Do you feel like you’re making a mess by following your heart? That happens. Every day, I have to sift my way through a to-do list that’s always too long and never done, competing sets of priorities, different opportunities that fly across my eyes and get lodged in my mind. Last night I got to 8:00pm after working since 6:00am and I left like the spaghetti that was coiled around my dinner fork as I sat at my computer, still playing catch-up. I had to laugh at myself. Why did my desk seem to get more cluttered, not less, as the day went on?
I sat in the middle of my mess – on my desk and in my mind – and tried to see the beauty. It was there. It always is. Inspirations on scraps of papers in separate piles, contacts scribbled on my whiteboard, reference material tacked on my cork boards, an endless slate of tabs open in my internet browser.
I grabbed Phin’s leash and we took a spin around the chilly block in the dark. Winter’s settling in again and I’m looking forward to it. I always do. A time for hunkering down. The darkness outside always reminds me of the light within. It lets me be alone in my thoughts. It gives me time to play in my favorite place, my imagination. It also hides just enough of the messy work of creativity so that I can’t really be bothered by my ability to only see the very next step and not the whole staircase of my path.
In the dark, I plod on one foot in front of the other, one day at a time. Inch by inch. I build whatever it is I’m building brick by brick, without a set blueprint nor timeline. The thing with creative work is that you can set the stage but you can’t force the action. It comes in bits and pieces and you have to grab them as they arrive. I always find walking helps them rise to the top. We actively move them out of our minds and into being.
I got back home with Phin. He headed for his warm bed. I went back to my desk. The mess was still there – after all I am by choice flying solo with this work so no one else is going to do this for me – but now I could see the order appearing. On its own terms, though getting clearer all the time.
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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1 thought on “Beautiful: Creative Order in the Mess”
Yes, I do but as it’s creativity the Monica (Friend’s) in me takes a back seat 😉
Christa Avampato 
Yes, I do but as it’s creativity the Monica (Friend’s) in me takes a back seat 😉
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