This past week, I started to ask for more practical advice on making my leap – different financial planning tools (personal and professional), health insurance, etc. These items and the options they present take a good deal of planning and preparation and I wanted to start to collect as much data as I can from people whom I deeply respect and admire for the leaps they’ve taken in their own lives.
One of the very best pearls of wisdom I got had nothing to do with the practical nuts and bolts I am investigating, and yet it affects every decision I make in my leap. My friend, Tre, said, “Don’t look down.” It stopped me in my tracks because all of a sudden I realized that all I’ve been doing the last few weeks is looking down, and my fear is getting the best of me in the process.
When we’re about to do something scary, it’s natural that our focus directs to the fearful outcome. And then we begin to lose our confidence, doubt our convictions, shrink from opportunity. The cost seems too great to go after what we really want and what we’re afraid we can’t have.
Pick up your head and look forward. It’s the only thing that’s going to help us balance our fear with a sense of possibility. And that possibility is the only thing that makes the fear worthwhile.
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
This past week, I started to ask for more practical advice on making my leap – different financial planning tools (personal and professional), health insurance, etc. These items and the options they present take a good deal of planning and preparation and I wanted to start to collect as much data as I can from people whom I deeply respect and admire for the leaps they’ve taken in their own lives.
Christa Avampato 