“Character may be manifested in the great moments, but it is made in the small ones.” ~ Phillips Brooks
For the Labor Day holiday, I’m down in Florida with my family. We’re having lots of small moments – no crazy plans, no additional travel. Mostly hanging out at home, watching movies, and grilling out. Vacations down here feel like real vacations with no schedule, no requirements.
What always amazes me about time with my little nieces is the amount of lessons they teach me. My niece, Lorelei, thinks that calling someone means using Skype, not the phone. She loves everything with a glowing screen. Every greeting card is expected to have its own microchip that plays a song. But what’s wonderful is her fascination with activities that are as old-fashioned as they get. Baking cookies, blowing bubble in the backyard, and twirling while singing her heart out. Adults constantly complain about being overloaded by technology. Lorelei doesn’t. She has incorporated it seamlessly into her life – she uses it only when she feels like it.
It’s small moments of realization like this that remind me how much learning can be packed into every day, with no extra work needed, just a greater sense of awareness and a desire to connect the dots. It’s a big benefit of spending a lot of time with kids – they show us how much wonder the world can hold. I’m excited to see what other great lessons my girls will teach me over the next few days and how they’ll change how I see the world.
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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“Character may be manifested in the great moments, but it is made in the small ones.” ~ Phillips Brooks 
Christa Avampato 