“To be human is to be aware of the passage of time; no concept lies closer to the core of our consciousness.” ~ Dan Falk
August 7th?! We have less than 5 months left in 2012.
Every year, time is picking up speed, or rather I am becoming even more acutely aware of its passing. Time has always been at the forefront of my mind for several reasons. My father and 3 of my 4 grandparents died when I was very young. When people responsible for my very existence left this plane, it made the reality of my own mortality a very palpable thing.
I’ve come up against my own mortality several times in my short life. In college, I was robbed at knife point in the subway station on the University of Pennsylvania campus. In 2009, I was almost trapped inside my apartment building after a fire broke out on the first floor. The only things that saved me were my unconscious intuition that something was very wrong with my kitchen floor heaving up and down (the fire was raging in the apartment below, unbeknownst to me at the time) and my will to live beyond age 33. In 2010, I was on a flight when my plane was struck my lightning. We made a frightening emergency landing in Syracuse, New York, and once we hit the tarmac, the wing of the plane promptly fell off.
How’s that for a series of wake-up calls? Universe to Christa – LIFE IS SHORT!
Once you realize your own sense of mortality, one of two things happen: you either go into a deep sense of denial or you realize that you better make the most out of every single moment because the next moment is not guaranteed. By some great miracle I was born without even a hint of the denial gene, so I had the latter reaction. Once you stare death in the face several times over, and live to tell about it, there isn’t much that’s going to scare you away from doing exactly what you want to do with your time.
This causes me to have a trait that people either love or hate – I call it as I see it and play it as it lies. I’m not saying I’m right, but I’m always honest and try very hard to remain true to that honesty while upholding the rights of all people to believe something different. I don’t beat around the bush in any area of my life. I believe in ripping off a band-aid when it’s outlived its purpose. I don’t have time to live any other way.
And you don’t either. No matter how long our lives are, in the grand scheme of things they’re very short. Whether you realize it or not, time is ticking away and your opportunity to have an impact goes right along with it. Time is a resource you can’t buy and once it’s used, it cannot be replenished. It’s the most precious thing you have; use it to the best of your ability. Make it matter.
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.
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Christa Avampato 