Your words are going to live on long after you. They are the surest path we have to legacy and immortality. Two nights ago, I walked home with a co-worker who lives in my neighborhood. His husband, a writer just a few years older than me, is dying and in hospice care from a neurological disease similar to Parkinson’s.
“Even though he can’t talk anymore and will never talk again, I’ll always have his words because he was a writer,” he said. “And that’s pretty cool.”
I don’t think it was an accident that we walked home on the night of my novel’s Pub Day. I have long believed that the Universe works through us to reach others when they most need it. And I think me coincidentally running into him and us walking home together was not a coincidence at all. He had a message for me from the Universe: Be strong and tell your story so that it will live on long after you’re gone. And you must do it now. You never know how much time you’ll have. When I got home, I immediately started writing Emerson’s second book as part of NaNoWriMo.
My co-worker is remarkably strong. How he could tell me so much for their story for 45 minutes and not have his voice crack once is just astonishing to me. I was tearing up. I’m in awe of him. And so grateful for the message he delivered. I will not waste it.
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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.
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Christa Avampato 