“This thing we call ‘failure’ is not the falling down, but the staying down.” ~ Mary Pickford (via Leslie Knope)
Network TV is my guilty pleasure. Anyone who says there’s nothing good on television isn’t looking hard enough. Last week I took in an episode of Parks and Recreation. Truthfully, I hated it the first few times I caught a piece of an episode. Then somehow the show found its legs and Leslie Knope (played by Amy Poehler) stopped being a pathetic whiner and became brilliant without losing her quirks. She’s playing a caricature, but a caricature with humanity – something that’s difficult to do. She pulls out lines like the one by Mary Pickford at just the right time without making us feel like we’re being lectured by our parents. Every episode finds a genuine teachable moment.
The quote got me thinking about the necessity of runway that every new endeavor needs. NBC gave Parks and Recreation some room to find its groove. The Saint Louis Cardinals never gave up on the possibility of wining the World Series, even in mid-September when it looked all but impossible to pull that one out of the hat. At our last board meeting, I told the Compass Yoga board members that we should think about building out a second program because it appeared that we had contacted every veteran group in New York City and there were no more stones to turn over. The Board didn’t buy it. Their wise counsel: look harder. I did, and it turns out there are more stones. Stones that are actually boulders with a great deal of richness under them.
Even when all seems lost, even when it seems like we’ve run out of steam, inspiration, and opportunity, there is always more we can do. It takes extra ingenuity and some unconventional risk taking to find those additional options. Even when a way is not apparent, or even likely, we have to keep our will. We just never know when our luck will turn around.
We all stumble, fall, and make a mess. Life is not neat, orderly, or easy. However, there is a lot of good for us to do if we just keep at it. I don’t pretend to understand the magic of conviction and commitment. I just know it’s there. And I also know that if you get knocked down and stay down, then you’re denying yourself the opportunity to do truly great work and you’re cheating the rest of us who would benefit from it. Plus, it’s just plain sad and wasteful.
Take your punches and then stick your neck out again. It’s the only sure way to give yourself the best odds of succeeding.
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
“This thing we call ‘failure’ is not the falling down, but the staying down.” ~ Mary Pickford (via Leslie Knope)
Thank you, christa! Start, start, and start AGAIN.
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You’re welcome, Alex! Glad the post helped. Frank McCourt has a great line in Angela’s Ashes that the only reason he kept going through the trying circumstances of his childhood was because he didn’t know how to do anything else. That really resonated with me and I always keep that idea tucked into the back of my mind.
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