Today I’m going to the U.S. News & World Report’s Healthcare of Tomorrow conference here in D.C. I’m looking forward to hearing from the many inspiring speakers about the incredible work they’re doing. I’m especially keen to hear about the collaborations that are helping to improve patients’ lives and increase access to top quality care. If you’re around, please make sure to find me. I’d love to say hello and hear about your work!
Author: 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.
Wonder: NaNoWriMo starts today
National Novel Writing Month starts today! I did this two years ago and it helped me write the first draft of my book, Where the Light Enters, in 30 days. This year, I’m adding further refinements to that book, and working on the outline for the 2nd book in the series. Excited for this next 30 days of writing, creativity, and connecting with other D.C.-based writers through meetups and write-ins.
Wonder: A sweet Halloween treat – The Breaking Bread Podcast launch!
I am so excited to let you know that The Breaking Bread Podcast launches today. Check out my interview with the Capital Area Food Bank and learn about all of the incredible work they do to support 444 food-based organizations in the D.C. area who in turn help hundreds of thousands of our neighbors every year who face food insecurity on a daily basis. It’s an inspiring story about food as a social justice issue, the fight to end hunger, and our ability to help our city grow stronger and healthier together.
You can find The Breaking Bread Podcast on iTunes, Soundcloud, and TuneIn.
Wonder: A walk to remember
I’m used to walking hours a day with Phineas so since he couldn’t take a long walk, I took one for him on Saturday. I walked from my neighborhood across the city to Georgetown. We’re having an amazing weekend in D.C. with highs in the 70s, bright blue skies, and gentle breezes. It’s perfect weather.
Once I got about halfway through my walk, I started to feel a lightness. A funny sense of belonging, of feeling like slowly but surely I’m figuring it all out despite the stumbles and setbacks. I found a city I really love. Now I just have to find the right home. I found an industry I really enjoy working in, that I find fascinating, and that also supports all my creative projects like my writing and collage work. Now it’s just a matter of finding exactly the right fit. In the past two years, I’ve made a lot of big decisions and seen a long of progress. Now, it’s about refining and that realization gave me a lot of peace after a stressful week.
It’s amazing what can happen over time when we focus on making the here and now better.
Wonder: Recording an episode about YA literature with the Lit to Lens podcast
I’m so excited to head to Georgetown today to record an episode about YA literature with the Lit to Lens podcast team. I’ll be talking about my book, Where the Light Enters, my creative process for writing fiction, and why I think YA literature is such an important genre for all readers and writers. When the episode goes live, I’ll be sure to let you know!
Wonder: What’s the worst that could happen?
I was obviously very upset sitting in the waiting room at the animal hospital as the doctors checked Phin’s back early Tuesday morning. I was sad that he was in so much pain, and also grateful that we have such amazing care for him here in D.C. Then, I asked myself “what’s the worst possible thing that could happen?” He would have a back issue that couldn’t be fixed and we’d get wheels for him. And that’s exactly what we’d do so long as he could still have a good quality of life. (Check out this amazing company, Eddie’s Wheels, that has made wheelchairs for dogs for 20 years!) He’d still be my little guy and I’d still be his mom. And that’s really what matters.
(I’m happy to report that he is doing extremely well on rest and meds so I feel very hopeful that he’ll make a full recovery! He just wishes he could get out there for a long walk around the neighborhood. That won’t happen for about 3 weeks. Rest is the most important part of his recovery.)
Wonder: A tool to make tough decisions
When I’m making a tough decision, the thoughts in my head ping-pong back and forth to the point that there’s a tornado in my mind. I find that I’m better able to clearly see the picture if I can write down my thoughts and then sort them. For example, I know I want to buy a home and that’s a complicated decision. Condo or house? What are the positives and negatives of each? Which neighborhoods? How much money do I want to spend? What size place do I want or need? There is so much information that feeds into these questions and if I can see a map of it, it’s easier to make the decision that’s right for me.
If you have a decision like this with lots of options and moving parts, maybe writing it all out will work for you, too. It’s worth a try.
Wonder: The greatest lesson of life
One of the greatest blessings of being Phineas’s mom is that he makes me remember that every moment counts. There isn’t a single walk, snuggle, or smile that I take for granted with him. Yesterday when I had to take him to the ER for his back again, I was reminded, painfully so, that we have only so much time and that every day is a gift that we are never promised. Each day deserves the best we can give. There isn’t any time to waste. While I wish that realization wasn’t so heavy, maybe it needs to be. Maybe that truth is so significant that we need to feel the weight of it to really understand it.
For the next few days I’ll be home for most of the time monitoring Phineas to make sure his medication and rest is working. I’ll be writing, doing yoga, and meditating on just how lucky I am to care for a being that has taught me the most important lesson of life with absolute certainty—that we must do as much good as we can wherever we are with whatever we’ve got, and be grateful for the opportunity to do so.
Wonder: Find which of your ideas are worth it with the Business Model Canvas
Once you start a business, I think it’s very likely that no matter how well (or poorly) it goes, you’re likely to try to build a second a business and maybe a third and fourth. I have notebooks full of ideas. Most of them are terrible, but there are a few that could be diamonds in the rough. They need loads of shaping and polishing. The trick is to quickly and efficiently figure out which ones merit the time, effort, and attention. And I have a little tool that I love that helps me see which ideas have a shot at success and which ones have more holes than Swiss cheese – Alex Osterwalder’s Business Model Canvas.
In one simple page, Alex’s canvas shows the 9 main elements of what it takes to build just about anything that is economically viable and there are many ways it can be used including building a business or a product of any variety.
If you’re wondering how best to test any idea you have, I highly recommend taking a look at the following links:
http://strategyzr.s3.amazonaws.com/assets/resources/business-model-report-2015.pdf
https://strategyzer.com/canvas
Wonder: Practice doesn’t make us perfect
“You’ve got to learn your instrument. Then, you practice, practice, practice. And then, when you finally get up there on the bandstand, forget all that and just wail.” ~Charlie Parker
There are a lot of life lessons to be learned from music and musicians, and this is one of the greatest. In music and life, we practice not to get that practiced material perfect but to develop the muscle to do whatever we need to do when the time comes. Practice teaches us to leap and land on our feet, to think and act in harmony, and to roll with whatever is thrown at us. Practice gives us confidence, experience, and grace. Practice doesn’t make us perfect; it makes us perfectly prepared to handle anything.
Christa Avampato 