With life as his muse, Christopher combines his passion for words and self-expression through prolific poetry that embodies inspiration and light. For Christopher, writing is a way of life.
The Collections
When I launched FollowCB in late March of 2011, it was with incredible excitement and zeal. The New Media Pioneer nod from Google earlier that year (for creating single-subject educational YouTube videos based on my skating experience), coupled with rising success in both my companies at the time, created this feeling that I had arrived at the head of a new trail, both personally and professionally. I was eager to blaze it.
“Alphabet Soup” became my launching pad and early base camp. I wanted to share how I had gotten to this place, this point of becoming a blogger, and I wanted to tell people about my personal journey and the major lessons I encountered along the way. I began thinking about how our lives are a combination of components swirling together simultaneously; about how they are similar to ingredients in a soup pot. What we produce has to do with what ingredients are in that mix. I realized, too, that food is our greatest common denominator as human beings. It speaks a universal language. It unites us across borders, cultures and disparate beliefs and ideologies.
In my quest to speak to everyone, “Alphabet Soup,” my personal recipe for a life of success, happiness and attainment of dreams, was cooked up daily. I assigned one main ingredient per each letter from A to Z. Upon completion at Z, I added the "make your own soup" chapter to encourage people to think about what their own life's recipe might be.
In the midst of writing “My Secret Ingredient,” the follow up to my debut blog series, “Alphabet Soup,” lines of a poem lofted into my head. I could see them, feel them, hear them and almost touch them as they attached themselves to me. The pieces had a beautiful metre and rhythmic-lyrical resonance, but I didn't know what to do with the poem as a whole. But then it seemed to be writing itself as the inspiration just came to me. With a sense of irony, I called it “Something So Simple.” I wasn’t sure what this poetic intervention meant — maybe it was telling me about a greater voice in my creative mind that I should be paying attention to.
Visit TumblrIn pondering its appearance to me, I suddenly had a different thought: What if I'm supposed to be a vehicle for poetry, lyrics and songs? I quickly disregarded it, and shut it away...
But then I said to myself, “This is your blog; it's your space to express yourself first as a creative, an artist, a passionate spirit.” I had always believed that requirements, and other people's ideas as to what my blank pages ought to be boxed into, belong to them. So I forged onward with creating new business-leadership, aspirational-inspirational content, while more and more, poems and songs took center stage.
I succumbed to where my creative muse wanted to lead me. I allowed it to lead me into numerous forms of expression through words: quotes, six-word stories, Haiku, songs, poems and prose poems. I've won awards, been published, collaborated with prolific writers, written memorials and tributes, developed at least 10 book concepts for publishing, and composed songs for bands and singers.
About 6,000 pieces into writing, I'm more inspired than ever, and believe that we can draw inspiration from anywhere. There's always a story unfolding, a story within each story. Life is stories. We are stories. Each day and every moment is a story to be told.
Writing and any expressive art connects us both externally and internally. It helps us discover our purpose. We all need to find outlets to express life, our lens, our experiences; our unique journeys need to be shared in the collective whole of the world.
I feel at my highest connectivity while writing, delving into realms of my imagination, psyche, spirit, beliefs and human experience. Every one of these pioneering moments permeates and infuses every single decision I make, move I take and breath I breathe.