Dear Chris,

I follow you on Twitter and you’re always out and about. How do you balance being fabulous with being a hard worker?

Dear Follower -

One of the skills that I learned in my early years of moving to NYC (now, over ten years ago!) was that the 24 hours in the day must be compartmentalized. Moving to NYC at 17 proved a steep learning curve to this end. We would go to class at Parsons from 9-3pm, take naps, work on our projects in the dorms while also making crazy club-kid costumes, and then go out until 4 or 5 in the morning. Rinse, and repeat!

I’m not sure how we survived it, but we pulled through. It’s something that was every bit as important to me as school, being a part of that collective consciousness. Listen, I haven’t seen 4am in quite a few years, but what I can tell you is that a lot of ideas come from hours of conversation and laughter outside the studio.

Take a tip from the ancient Greeks–on the Temple of Apollo at Delphi was carved three maxims:

γνωθι σεαυτόν = “know thyself”

mēdén ágan = “nothing in excess”

Εγγύα πάρα δ’ατη = “make a pledge and mischief is nigh”

Make these your mantra, and scheduling work & play is a snap!

xx
CB


Got a question for Chris? Email him on askchrisbenz@fashionista.com!