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.
change, nature, yoga

Beginning: Long Day’s Journey Into Night – A Lesson from 5 Days of Teaching Yoga

Christa Avampato

From http://redbubble.com
I taught yoga for the last 5 out of 7 days. Ironically, they were some of the worst days I ever had and some of the best nights I ever had. At work, every day felt like a Monday. During the yoga classes I taught, every night felt like I was exactly where I was supposed to be. These two parts of my life stood in such sharp contrast to one another it was impossible to ignore the insight.

There’s something to be said for practicality, for being grounded and logical. And there’s something equally as important to be said about following your gut and your heart, two very wise centers that are difficult to wrap up in logic. Here’s what I’m sure of – when the gut and the heart find themselves in sync, there’s some kind of magic moment that’s arrived and deserves to be seized with both hands.

A few weeks ago I wrote about the topic of transitions and I found myself teaching the lesson of transition in my yoga classes this week. As we move back and forth between two counter poses in a yoga practice, we’re sometimes so focused on the two end states of the postures that we don’t fully appreciate the transition. Each little movement in a transition is important. It deserves to have its say, to be appreciated for what it is all on its own and where it’s helping to take us.

My life feels like that now as I ratchet down the activities that feel like Monday and pump up the ones that feel like Friday afternoon at 5:00. Eventually, my life will reach a tipping point where the activities that don’t serve my greater purpose fall away. And those that bring energy and gladness will be all that’s left.

I think about this transition into the wellness field the way I think about the fun my niece, Lorelei, and I have at the beach. We toddle along the water’s edge looking for jellies that wash up on the sand with the incoming tide. Lorelei loves to look at those jellies. The water doesn’t come barreling in for high tide. The tide rolls in and rolls out one small inch at a time, bringing with it new and interesting gifts. It creeps forward to give us time to adjust.

This method of slow, purposeful change has worked for nature day in and day out for many centuries. Why should the rhythm of change in our own lives be any different? Welcome the transition and let each small step forward have its chance to shine and be recognized.

animals, dogs, yoga

Beginning: Yoga Dogs

Christa Avampato

I’ve often thought that dogs were the original yogis. Not only are certain basic postures named for these zen creatures, but just living with and observing a dog on a daily basis reminds us that they really are some of our very best gurus, on and off the mat. Just for fun today, take a look at this slide show for proof that dogs and yoga were made for each other! Just one more item on the long list of things we can learn from our beloved canines.

Want to really test the link between your pooch and the ancient practice? Check out the Doga (Dog yoga) event on April 14th at 7pm with instructors Amy Tobin and Laura Barket at Bideawee.

Happy weekend!

Being the owner of a dachshund, I had to make the image above the headliner for this post. Pictured is Yogi Rocky Barkjan, the original Hundalini Yoga Dog master. Clearly he’s a wire haired dachshund, just like Phin!

art, creativity, film

Beginning: Sketches of Frank Gehry

Christa Avampato

http://www.sonyclassics.com/sketchesoffrankgehry/main.html
Over the weekend I watched the documentary Sketches of Frank Gehry by the brilliant director Sydney Pollack. This was Pollack’s first documentary and he starts the movie by freely admitting that he knows nothing about making a documentary and nothing about architecture. “That’s why you’re the perfect choice,” laughed Gehry. I was struck by how much of the documentary dealt with the topic of beginning. “At the moment of beginning, I’m always terrified,” said Gehry. “It’s just me and this enormous task, and I delay and procrastinate because I’m afraid I can’t do it. And then I start, and I realize I actually can do this.”

Two other poignant points about the idea of beginning happen in the middle and at the end of the film. Towards the middle of the film, Pollack shares his feelings about his early career as a director. “I always felt like I was pretending when I first started. I felt like I was faking it for a long time, and then eventually that feeling went away and I was just a director,” he said. “That happened to me, too,” agreed Gehry. Toward the end of the film, Pollack asks Gehry, “Do you ever look at one of your buildings and wonder how did I do that?” “Every time,” replied Gehry. “Every time.”

Two giants, one in architecture and one in film, talking about their own uncertain beginnings in their chosen professions and their continued and consistent beginnings in all of their creative projects. The beginning process is terrifying. It’s you and a very blank canvas at the start of every day at the start of every project. It can be overwhelming. Take some advice from Pollack and Gehry – just begin. Give it a go. It worked out okay for both of them. There’s no reason why it can’t work out for you, too.

choices, creativity, luck, nature, religion

Beginning: The Long Shot of Life

Christa Avampato

http://www.flickr.com/photos/mathoov/2429733088/
While in Austin, I started reading the book, The Case for a Creator. My brother-in-law lent it to me after we watched the lunar eclipse together in December. Lee Strobel, the author, starts the book as a devout atheist. He speaks to scientists and researchers to examine their views on the origins of life. Though they have divergent views, there is one thing that they all agree on – the odds of life being created in its first instant were a case against all odds. The numerous conditions that had to come together to give life its first breath is nothing short of a miracle. Life, as we know it, was a long shot from the very beginning.

I thought about this idea over the weekend when Kira Campo, a Twitter friend of mine and Founder of The Creative Practice, were talking about creative projects we’re both pursuing. She asked if I thought they were a long shot. I absolutely think they’re a long shot, just like everything in life. As Brian so often tells me, “We get what we settle for.”

If nature and life itself have anything to teach us it’s that we have to believe that the long shot is possible. Somehow the necessary elements conspire and catapult us into a life we imagine. The turning points aren’t always obvious and often entirely unplanned. If we live long enough and look back on the moment that really make our lives what they are, we realize just how coincidental and synchronous life really is. Go for the long shot that you really want – it’s just as likely to come to fruition as any other possibility.

experience, healthcare, learning

Beginning: Let New Experiences Be New

Christa Avampato

http://www.sevenof.com
“You can’t use a Western mind to understand Eastern philosophy. To really understand it, you have to change your mind.” ~ Dr. Nan Lu, OMD

Dr. Lu used this quote to close his talk about Traditional Chinese Medicine at the Integrative Healthcare Symposium earlier this month. It reminded me of how often we try to understand a new concept based upon our past learning. Of course, this is entirely logical. Our experience gives us a language and lens by which to process novel ideas. Though just because this pattern is logical, doesn’t mean it always serves. What’s perhaps more powerful, and yet more difficult to do as we get older, is to just take a learning as is without trying to compare it to what we already know.

This is how children learn. They’re little sponges. No prejudices, no judgements, no nagging voice in the back of their minds that is chattering away. They take a new lesson as just that – new and to be appreciated in its own right.

What if we could do that as new situations and experiences come into our lives? What if we could set aside that chattering, monkey mind, and just take in the new information for all the glory it has in its own right? If we could do that then I am confident that there isn’t a single challenge in all the challenges our world now faces that we wouldn’t be able to solve.

entrepreneurship, finance, philanthropy

Beginning: Grameen America Partners with Kiva to Support Entrepreneurs

Christa Avampato

A group of women in Bangladesh helped by microfinance loans from Grameen
For a number of years, I’ve written about and donated to Grameen America and Kiva. Both organization provide microloans to entrepreneurs. Kiva works in the developing world and Grameen America works right here in New York City. Given my support of both organization, I was thrilled to get the information below in a recent email from the organization that explains the beginning of their new partnership.

If you have an interest in supporting entrepreneurship as a way to give lower-income individuals and families a greater chance for economic independence and freedom, please read on and consider supporting this partnership.

“We’re excited to tell you about two huge developments with Kiva and Grameen America.

First, there’s a new film featuring Grameen America showing for just one night on Thursday, March 31. To Catch A Dollar: Muhammad Yunus Banks on America tells the story of how the Nobel Prize winning Dr. Muhammad Yunus and Grameen America are helping bring the microfinance revolution to bear on addressing poverty in the United States.

Second, we’re proud to announce that we are partnering with Dr. Yunus’s Grameen America to provide financing to low-income entrepreneurs in the United States.

Elizabeth’s Story

Thirty years ago, Dr. Muhammad Yunus began a quiet revolution. He found that poverty could best be alleviated in his native Bangladesh not through charity, but through unleashing entrepreneurship. By grouping rural women together, he was able to provide financing for businesses that banks weren’t interested in serving.

Fast forward thirty years, and Dr. Yunus is working to bring group lending to low income entrepreneurs in the United States.

And Kiva is going to be there to help. Through our new partnership, entrepreneurs like Elizabeth, pictured to the left, are able to grow their businesses and communities.

Browse Grameen America’s loans, and learn more about Elizabeth and other Grameen America entrepreneurs.

To Catch A Dollar

Speaking of Elizabeth, she is featured in To Catch A Dollar, along with several other Grameen America entrepreneurs.

The documentary introduces viewers to Grameen staff and borrowers, as they work together to prove that the group lending model can work in the United States. Following the documentary, there’s a special panel, recorded earlier this month in New York, featuring Robert De Niro, Kiva President Premal Shah, financial guru Suze Orman, Dr. Yunus, and CNBC’s Maria Bartiromo.

The film will be showing at over 200 theaters across the country. Remember, this is a one-night-only event, so please get your tickets now!

A strong showing on Thursday will help guarantee international distribution for the film and get the word out about microfinance, so buy a ticket and take a friend. For those in the San Francisco Bay area, the Kiva team will be attending the screening at Embarcadero Cinemas. Drop by and say hi!

Dr. Yunus

Grameen and Kiva are in many ways a natural fit. The inspiration for Kiva came during a lecture by Muhammad Yunus at Stanford in 2005. His experience in Bangladesh inspired Kiva’s founders to travel to Uganda and begin the long journey of building what would one day become Kiva.

We’re thrilled to announce that earlier this month we passed $200 million in loans made on Kiva. This would have never been possible without Dr. Yunus’s inspiration, and for that we’re eternally grateful.

Speaking of microfinance in the United States, Kiva will be co-presenting the Microfinance USA Conference in New York on May 23-34. For more information, click here.

One final note: don’t forget we have borrowers from over 40 countries who are looking for loans every day.”

art, health, healthcare, music

Beginning: The Music Stays With Us to Our Last Days

Christa Avampato

From http://www.rockandtheology.com
On Saturday morning, I started a busy week of yoga teaching at New York Methodist Hospital. I went to the Geriatric Psychology Unit. Because it is an acute care facility, I always have a different group of patients whom I work with in a small group class. Their cognitive and physical abilities vary widely. This weekend I met a woman, Ruth, who spoke very little and though she could hear me speaking, my questions didn’t register in her mind. Their illnesses are both fascinating and heart breaking to witness. My mind can’t help but go to the thought that some day I and / or the people I know and love may find ourselves in this same situation of loss as the years tick by.

There was a piano in the room where I was teaching the class. Ruth slowly shuffled to it and played a church hymn that she probably learned as a young child. Her shaking that was prevalent throughout the yoga class completely stopped. Color came back to her cheeks and for a moment she seemed aware again as she played the hymn. I was astonished and asked Caroline, the recreational therapist, why Ruth could play the song perfectly but not answer the question, “how are you?” Caroline had a very simple answer, “Music is the very last thing to go from the mind. Cognitive abilities, math skills, and speech can be completely gone but music sticks with us until our very last days.” I had no idea.

I’m certain that there is a very sound, neurological reason for this. Perhaps musical ability is stored in an area of the brain that is not affected by the loss of cognitive ability from aging. The writer and philosopher in me finds this notion to retaining music as a beautiful, powerful justification for making creativity and the arts a very necessary part of our lives at every age. When everything else falls away, and I mean everything, we can take comfort that music will become our final voice to the world.

art, books, change, choices, imagination

Beginning: The Ambiguity-loving Nature of the Imagination

Christa Avampato

“Imagination sometimes has to stand in for experience.” ~ Steve Martin, An Object of Beauty

I just started reading Steve Martin’s latest novel, An Object of Beauty. From the first 10 pages, I was hooked, as I always am with his writing. Lines like the one above are common place in his writing and have such an inspirational effect without slapping the reader in the face.

Just as I started to read An Object of Beauty, I also saw the documentary Who Killed the Electric Car. It’s the story of how GM pulled its well-received electric car from the market in 2005 and the conspiracy behind the decision that involved politicians and oil companies. None of the parties involved could imagine a world beyond their gas-guzzling vehicle experience.

A large company that I read about frequently is making some horrible investment decisions. Despite all of the market trend and competitive intelligence they have, they are refusing to invest in new technology. The new technology wouldn’t be that expensive to invest in. It wouldn’t even be that difficult to implement. They aren’t investing in new technology because the company’s leaders aren’t personal fans of new technology. They would rather plod along on the same road that has carried them to success up until now rather than try something new. As an investor in the company and a huge fan of the brand, I find their decisions frustrating. I can only imagine how their more progressive team members feel.

Experience has its place in our decision-making. It can be a helpful lens through which to view opportunities, though where I draw the line is when experience is used in place of imagination. What made us successful in the past will not always make us successful going forward. Times change, customers change, the world changes. And to stay relevant and engaged, we need to change, too. Experience doesn’t like change. The imagination embraces change, is fueled by change. Make good use of the imagination’s love of ambiguity. The only certainty we have in this world is that sooner or later, everything everywhere changes.

I found the image above here. I wouldn’t recommend any of these reasons.

career

Beginning: 7 Tips on Conducting Interviews

Christa Avampato

I read a lot of career blogs. Managing a career, changing jobs with grace, and interviewing tips are all common topics. Most of the career advice I read is personal advice for how people can manage their own careers. This post is different – it isn’t necessarily for job seekers. This post is for people who have openings on their teams and are conducting interviews. If you fit that description, I have some advice based upon an experience I had in the not-so-distant past that ruined my opinion of a brand I really loved.

I went to an interview for a new role that really intrigued me. Though the opportunity seemed perfect on paper, I made sure to wear my skeptical spectacles so that I could be objective. I had a wonderful conversation with the recruiter (who is a top-notch professional) and met the hiring manager and his VP a few days later. 30 seconds into my interview with the VP I knew this role was not for me. But all was not lost. I learned so much about interviewing based upon the VP’s example of what not to do and I wanted to share it with you.

1.) Please read the candidate’s resume. I don’t care how busy an interviewer is. Talent is a company’s greatest resource and talent, perspective and current, needs to be treated with respect. Rest assured, the candidate did her homework and prepared for the interview. The interviewer needs to reciprocate.

2.) Frantic is a bad vibe. Again, I don’t care how busy an interviewer is. If the hiring manager can’t hold it together with grace under pressure, chances are his or her team won’t feel comfortable asking for guidance and support. And that’s a leader’s job – to support and counsel a team. Be there for them before they ever sign on the dotted line.

3.) You need to have solid answers to these 4 questions: a) what keeps you up at night?, b) what you do better than the competition?, c) what does the competition do better than you?, and d) if there was a recent turnover in management, why? If an interviewer can’t answer those questions, I would recommend that the candidates interviewing head for the door. Run, don’t walk. Guy Kawasaki thinks so, too.

4.) “I’m new” is a really poor excuse for not knowing your business and the market. And if it’s March, and a leader was hired in November, I’m afraid the “I’m new” excuse doesn’t fly for any question a candidate asks. In this ever-changing economy, 4 months is more than enough ramp up time.

5.) Practice what you preach. For example, if the company’s mission is health and wellness, then the employees of the company need to be healthy and well. If a hiring manager is working herself to death in the health and wellness field makes, that person is a poor role model, for the team and customers. It also ruins the company’s credibility in the field. And by the way, it’s not sustainable. Abuse the body and mind long enough, and eventually they will give out.

6.) Don’t assume you know someone’s MO solely based upon the company they work in. Someone may be part of a large corporation without being a corporate drone. It is possible to be outspoken and innovative even in a large company with a lot of politics. Don’t assume that someone’s corporate experience means they can’t add value in a start-up or nonprofit. Everyone has something unique to offer, and the hiring manager’s job in interviewing is to find out what each candidate offers (by asking them!) and if what they have to offer matches what the company needs.

7.) To get more information about a candidate’s background, please don’t say anything like, “Tell me something that will make me feel better about hiring you.” I wish this didn’t need to be said, but that’s the exactly what the hiring manager said to me at the end of my interview. That’s poor form, and it’s just plain rude. My former boss and mentor, Bob G., had a great line that I use all the time that is so much more effective and polite. Whenever he didn’t understand something or if he was unsure about what someone meant, he didn’t put them on the spot in an uncomfortable way. He simply asked, “Can you tell me more about that?” It works like a charm every time. It gets candidates to open up and share without feeling like they need to defend themselves.

What other tips do you have for conducting successful interviews? Let’s put an end to really bad interviews!

art, SXSW

Beginning: Knitta, Please

Christa Avampato

One of my favorite SXSW features is Knitta, Please, a now-large scale project begun by Magda Sayeg in her then-home of Houston. Everywhere she looked it was gray, and as a dedicated artist she wanted to infuse her environment with handmade color. She didn’t have paint. She had something better – yarn.

I first learned about the project at a commercial shown prior to a documentary screening at SXSW. My favorite line from Magda – “you don’t knit for hate. This is a goodness project.” And the world needs more goodness. In 2005, she started Knitta, Please, an organization dedicated to incorporating woven graffiti into urban environments. The work of the Knittas can now be found on 5 continents. The variety of pictures on her website’s gallery speak for themselves. Hop over there and take a look.

To earn more about Knitta, Please, check out their website and blog. How might your art help to bring more color to the world in a meaningful way?

I snapped the photo above in the green room at the Austin Convention Center during SXSW and posted it to my Tumblr photo blog. And yes, it did make me think about how many places in the world need more art.