Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Christina Angott. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.
Hi Christina, appreciate you sitting with us today to share your wisdom with our readers. So, let’s start with resilience – where do you get your resilience from?
As a little girl I would get upset and go off into the woods and write. Often my stories were in the form of poetry and they would just easily to me. Sometimes they rhymed and sometimes they didn’t, but they all told a story and that story was about my life. I used poetry all the way through college as my way of dealing with adversity. Whether it was breakups with my boyfriends, feeling alone or just having a bad day I could write down those feelings on paper. My poetry was my outlet.
Thanks for sharing that. So, before we get any further into our conversation, can you tell our readers a bit about yourself and what you’re working on?
Today I am a marketing executive for a great company and I am also a connector and pioneer on my own journey into entrepreneurship. Like writing, marketing has its creative elements, however what appeals to me about my current job is that it is in the business to business space. And, for the last few decades that is what I have been spending my time on and have grown to love. And, although I love my current job I have spent the last few years pondering what would be next and what my future would be as my children went off to college and started their own lives.
I remembered writing poetry in the outdoors. I remembered sitting under the willow tree as a child and enjoying its shade. I remembered camping trips with my family and that led me down.a unique path at the almost complete opposite end of my current job. My husband and I started Growing Faith Farms & Retreat. A cut flower farm where you can enjoy the simplest things in nature like picking a beautiful bouquet and spend a few quiet evenings in nature glamping on top of our mountain overlooking the surrounding mountains and valleys.
I love technology. I grew up around it and love when technology makes things easier and better. But I also am fearful as I watch what it is doing to our society. Those special memories I had as a child are not enjoyed by the youth of today. They do not want to spend time outside. They want to interact on their phones. Social media has replaced going out and everything is about the photograph not the experience. My life has been built on experiences and I want to share how meaningful that can be whether you are alone or with friends. And being outdoors just helps you connect with nature. Something many people forget to do these days.
Living on a farm you slow down a lot and really get to appreciate the simple things. Just last year I remember watching the leaves change colors and enjoying the gradual shift. In years passed I would blink and the leaves would be off the trees. Now I get to enjoy watching nature do her thing.
Looking back, what do you think were the three qualities, skills, or areas of knowledge that were most impactful in your journey? What advice do you have for folks who are early in their journey in terms of how they can best develop or improve on these?
There have been several things that impacted my journey. The first one was my move to Charlotte from Raleigh. At the time it was just me and my two daughters and that move completely changed my life. I learned how strong I was and capable of making my own decisions. I learned that you can reinvent yourself and build something from scratch and I learned that no matter where you are family is always there for you.
Having cancer was also very impactful on my journey. I realized I was not invincible and that I still had a lot of living I wanted to do before I died. I also learned I was a fighter and could weather even the toughest storms.
The last piece to my puzzle was reflecting on what I really enjoyed doing and what gave me pleasure in life. When my girls moved out I felt a little lost. I had to find things to keep me busy and I missed the interactions with the girls. That is where some of the ideas came from for our business. Connecting people with like interests, connecting back to nature and connecting families. All of these are things I value.
Finding your passion takes time. Don’t rush it. It took me decades to find what was right there in front of me the entire time. Sometimes it takes life to work its magic on you so you can find where you belong.
What do you do when you feel overwhelmed? Any advice or strategies?
Working two a full time job and trying to grow your own business can be very challenging. When I feel overwhelmed I go up to the glamping area and sit up there in the quiet and just breathe. It centers me and makes me feel at peace. If we have campers or glampers I go down to the fields and hang out with the flowers and animals. I love watching them and the birds and other creatures that meander through not to mention the stream and small waterfalls singing in the background.
It is important to find somewhere to ground yourself. It is inevitable that at times life will get to you and you need to know how to handle it and what works to calm you down. For me it is silence. Just me and nature.
Contact Info:
- Website: www.growingfaithfarms.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/growingfaithfarms_nc/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/growingfaithfarms.nc
- Linkedin: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christina-angott-939a731/
- Yelp: https://www.yelp.com/biz/growing-faith-farms-moravian-falls?osq=growing+faith+farms
