Kristina Libby: Building a ‘Brain Renaissance’ Through Art, Storytelling, and Technology

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In my Hut I heard this voice and
it said flowers make something

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with flowers and I bought
flowers.

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I bought like 200 flowers and
all the flowers that they had

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and I went home and I googled
what to do with a lot of

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flowers.
I'm so excited to talk with

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Christina Libby, my collaborator
for the cohort, and so much

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more.
Christina is a storyteller,

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artist, and technology executive
based in New York City.

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She founded the Floral Heart
Project, a COVID memorial

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initiative purchased by 1800
Flowers for which she was

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awarded a Hero of 2022 and named
one of the leading public

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artists for social Change.
Last year she wrote and produced

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her solo show I Almost Died for
This, which won the Best

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Storytelling Show award at the
prestigious United Solo

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Festival.
Christina writes for film and

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television.
With Co creator Tim Cahill she

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developed the award-winning
television script Penny Starts a

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Cult and the television Show and
Indie Pilot Books.

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She is also a fiction novelist
whose work is represented by

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Sterling Lord Literary.
As a humor and non fiction

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writer, she's been published in
The New Yorker, Mcsweeney's, the

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Boston Globe, Salon, Popular
Mechanics and Entrepreneur

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magazine.
Christina has served as a

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fractional chief communications
officer for numerous companies

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and startups.
She's originally from

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Damariscotta, Maine and holds a
master's degree in International

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Security.
Christina, welcome to the show.

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Thank you.
It's so good to be here.

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I'm very excited.
I can't believe we've only known

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each other for less than a year.
I I feel like I've known you

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forever and I want to start by
talking about our community, the

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cohort which you founded and
invited me to partner with you

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on.
What was your impetus for

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starting the Cohort and what are
you most looking forward to as

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we build the community together?
I felt lonely.

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And that was the, that was the
way I was talking about it for a

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long time.
I felt lonely.

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I was someone who had both a
professional career and was

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growing a creative career.
And I didn't know anyone else

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who was like me, like I, I
didn't know other people.

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And, and so it felt like, am I
the only one doing this?

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And then I wanted to know how do
I do it and, and who else could

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help me figure it out?
And so I started the community,

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I think because I was feeling a
little lonely, but I think also

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because I didn't, I was just
finding the courage to have a

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dual career at Ampersand
lifestyle.

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And it was hard to maintain that
courage alone.

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You know, I needed to see other
people doing it.

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And then I wanted the resources
that came from collectively

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doing things together.
You know, it's very hard, I

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think, to figure out what is
this career, this dual career

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look like?
How do I make money?

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What kind of accountant do I
need?

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How can I scale these things?
You know, all of that and, and

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it's just impossible, I think to
do it on your own, or maybe it's

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not as rewarding or there's no
shortcuts when you're doing it

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on your own.
And so I wanted the community to

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kind of fulfill all of all of
those needs.

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And the more and more I think
about the community, the less

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lonely I am because now there's
many of us, which is incredible

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and there's you.
And I really feel like I have a

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a partner in both, someone who
is living in the exact same way

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I'm living, but also someone who
believes that kind of rising

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tides lift all boats.
And if, if we're all doing this

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together, there's so many more
opportunities for people.

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But as I look forward in this
sort of new frame, I also think

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like learning to live like this
is the future, you know,

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learning to have a dual career.
I was just on the phone with a

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woman who said we are ripe for a
brain renaissance.

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And I was like, that's what we
are trying to do.

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Like there's this research that
I believe in the the core of the

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cohort, which is the most
innovative.

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Nobel laureates are people who
have actively cultivated dual

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careers and an innovative
meaning their research has been

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cited the most times.
And that they both have a

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scientific career and they have
a creative career.

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And that they focus on both of
them with an equal amount of

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dedication of professionalism.
And that they believe that it is

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the intersection of the creative
career with the less creative or

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the sort of more traditional
career that drives innovation.

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And in my experience,
personally, my lived experience

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since really dedicating myself
to having dual careers, but also

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now as someone who is observing
all of these people who are

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having dual careers, I do
believe it drives innovation and

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I do believe it expands your
brain in ways that your brain

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wouldn't otherwise be working.
It allows you to make new

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connections.
It sort of pushes your own

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neural pathways and, and it's
about creating a renaissance.

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It's about driving innovation
together.

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All of us can sort of do this at
a very heady level and at a very

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simple level, sort of for
members.

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I want people to make all their
creative and their professional

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dreams come true.
And, and I think we do that

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together.
And the more people we bring in

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and the more opportunities we
bring in, the more people

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really, really have a chance to
go out there and like, do

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everything they're dreaming of.
And, and so on all of those

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levels, sort of both this big
idea of like we are helping to

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fuel the brain renaissance and
on the smaller idea of every

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individual artist who is part of
the community, every Ampersand

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who joins, together we can try
and make that career as big and

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full as it possibly can.
Like that excites me so much.

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I love it.
Such a great answer.

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Let's rewind a bit to younger
Christina growing up in Maine.

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When you were a kid, what did
you think a career or careers

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would look like and how did that
change over time?

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I think I wanted to be an
actress, but I also played

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pretend a lot with my sister
Anna.

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And I really wanted to be queen
of the world.

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Like that was always the like
pretend game I would play was

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that I was queen of the world
and my sister would be a mom.

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And I think in that framing,
like I, I was always very

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focused on like, I wanted to
have a job, like I wanted to

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have a career.
And I think what changed in me

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is that like my sister was
became the creative one.

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Like she decided, but she was
like 11 that she wanted to be an

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interior designer.
And I think because of that,

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we're only 18 months apart.
There's six siblings.

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But she and I are really like,
you know, when you grow up that

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close to someone in age, a lot
of who you are is like, who they

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aren't, you know, or if they're
going to do that, you're going

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to do this other thing.
And so I think I just became the

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more like serious.
Like I was like, oh, I'm going

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to do just like a more serious
career and I focused a lot on

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that.
But even, I mean, it's very

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funny now to be part of this
ampersand community, to have

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have started and now Co found an
ampersand community.

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It's even when I got my master,
my undergrad degree, I got an

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English degree and an
International Development

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studies degree, you know, and so
I, I even then have this sort

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of, well, maybe I could be a
creative writer and I could also

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be an ambassador or work for the
UN or something, you know, and I

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think a little bit hedging,
hedging my bets.

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And I even got, I almost got a
third degree in religious

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studies.
Like, you know, I was, I think

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I've always had this
bifurcation.

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And then I got a master's degree
and focused on International

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Security because I thought
that's the right, like there's a

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job there I'll work for like the
NSA or the CIA or something like

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that.
And then very funnily, I went to

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get those jobs and I was told
that I didn't have the

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personality for them that I like
didn't have the personality to

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be a government employee.
And and then I was like a bit

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lost for a while, but I think I
have always, I think, you know,

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I grew up, we were not a wealthy
family knowing I needed to work,

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being very, I think clear on the
fact that like I wanted to have

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a healthy financial career
lifestyle.

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I want, I wanted wealth and that
a creative curtain.

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It didn't offer any promise of
wealth, you know, And so I think

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I went more and more and more
serious.

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But I also believe if that is a
part of who I am, like I'm

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interested in serious global
geopolitical issues.

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I am interested in the hard,
dark experiences of being human.

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And also I want to like, write
ROM com podcasts, you know, like

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it's a totality of my human.
And so I think the career focus,

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I think weaved and wobbled.
But I think even when I went to

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college, I was like, like, I'm
never going to be satisfied if I

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just choose one thing.
I think that comes up so much on

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this podcast and I, I think so
many people have come on and

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said, you know, I was a double
major in college and I was, I

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was as well music and product
design.

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So I think it's a very, very
common theme.

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And you, you call yourself a
storyteller in both a corporate

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and creative frame, and you're
very much a writer.

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Having worked in this more kind
of serious corporate global

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world, and also in the world of
ROM coms and television and

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fiction, what do you think these
worlds can learn from each

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other?
I think we are so inclined to

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believe that we live in like a
facts based world or that, you

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know, their research is what's
is what people want to hear and

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see.
And like, I was just having this

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meeting with someone from the
World Economic Forum yesterday

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and they were wanting to put out
this communications research

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and, and leading with this idea
of like evidence based

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communication, which is the
right thing to believe.

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Like it is right to believe that
we want like evidence based

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research to inform us about what
to do next.

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And yeah, I would argue that
today's America proves to us

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that like, emotionally based
storytelling is the thing that

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sways great amounts of people.
And it's good if that emotional

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based storytelling has fact
underneath because you're going

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to get more and more people.
But like, we are humans.

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We are emotional creatures to
our detriment, but also to our

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advantage.
And like, we want to connect

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emotionally with people.
And that that is something that

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I see in all of those realms
that I think also in this moment

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of time where like AI is
becoming such a dominant force

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in our lives, I think we are
forgetting that part of what

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makes the experience of living
wonderful is other human beings.

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Absolutely.
And humans need stories.

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We understand things through
stories about other humans, and

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we're seeking relationships and
community and belonging.

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I want to talk about the Floral
Heart project, which was your

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public art series.
It was cited as the catalyst for

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the introduction of COVID-19
memorial legislation in the US

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Congress.
So pretty big deal.

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Thinking back to this project,
what are you most proud of?

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On one level, I am so proud of
the community that came together

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to help people grieve.
Like grief is something that is

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so poorly understood in America.
We have so few practices for it.

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And the people came together and
they like made these floral

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hearts and they laid them and
they raised money and they

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organized to get media out there
and community out there.

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Like it's incredible.
And they all volunteered, you

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know, And that's like a
wonderful thing of people saying

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to each other, I'm so sorry
you're hurt.

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I'm gonna, I'm just gonna be
there for you.

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I'm gonna make a memorial for
who you lost.

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I'm gonna show up for you.
I'm gonna be there for you.

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I don't think we do enough of
that in general, period.

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And we make no space for other
people's grief in America like

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it is.
You could have lost your father.

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And the next day, you're
supposed to be at work, you

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know, like, we just don't make
space.

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And I think that's one of the
largest problems with our

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country is that we don't grieve
the things we have lost

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communally and collectively.
And so we just bury that pain

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and it just sticks around and it
festers and it continues to eat

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at us.
And and that, I think is the

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work we have to do if we want to
really change the society we're

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part of.
I know on the other vessel, it

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was the first time that I like
really became an artist, you

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know, and I am proud of that
experience.

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What happened was I was really
upset by the pandemic.

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00:16:01,640 --> 00:16:02,960
I knew it was going to be a
problem.

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00:16:03,000 --> 00:16:06,080
And I, I knew it was going to be
a problem that we were grieving

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00:16:06,120 --> 00:16:08,200
and I didn't know what to do
about it.

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00:16:08,200 --> 00:16:12,800
Like I, I felt all of these
feelings and I was walking

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around, you know, walking the
dog is the only thing you're

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00:16:16,880 --> 00:16:19,240
allowed to do in the pandemic.
And I kept walking by this

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grocery store and I had this
flowers outside, just like, you

232
00:16:23,280 --> 00:16:25,320
know, as they do in New York.
There's like a whole outside

233
00:16:25,320 --> 00:16:33,200
section itself, laurels.
And I just had this no wait in

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00:16:33,200 --> 00:16:36,600
my Hut.
I heard this voice and it said

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00:16:36,600 --> 00:16:39,000
flowers make something with
flowers.

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And I bought flowers.
I bought like 200 flowers and

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00:16:47,600 --> 00:16:52,920
all the flowers that they had.
And I went home and I googled

238
00:16:53,320 --> 00:16:55,320
what to do with a lot of
flowers.

239
00:16:55,680 --> 00:17:00,200
And this, this like YouTube
popped up YouTube video that

240
00:17:00,200 --> 00:17:04,520
said you can make a Garland.
And I was like, oh, OK, I can do

241
00:17:04,520 --> 00:17:07,119
that.
And and I sat there and I cut

242
00:17:07,119 --> 00:17:09,680
all of these heads off the
flowers and I started to weave

243
00:17:09,680 --> 00:17:14,359
them together.
And I really thought about all

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00:17:14,359 --> 00:17:19,040
the people we had lost and the
things I had lost in the moment

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00:17:19,040 --> 00:17:22,680
we had been through.
And it, I cried and it was a

246
00:17:22,680 --> 00:17:27,640
really powerful moment of sort
of taking my feelings and

247
00:17:27,640 --> 00:17:29,480
putting them into something
else.

248
00:17:29,480 --> 00:17:31,520
And I've been doing a lot of
painting, but I've never done

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00:17:31,520 --> 00:17:33,440
anything like this.
And then I had this huge

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00:17:34,240 --> 00:17:38,960
garment, 6-8 feet long and I was
like, what did you, what do I do

251
00:17:38,960 --> 00:17:42,080
with that?
And I was like, it always made

252
00:17:42,080 --> 00:17:45,720
me feel good to give people
flowers and that maybe it would

253
00:17:45,720 --> 00:17:48,240
make people feel good to receive
them somehow.

254
00:17:48,680 --> 00:17:51,720
And so I took them and I left my
house and I had on like a hat

255
00:17:51,720 --> 00:17:53,680
and sunglasses.
And I had a number for a lawyer

256
00:17:53,680 --> 00:17:55,800
because I didn't know if what I
was doing was illegal.

257
00:17:56,320 --> 00:18:00,480
And I brought the flowers down
by the waterfront in Brooklyn

258
00:18:00,480 --> 00:18:06,800
and I laid them down and I put
them into a heart and I ran away

259
00:18:06,920 --> 00:18:08,680
like I was, I was like, oh, my
God, I'm going to be like

260
00:18:08,680 --> 00:18:10,160
arrested because I like, didn't
know.

261
00:18:10,160 --> 00:18:13,960
I felt like public defacement.
And then I got maybe 50 feet

262
00:18:13,960 --> 00:18:16,080
away and something inside of me
said stop.

263
00:18:17,400 --> 00:18:19,480
They stopped.
And they turned around and

264
00:18:19,480 --> 00:18:25,600
looked And I watched the runner
run by, stopped, turned back.

265
00:18:25,960 --> 00:18:35,640
And he knelt down by the hearts
and he prayed and I started to

266
00:18:35,640 --> 00:18:41,040
cry because I really felt like,
oh, I have connected with this

267
00:18:41,080 --> 00:18:43,600
other person.
Like I have done this job of

268
00:18:43,600 --> 00:18:47,280
being an artist.
Like I heard I wanted to do

269
00:18:47,280 --> 00:18:48,960
something.
I wanted to connect with people.

270
00:18:49,240 --> 00:18:53,000
I followed my intuition.
I made the thing, I put it out

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00:18:53,000 --> 00:18:56,960
there and and then something to
something else.

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And so I started doing it more
and more and, and that's what I

273
00:19:02,360 --> 00:19:04,640
mean by being an artist like
that.

274
00:19:04,640 --> 00:19:09,920
I had the inclination and I
listened and I did it and it

275
00:19:10,000 --> 00:19:15,600
mattered and it kept growing and
growing and growing and then did

276
00:19:15,600 --> 00:19:18,080
make this really big impact and
we like all got to grieve

277
00:19:18,080 --> 00:19:20,640
together.
We had this, you know, national

278
00:19:21,080 --> 00:19:25,000
it because we did a national
floral heart laying and there's

279
00:19:25,000 --> 00:19:27,680
so much imagery across the
country.

280
00:19:28,000 --> 00:19:31,360
It showed that there was
interest in creating a memorial

281
00:19:31,360 --> 00:19:33,640
so they could introduce the
legislation.

282
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And no one was really taking a
risk as a political figure

283
00:19:36,480 --> 00:19:39,400
because there was such a huge
delegation of people behind

284
00:19:39,400 --> 00:19:45,200
them.
And that was when I realized

285
00:19:45,720 --> 00:19:51,880
that like, I could be more than
I had been before.

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Let's take a short break and
reflect on this question.

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00:19:57,640 --> 00:20:01,560
When have you felt the call and
followed your intuition?

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00:20:07,920 --> 00:20:11,440
Are you and Ampersand looking
for community inspiration and

289
00:20:11,440 --> 00:20:14,880
resources?
Come join us in the cohort where

290
00:20:14,880 --> 00:20:18,960
we help you grow and scale your
creative and professional

291
00:20:18,960 --> 00:20:21,440
aspirations.
If you're looking for more

292
00:20:21,440 --> 00:20:25,040
dedicated support, Ioffer
executive coaching for business

293
00:20:25,040 --> 00:20:28,680
leaders, people managers,
creatives and of course,

294
00:20:28,760 --> 00:20:31,800
ampersands.
Find out more about the cohort

295
00:20:31,800 --> 00:20:34,960
and one-on-one coaching at
jessica1.com.

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00:20:35,840 --> 00:20:43,560
Now back to the show.
Last year you wrote, performed,

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00:20:43,560 --> 00:20:47,960
and produced your one woman solo
show titled I Almost Died For

298
00:20:47,960 --> 00:20:52,720
This.
What prompted you to go all in

299
00:20:52,760 --> 00:20:56,400
on this story at this point in
your life?

300
00:20:57,360 --> 00:21:04,720
I had a traumatic brain injury
six years ago that I got in part

301
00:21:05,360 --> 00:21:09,920
that what the show really talks
about is in part I got this

302
00:21:09,920 --> 00:21:16,280
traumatic brain injury because I
had these views of love and

303
00:21:16,280 --> 00:21:20,200
relationship that were sort of
so rooted in patriarchal

304
00:21:20,200 --> 00:21:22,960
society.
And which is a word that I only

305
00:21:22,960 --> 00:21:26,120
use once in the entire show, but
is sort of the framing and the

306
00:21:26,120 --> 00:21:31,640
basis for for the show.
And I have tried to tell the

307
00:21:31,640 --> 00:21:34,040
story about my brain injury.
I knew there was a story in the

308
00:21:34,040 --> 00:21:36,520
brain injury, right?
Like I sort of knew it in the

309
00:21:36,520 --> 00:21:41,840
same sense of like of not
necessarily a calling in that

310
00:21:41,840 --> 00:21:44,080
way, but in like, this is a
story.

311
00:21:44,080 --> 00:21:47,520
This is like a great story.
Like I knew the story framing so

312
00:21:47,520 --> 00:21:49,800
deeply in my body that I knew it
was there.

313
00:21:50,680 --> 00:21:54,520
And I tried to write his memoir
and it could really stick the

314
00:21:54,520 --> 00:21:55,960
ending.
Like I just like couldn't figure

315
00:21:55,960 --> 00:22:00,160
out the landing.
And I kept turning on it and

316
00:22:00,160 --> 00:22:04,240
turning on it.
And I think what I knew deeply

317
00:22:05,280 --> 00:22:09,720
was that I couldn't get to the
next point in my life without

318
00:22:09,720 --> 00:22:13,760
expressing this story that is
inherent to the show.

319
00:22:14,000 --> 00:22:21,480
And that there was something in
this story that was so wrong

320
00:22:22,000 --> 00:22:24,840
inside of me.
Like there was something in my

321
00:22:25,920 --> 00:22:30,320
world view in there was just
something in in me that I like,

322
00:22:30,320 --> 00:22:34,360
couldn't figure out that was
driving so many of my actions.

323
00:22:34,840 --> 00:22:38,280
And I was like, I have to, it
has to get out of me.

324
00:22:38,680 --> 00:22:40,600
And a friend was like, maybe
she'll consider a one woman

325
00:22:40,600 --> 00:22:41,720
show.
And I was like, well, I'm not

326
00:22:41,720 --> 00:22:44,760
really a performer.
Like I'm not really looking for

327
00:22:44,760 --> 00:22:50,040
like that career step.
And she said, well, go to this

328
00:22:50,040 --> 00:22:53,120
class, the sky map Overman does
this class called Go solo.

329
00:22:53,160 --> 00:22:57,120
And she was like, I've taken the
class and that's incredible.

330
00:22:58,440 --> 00:23:00,040
So I was like, sure, OK,
whatever.

331
00:23:00,680 --> 00:23:02,840
So I took the class and it was
incredible.

332
00:23:02,840 --> 00:23:05,720
It was incredible because so
much of it was about helping you

333
00:23:05,720 --> 00:23:09,040
understand your own internal
story and how you work and all

334
00:23:09,040 --> 00:23:10,720
of that.
So I started to take another

335
00:23:10,720 --> 00:23:15,240
class and I think I was still
trying to figure out if there

336
00:23:15,240 --> 00:23:17,440
was something there in that
story.

337
00:23:18,200 --> 00:23:25,160
You have to tell your stories in
the art forms which are inherent

338
00:23:25,160 --> 00:23:31,480
to who you are.
And I had tried to paint this

339
00:23:31,480 --> 00:23:34,840
experience and write this
experience and just try and get

340
00:23:34,840 --> 00:23:41,080
it out of my body.
And I really had a moment of

341
00:23:41,080 --> 00:23:44,000
realizing, like, I'm a story
teller.

342
00:23:44,480 --> 00:23:49,800
Like the teller part of it is so
important and that I needed to

343
00:23:49,840 --> 00:23:55,280
tell a story and I needed an
audience of people to listen.

344
00:23:55,480 --> 00:24:00,840
Like I, I needed that format.
And then I went to the Edinburgh

345
00:24:00,840 --> 00:24:04,800
Fringe festival and I got to be
a listener and I got to realize

346
00:24:04,800 --> 00:24:09,440
this huge power in listening and
receiving stories and that it

347
00:24:09,440 --> 00:24:12,920
really is this like very
symbiotic experience of being

348
00:24:12,920 --> 00:24:15,000
like a storyteller and a story
listener.

349
00:24:15,000 --> 00:24:17,600
And, and for years I had been
saying, I want to be in

350
00:24:17,600 --> 00:24:22,560
conversation with people.
And it wasn't until I got till I

351
00:24:22,560 --> 00:24:24,120
went to French.
So I had worked on this show

352
00:24:24,120 --> 00:24:28,760
till I realized, Oh, this is in
like this is the space and the

353
00:24:28,760 --> 00:24:30,960
frame and the way you are in
conversation with someone.

354
00:24:31,680 --> 00:24:35,040
And then very Long story short,
and then I actually did it and,

355
00:24:35,600 --> 00:24:41,040
and like getting the story out
of my body and giving it to

356
00:24:41,040 --> 00:24:43,000
other people.
The message of it, the idea of

357
00:24:43,000 --> 00:24:48,720
it, you know, lives outside my
body like I am I, I both fully

358
00:24:48,720 --> 00:24:51,000
understand myself.
I understand the system in which

359
00:24:51,000 --> 00:24:52,960
I operate.
I understand all of the choices

360
00:24:52,960 --> 00:24:57,360
that I made now, and also now I
no longer hold the story or the

361
00:24:57,360 --> 00:25:01,040
experiences.
And so that was all very

362
00:25:01,040 --> 00:25:03,080
important.
And I also think important in

363
00:25:03,080 --> 00:25:10,560
the fact of my own artistic
growth to be able to leave those

364
00:25:10,560 --> 00:25:14,240
core defining narratives behind,
a lot of which had to do with,

365
00:25:15,200 --> 00:25:18,840
you know, I mean, I was so
willing to give up my whole life

366
00:25:18,840 --> 00:25:22,520
in service of a man, you know,
and like a man who may or may

367
00:25:22,520 --> 00:25:25,840
not have deserved that because
that's what I was told would

368
00:25:25,840 --> 00:25:28,720
give me a feeling of fullness, a
feeling of completeness, like a

369
00:25:28,720 --> 00:25:31,400
feeling of belonging.
And it was only by doing the

370
00:25:31,400 --> 00:25:36,560
show and learning to reject that
idea that I think I am able to

371
00:25:36,560 --> 00:25:41,560
step into more and more of more
and more artistic opportunities,

372
00:25:41,560 --> 00:25:44,400
but also more and more
professional opportunities and

373
00:25:44,400 --> 00:25:49,200
sort of becoming a different
person and weaving a different

374
00:25:49,200 --> 00:25:53,880
kind of existence in the world.
Amazing, amazing.

375
00:25:54,560 --> 00:26:00,600
I know that after your traumatic
brain injury, painting was one

376
00:26:00,600 --> 00:26:05,200
of the ways that you were able
to really get through a very

377
00:26:05,600 --> 00:26:09,080
challenging time.
What advice do you have for

378
00:26:09,080 --> 00:26:17,800
people who maybe have at some
point had art in their lives and

379
00:26:17,800 --> 00:26:22,480
now are looking to bring it back
or are looking for some other

380
00:26:22,480 --> 00:26:29,040
creative outlet to get started
or to to get more deeply into?

381
00:26:29,120 --> 00:26:33,120
I mean, you have gone into the,
you know, the solar show and the

382
00:26:33,120 --> 00:26:37,600
floral heart project, and these
are all creative, but they were

383
00:26:37,960 --> 00:26:40,160
pretty new art forms for you.
Oh.

384
00:26:40,800 --> 00:26:43,040
Yeah, I mean, I'm still like a
baby artist.

385
00:26:43,240 --> 00:26:46,400
I I took a weaving like 3 weeks
ago.

386
00:26:46,400 --> 00:26:48,160
I was like, I think I want to
weave and.

387
00:26:49,120 --> 00:26:54,360
And now I'm taking weaving
classes, but my only advice is

388
00:26:54,360 --> 00:26:59,040
to listen Before my traumatic
brain injury, I didn't remember

389
00:26:59,040 --> 00:27:03,640
this, but so I had the TBI and I
had this much like the floral

390
00:27:03,640 --> 00:27:06,800
heart project, just like a
knowing like a like in something

391
00:27:06,800 --> 00:27:09,720
inside my brain was like go get
paints, buy paints.

392
00:27:11,360 --> 00:27:14,680
I never painted like I it's like
watercolor when I was like 7

393
00:27:14,680 --> 00:27:15,640
right?
But it was, I never had a

394
00:27:15,640 --> 00:27:21,000
painting practice, but my best
friend Ashley said you told me

395
00:27:21,000 --> 00:27:25,360
you were interested in painting
5 or 6 months ago and you never

396
00:27:25,360 --> 00:27:29,760
took a painting class.
And I think about that as how I

397
00:27:29,760 --> 00:27:33,160
didn't listen to that desire or
that inclination.

398
00:27:33,360 --> 00:27:37,720
And I wonder if I had, if
painting was the thing that

399
00:27:37,720 --> 00:27:41,200
would have allowed me to slow
down enough to have enough

400
00:27:41,320 --> 00:27:44,960
reflection that I wouldn't have
ended up in this situation where

401
00:27:44,960 --> 00:27:47,240
I got right.
Like I ended up getting a brain

402
00:27:47,240 --> 00:27:55,400
injury because what it did for
me is that I'm necessity

403
00:27:55,440 --> 00:28:00,440
required me to slow down.
But I really opened up my ways

404
00:28:00,440 --> 00:28:03,920
of thinking and my brain and,
and I, I mean, I talk to people

405
00:28:03,920 --> 00:28:06,560
all the time, people who are
interested in the cohort or

406
00:28:06,560 --> 00:28:09,200
people who you are sort of
exploring this.

407
00:28:09,200 --> 00:28:13,120
And everyone says, oh boy, I've
always thought maybe I'd be

408
00:28:13,120 --> 00:28:15,400
interested in dot dot dot dot
dot.

409
00:28:15,400 --> 00:28:17,920
And everyone has something.
Yes.

410
00:28:18,200 --> 00:28:20,320
Most of us just never listen to
it, right.

411
00:28:20,400 --> 00:28:23,640
And so it's, I think it is just
try.

412
00:28:24,000 --> 00:28:25,880
There's no requirement.
You stick to it.

413
00:28:25,880 --> 00:28:29,960
I mean, we took really intensive
sculpting classes for like a

414
00:28:30,000 --> 00:28:32,880
year and a half.
I just gave up.

415
00:28:33,400 --> 00:28:36,720
I didn't give up on it, but I
just, I got out of sculpting

416
00:28:36,720 --> 00:28:41,480
what I needed to get, yes.
And then I moved on and like,

417
00:28:41,480 --> 00:28:45,000
I'm taking weaving lessons now.
Am I going to be a professional

418
00:28:45,000 --> 00:28:47,280
Weaver?
I have no idea.

419
00:28:47,280 --> 00:28:49,720
But I'm also OK with maybe
there's just something I need to

420
00:28:49,720 --> 00:28:53,160
learn through weaving.
I have no idea what it is, but

421
00:28:53,160 --> 00:28:56,840
if I do it for long enough,
eventually I'm going to learn

422
00:28:56,840 --> 00:29:00,600
something, you know, like, and
that's, that's worth the time

423
00:29:00,600 --> 00:29:04,680
and effort.
Yeah, so as you know, the goal

424
00:29:04,680 --> 00:29:09,040
of this podcast is to Co create
the Ampersand Manifesto

425
00:29:09,320 --> 00:29:12,280
principles for leading a multi
passionate life.

426
00:29:12,960 --> 00:29:16,840
What are some of the top
principles that you live by?

427
00:29:18,080 --> 00:29:23,280
Speak out novelty listen when
you hear the call.

428
00:29:24,520 --> 00:29:28,160
And that call could be a tiny
little interest to go try

429
00:29:28,160 --> 00:29:31,600
weaving class.
Or it could be buy flowers, make

430
00:29:31,600 --> 00:29:42,680
the thing, seek out others who
validate and justify this way of

431
00:29:42,680 --> 00:29:49,520
living.
Be courageous, but know that you

432
00:29:49,520 --> 00:29:54,080
don't have to be courageous
alone, that, you know, like it

433
00:29:54,080 --> 00:29:58,000
is a different way of living,
but so many of us are

434
00:29:58,400 --> 00:30:01,240
architecting this lifestyle and
I truly believe we are on the

435
00:30:01,240 --> 00:30:05,200
bleeding edge of how everyone is
going to be living.

436
00:30:05,200 --> 00:30:10,320
Like we are Trail Blazers and
that's OK.

437
00:30:10,680 --> 00:30:16,600
You know, like someone recently
said to me, it's really OK to

438
00:30:16,600 --> 00:30:19,680
have no idea where you're going
because it means you're blazing

439
00:30:19,680 --> 00:30:21,920
the trail.
And if you knew where you were

440
00:30:21,920 --> 00:30:24,360
going, you would just be
repeating what someone else was

441
00:30:24,360 --> 00:30:26,640
doing.
And I think there's a real power

442
00:30:26,640 --> 00:30:35,000
in that of allowing yourself to.
Be a trailblazer, Christina.

443
00:30:35,160 --> 00:30:37,520
It has been so wonderful talking
with you.

444
00:30:37,560 --> 00:30:41,400
I am honored to be a trailblazer
with you folks.

445
00:30:41,400 --> 00:30:45,000
You can check out Christina's
work at christinalibby.com and

446
00:30:45,000 --> 00:30:49,520
follow her on Instagram at
Christina M Libby and at Light V

447
00:30:49,520 --> 00:30:51,960
Light.
We'll link to these in the show

448
00:30:51,960 --> 00:30:57,480
notes.
If you liked this show, share it

449
00:30:57,480 --> 00:31:01,120
with your friends and fellow
ampersands, and make sure to hit

450
00:31:01,120 --> 00:31:04,600
the follow button to be notified
when new episodes drop.

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00:31:05,200 --> 00:31:09,000
It would mean the world to us if
you took two minutes to rate and

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00:31:09,000 --> 00:31:12,280
review the show.
Just go to the main show page on

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00:31:12,280 --> 00:31:16,120
Apple Podcasts or Spotify and
look for the stars.

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00:31:17,840 --> 00:31:21,560
I had a chance to listen back to
Christina's interview and I came

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00:31:21,560 --> 00:31:27,280
away with these key takeaways.
One, let's talk about this idea

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00:31:27,280 --> 00:31:31,840
of a brain renaissance.
I am so jazzed to explore this

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00:31:31,840 --> 00:31:33,840
more.
The last time we had a

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00:31:33,840 --> 00:31:37,520
renaissance, it started in
Florence after the Middle Ages

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00:31:37,760 --> 00:31:41,720
and spanned from the 14th
century to the 17th century, a

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00:31:41,920 --> 00:31:45,000
long time.
This renaissance emphasized

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00:31:45,000 --> 00:31:49,200
human potential, reason, and the
study of the humanities and

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00:31:49,200 --> 00:31:52,240
arts.
Thinking about where we are now

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00:31:52,240 --> 00:31:56,480
in the course of human history,
after the industrial age, the

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00:31:56,480 --> 00:32:00,080
digitization of almost
everything, and the

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00:32:00,080 --> 00:32:05,080
proliferation of AI, it's a
valid question to ask.

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00:32:05,320 --> 00:32:08,240
What is the best use of our
human brains?

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00:32:08,520 --> 00:32:13,400
How can connecting across fields
banned our brains in new ways?

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00:32:13,640 --> 00:32:15,840
What would a renaissance look
like today?

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00:32:17,000 --> 00:32:22,000
Two, across so many fields, both
corporate and creative.

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00:32:22,320 --> 00:32:25,280
Christina talked about evoking
emotion.

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00:32:25,680 --> 00:32:29,320
Whether it's corporate
communications or the Fine Arts,

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00:32:29,840 --> 00:32:33,600
at the core, humans connect
through emotion.

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00:32:34,160 --> 00:32:35,920
I've been thinking about this a
lot.

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00:32:36,000 --> 00:32:39,000
In my own work as an executive
coach.

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00:32:39,000 --> 00:32:43,360
In deep partnership with my
clients, I've witnessed all

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00:32:43,360 --> 00:32:48,040
sorts of emotion, and as a
singer, I know I've moved people

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00:32:48,040 --> 00:32:51,920
to tears.
Unlocking emotion in others is

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00:32:51,920 --> 00:32:55,920
sometimes seen as a rare thing.
But why?

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00:32:56,920 --> 00:33:00,840
We are all human, and emotions
are universal.

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00:33:01,440 --> 00:33:06,120
In fact, they're what make us
human. 3.

481
00:33:06,960 --> 00:33:10,600
I loved the back story of
Christina's solo show and how it

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00:33:10,600 --> 00:33:13,800
took a while for her to find the
right art form to tell this

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00:33:13,800 --> 00:33:16,040
story.
She tried painting it.

484
00:33:16,200 --> 00:33:20,640
She tried writing a memoir, but
those weren't the right mediums.

485
00:33:21,080 --> 00:33:25,200
The story needed to be told with
live listeners.

486
00:33:25,640 --> 00:33:30,000
I resonated with this.
Before starting this podcast, I

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00:33:30,000 --> 00:33:33,680
had lived with this idea of
telling stories about ampersands

488
00:33:34,120 --> 00:33:39,200
for almost 20 years.
But the medium never felt quite

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00:33:39,200 --> 00:33:42,080
right.
Sometimes when you find

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00:33:42,080 --> 00:33:46,120
alignment with the subject
matter, the medium, and the

491
00:33:46,120 --> 00:33:50,600
people involved, that's when a
project can move quickly and get

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00:33:50,600 --> 00:33:54,800
out into the world.
It just takes a little patience.

493
00:33:55,920 --> 00:34:01,600
Like, I'm interested in serious
global geopolitical issues.

494
00:34:01,680 --> 00:34:07,160
I am interested in the hard dark
experiences of being human and

495
00:34:07,680 --> 00:34:11,320
also I want to like write ROM
podcast, you know?