Yesterday I wrote about tearing down systems we don’t like in favor of building systems we’re proud to be a part of. That lesson hit home in a big way while I was on vacation.
Change is Unavoidable
I spend my weekdays at a company that needs transformative change. It’s a lot to ask – the company has been around for over a century and is in the financial services space. There are a lot of very well-intentioned people there who are extremely intelligent and talented. The trouble is that those people either A) don’t want to rock the boat or B) have a hard time cutting through the bureaucracy of a siloed, hierarchical organization. The even larger trouble is that movers and shakers are not rewarded at this company; at best, they’re given titles that have words like “special projects” in them and at worst, they’re made so frustrated by the system that they leave for greener, or at least flatter, pastures.
Day Job Status
I think I’m in group B and I might be in the frustrated camp, too. (Yes, yogis get frustrated, too, and I think it’s a healthy emotion that should be aired in order to get through it. Some at my company disagree.) As I was out walking Phin yesterday, I started to think about all of the companies that I interact with regularly and greatly admire – Google, Apple, Netflix, Disney / Pixar, Amazon, media outlets that were founded as network television and newspapers. I realized all of them had a glaring commonality: their new lines of business were in great opposition to their existing lines of business. Courageous individuals within these companies saw the future of their industries, wanted to play a key role in that future, and so they championed new ideas, even if those ideas seemed contradictory to the ideas these companies were founded upon.
Frustration Takes a Holiday
With that insight, my frustration with my day job melted. I realized that I just won’t be there that much longer unless some hefty cultural changes quickly make their way through the chain. As Brian always tells me, “Christa, you don’t get to decide when you’re done. One day you wake up and you have to make a change in that instant.”
Can You Change Fast Enough?
Change is a constant hum under all of our daily activities. There’s no escaping it, personally or professionally. The best we can do is be out ahead of it and be able to roll with it once it arrives. There are companies that do that; there are individuals who do that. It’s not easy work, but they are the ones who survive and thrive in the long-run. While I work for someone else as Compass Yoga gets off the ground, I’d like to be with a company that understands that our demise is imminent. It’s just a question of whether that demise happens to us, or with us.
Published by Christa Avampato
IN BRIEF
Author, journalist, digital product manager, and licensed New York City tour guide. Creator and host of NYC's Secrets and Lies. Alumna of the University of Pennsylvania (BA), the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA), Arizona State University (Biomimicry), and the University of Cambridge (MSt in Sustainability Leadership).
I build digital media platforms, report on urban climate resilience and biodiversity, and produce live narrative experiences that connect communities to history, nature, and place.
THE DEEP DIVE
My work centers on a single thread: building systems and stories that foster deep connection to our shared world. Across digital streaming, environmental reporting, and live civic storytelling, I design experiences that help people understand complex ideas and the environments around them.
DIGITAL PRODUCT STRATEGY & MEDIA LEADERSHIP
At Carnegie Hall, I serve as Digital Product Manager, leading product strategy, operations, and technical delivery for the video streaming platform Carnegie Hall+. I translate artistic mission into scalable, high-performance streaming architecture that reaches audiences globally. Previously, I led agile product and delivery teams across operations and compliance at American Express, managed Broadway theatrical productions and national tours, and guided strategic initiatives across cultural institutions.
ENVIRONMENTAL JOURNALISM & AUTHORSHIP
As a freelance journalist, I investigate how living systems, urban infrastructure, and human culture intersect. My reported features on urban decarbonization, biodiversity, coastal resilience, and biomimicry appear in publications including Smithsonian Magazine, The Washington Post, Mongabay, Natural History Magazine, and Foreign Policy Magazine. In fiction, I write the Emerson Page young adult novel series, alongside upcoming historical fiction and nonfiction works on New York history, mythology, and human resilience. I also write Togetherhood, a LinkedIn newsletter focused on urban ecology and community restoration, and co-host the podcast Frameworks in the Wild.
LIVE EXPERIENCE & CIVIC STORYTELLING
As a licensed New York City tour guide and live event producer, I transform urban landscapes into shared narrative encounters. I created, produce, and host NYC's Secrets and Lies, an interactive live storytelling series staged across cultural landmarks including the New York Transit Museum, the South Street Seaport Museum, and the historic tall ship Wavertree. I also design and lead site-specific walking tours exploring coastal ecology, food history, and neighborhood evolution, often with partners at Climate Week NYC and the Natural Areas Conservancy.
DOUBLE OR NOTHING MEDIA
Through my independent production studio, Double or Nothing Media, I develop ventures across media, ecology, and public history:
Digital Products & Strategy: Architecting scalable digital platforms, streaming experiences, and operational models for mission-driven institutions.
Environmental Reporting & Publications: Delivering long-form reporting, books, and newsletters grounded in climate resilience and regenerative design.
Site-Specific Live Storytelling: Producing immersive live shows and educational walking tours that engage public audiences in community history.
CONNECT
Website & Production Hub: doubleornothingmedia.com and christaavampato.com
Newsletter: Togetherhood on LinkedIn - linkedin.com/newsletters/togetherhood-7273771832221089792/
Instagram & Threads: @christarosenyc
Emerson Page Novels: emersonpagebook.wordpress.com/
View all posts by Christa Avampato
Yesterday I wrote about tearing down systems we don’t like in favor of building systems we’re proud to be a part of. That lesson hit home in a big way while I was on vacation. 
Wow, this really resonates with me. I’m in a “day job” with an organization that is either in the early and painful stages of some real transformation or in death throes – it’s really hard to tell which and it’s not all in the org’s control, but I tend toward thinking it’s the latter. However, I need the job while I try to move forward in new areas of my life – the pay, insurance, stability and the fact that I have some seniority, established relationships and reputation which makes things easier for me in terms of not having to throw all my energy into the day job. But it’s really hard to make myself go in and perform well every day and put on an act that I care about the place and its future, because the “done: switch flipped for me there quite a while ago.
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MJ, I am in the exact same boat. My organization is in that same place and I also believe it’s the latter. Like you I stay for the stability and the relatively easy time I have there while moving forward in other areas of my life. I’m excited to see where life is heading for us both. I have a feeling that it’s going in a great direction!
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Christa,
Thank You.
However, I have known for the longest time that you are not really using your full potential in your current job. It is not the fault of your employer; nor is it your fault. Rather, there is a mismatch between who you are and any employer who chooses to hire you.
You see: entrepreneurs are not meant to work for anybody else. Entrepreneurs want to work for themselves. For such people, self-employment is the only way to fly.
The only way you will feel like a fully functional human being is when your own company gets off the ground, that is, Compass Yoga. Afterwards, Compass Yoga may close shop, diversify or branch out into other activities and locations, but you will need to be your own boss.
Study after study shows that entrepreneurs are mavericks and have a different, mercurial personality. For the time being, your current job is okay, but I don’t see you sticking to this job in the long run.
I wish and hope and pray that Compass Yoga will one day become a success and you can leave your day job and get into business for yourself. And then, you will, of course, have the opportunity to travel to exotic lands and help people and do the things you really enjoy. If your business succeeds, you will feel that your life is more meaningful and you will feel fulfilled as a human being and fully engaged with your work.
Just my opinion, by the way based on my observations. As usual, I wish you nothing but success, happiness, wealth and excellent health.
Namaste.
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It’s so true, Archan. I find that the more authentically me I am, the more that I realize I have to work for myself. I have especially seen this with my energy level. Sometimes I feel like I am dragging myself out the door to work, so tired. Then at the end of a long day when I leave the office to work on my own projects, I have tons of energy. Really says something about how and where I should be spending my time. Slow and steady progress.
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