The tug of war between what you need to do and what you want to do can be a challenging battle. I know lots of people working a day job to support themselves financially while working on a passion project during their evenings, weekends, and free time. I also know people who have quit a lucrative day job to pursue their passions full-time. I have done both, and both are challenging. Neither scenario is easy. Neither scenario is as dreamy as it appears to be on the surface. Neither is a one and done solution to anything. Each has its own flavor of stress and anxiety, as well as peace and joy. And it shifts day-to-day, sometimes hour to hour.
Here’s what I know to be true: you are in control of your mind, emotions, and time. Your thoughts and energy are yours and yours alone. No one, and I mean absolutely no one, ever owns them except you. And where your mind, energy, and time goes, your life goes.
Some of you will find a day job and side passions work for you. Some will find that pursuing your passions full-time is the best life. And there isn’t a point-of-no-return on either of these. I quit my day job in 2012 and ran my own business for 3 years. They were wonderful and trying years. In 2015, I took a full-time job again, closed my business, and have have continued to work on a variety of creative projects. This has also been a wonderful and trying year. Yes, there was a huge amount of variation between these two experiences, and yes, they were the right choices for me for those times. Once I made those decisions, I never looked back. I don’t regret either of those choices, and I never will. My life is unfolding one page at a time, and like a good book, I’m savoring all of the words.
If you are in the process of wrestling through these weighty decisions about life and career now, a lot of people are probably giving you their two cents, even if you didn’t ask them for their opinions. The only opinion I have for you is to do what you need to do for you. Right now. Always. Your story isn’t the same as someone else’s story. Your goals and talents are yours. Treasure them. Protect them. Go in the direction that feels right to you. There will be bumps in the road. There will be off-ramps, flat tires, and wrong turns. But there will also be some smooth sailing and many fellow travelers along the route who will help and guide you. You will experience all of it no matter what choice you make.
The only yardstick I use is this: if it all ends tomorrow, am I glad and grateful for the way I spent today? Did I wake up with a purpose and do my best to take one step along that purposeful path? That’s all we can do, and that is enough.
Published by Christa Avampato
IN BRIEF
Author, journalist, digital product manager, and licensed New York City tour guide. Creator and host of NYC's Secrets and Lies. Alumna of the University of Pennsylvania (BA), the Darden School of Business at the University of Virginia (MBA), Arizona State University (Biomimicry), and the University of Cambridge (MSt in Sustainability Leadership).
I build digital media platforms, report on urban climate resilience and biodiversity, and produce live narrative experiences that connect communities to history, nature, and place.
THE DEEP DIVE
My work centers on a single thread: building systems and stories that foster deep connection to our shared world. Across digital streaming, environmental reporting, and live civic storytelling, I design experiences that help people understand complex ideas and the environments around them.
DIGITAL PRODUCT STRATEGY & MEDIA LEADERSHIP
At Carnegie Hall, I serve as Digital Product Manager, leading product strategy, operations, and technical delivery for the video streaming platform Carnegie Hall+. I translate artistic mission into scalable, high-performance streaming architecture that reaches audiences globally. Previously, I led agile product and delivery teams across operations and compliance at American Express, managed Broadway theatrical productions and national tours, and guided strategic initiatives across cultural institutions.
ENVIRONMENTAL JOURNALISM & AUTHORSHIP
As a freelance journalist, I investigate how living systems, urban infrastructure, and human culture intersect. My reported features on urban decarbonization, biodiversity, coastal resilience, and biomimicry appear in publications including Smithsonian Magazine, The Washington Post, Mongabay, Natural History Magazine, and Foreign Policy Magazine. In fiction, I write the Emerson Page young adult novel series, alongside upcoming historical fiction and nonfiction works on New York history, mythology, and human resilience. I also write Togetherhood, a LinkedIn newsletter focused on urban ecology and community restoration, and co-host the podcast Frameworks in the Wild.
LIVE EXPERIENCE & CIVIC STORYTELLING
As a licensed New York City tour guide and live event producer, I transform urban landscapes into shared narrative encounters. I created, produce, and host NYC's Secrets and Lies, an interactive live storytelling series staged across cultural landmarks including the New York Transit Museum, the South Street Seaport Museum, and the historic tall ship Wavertree. I also design and lead site-specific walking tours exploring coastal ecology, food history, and neighborhood evolution, often with partners at Climate Week NYC and the Natural Areas Conservancy.
DOUBLE OR NOTHING MEDIA
Through my independent production studio, Double or Nothing Media, I develop ventures across media, ecology, and public history:
Digital Products & Strategy: Architecting scalable digital platforms, streaming experiences, and operational models for mission-driven institutions.
Environmental Reporting & Publications: Delivering long-form reporting, books, and newsletters grounded in climate resilience and regenerative design.
Site-Specific Live Storytelling: Producing immersive live shows and educational walking tours that engage public audiences in community history.
CONNECT
Website & Production Hub: doubleornothingmedia.com and christaavampato.com
Newsletter: Togetherhood on LinkedIn - linkedin.com/newsletters/togetherhood-7273771832221089792/
Instagram & Threads: @christarosenyc
Emerson Page Novels: emersonpagebook.wordpress.com/
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