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, food, work

Leap: The Gravity of Food

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest

I can’t stop cooking.

I walk into the produce department at Whole Foods or Westside Market and I breathe easier. My kitchen and its humble tools beckon me away from my laptop. In the past week I’ve made my own chicken stock from scratch for the first time (it is so much better than stock I buy), whipped up a hot and hearty bowl of soup with items I had on-hand, made an entire meal courtesy of my grill pan, and saved some sad-looking apples from the fate of the trash can by quickly turning them into homemade apple sauce.

On Wednesday I was very early to a meeting by Grand Central Station due to an easier-than-expected commute and found myself wandering through the gourmet food market. I couldn’t get enough of all of the interesting hand-made, hand-cut, hand-mixed goodies. For the first time in a long time, I consciously felt all of my senses fully engaged and activated. As my senses opened up, so did my heart. I could have stayed there all afternoon. I was swooning over local food products as if I had a teenage crush. It was….wonderful.

Food memoirs are among my most treasured reads because there is so much history, mystery, and emotion literally folded into the foods we eat. Food and recipes connect us across generations, time zones, and cultures. They are our tie to the past and our gateway to the future.

As I think about future passion projects, I’m wondering how I might position my love of and fascination with food into my professional work. There must be a way. While turning that thought over in mind, I’m going to toddle back over to my stand-up kitchen to see which ingredients are jumping up and down saying “Pick me! Pick me!” Who knows…I may even bake a pie.

adventure, goals

Leap: The Goal of Life

Christa Avampato

I love the sentiment behind this piece of art I found on Pinterest. It’s a mark of a life well and fully lived if at the end our journey our only thought is “WooHoo! What a ride!” That’s certainly the sentiment I’m hoping for.

adventure, creativity, dreams, work

Leap: My Five Month Anniversary of Pursuing Career Magic

Christa Avampato
Taken by Christa Avampato in the West Village, New York City

I snapped this photo last weekend in the West Village in New York City. It struck me that this simple piece of sidewalk art is exactly what I’ve been doing since I left my corporate job 5 months ago today. I’ve diligently kept my eye on doing work that matters and takes full advantage of my experience in and passion for education, health, and service.

This road has not been easy. I’ve turned down a number of very tantalizing opportunities in order to stay true to my mission to live a life of my own design. I’ve cobbled together a string of work opportunities that light me up, that have me jumping out of bed in the morning to get going, and over the next week I’m hoping to add a few more. Despite juggling multiple priorities, doing joyful work has actually made me feel more at ease with my calendar. Somehow, time has expanded.

I once heard someone say that happiness is a warm comfort on a cold night. When I put myself to bed each night, I toss up a silent prayer into the Universe that goes something like this – “Thank you, Universe, for the opportunity to add to the greater good, to do exactly the work I want to do, and to rest safely and securely in the knowledge that today my efforts went toward crafting a better world so we can all have a brighter tomorrow. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. I do know how lucky I am, how blessed I am. So long as I have breath in my lungs and beats in my heart, I want to keep moving in this direction.”

For 5 months, this prayer has been answered every day without hesitation. And that is its own kind of magic.

sports, yoga

Leap: Join Me Tonight for a Free Yoga Class – Yoga for Cyclists (and Aspiring Cyclists!) at Eastern Mountain Sports

Christa Avampato
Road cyclist via Shutterstock Photo: Vaclav Volrab

Tonight at 7pm I’ll be helping cyclists (and aspiring cyclists) work out the kinks caused by logging long miles on their bikes. If you’re active, you’ll benefit from this class! Come on down to Eastern Mountain Sports Upper West Side location in Manhattan, 2152 Broadway between 75th and 76th Streets. The class is free and open to the public.

Yoga is an effective way to prevent injuries and shorten recovery times for cyclists. I will lead you through a sequence of yoga poses specifically crafted to benefit cyclists to improve posture, increase flexibility, and build strength. You will also learn several breathing techniques as well as a meditation technique that will enhance focus and endurance.

In addition to the free class, you will be able to take advantage of an exclusive shopping deal that night: 20% off Eastern Mountain Sports merchandise and 15% of all other brands.

I’d love to see your smiling faces so I hope you’ll join me!

choices, decision-making, dreams, meditation, yoga

Leap: Everything is Difficult

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest

“You cannot dream yourself into a character: you must hammer and forge yourself into one.” ~ Henry David Thoreau

Have you ever shied away from doing something because you thought it was too difficult or because someone else told you that what you wanted to do was too hard? This pesky thought creeps into any and every crevice of doubt – about our careers, relationships, passion projects, and any time we are considering a change of any kind. It is the enemy of good decision-making and the only appropriate response to this thought is a loud, strong “Get out and stay out!”

It’s all tough. Everything you want to do in life has challenges. If you are waiting for the seas to part and the obstacles to disintegrate you are wasting your time and undermining your own strength. The path of least resistance that we hear so much about never said anything about a complete lack of resistance.

For a long time I lived with this conflict: I face a lot of challenges in my life and then in yoga class I hear that we shouldn’t struggle because life is supposed to be easy. Then a clear nuisance revealed itself to me. Life is challenging. We are almost always in the midst of difficulty. However, even a troubled road can be traveled with ease.

We can soften around obstacles so that we can navigate our way around them. We can move our attention inward when we need to replenish ourselves after a long day of work. Life may be filled with struggle but that doesn’t mean we have to be strugglers and take on all of the stress and anxiety that comes with that. To travel a hard road, we need strength, courage, stamina, and resilience – all the things that yoga and meditation provide.

So you go right on choosing your deepest, most passionate dreams, regardless of how hard it will be to bring them to life. Be confident in the fact that everything worth doing requires an effort of some kind. The trick is to also find the ease that lets you enjoy the journey and keeps you motivated to stay the course. Need some help with that? Contact me – my pep talks will make that pesky voice of self-doubt head for the hills.

meditation, worry

Leap: Meditation Makes the Mind Whole

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest

“Worry divides the mind.” ~ Max Lucado

Worry is an invention of the mind. What we worry about rarely ever happens. It’s our brain’s way of preparing us for the worst. And while it is helpful to be prepared, there’s a balance to be struck. We don’t want to underestimate the possibilities and not be ready for a situation, and we don’t want to overestimate unfortunate circumstances and drive ourselves into a hysterical mess. Worry is only useful if it helps to keep us safe and a divided mind is no place to seek refuge.

There are some people who place greater value on the right or left brain. The left brain is our analytical powerhouse. The right brain is our creative genius. We need both to live a fully actualized, authentic life. Our days are richer when we can see the big picture and the intricate details. Meditation brings it all together. In fact, I’ve found it to be the only method that brings it all together in an efficient and useful manner.

There are many methods of meditation – observing the breath, the Ham-Sa kriya, object gazing, sound meditation, walking meditation, and the list goes on. The goal of all of the methods is to get us to recognize our own individual existence in relation to the greater universe, and to understand the two are actually one.

We are whole in and of ourselves and we are whole as one giant and beautiful mass of energy and potential. The only trick to meditation is the desire to experience that unity and then to root it back down into our living so that we can share it with others.

experience, humor, time

Leap: We All Start From Zero – A Lesson From My 90-year-old Yoga Student

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest

“Every child begins the world again.” ~ Henry David Thoreau

On Thursday mornings at 10:30am, I teach a Chair Yoga for Seniors class. And these seniors aren’t the newly retired. Most of them are in their 80’s and 90’s and they are as spry as can be. I’m hoping that by teaching this class, a bit of their well-aged spunk will stick with me when I’m (God-willing) their age.

One of these students came up to me last week with a question.

“I’ve got a bit of a nagging injury,” Muriel said to me.

“Okay. What’s that?” I asked, assuming it was something that is common with arthritis or something similar.

“Well, my upper arm around my shoulder area has been hurting for the last few days.”

“Did you sleep on it funny or hit it on something recently.”

“Well, I started playing ping-pong at this place just down the street a little while ago and I’m really getting into it. I’ve played every afternoon for the last week and I think I may have overdone it.”

I had to laugh at myself. Here I was thinking she had some symptom of aging and it’s actually a sports-related injury. I should have known better with this group of active seniors. Muriel is especially effusive about my class. A few weeks ago, she let me know that the meditation portion of the class has been transformational for her.

“I cannot believe how easily peace settles into me now when I’m meditating. I’ve never felt this peaceful in my entire life, and I’ve been alive a long time. I wish I had known about this earlier!”

I was very proud of Muriel and her sore muscles. “Muriel, this is wonderful. This means you’re building strength in your arms, just like when you go to the gym!”

“I’m actually very excited about this ping-pong. It’s so good for me. Check this out,” she said as she flexed her biceps and asked me to feel them. There was a definitive muscle there. “Can you believe it? First time in my life I’ve ever had muscles in my arms. It took me this long to build them!”

I gave her the advice to alternate ice and heat and give herself a bit more rest to heal her shoulder.

“Do you play ping-pong, Christa?”

In truth the only version of ping-pong I’ve ever played is beer pong. “No, I’ve never played proper ping-pong before,” I replied.

“Well, we will have to play some time. I can teach you. When I come to class next week, we’ll set a date and time. This will be marvelous! But we’ll have to get there early in the afternoon when they open. Otherwise, there’s a crowd. And don’t worry, we can play downstairs where it’s less crowded so you won’t feel self-conscious as a newbie.”

And with that, Muriel got her coat and made her way outside into the big, bad world. I thought about Muriel all afternoon and the deep, beautiful lesson she taught me during our conversation.

At every age, there are new experiences waiting for us. Too often, we think old age equates with decline. For my seniors, this couldn’t be further from the truth. They’re bringing newness into their lives all the time – whether that’s through taking a yoga class or building biceps at 90-something years old.

Golden years can certainly be golden. It’s all a matter of perspective, attitude, and the courage it takes to try something new.

discovery, dreams, failure

Leap: Be Wrong

Christa Avampato
Oh Sheldon…

“If you’re not prepared to be wrong, you’ll never come up with anything original.” ~ Ken Robinson

Being wrong is underrated. It usually comes about because we went out on a limb, tried something new, or put forward an idea that was provocative and against the grain. These actions have so much merit, regardless of the outcome because they require boldness, courage, and passion. It’s hard to overstate the value of these qualities in the pursuit of a well-lived life.

“Wrong” used to be akin to a curse word for me. I was afraid of what may happen if I was wrong, whether that meant giving answers on a math quiz, starting a new relationship, or speaking my mind. Despite the fear I did these things anyway, either because I had to (fear was not a reason to not take a math quiz) or because I was just too curious about the outcome to not try (please refer to my dating history.)

And you know what terrible thing befell me when I was wrong? Nothing. Life just went on. Perhaps I was a little (or a lot) embarrassed. On occasion I was mad that situations didn’t go the way I wanted them to go. Every once in a while I was sadly disappointed. No matter. In due time, I picked myself up, dusted myself off, and started again.

Now I barely even blink when I’m wrong. I recognize my mistake, I learn, and I move on. I don’t waste any time analyzing to death the error of my ways. I don’t beat myself up over it. I’ve learned to revel in my humanness – flaws, foibles, and all. And I’ve also learned to revel in the humanness of others, which is a gift all its own.

So go ahead. Risk looking like a fool because you went after something with your whole heart. Take a chance, a big chance that may cause you to fall flat on your face. Even if this comes to pass, your own resilience will surprise you. You’re stronger, more adaptable, and quicker-to-heal than you think.

art, change, choices, creativity, decision-making

Leap: The Work of Art that You Live

Christa Avampato

“Your thoughts, words, and deeds are painting the world around you.” ~ Jewel Diamond Taylor

Life isn’t happening to you. You aren’t being forced into a job, relationship, home, frame of mind, or attitude. These are all choices. How your days unfold is a result of your decisions, one after the other.

And here’s the really beautiful part: everything, and I mean everything, can be changed, fixed, and improved. And the person to do that is you.

It is within your power, within your right, to have exactly the life you want. If something isn’t working, if something is bringing you down, then you can take the steps to correct that. You can move toward joy, from wherever you are right now.

Your life is your canvas; paint a picture you’ll never grow tired of looking at. Don’t accept anything less.

happiness, kindness, New York City, patience

Leap: Small Opportunities to Make a Difference

Christa Avampato
From Pinterest

“Sometimes the little opportunities that fly at us each day can have the biggest impact.” ~ Danny Wallace

In a time when emotions are running high, I’ve found myself compelled to be more patient. When I’m on the subway with people who are pushing and losing their temper because of the intense crowding and delays, I am driven to be more tolerant, to smile more, to give others the right of way even when it’s my turn.

So often we think we must do something big to really make a difference. We have to start a company or organization, make a huge donation, or broadcast our message through a megaphone of some form. During this odd time in New York City as we are reminded of the power of nature and the incredible gift of neighbors helping neighbors, I am learning about the immense value of small, everyday kindnesses that we can all give and receive.

They give us a sense of belonging. They cause us to pay it forward, igniting a chain reaction of compassion and courtesy. It’s in these small moments that we recognize just how connected we all are. And it’s a really beautiful thing to understand.