I tell wonder-filled stories about hope and healing
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.
Life is about finding people who help us light the way forward when we can’t see the path ourselves. Many people will be with you in the good times, cheering you on and celebrating in your wins. And that’s terrific. Others will be with you only when times are tough, and that’s valuable, too. I’ve found that the people who mean the most to me, the people I’m most grateful for, are those who are there through all of it, people who will walk with me when times are good, bad, and confusing. What matters most to them is that I just be me.
“Happiness is when what you think, what you say, and what you do are in harmony.” ~Mahatma Gandhi
This quote helped me understand why it’s so important to love our work. If we’re going to be happy then our minds, our hearts, and our actions have to link together. We spend so many of our waking hours working. We deserve to have those hours be put toward something that matters to us and to the world. So let’s live, work, and be happy.
“It’s a funny thing about decisions. You don’t seem to need to talk yourself into the right ones.” ~Frank Reagan, Blue Bloods
I need to have this quote printed and hung on my wall in a prominent place. I’ve noticed in the past year that my decisions that have turned out to be the best are the ones I made quickly and from the gut. The ones that have not worked so well are the ones I needed to extensively explain and rationalize to myself and then to others. When my mind swirled with too many perspectives, when I lost sleep and found myself physically exhausted by thinking, those were the decisions that never worked out as much as I tried to convince myself that they would.
There’s so much power and insight in that lesson, and in my case it took a long time to realize. Going forward, I’m sure my analytical mind will continue to have its say. Now I’m going to make sure that my gut and my heart have just as much chance to weigh in when a choice needs to be made. In the place where 2 out of the 3 align, I’m going for it. I have a feeling this is going to lead to many faster and better decisions.
I had the best customer experience that I would like to shout from the rooftops. After completing my taxes for 2014, I’ve decided to continue freelancing as a writer and consultant as an individual while conducting a full-time job search in D.C. There’s no tax advantage to keeping my company as a legal entity, Chasing Down the Muse Inc., for my freelance work so I decided to dissolve it. The dissolution process is long and arduous to do on my own so I just Googled “can anyone help me legally dissolve a business?” LegalZoom.com was the top result so I called them.
Steven, one of their fantastic customer service agents, walked me through the steps that took all of 3 minutes. When their process is complete, I’ll get a receipt. That’s it. There’s nothing else I need to do. The customer service agent was wonderful, helpful, and kind, and LegalZoom saved me days of frustration and work. And they are also incredibly affordable. My whole dissolution process is less than $200 and that includes the $60 fee to the State of New York as well as the shipping of the forms to all of the state agencies that need them. I’m thrilled!
If ever I decide to set up another company or need any legal work put together, LegalZoom.com will be my first stop!
“May all who enter as guests leave as friends.” ~ Unknown
I’ve started to explore different neighborhoods in D.C., including my own! Though I have a general sense of some things in D.C., it really does feel like I’ve landed in a brand new place because the city is so different from 10 years ago. It’s blossomed into a fascinating mix of revitalization and preservation. Part of my exploration is to see how I feel in different neighborhoods as potential places to buy my first home. My hope is that I can build a home here that becomes a place where people gather and share and learn. I’m not exactly sure what form that will take, but I do know I want a house where people enter as guests and always leave as friends. I want my home to feel homey for everyone who visits.
Yesterday I learned some tough lessons. I didn’t cause them, but sadly I’m the only who has to deal with the fall out. Once I got over the initial shock of the reality, I had to quickly gain perspective. And I did, and I will, because of one simple belief: everything that happens has the potential to make us better if we use it with that intent. Even the things that hurt. Even the things that disappoint us and make us want to crawl under our beds to wait for sunnier skies.
The tough circumstances we face won’t resolve themselves. They won’t magically disappear if we ignore them. If anything, they’ll get worse and we won’t learn the lessons that they have to teach us. So after a short breakdown I picked up the phone, devised a plan, and took action. I don’t know if that plan will work. I’m going to give it my best shot and file away this moment as an opportunity to learn that will someday serve me well. Sometimes life beats the heck out of you, and you might be down but you’re only out if you give up. Keep learning. Keep going.
I have a difficult time asking for help, though to make this move to D.C. I needed help in a number of areas. I let my vulnerability show. Certainly there were people who kicked me when I was down, who took the opportunity to make themselves feel better by making me feel worse. I cut them loose. They were the vast minority and I realized in short order that I didn’t need that kind of energy in my life. Nearly everyone who heard about my move asked how they could help. It was an incredible feeling to have that kind of support, and I’m grateful for it every day. I’ve learned so much in this move and the most valuable lesson is this: when you ask for help nearly everyone will want to do whatever they can to help. My friends had an apartment for me to rent immediately. Others called, texted, and emailed me during my drive and the day I arrived to see if I was okay and if I needed anything. Friends have recommended me for jobs, and many people have cheered me on every day before, during, and after the move.
You might be going through a tough time right now – the loss of a job, difficulties with loved ones, or the general heaviness of life. Reach out. Connect. Let people know what you’re going through and what you need, and they will step forward and lend a hand. I know because I’m one of them. We’re in this together and to make life easier, happier, and healthier for each other. That’s what matters.
“I like it when a flower or a little tuft of grass grows through a crack in the concrete. It’s so f*ckin’ heroic.” ~George Carlin
Plenty of businesses utilize biomimicry, the art of using nature’s adaptations to create superior products. For example, swimsuit material that replicates the skin of a shark as it efficiently glides through water. George Carlin gives us a different way of looking at biomimicry—replicating the bravery and courage of nature to grow and flourish in a place that seems unlikely if not impossible.
No one tells a flower it can’t grow in a crack in the sidewalk. No one tells a trickle of water that it can’t wear down a stone over time. Nature just finds an opportunity to spread its wings, and goes for it. There’s a lesson from nature we should all take to heart.
I start every day with 10 minutes of meditation. I used to sit up in bed, close my eyes, and just focus on my breath. For the last couple days I’ve been trying something different—I remain lying down, eyes closed, and let my mind create a story. It’s completely spontaneous and I don’t force the characters or actions. Something akin to free writing with only my mind.
When I open my eyes, I try to get it all down as accurately as I can without editing. What strikes me about this meditation method is that the little stories that float through my mind aren’t in my voice at all. It’s literally like my imagination is just telling me a story, and my conscious mind is the willing audience of one.
On Friday morning I started thinking about Levi, a character I’ve been working on for a few months. This was his stream of consciousness:
“Have you ever felt like God was listening? I mean really listening, and watching and waiting to see just how much you really need something? Best I can tell that thinking’s for church ladies and the grieving. And they say love is blind. Grief? That’s way worse. Grieving people come up with all kinds of hidden meanings when something terrible’s happened to them or someone they love.
I know all about grief. I see it every day, even on weekends. I try to steer clear of it but that’s impossible when you share a house with dead people. My mom and dad are here, too, but they’re so busy tending to dead people, and the living people who love the dead people, that they barely notice me. It’s their job. They’re morticians.
Now don’t you go feeling sorry for me just because I have busy parents who find a corpse more interesting than me. I’m fine, really fine. Shelby, my next door neighbor, says I should be grateful for the neglect because it sure beats smothering. I have to agree, mostly because I’m not in a position to disagree with Shelby. Shelby’s the producer of my soon-to-be radio show, and she’s gonna make me famous. That is if I don’t screw it all up in the process.
I’ve got a dilemma, and I’m really gonna need some help soon. That’s where you come in. Dead people are calling me, and they’re not easy customers to please. They’ve got demands and I’m not really in the position to tell them I can’t do their bidding. They’re dead so they’ve got nothing else to lose. Me? I got everything to lose. Including my dreams of having my own radio show, my producer, and my chance to meet my idol, Al Green.
I was hanging out in bed, practicing death yesterday. I’m trying to put myself in their shoes. Call it customer research. It’s not hard really. I just lay there on my back, hands on my belly, and try not to move or breathe much.You’re not gonna believe this but death feels pretty relaxing. No wonder everybody dies eventually. You should give it a try, just to see what it feels like since someday we’re all gonna die. Might as well be prepared for what’s coming. Death’s not scary at all. You really want to feel scared? Try living.”
Over the years, Phin and I have worked nearly every angle to help manage his separation anxiety—several trainers, numerous practice exercises, a serious amount of walking, toys to keep him occupied and busy, medications, aromatherapy, and even a few months with my mom in Florida. The one thing we never tried was a second dog. I was worried about taking on the expense and work of a second pup, and many people convinced me that a second dog wouldn’t help. “He’s just not a city dog,” they’d say. Or worse, “He was meant to be with a family that’s home all the time, not a single person who works.” I’ve shed a lot of tears and experienced a huge amount of anxiety because I was worried I just couldn’t help him.
It’s been two weeks since we moved to D.C., and my friends Matt and Alex whom we rent from have a sweet pup, Otis. Otis and Phin get along very well and they were immediate friends. We just open up the door between my apartment and their house, and Otis and Phin pal around together all day. It’s an incredible situation, and I’m so grateful for it. And Phin’s anxiety when I leave the house? Gone. Turns out what he needed all this time was a pal to be in the world with. And isn’t that what we all need? No matter how heavy life gets, as long as we’ve got a friend we’re okay. Another beautiful lesson from the world of canines.
Christa Avampato 