http://www.flickr.com/photos/mathoov/2429733088/While in Austin, I started reading the book, The Case for a Creator. My brother-in-law lent it to me after we watched the lunar eclipse together in December. Lee Strobel, the author, starts the book as a devout atheist. He speaks to scientists and researchers to examine their views on the origins of life. Though they have divergent views, there is one thing that they all agree on – the odds of life being created in its first instant were a case against all odds. The numerous conditions that had to come together to give life its first breath is nothing short of a miracle. Life, as we know it, was a long shot from the very beginning.
I thought about this idea over the weekend when Kira Campo, a Twitter friend of mine and Founder of The Creative Practice, were talking about creative projects we’re both pursuing. She asked if I thought they were a long shot. I absolutely think they’re a long shot, just like everything in life. As Brian so often tells me, “We get what we settle for.”
If nature and life itself have anything to teach us it’s that we have to believe that the long shot is possible. Somehow the necessary elements conspire and catapult us into a life we imagine. The turning points aren’t always obvious and often entirely unplanned. If we live long enough and look back on the moment that really make our lives what they are, we realize just how coincidental and synchronous life really is. Go for the long shot that you really want – it’s just as likely to come to fruition as any other possibility.
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
6 thoughts on “Beginning: The Long Shot of Life”
Love it. Thank-you for this timely reminder!! xx I’m all for the longshot
I think we have all experienced coincidences in our lives.
I have had my fair share as well. I would be thinking about a person and the phone would ring at that exact moment. Guess who at the end of the line?
In another case, I would be thinking about a job and it would be advertised in the newspaper the very next day. The exact job. Such is the mystery of life. Thanks for the reminder.
Christa Avampato 
Love it. Thank-you for this timely reminder!! xx I’m all for the longshot
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Me, too, Sharni! It’s more fun that way, too!
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Christa,
I think we have all experienced coincidences in our lives.
I have had my fair share as well. I would be thinking about a person and the phone would ring at that exact moment. Guess who at the end of the line?
In another case, I would be thinking about a job and it would be advertised in the newspaper the very next day. The exact job. Such is the mystery of life. Thanks for the reminder.
Cheers.
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Synchronicity is a pretty wonderful thing, isn’t it Archan?!
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The only rule for life, for love, for work, for play, as far as I’m concerned: ALWAYS go for the long shot!!
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I’m with you, Richard. We have to keep life interesting 🙂
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