It’s easy to get caught up in someone else’s dreams. Our paths cross, we see how we can be useful and helpful, and before we know it we’re spending a disproportionate amount of time making someone else’s dream happen. This is especially true if you have clients for your business or if you work a day job that funds your dream. It’s so easy to take our eyes off our prize because someone else’s prize isn’t so bad to look at. I have to be very careful of this because I like to be helpful and useful. I’ve had so many people who have helped me and I want to constantly pay that kindness forward.
That’s why very clear statements of work, project goals, and timeframes are so important for me to have with my clients. I’ve been asked by a number of them to join them full-time and though flattered, honored, and humbled by the offers, I politely and professionally refuse. I feel very lucky to have a number of repeat clients, and I have to remind myself why I’m doing this: to help others along while I’m working on my personal writing and original content goals.
As you carve your own path, you’ll be tempted, too, because carving our own paths is very hard work. Day in and day out. There is so break from it. We chip away one tiny piece at a time, brick by brick, we build our dreams. It’s understandable to jump to someone else’s dream that feels easier to build up because honestly, it is easier. But I promise you it’s not as fulfilling. Road building it tough work and it feels amazing, the way a tough workout leaves you with a runner’s high. I combat the tired feeling by regularly taking time to step back and look at what I’ve done. I’ve got a long way to go, and I feel very motivated when I see how far I’ve already come. It gives me the energy and the drive to keep going.
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
2 thoughts on “Inspired: Remember Why You’re Here”
Interesting post, especially since I’ve been thinking about some similar concepts lately.
Christa Avampato 
Interesting post, especially since I’ve been thinking about some similar concepts lately.
xo Lisa
http://www.LuminouslyStyled.Wordpress.com
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So glad. Thanks, Lisa!
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