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: Know thyself and be happy

Christa Avampato

“Get back in touch with self-mastery because it’s the one thing that never goes away. You’re the one person you’re stuck with forever.” ~Mark Lack

I’ve been thinking a lot about ending and change lately, not in a sad way, but just as a natural part of life and evolution. In all this change, I’ve also spent some of my time thinking about what remains constant. It seems that almost everything and everyone shifts somehow. Faith can be shaken. Our minds can be changed. Our health, and the health of everyone we know and love, ebbs and flows. Neighborhoods turn over, for better or for worse.

Then I read this quote by Mark Lack and meditated on it. In my lifetime, the beat of my heart and the constancy of my breath are the only things I will always have and know everywhere I go. And that brought me a lot of peace and happiness. All the more reason to spend some time every day quietly getting to know exactly who we are at our core.

creativity

Wonder: Finding inspiration in healthcare technology

Christa Avampato

“Medicine is a science of uncertainty and an art of probability.” ~Sir William Osler

I spent a good part of the weekend delving into the most recent healthcare technology innovations. A number of publications released their lists of promising new possibilities, and I was astounded by what’s on the horizon.

In a time when there is so much negativity and heartbreak around the world, this reading lifted me up. Nanobots in the blood to fight disease, mind transfer, smart hospitals (akin to smart homes), simulators for surgical training, the simulation of disease outcomes, DNA transfer, the increased appreciation and value of mindfulness, and augmenting human capabilities with sensing prosthetics. The list goes on, and it sent my mind spiraling upward.

It was also a reminder that no matter how bleak the world may seem, the desire for all of us to live healthier, happier lives drives an incredible amount of creativity. The power of creativity and the role of imagination in building a better world is always something we can count on.

creativity

Wonder: Crowdsourcing the adoption of a new dog

Christa Avampato

Gabbi, a sweet rescue pup, wasn’t a match for Phin and I. She’s still very much a puppy and chews everything in sight. Yesterday she chewed through her foster mom’s leash! I’m sad, but also hopeful that we are one step closer to finding our perfect new pack member.

In addition to continuing the search with Operation Paws For Homes & Washington Animal Rescue League, I’m also crowdsourcing our search. Do you know a sweet, small, adult dog who loves dogs and people and needs a forever home? Phin and I would love any referrals!

creativity

Wonder: Will another dog fix my dog’s separation anxiety

Christa Avampato
88d2e6fac69ba88bd02cf8ba37410627a8a483ad
Gabbi – is she the next member of our pack?

The great gift of this last year is that I got to test out having a second dog to keep Phin company without the risk of it not working out. Otis was a fantastic companion for Phin, and still is. Now that we live across town, Phin is missing his buddy and today we’re going to meet a potential forever match for him.

This morning we’re trekking out to the great wilds of Arlington, Virginia to meet a terrier mix named, Gabbi. According to her foster mom, who is a professional dog trainer, Gabbi is about a year old, 20 pounds, loves every single dog and person she meets, and is equal parts playful and calm. Apparently, she is also a real clown who loves belly rubs. She’s housebroken, crate-trained, and quiet with a penchant for chewing on antlers.

I’ve got high hopes for her. I want her an Phin to be best buds. I want her to put Phin’s mind at ease and keep him company day in and day out. I want her to move seamlessly into the pack and settle into her forever home with us. That’s a lot to put onto the shoulders of a little girl like her, and I have a good feeling about this. I mean, look at that smile!

creativity

Wonder: Aim higher

Christa Avampato

“For most of us the problem isn’t that we aim too high and fail – it’s just the opposite – we aim too low and succeed.” ~Sir Ken Robinson

We tell ourselves frightening stories: we will fail and be humiliated, we will try and be disappointed, or we will put ourselves out there and be rejected. Those fears are real, but don’t let them weigh you down and don’t let them stop you. Use them. Use them as fuel. Stack a plan against those fears that will help you overcome them. Don’t aim lower. Aim higher, higher than even your wildest dreams would allow. And then work to meet them. We are so much more capable and deserving than we think we are.

creativity

Wonder: Telling stories takes you back in time

Christa Avampato

I’m working on a piece of writing for my dear friend, Amanda. She’s the best editor I’ve ever worked with, bar none. Whenever she asks me to write something for her, I jump at the chance every time. This particular assignment involved traveling back in time to the dark days of September 2008 when the world, my career, and my life was turned upside down by a frightening, unprecedented economic recession. I was working for a financial institution, an industry I swore I’d never join, and I was, in a word, terrified.

Rather than cower and hide, I rose up. To this day, I’m not sure where I found the strength. I guess the fear of losing my job and my livelihood was adrenalin for me. I took that energy that gets wasted by fear and used it to drive me forward, headfirst, right into the abyss of the unknown. I still shiver thinking about it. And then I smile. Time travel is a wild ride. We are so much stronger than we think we are.

creativity

Wonder: My moving angel

Christa Avampato

20160619_174243When I was a kid, I used to watch the show Touched by Angel with my mom. Since then, I’ve always felt that angels walk among us. And on my moving day, I came face-to-face with one of them.

I was stressed on my moving day, and I left the house to take Phin on his morning walk. There was a Scooby-Doo like blue van parked right outside the house exactly in the place that I had hoped my moving van could park in a few hours provided no one else had taken it.

I’d never seen the van before. A man who looked like Santa Claus, long white beard and all, was in the driver’s seat. The van was stuffed with all kinds of items from what I could see, and I assumed that the man was living in his van. I didn’t recognize him but I felt like I knew him. I smiled and waved, and he smiled back. When I returned with Phin, he was still there and again I smiled and waved.

Right around noon, the blue van pulled away and my moving van pulled right up to take the space. When I went out to greet the movers, I found the note pictured here stapled to the tree outside. Angels are all around us, especially when we need them most. Just when you think you’re down and out, all of a sudden you find support in the most unlikely places.

creativity

Wonder: Settle and root

Christa Avampato

I’ve been laying low in the evenings this week and over this weekend. After so much activity with traveling, packing, and moving, I need to take some time on my own to settle and root. In yoga, our safety, security, and feeling of home base lies in our lower chakras. They are our foundation, the seat of our intuition, and they house our sense of well-being. We need them to be strong to build upon them.

Finally I am starting to feel that sense home and security. My art is slowly filling my walls, papers are being organized and put away. Even Phin, very slowly and somewhat surely, is beginning to settle into this new space and routine. (Well, at least he’s sleeping more than 3 hours a night!)

Transitions can be tough, no matter how wonderful they are. So if like me you’re going through a lot of change right now and making plans for new beginnings, give yourself a break. You aren’t going to get everything right. I certainly don’t. You’re not perfect. I’m far from it. Let yourself have the space and time to adjust. Take it a step, a moment, a day at a time. You can’t rush roots.

creativity

Wonder: Shine – a lesson from U Street street art

Christa Avampato
Screen Shot 2016-06-18 at 8.56.24 AM
U Street serenity

I saw this street art a few weeks ago. I was rushing around trying to get ready for my move. My stress level was running high and my energy level was running low. I saw this mural on U Street, and a calm washed over me. I can’t explain it really. There’s something about her serene expression and the light around her that made me believe I could do the task before me, whatever it is with whatever I have.

So be shiny. Be real. Raise your voice with your heart. Speak up. Be honest. Rise, and take others with you. That’s the only work we have to do.

creativity

Wonder: If it’s meant for you, you’ll have it

Christa Avampato

Last Saturday, I hit a wall with unpacking and settling into my new apartment. As luck would have it, I had a chance to go to Washington Animal Rescue League to play with puppies. I’ve been looking for a companion dog for Phineas since he loved having Otis as constant company for the past year and a half. My friend, Jen, offered to go with me, and her friend, Julie, said she had found the potentially perfect match for Phin. Tired, worn, and reluctant, I went. And as luck (or providence, if your beliefs tend toward the divine) would have it, Julie and Jen were 100% right. We found the perfect match. She wasn’t what I thought she’d be. She was even better.

But I wasn’t ready. My apartment was a mess of boxes, piles of belongings, and bubble wrap. I had no furniture. I could barely keep my eyes open. This was not a time for a new dog. And still, I couldn’t stop thinking about that beautiful pup that we met. I kept imagining her in this apartment, rolling around on the floor with Phin. I thought about her meeting all of my friends. I thought about all the fun places I would take her and Phin, and how relieved I would feel that Phin had the perfect forever friend. The shelter doesn’t hold animals, and for good reason. I decided that if this sweet girl is meant for us, she would be available next weekend for us to take home into an apartment that is ready for her.

And now it looks like, yes, we will get her on Saturday. No one has adopted her yet, and I put in my application. No guarantees until everything is 100% complete, but the odds are looking good for us.

The lesson isn’t lost on me. Be clear about what you can and can’t do. Trust the process. Know that what you are seeking is also seeking you. And you don’t need to have it all figured out to move something forward. You just need the next step. And that’s exactly what we’ve got. Expect an update over the weekend on our new pack member!