“The one who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.” ~ Confucius
I went to a second training session with Citizen Schools that focuses on building out our final project ideas along with constructing an idea for the apprenticeship fair where the students will visit each possible apprenticeship and note their top choices for the semester. So now I’ve got the hook and the big prize, I just need to build all of the smaller steps that get us through the 10 week program.
If I think about this project too much, it can seem a little bit daunting. There are a lot of small moving parts to consider, specific content that must be communicated, and the communication methods need to keep an active 12 year old mind engaged. Thank goodness for all of the support offered by Citizen Schools. Out of the gate, it would have been tough to do this as my own independent side project. With the staff and resources from Citizen Schools, that mountain of an apprenticeship still looms large, but now appears to be scalable.
With big projects, I like to take the work involved and chop it up into bite-size pieces. Simplicity is the key: I just need to figure out all of the content I want to convey, and Citizen Schools can help me develop a fun method to the madness. I’ve got a blank slate to my right and a lot of material to teach on my left. With each activity and each lesson, I imagine myself picking up one small stone from the pile and moving it from left to right. Small goals and small victories can and will really add up to something beautiful.
The image above is not my own. It can be found here.
Published by Christa Avampato
The short of it:
Writer. Health, education, and art advocate. Theater and film producer. Visual artist. Product geek. Proud alumnae of the University of Pennsylvania (BA) and the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA). Inspired by ancient wisdom & modern tech. Proliferator of goodness. Opener of doors. Friend to animals. Fan of creative work in all its wondrous forms. I use my business skills to create passion projects that build a better world. I’ve been called the happiest New Yorker, and I try hard to live up to that title every day.
The long of it:
My career has stretched across Capitol Hill, Broadway theatre, education, nonprofit fundraising, health and wellness, and Fortune 500 companies in retail, media, entertainment, technology, and financial services. I’ve been a product developer and product manager, theater manager, strategic consultant, marketer, voice over artist, , teacher, and fundraiser. I use my business and storytelling to support and sustain passion projects that build a better world. In every experience, I’ve used my sense of and respect for elegant design to develop meaningful products, services, programs, and events.
While building a business career, I also built a strong portfolio as a journalist, novelist, freelance writer, interviewer, presenter, and public speaker. My writing has appeared in The Washington Post, The Huffington Post, PBS.org, Boston.com, Royal Media Partners publications, and The Motley Fool on a wide range of topics including business, technology, science, health, education, culture, and lifestyle. I have also been an invited speaker at SXSW, Teach for America, Avon headquarters, Games for Change, NYU, Columbia University, Hunter College, and the Alzheimer’s Foundation of America. The first book in my young adult book series, Emerson Page and Where the Light Enters, was acquired by a publisher and launched in November 2017. I’m currently working on the second book in the series.
A recovering multi-tasker, I’m equally at home in front of my Mac, on my yoga mat, walking my rescue dog, Phineas, traveling with a purpose, or practicing the high-art of people watching. I also cut up small bits of paper and put them back together as a collage artist.
My company:
I’m bringing together all of my business and creative career paths as the Founder of Double or Nothing Media:
• I craft products, programs, and projects that make a difference;
• I build the business plans that make what I craft financially sustainable;
• I tell the stories that matter about the people, places, and products that inspire me.
Follow my adventures on Twitter at https://twitter.com/christanyc and Instagram at https://instagram.com/christarosenyc.
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“The one who moves a mountain begins by carrying away small stones.” ~ Confucius
Christa Avampato 
I tend to get overwhelmed if I look at the whole picture too long, I need to break things down into increments I can tackle a little bit along the way. It’s nice to have a big goal to shoot for but as you stated it’s the small step along the way where we need to keep our focus.
Aine
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Hi Aine,
Those small steps mean so much – there’s a whole lotta learning that happens along that path.
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