“For what you see and hear depends a good deal on where you are standing: it also depends on what sort of person you are.” ~ C.S. Lewis
In this economy, it’s easy to look around and see miles and miles of space lacking in opportunity. But what’s really happened is that the opportunity of today has a different face than the opportunity before this latest recession touched down. We cannot look for it with the same methods, in the same places, and with the same lens.
The opportunity before was often found in big companies, in big cities, and by following the rules outlined for us. Get a pedigree education, go into a corporate training program as a well-respected company, and climb, climb, climb. Now, the greatest opportunities are discovered within our frustrations, solved by our imaginations, and brought to life with our own two hands.
I flip through the New York Times every day – online version during the week, paper version on the weekend – and mark, snip, and save everything that has some kind of future relevance for Compass Yoga. I do the same with a ludicrous number of magazine, websites, newsletters, and any number of social media channels. Leads on sources for potential funding, programming, partnerships, and smarter ways of working are piling up. And the more I find, the more there are.
Creativity is addictive, endless, and constant, if only we begin to trot down the path to solve something that bothers us with a solution that benefits the greater good.
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
Christa,
People have already started to move away from the big, bad cities to rural areas. They are in search of “quality of life.” They want peace of mind and they want to be happy. This trend has been well-documented by John Naisbitt and Patricia Aburdene and other noted writers and intellectuals. Technology has made it possible to live in remote places and still get your work done. In the country, you can rise and shine to the chirping of the birds. There is nothing like fresh air and sunshine, which you don’t always find in large, congested, urban areas. Cheers. And thanks for writing a wonderful post, as usual. Have a good one.
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Hi Archan – I don’t know these two authors. I’ll put them on my reading list. Thanks, as always, for the leads!
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