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.
I saw the movie Big Hero 6 yesterday. The powerful storyline is an incredible motivator for kids and adults to go into computer science and get involved in the making community. While many of the tech stories we hear today involve pricey acquisitions and the latest greatest photo sharing app, the movie shows that a career (or even just a hobby) in technology can and does yield incredible results.
We are standing on the precipice of many difficult decisions as a society—health and wellness, climate change, energy consumption, food distribution, and the list goes on. Technology won’t solve them all, but it can certainly put a hefty dent in any of them. While we can throw stats and doomsday scenarios at people in an attempt to get them to care about these issues, storytelling like that in Big Hero 6 may be the most powerful weapon we have to scare up the resource we need in greatest abundance—human care and concern for the future.
“All the work worth doing is about taking the long way.” ~Seth Godin
I always look for shortcuts, ways to get twice as much done in half the amount of time. I’m ridiculously impatient with myself, and many times that serves me because it forces me to make the most of every opportunity and maximize my creativity. But when I’ve been forced to take the long way, when no other way was possible, I’ve never regretted it. I tried to enjoy the view and stay open to what may happen that I had never planned. The long way, while never preferable for me at the outset, has always ended up being a blessing because it took me in directions I never knew existed. The next time your route feels more circuitous rather than a direct shot, take a beat and look around. Every step along the path has a lesson. Take it and use it.
THE END. I just typed these two words on the (very, very, very) rough first draft of my first novel, Where the Light Enters. There will be many rounds of revisions ahead, but I’m excited to have this first pass done. I plan to revel in this feeling through the holidays and then pick it back up in January to begin the long process of rewriting. For now, I’m happy to say the story and the act of writing it changed me for the better. It gave me confidence and faith that with love we can do what we think is impossible. Thank you to so many of you who supported this journey. We’re just getting started!
“In every job that must be done there’s an element of fun. Find the fun and *snap* the job’s a game.” ~Mary Poppins
As we are winding down the festivities of the week, and heading into the hectic holiday and year-end season, we might find our heads spinning. When I feel myself getting overwhelmed, particularly if I’m overwhelmed with tasks that are less-than-glamorous, I think of Mary Poppins and the way she lightened everything during difficult times.
Every day, we must do things that are difficult, things that don’t seem fun on the surface. But if we can find even a small element of fun—a co-worker who makes us laugh, something to learn, or puzzle to solve—then the task becomes a little easier. Find the fun, and the job is halfway done.
At our darkest hour, we need protection and this week’s news has shown us that too many people in this world don’t have any. Too many people have been rendered powerlessness, their voices held hostage by institutions that bill themselves as just and moral though in reality are anything but. While so many people in the news this week, many right in our own country, have been left powerless, I am not. There are countless ways that I can show my support and be a part of the solution. I can help, and I will. Knowing that I can is what’s getting me through this week, tears and all. My sense of hope is still intact.
That’s a wrap! For the first time, I participated in and completed National Novel Writing Month. Yesterday I did what I set out to do and crossed the 50K word mark of my novel, Where the Light Enters before the end of November. I still have a few thousand more to go to make a complete (and incredibly rough) first draft which I’ll finish in the next couple of days. For now, I’m so happy that I reached the most auspicious writing goal I’ve ever set for myself, and a week ahead of schedule to boot! Emerson Page lives and breathes, and I’m so glad to have her in my life.
As we round the corner to the final month of 2014, I’m taking stock of every area of my life. I’m not sure where it’s all heading or what 2015 will bring, but I do know this: I am resolved to keep my head up and my heart open to new possibilities. Right now, nothing is off the table. There will come a time for sorting and deciding but now it’s time to shake the trees. I’m prepared for surprise at every turn. I’ll do my best to enjoy the (very uncertain) ride.
When you feel like the world is trying to bury you beneath hardship, disappointment, and frustration, remember this: you are a miraculous being, a seed. With a little time, a little care, and a little light, you will make great things happen. Believe.
What we do with our days is of course what we do with our lives. I used to think that crossroads were a few times in a lifetime experience. Now I see that my whole life is a daily series of a crossroads, especially as an entrepreneur and a writer.Some crossroads are larger than others. Certain times of year, like the end-of-year holidays, magnify them.
At the moment, I’m at a pretty significant crossroads in every area of my life. Moving to a new city, and subsequently setting up a new life, brings everything into question because life literally becomes a blank slate. All my old habits and patterns are gone. I could start something completely brand new, re-jigger what I’ve already got, or continue along the same path in a new way.
I don’t have any definitive answers yet, but I do have three key questions that I’m spending a lot of time with now. If you’re in this same place, I hope the following questions help you, too:
1.) Internal question: Look in. Take money out of the equation; we’ll put it back in later. What would make you excited to hop out of bed in the morning and get going?
2.) External question: Look out. What’s happening in your city that sounds like something you’d like to be a part of? Whether it’s a community of hobbyists of some kind, a certain activity, or a place where people come together, what’s already there that you could build onto rather than starting alone completely from scratch? If there’s already a conversation happening, or a group of people have assembled around a particular interest, then there’s some indication that there’s already some level o forward momentum that you can leverage.
3.) Blended question: Move the two answers above toward one another. Where’s the overlap? Where’s the disconnect? The answer I’m looking for lies not in the internal, nor the external, but where the two come together.
Like the start of a new relationship, the start of a life in a new city (or even in your same city) is filled with a jumble of feelings: trepidation, confusion, excitement, joy, and uncertainty. Let the wild ideas flow. Building is messy, but it’s also fun. Enjoy the ride.
I saw the movie Big Hero 6 yesterday. The powerful storyline is an incredible motivator for kids and adults to go into computer science and get involved in the making community. While many of the tech stories we hear today involve pricey acquisitions and the latest greatest photo sharing app, the movie shows that a career (or even just a hobby) in technology can and does yield incredible results.
