Yesterday I spoke about my tough session with Brian this week. I had a tough week and somehow, despite my usually feisty demeanor, I let it get to me. It wore me out. I want to be working full-time on projects I am passionate about, that are of consequence, not just to me, but to the world. Not I straddle those two worlds, one foot in a place that pays my bills but gives me little in the way of meaning, and the other in my creative life, which provides my soul with so much nourishment and yet does little for my bank account. The straddle is more difficult than I like to admit.
And so the argument raged on in my mind last week – my need to be practical and grounded, and my need to care about the work in front of me. At the moment, those two things are not compatible in my life. It’s causing me to feel stagnant and exhausted for no good reason. And it perplexes me.
Brian listened to me, but rather than expressing his empathy, he recognized that I needed a dose of very tough love. “Christa, you are going to have to employ your creativity. Give yourself some boundaries, some guidelines, and tell your creativity that failure is just not an option. You have to find a way to care again, not about your present situation, but about the gifts you have to offer. If you don’t employ those with everything you’ve got, then you are losing and so is everyone else. You cannot hide from who you are.”
While I apply my creativity to my teaching and to my writing, I don’t employ it effectively in the design of my life. I’ve cooked up this hodgepodge of how I spend my time, each activity fulfilling some of my needs, but no activity filling all of them. There must be a better way, a way to feed my stomach and soul simultaneously, and no one else is going to build that opportunity for me. It is one thing I must wrestle through on my own and a non-answer, a holding pattern is no longer an option. A change is imminent, and I am the one who is going to have to usher it into being through my own creativity.
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
Yesterday I spoke about my tough session with Brian this week. I had a tough week and somehow, despite my usually feisty demeanor, I let it get to me. It wore me out. I want to be working full-time on projects I am passionate about, that are of consequence, not just to me, but to the world. Not I straddle those two worlds, one foot in a place that pays my bills but gives me little in the way of meaning, and the other in my creative life, which provides my soul with so much nourishment and yet does little for my bank account. The straddle is more difficult than I like to admit.
Christa Avampato 
And you will get there. I have complete confidence in you.
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