt-Lewis-and-Renato-Poliafito

education

My Year of Hopefulness – The Critical Importance of the Humanities

Christa Avampato

It’s with some disappointment that I read Patrica Cohen’s article in the New York Times on Wednesday regarding the value of a humanties education. I was not at all upset with her subject matter — now more than ever the humanities field must justify its value and place in American education. That has always been the case, and I believe constantly having to prove our worth makes us more passionate, focused, and ardent about the work. What I found most disturbing about Ms. Cohen’s article is her conclusion:

“As money tightens, the humanities may increasingly return to being what they were at the beginning of the last century, when only a minuscule portion of the population attended college: namely, the province of the wealthy.

That may be unfortunate but inevitable, Mr. Kronman said. The essence of a humanities education — reading the great literary and philosophical works and coming “to grips with the question of what living is for” — may become “a great luxury that many cannot afford.”

I find this conclusion upsetting for several reasons:

1.) I was a humanities major, and most certainly was not from a walthy family. Not even close. My humanities education, my ability to reason, communicate, and evaluate lessons from history, have been critical to my success. To say that it is the province of the wealthy (otherwise known as not valuable unless you have the luxury to sit around all day thinking, not acting) is just ridiculous.

2.) In this country to say that any area of study might need to be undertaken only by the wealthy is wholly un-American. The whole point of education is to open up possibilities to people, regardless of background, to pursue their greatest passions and interests.

3.) What kind of society would we be without the study of history, literature, languages, and art? They are not separate from engineering and science. They are partners. The beauty of an education in the humanities is that it arms us with tools and resources to draw meaning from the experience of our lives and the lives of others. Without that understanding and ability to communicate shared experience, what kind of society would we become? The humanities give us hope — and without hope, all the science in the world won’t be able to save us.

The image above can be found at: http://www2.seattleu.edu/mrc/images/matteobanners_new.jpg

entrepreneurship, sleep

My Year of Hopefulness – Sleep

Christa Avampato

There was one take-away from the Stanford University panel “The Global Leadership and Talent Equation” that is so powerful and simple that it deserves its own post. Eric Benhamou, Chairman and CEO, Benhamou Global Ventures, is a seasoned veteran who has started, run, and sold many businesses during his long and distinguished career. The final moderated question of the panel asked what is one piece of advice that the panelists had for every aspiring entrepreneur. Eric’s answer: sleep. The audience laughed at this answer. Of all the things we need to do and should do as entrepreneurs, Eric recommended “sleep”? In all seriousness, yes.

Eloquently, he made his case without cracking a smile. Eric describes Silicon Valley as a chronically sleep deprived area of the world. With so much to do and learn, there is hardly time to slow down. Yes, Eric argues that in order to keep going, we have to slow down. He discussed how a lack of sleep depresses the immune system and makes clear, decisive decision making nearly impossible. Sleep helps us to reason through difficult problems; it gives our minds time to dream.

In addition to sleep, the idea of pure down time is critical to staying at the very top of our game. Downtime can take the form of a hobby, socializing, running, or meditating. I also think that there’s something to be said for getting some time out in the fresh air every day, unplugged from any kind of electronic device, off of concrete. When I was in San Francisco, I found myself lifted from a funk I have been in for a while. As I was walking through a park, I recognized the cause of my funk — I needed to see some greenery, something that symbolized life. In New York it’s grown pretty gray and we’ve been dealing with the tail-end of a cold winter. We all need a little sunshine, a little warmth, and a little green in order to keep our spirits up.

Entrepreneurs, take yourself for a walk and get some shut-eye. You’re going to need it.