The lunch with the General Counsel at my company yesterday spurred a few other ideas that I’ll detail in blog posts today and tomorrow. the one for today revolves around focus. The company I work tried to be all things to all people for a very long time. If you wanted a financial product or service, we had something for you. The trouble is when we spread ourselves so thin and try to be a jack of all trades, we end up not really doing any one thing particularly well.
Eventually, we divested most of our ancillary business lines and focused our attention on what we knew we could do really well. Yes, we gave up some potential opportunities, but we realized huge benefits with our focus. In all honesty it’s that focus more than anything else that helped us to survive the recession more or less intact and what is driving our growth, even though the economy now is so sluggish.
This example begs the question of not what should we do, but what should we stop doing or not take up at all? I’m looking at all of my projects and interests now as I turn the corner of December and look straight into the eyes of 2011. What am I doing with my time? Where am I focusing my energy?
In 2011, I am not going to pursue my afterschool curriculum about product development. I love the idea. I really want to bring it to life. But now is not the right moment. I don’t have the time I really need to devote to it to get it to go. It’s a full-time job. If I really follow my heart, it always leads me back to my yoga and my writing. Those are the projects that have me dancing for joy, and I love joy. Those two interests fit together well; they feed one another and they feed my soul. So that’s where my energy and my time are going.
How about you? If you really just follow your heart, where does it lead you?
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
The lunch with the General Counsel at my company yesterday spurred a few other ideas that I’ll detail in blog posts today and tomorrow. the one for today revolves around focus. The company I work tried to be all things to all people for a very long time. If you wanted a financial product or service, we had something for you. The trouble is when we spread ourselves so thin and try to be a jack of all trades, we end up not really doing any one thing particularly well. 
Christa Avampato 