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.
creativity

Wonder: Olympic inspiration from Under Armour

Christa Avampato

We aren’t Olympians but we can carry that spirit in everything we do. Under Armour started a marketing campaign a few months ago that features Olympic athletes. It shows pieces of the daily routines of Olympians and ends with the tagline “It’s what you do in the dark that puts you into the light. #Ruleyourself. #Iwill.”

Though we aren’t Olympic athletes, that discipline and determination can inspire us on whatever our chosen path is. It’s about the hustle. It’s about finding what we love and going for it with every ounce of effort and energy we have. It’s about finding the focus and courage to take us from good to great to unstoppable. The world doesn’t owe us anything; our future is in our hands. Use them to build the life you want.

creativity

Wonder: A heart that belongs in two places—D.C. and NYC

Christa Avampato

I love my life in D.C. I feel lucky every day that I walk out my door and see the Capitol building. It inspires me. It’s an easy city to live and work in. I’ve been blessed, and continue to blessed, my incredible opportunities at every turn. And loads of wonderful friends. I am lucky to make my home here now.

And yesterday I had my first New York City pang. Just one and it was small. I saw a mention of Riverside Park and I was transported back to the Upper West Side, a neighborhood I called my home for seven years. It was my dream neighborhood. And I thought about the breeze off the Hudson as it floats over Riverside Park. It’s where I adopted Phineas. It’s where some of my very best friends still live. I was, and remain, a New Yorker to the core.

And then I had to remember that I was in love with a New York City that is largely no longer there. I’m in love with the place that New York had in my life and the lessons it taught me. And what was there now, what will always be there, is its energy and all those memories. Those are always worth revisiting. I suspect it’s time for a visit soon. I need a fix from the homeland.

My dream life has always been a life in which I could split my time between these two amazing cities that are so different and yet also have so much in common. I am a ways off from there but I continue to believe in its possibility.

creativity

Wonder: The fish rots or thrives from the head down

Christa Avampato

The fish rots, or thrives, from the head down. The trouble with leaving a poor work environment with very poor leadership, which I recently did, is that you have to go through some recovery and detox time.

Yesterday, the red line of the metro was slow and I got to work about 15 minutes later than I would have liked because of the delay. I apologized to my current boss for my delay, and she said, “Don’t ever apologize for that. That is not the realm we work in. Our only goal is to build cool products that help people. That’s our focus.” I was astounded.

I’m still in a bit of a detox mode from my last job. But I’m slowly but surely coming out of it thanks to my new, wonderful job, and a boss who is a 180 degree difference from my last boss. I’m glad to be in a place that is so focused on thriving and supporting its people. Competent leadership makes a world of difference.

creativity

Wonder: Doing what you’re meant to do

Christa Avampato

What an exciting night at the Olympic Games! Swimming and gymnastics are two of my favorite sports to watch. I love the passion and the split between individual performance and team achievement. It is an incredible pleasure to watch people striving for greatness, to see them doing exactly what they’re meant to do, what they’ve trained so hard to accomplish. No matter what we love, no matter where we find greatest happiness, let’s do it in that spirit—to put in so much effort, energy, and love that our success is inevitable.

creativity

Wonder: Don’t stay the same

Christa Avampato

“Longevity means we have to evolve. We have to be able to change.” ~Wolfgang Puck

In a few weeks, my latest piece for The Washington Post is going to be published. It’s an interview with a young man my age who had three strokes within a week. over our hour-long conversation, I was in awe of his strength and courage.

His final statement to me, and the final line in the piece is something that I have not been able to shake. This young man still deals with legacy issues from his strokes. He’s unable to work, he is often tired, and he has memory issues. After almost two years, his doctors told him that he may never fully recover. He may never be exactly the way he was before the strokes. Rather than feel sorry for himself, he said, “That’s okay. I don’t want to be the way I was before. I want to be better.”

His willingness to change and be changed by his experience has brought him this far. I have no doubt that he is poised to go so much further. If the ability to evolve indeed leads to longevity, then this man has a long life ahead of him.

creativity

Wonder: The miracle of being where you are right now

Christa Avampato

“The miracle is that we are here, that no matter how undone we’ve been the night before, we wake up every morning and are still here. It is phenomenal just to be.” ~Anne Lamott, Stitches

Have you ever noticed the perspective that comes with sleep? We can feel agitated, angry, anxious, and upset, and the next morning we have the chance to try again. Getting back up after being knocked down isn’t easy. It doesn’t always feel good. There are times that we wonder why we even continue to try. And I’ve found that there is something powerful and empowering in the act of rising, head up, eyes ahead. I literally narrow my eyes, drop the tone of my voice, take a deep breath, and will myself to speak up and take action.

The chance to try again, every day, is a gift. And it is ours to use.

creativity

Wonder: The Breaking Bread Podcast get social

Christa Avampato

My new podcast has its social media pages set up. I’d love to have you follow along. As always, if you have ideas for guests who are either based in or visiting DC for a special project, please let me know.

Website: https://breakingbreadpodcast.com/
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/breakingbreadpodcastdc
Twitter: https://twitter.com/BreakingBreadDC
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/breakingbreadpodcast/

 

 

creativity

Wonder: Turn disappointment into an opportunity for unexpected fun

Christa Avampato

Whenever something falls through and we get disappointed, it’s easy to let it ruin our day. My friend, Alex, gave me a different way of seeing disappointment. As usual, her very wise words really stuck with me and she delivered them at the exact moment I needed them. She told me that disappointment can be an opportunity to open ourselves up to unexpected fun. With the right mindset, we can turn it around. In about 30 seconds, I was feeling better. This is the power of positive thinking, and the gift of having friends like Alex to help us find our way through difficult moments.

creativity

Wonder: It’s just the wind and shadows

Christa Avampato

This is a story for all of you who are on the cusp of the unknown: maybe you’re starting a new job or leaving an old job, starting a relationship or leaving one, moving to a new city or home, or embarking on a new project of some kind.

My boss is reading The Winnie the Pooh collection of stories to her daughter. In one story called “Don’t Be Scared, Piglet and Roo!”, Piglet and Roo, two of the smallest characters in the cast, hear scary noises and see scary shapes at night. Her daughter has read this story many times and as soon as Piglet and Roo show signs of being scared, her daughter calls out “Don’t worry, it’s just the wind and shadows!” And it is. And eventually Piglet and Roo learn that. When boss was telling me that story, I thought about how often our minds go to that place, how often we’re afraid of things that we don’t need to be afraid of. It is the perfect metaphor for being afraid of the unknown.

Don’t be afraid. Let’s go out into the unknown together, support one another, and see what we find. The wind and shadows won’t be so scary as long as we aren’t alone in our journey.

creativity

Wonder: Surround yourself with beauty

Christa Avampato
Photo by Christa Avampato.
Photo by Christa Avampato.

No matter how much I love city life (and I do!), I need to be out in nature more often than I have been in the past few years. The water, the fresh air, and the colors of the landscape fill me up in a way that a building, no matter how beautiful, just can’t. This weekend in Pennsylvania, I was surrounded by love, friends, and this amazing view. And it feeds my soul. Once this heat and humidity settle down, I’m going to fulfill my promise to myself to get out into the wilds of Virginia and Maryland and take it all in. Until then, this picture will do. (I snapped it at Ledges Hotel in Hawley, Pennsylvania this weekend.)