“You are a product. Develop it.” ~ Tom Peters
Since Saturday, my mind has been a giant whirlwind of Sanskrit, anatomy, sacred Hindu texts, new technologies, and economic headlines. With my yoga teacher training underway and closing out my second week at my new job, I feel like my mind is gaining mass at an alarming rate. It sounds like I should be exhausted when in fact I’m skipping around my apartment at nearly 11PM. I feel myself radiating.
This feeling of lightness, of boundless energy, comes from living out in the world what I feel in my heart. When we live what we love our life’s activities builds up our stamina and creativity. They give us more than they take away. We become a product, a temple, of happiness. And I gotta tell ya, it feels pretty darn fantastic.
So, yes, by training and trade, I am a product developer. In life, we are all product developers. The products, our hearts, souls, minds, bodies, want and need to be developed. For me, that meant getting a new job doing work I love and finally getting to that full yoga teaching certification I’ve wanted for a number of years. And once those two things are complete, I’ll find something else. I’ll take a class on collage. I’ll improve my Spanish. I’ll continue my quest to make a difference in public education. I’ll learn to play the piano. Product development is a deeply personal, never-ending process. And that’s the real beauty of it – there is always more to do, more to learn, more impact to make, just around the bend. Keep going.
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.
View all posts by Christa Avampato
Christa Avampato 
Good to learn to play the piano. Just play the first piece of Bach Inventions or Chopin’s Nocturne will appear to be a majestical and spiritual experience! Pray not just to play whenever you touch the keyboard.
Good luck!
YM
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Thanks, YM. Chopin is my favorite!
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Let me know during my staying at Hotel Chelsea from upcoming May 5th to 12th. Glad to play a exquisite Chopin piece for you at Steinway & Sons, 109 57th Street, maybe, over a cup of coffee. I will come to pray for victims of 911 terrorist attack. They are always with me.
From Charles Rosen to Maurizio Pollini, Pierre Boulez were my teachers.
Good luck!
YM
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LOVE IT! I just found a class on collage so will send it to you. So proud of all the amazing things you’re doing to develop your already fabulous product 🙂
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Thanks, dearest! And thanks for the collage info 🙂
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“This feeling of lightness, of boundless energy, comes from living out in the world what I feel in my heart.”
–I LOVE this sentence. It captures that feeling so beautifully.
I’m not sure I’m with you on comparing ourselves to products, though. That links us to the world of commerce. We’re developed, bought, sold? Marketed? I think this clips our wings a bit. I’d rather say we’re like works of art…
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Hi Amanda,
Point taken. I was thinking of products in a broader sense. When I worked in nonprofit, our product was the ability to preserve biodiversity around the world. When I worked in theatre, our product was a story, a work of art that played out on the stage. As a soon-to-be yoga teacher, my products is the ability to provide a sense of well-being to everyone I come into contact with, on or off the mat, with or without pay. I was thinking of our hearts as something that can be developed and grown and refined, not for money or to be marketed, but to make a contribution to humanity. I do like the work of art comparison, too.
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That makes sense! 🙂
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