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.
action, change, choices

Inspired: A new direction requires a new routine

Christa Avampato

Just do itI head back to New York City soon to begin a new chapter of my career. A new direction requires a new routine. Here are the steps I’m taking:
– More focus on my personal projects as I transition away from consulting
– Much earlier to bed and much earlier to rise: target wake up time is 5am
– In general, I plan to keep myself in a much more structured routine of working hours with very specific goals and milestones that must be hit each day. And I have to schedule my downtime to make sure I take it for my creativity’s sake. Otherwise, I’m likely to work until I drop without batting an eye!
– More cardio exercise and strength training: hello, running shoes and free weights
– Healthier eating and cooking: whole, organic, and seasonal. I’ll share the photos and recipes out of my kitchen.

Are you starting a new routine? I’d love to hear your plans and support you along the way!

career, choices, dreams, work

Inspired: Listen closely. You already know the answer.

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest
From Pinterest

I wrote the draft of the blog post below over a week before I received an offer from the company I reference. My intuition knew the answer to the offer before I even got it. And I listened. Lesson learned – the gut knows. And so do our dreams.

“I have an amazing career opportunity in front of me: a dream job at a well-funded tech startup with a lot of great people in a city I enjoy that focuses on pet health. Rather, it could look amazing if I really dress it up, see it as a stepping stone only, and believe that within the mess there is opportunity. I’ve taken this action and perspective before, and I found that within the mess lies more mess.

Some people at this startup call it “nimble” and put down larger companies (like the ones I’ve worked for and with) for being “rigid” because the startup is disorganized, lacks charismatic leadership, and doesn’t have an inspiring vision. There’s a lot of finger-pointing between the tech and business teams, and their response to key questions on pricing and go-to-market strategy is “I don’t know. That decision was made before I got here.” In other words, they don’t understand what they’re selling, how it’s priced, or how / why people are going to buy it.

In a senior position, I could drive change and bring order to the chaos. I’ll likely be offered a mid-tier role charged with cleaning up a mess that is growing exponentially. With two months before launch, they still don’t agree on requirements, have no marketing plan, and no customer experience or servicing set-up. Their thought process is that the pet industry is huge (and at $50 billion annually, they’re right) and that if they build it, people will buy it. The problem is no one there has any idea what “it” actually is.

I had been tossing around all this info in my mind, trying to keep a positive frame of mind, and wrestling through ways I could make this work. Then I had a dream that my main contact there quit, moved to San Francisco because all of her friends lived there, and we ended the conversation with “goodbye and let’s stay in touch.” I already know my answer to the offer; this isn’t a dream job. It’s a nightmare dressed up like a dream. So I will politely and professionally decline the role. The paycheck would have been nice, but the headache would have been exhausting from beginning to end. I already have my dream job. I work for me on projects I love and care about. Now I have to get to work on turning those dreams into a healthy paycheck so I can invest in more dreams. That’s the job I want, and have.”

action, adventure, career, creativity, future

Inspired: Hello, Clarity!

Christa Avampato
Elsa from Frozen ("Let It Go")
Elsa from Frozen (“Let It Go”)

“It’s funny how some distance makes everything seem small…I didn’t know what I could do until I tried.” -Elsa from Frozen

I’ve been away from New York City on an extended holiday to spend time with my family and figure out how I want the rest of my year to take shape. 3 weeks did the trick; I woke up certain and clear of my next few steps. They involve a lot of learning, a bit of traveling, and a boatload of writing, creating, and building. After months of limbo, it feels amazing to have arrived here more sure than ever that this is the way forward for me. Stick around – this is going to be a fun adventure!

courage, gratitude, work

Inspired: Your worth is not negotiable

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest
From Pinterest

People see your value. Many are looking for a bargain, a way to use what you know for their benefit. Understand work is a two-way street, always. Yes, you are being paid by someone in some way to do the work you’re meant to do. But don’t you dare let anyone, anytime, anywhere make a bargain out of you. You are precious. You, your talents, and time have a real and hefty worth. And if people don’t get that then they don’t get you. Find the people and places who value you for all that you are, and then some. Don’t seek a check. Seek respect, appreciation, gratitude, and growth. Know your worth and never compromise it. Your worth is not negotiable.

career, choices, dreams, time

Inspired: Don’t Waste Your Time

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest
From Pinterest

A young man wasn’t sure what the next step in his career should be. He went to his mentor to get advice and the mentor said only this, “If you only have a year left of your life to work, what work would you choose to do?” The young man quit his job the next day, moved, and started a new career doing exactly what he wanted to do. Not what others thought he should do, not what he thought he should do. He did what he wanted, what spoke to the very deepest part of his heart. If what you’re doing right now doesn’t make the fibers of your being sing, if you aren’t at least steadily working toward that place, you’re wasting your time. And that’s not something you can afford. Make a change. Take this man’s mentor as your own. Do the work you were meant to do.

blogging, communication, creative, creativity, design, health, innovation, media, product development, stress, technology, work, writer, writing

Inspired: Check out my magazines on Flipboard for travel, stress-busting, product design, and office design

Christa Avampato

Check out my Flipboard profile: http://flip.it/tfH1RI’m now on Flipboard as @christanyc and created 4 magazines to curate content in travel, product design, workspace design, and stress reduction. I hope you’ll stop by and check them out:
Travel on Purpose – use your travels and vacations to build a better world

Insanely Cool New Products – the coolest new product innovations and the awesome people who make them

Crazy Creative Workspaces – interior design inspirations for the places where we work

Stress Sucks – the science of stress and how to bust it

books, creativity, dreams, imagination

Inspired: I write down six impossible things before breakfast

Christa Avampato

Today’s impossibilities are tomorrow’s realities. That’s why I’ve been inspired by Alice in Wonderland, my favorite book, to take up a new morning ritual. As soon as I wake up, I write down 6 impossible things before I have breakfast. It gets my creative engine running right off the bat. Give it a try and let me know what you come up with!

My 6 impossible things lists so far:
7/22/14
– The ability to send people messages through dreams
– Trees that grow everything we need – even bicycles
– A composter that could recycle anything and everything – zero trash
– Grass that cuts itself when it gets too long – and we get to decide what’s too long!
– A memory bank where we could house everything we ever learn and believe and experience forever
– A way to truly understand exactly why another person has a certain opinion and everything that lead them to that opinion

7/23/14
– A system that quickly and easily moves water between flood areas and draught areas so everyone has enough water
– Fireproof trees and shrubs
– Shoes that give us energy
– A machine to turn our steps into energy that we can use anyway we want
– Self-monitoring plants that tell us when they need water and food and how much – for those like me who are green-thumb challenged!
– A machine that can take an image in my head and translate it onto any surface

7/24/14
– Compressed food that stays fresh and ships easily and grows if you add water
– A body scanner that we could use to check our vital signs everyday
– A filter that would alert us when we are about to say or write something hurtful before we actually say or write it
– An individual environment control to give us control over the temperature around us
– A way to save and review dreams after we wake up
– An automatic way to remind us of the good things in our lives when we are having a tough time

7/25/14
– A map to the end of a rainbow
– A way to instantly fix anything broken, especially in our bodies
– A way to see how our lives would unfold if we made different choices
– A way to record the world with only our eyes
– An instant language interpreter for every language so we could communicate with anyone, anytime, anywhere, even with animals
– Cars that generate their own energy without needing outside fuel

7/26/14
– Books that come to life
– Vehicles that drive, fly, and swim
– An emotion changer
– A thought releaser
– A brain health monitor we can use at home
– On-command suction hands and feet
– Breathe underwater without equipment

7/27/14
– Connect every town and city by high speed train
– A world where we can take our dogs everywhere
– Clothes that grow with us
– Hair that grows or shortens on-demand
– Instantly repairing skin
– Eyes and ears that never grow old

7/28/14
– Self-decaying tech that you decide when it should decay
– A meter that tells you how many positive and negative thoughts you’ve had in a day
– Something that makes me aware of every time I think something negative about myself so I can stop doing it
– A dog translator – canine to English and English to canine
– Instant basic knowledge of how to play any instrument
– A self-cleaning house

choices, friendship

Inspired: Are you a friend or foe to yourself?

Christa Avampato

You choose: tear yourself down or build yourself up. It’s not about what happens to you; it’s about what you make happen.

child, game, play

Inspired: Make Work Play

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest
From Pinterest

“Life is more fun if you play games.” -Roald Dahl

We often defeat ourselves with our attitude. Something troubles us and we see it as a burden. If you’ve got a problem, make it a game. Bend, mold, twist, and turn it in your favor. And have fun. The best part of life is figuring it out.

business, creativity

Inspired: You are your best asset

Christa Avampato

From HuffPost Good NewsMy friend, Alex, looks at all my new project ideas because she sees my blind spots. The one she always points out is that I don’t give enough credit to my own experience and point-of-view. When you pitch a new project, you make a list of resources you have. Things like money, time, and connections probably make the list. Do you list your talents that make you the best person to get the job done? You should. You’re what matters most. You are your best asset. Thanks for the lesson, Alex!

Check out Alex’s latest venture, Stargrass Paper, purveyor of keenly curated cards, journals, and writing instruments. (In full disclosure, I’m a member of the company’s advisory board and I think it’s awesome!)